Carathril
Carathril was a captain of the Lothern Guard during the last decades of the reign of Phoenix King Bel Shanaar and during the Sundering.[1a]
Contents
History
Bel Shanaar
He was tasked by the Phoenix King to destroy a cult uncovered in the city and arrest Prince Aeltherin however the cultists led by Damolien attacked him, forcing he and his warriors to kill them, loosing two of his soldiers to their claw-like fingernails. The Prince managed to set himself on fire, defying the guard, and also perished. [1a]
With Aerenis he then rode to the seat of the Phoenix King at Tor Anroc [1b] reporting to him and his advisors - the kings son Elodhir, Prince Imrik of Caledor and the mage-prince Thyriol. The council was disquieted by his news that a ruling prince had been under the influence of the Cult of Atharti and debated what to do with no clear answer until Bel Shanaar appointed Carathril as his herald to find a Prince to investigate the Cults. [1c]
He traveled to Avelorn, Caledor, Chrace, Saphery and Yvresse seeking a Prince to command the war against the Cult of Pleasure but none would take the lead, content to deal with the issue in their own lands. Carathril himself had grown increasingly frustrated with the rulers and homesick for Lothern. [1d]
After Malekith returned to Ulthaun and took up the burden of dealing with the Cults, Carathril accompanied him and his army as it rode into Nagarythe and the prince promised him ...from my lands, from the realm forged from the blood of my father, has grown a dark canker that poisons the heart of Ulthuan. That is a shame I cannot bear, and I will expunge it. In one village they encountered a group of cultists including Drutheira who told him she had been abducted from Ellyrion and tortured until she became the consort of Atharti. [1e]
After Nagarythe rose against Malekith, Bel Shanaar convened a Council of Princes and sent out heralds to summon them, before Carathril set off to Lothern and Prince Haradrin he was summoned to a private audience with the king. He was given a scroll to pass to Prince Imrik at the council, but otherwise keep secret. He rode out with Prince Elodhir and an escort of Tiranoc knights, meeting with Prince Finudel at Tor Elyr who then went with Elodhir to the Isle of Flame as Carathril traveled home to Lothern. Haradrin confirmed he would attend the council and recalled his military to be ready to make war on the Cults of Pleasure and together they set sail on the Prince's elegant Eagleship. [1f]
On the Isle he met Drutheira once more and was almost overwhelmed by her presence as she told him they would be together - he as herald of Malekith and she would a handmaiden of the new Phoenix King. He managed to break away from her, running back to the shrine calling it to arms. [1g] However, he arrived to find many dead on both sides before an earthquake shook the island and a great scream echoed across it. [1h]
Sundering
As he tried to help the surviving Princes, Thyrionor told him that Malekith had been burnt alive by the Sacred Flame and his knights had fled with the body. In addition, Bathinair had killed Elodhir with a hidden knife and was a puppet of Nagarythe. Unable to deliver his scroll at that point, Carathril read its contents which stated that the Phoenix King could not trust Malekith and he needed Imrik to lead the fight against the Cults. He passed it to the princes who selected him to take the news to Imrik that he was the new Phoenix King. [2a]
Taking 200 Sea Guard as an escort, he took ship across the Inner Sea first to Avelorn to inform the Everqueen, Yvraine of her new husband-elect. He met with Althinelle, Captain of the Maiden Guard who accepted the other heralds he had brought to the queens court and granted him safe passage to the borders of Chrace with Yvraine herself speaking briefly to him through her captain. [2b]
He crossed from Avelorn to Chrace via the Annulii Mountains and the Phoenix Pass, watching for Naggarothi warriors. Unable to locate Imrik, he and his company headed for Tor Achare, the home of Prince Koradrel. One night, the Raven Herald Elthyrior appeared in his tent and informed him that seven Khainite Assassins had been sent by Morathi to kill Imrik. [2b]
By the time he found the prince of Caledor, all of the Assassins had been slain by the hunting party and he was finally able to inform Imrik that not only was he now the ruling prince of Caledor but had been elected to become the new Phoenix King. He also presented Koradrel with the axe Achillar and the banner of Chrace, giving him the sad news that he was the new ruler of Chrace. [2d]
Carathril returned to Lothern, but was disturbed by the morose mood of Aerenis and that many in the guard and nobility did not accept the dangers of the Cults of Pleasure. His next mission was to lead the Sapphire Company meet with Captain Fyrthril of the Ruby Company at the town of Hal Mentheon and head into the Enullii Caith on the border of Caledor.[2e] On the march however they saw three Dragonships and eight other ships filled with Naggarothi warriors heading for Lothern itself. Many of his soldiers, including Aerenis had family in the countryside and he told them to fetch them to the city whilst he and the remaining soldiers warned the capital. [2f]
Retinue
Weapons and Equipment
As a captain he wore skirts of light scale mail, belts decorated with silver and gems and a blue cloak edged with gold a a symbol of his rank and a tall helm decorated with his family crest of a lion. He had a long white shield with face of a roaring lion, leaf-blade spear and a long re-curved bow. [1b]
Quotes
| I am content to be a servant, for I am the son of farmers not fighters. While Aenarion and the princes fought, my family sheltered behind their blades, thankful for the protection of their betters. They were slain in fields of corn, not upon fields of blood. I do not feel ashamed, for no matter how mighty a prince becomes, he still needs water to drink and bread to eat. I believe that life and destiny finds a place for us all, and that is a comfort to me.
~ Carathril to Aerenis.[1b] |
Sources
- 1: The Sundering (anthology) (Time of Legends edition): Malekith (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
- 1a: Thirteen: The Malaise of Luxury, pg. 159-162
- 1b: Fourteen: The Phoenix King's Court, pg. 163-166
- 1c: Fourteen: The Phoenix King's Court, pg. 170-173
- 1d: Fifteen: A Bold Oath, pg. 175-176
- 1e: Sixteen: A Journey to Darkness, pg. 181-189
- 1f: Twenty-Three: A Council Convened, pg. 253-257
- 1g: Twenty-Five: The Wrath of Asuryan, pg. 271-272
- 1h: Twenty-Five: The Wrath of Asuryan, pg. 275
- 2: The Sundering (anthology) (Time of Legends edition): Caledor (Novel) by Gav Thorpe
