Lore:Ebon Downs

Death Serpent's Saga
Ragnaros of the Great Worm tribe was a magician and oracle, but this last prophesy brought doom on the seven heroes and their lands.

After the killed Harl Hornstrike, Ragnaros fell to despair, and his magic turned evil. He forsook his old name and called himself Death Serpent.

Hearing of this after his return from the seas, the last hero, Kron Waverider, flew into a rage. In a great battle, Kron slew Ragnaros and overthrew his rule.

Ebon Downs
Deep in in (sic) the Silverwisp Swamp off of the southern High Road lies the burial grounds known as Ebon Downs. Here, many generations have been laid to rest, interred within barrows, crypts, and tombs. The villagers of Grimhollow have watched over these grounds for many years, with each generation passing on the duties to their children. Under their watchful eye, Ebon Downs has seen peace.

But one night, that peace was shattered forever. Whether due to lapse in Grimhollow's vigil or to some other reason, the dead rose in force from burial grounds and attacked the village, overwhelming the citizens. Those few lucky enough to escape spoke of dark magic that caused those killed in the attack to rise as undead almost as soon as the life left their bodies.

These survivors of Grimhollow may have failed in their duties, but their knowledge of all topics related to undeath was still worthy of respect. They claimed that there was only one use for the sort of dark magic that they had seen that night. To raise an army.

Idris of Netheril
When news of the undead menace in Ebon Downs reached Protector's Enclave, Lord Neverember dispatched a contingent of the Neverwinter Guard to counter the threat. Led by Doomguide Vesper Soulhearth, these brave soldiers battled the risen forces in a desperate fight to lay their souls to rest. But the battle was doomed to failure.

Soulhearth discovered, too late, that a powerful Netherese necromancer named Idris was behind the rising dead. Armed with a powerful artifact known as the Deathknell, Idris made pacts with the Barrow Lords of Ebon Downs, seeking to build an army of undead to strike at their Thayan foes. The Doomguide and his men bravely attempted to confront Idris in her lair within the barrow's royal rise, but were defeated by the Barrow Lords and their animated bone monstrosities.

Krastius the Heretic
The time has finally come! When my fool companions sleep, dreaming of riches yet to plunder, I, Krastius, will act.

I shall snuff the warding flames, and the undead will be free to gnaw on the bones of the usurper's false priests. It will be but the first blow against the hated Kelemvor.

They called me a heretic, but soon I shall be the one worshipping the true and rightful god of death, and all shall fall before the armies of Cyric!

The Brewer's Tomb
Here lies Thromgard Kegbelcher, honored Master Brewer of the Kegbelcher Clan.

The Royal Rise and the Tomb of Maridain could never have been built without this stout ales and fine pilsners.

When he died defending his stock from thirsty orc invaders, construction halted for a month as the workmen finished off the remaining stock of beer in his honor.

May Moradin watch over him and keep his tankard full!

The Deathknell
The Deathknell is a magical device that the power to manipulate the energies that animate undead. With it, Idris can literally drain the unlife from an undead creature. Heavy use of the Deathknell in this way has given the necromancer great power, but the infusion of so much essence of undeath has transformed her into an undead lick-like creature.

The Drowned King's Saga
Kron Waverider of the Blue Bear tribe was at sea when heroes fell on each other. He returned to find the land still at war, and not even the death of Ragnaros ended it.

Through war and wisdom he returned peace, but sorrow for this friends' deaths hung about him like a shroud.

When the last war ended, his men found him drowned at the edge of a marsh. Though dead, they proclaimed him the Drowned King.

The Gnarled Man's Saga
Jadri Owlwise of the Tree Ghost tribe was high druid of the land, and saw it was troubled.

Badly scarred in his battle with Brun Widowmaker, he took the name "Gnarled Man", and called a great gathering of the tribes to bring peace.

Before the ceremonies even began, Hark Hornstrike killed the Gnarled Man in vengeance for the death of his childhood friend Brun Widowmaker.

With his death, the tribes fell to fighting and war came to the land in full.

The Graverobbers' Fate
We are trapped down here by the undead. What a tragic fate for one of my power and intellect!

It's all so unfair. I only joined this expedition to fund my research. Then that fool cleric broke the wards for his holy crusade, and that duplicitous thief dared to defy us and re-lock the doors out of spite.

I suppose the question now is should I ally with the dwarf to eat the elf first, or vice-versa?

The Graverobbers' Tale
The cleric was right, there was a way in. Now all we have to do is plunder the place.

The only problem is that we caught some attention from the undead on the way in, but they can't come down here because of the wards.

We may need to find another way out though, even if we have to kill that priest in the ruined temple to do it.

The Heroes' Tomb
When the Uthgardt Barbarians rose up against the construction of the Royal Rise, Lord Meridain called for great warriors to put them down, and was answered by a band of adventurers.

All throughout the tomb's construction, they fought the Uthgardt back, rebuking their foolish talk of curses and forgotten prophesies.

So great was their zeal at this task, that when Lord Meridain's time came, he devised a special reward for them. To these faithful servants, he gave the gift of eternal service, and had them entombed along with him as his eternal guardians.

The Horned Beast's Saga
Harl Hornstrike, warchief of the Elk tribe, saw that the battles which now stained the land red with blood were his fault. To stop them, he conquered each tribe in turn.

In his power he became a tyrant, called "the Horned Beast" by his own people.

Of the original seven heroes, only one, Ragnaros, was left to stop him. In terrible battle the two fought, and the Horned Beast was brought low by Ragnaros' magic.

Thief's Lament
Those bastards did it! They left me to die!

First, they sent me out to find that crazy cleric, then after I come back to warn 'em about the undead, they shut the gate on me and leave me to die!

Well, I'll show them. I'm the one who knows how the doors work. Let's see them find their way out now!

One of those things got me really bad, though. Gonna rest here a while. Get out in the morning, when it's...

Voidwatcher's Saga
Dagar Skywatcher was shaman of the Sky Pony tribe. Blind from birth, he was called the Voidwatcher, for such was his wisdom he still could see the stars.

Alone among the seven heroes, he saw the looming danger, but it did not save him. Instead, Brun Whisperclaw slew him, wrongly fearing the prophesy of Ragnaros would mean the death of her Beloved husband, Karos Whisperclaw, if Dagar lived.

Widowmaker's Saga
Karos Whisperclaw and Brun Widowmaker of the Gray Wolf tribe found their love in the heat of battle, but the prophecy of Ragnaros said Karos and Dagar Starwatcher could not both live in the land.

To save her love, Brun killed the sage, but still Karos died. Her heart turned black, and in her rage she became a monster and slayer of innocent.

In the end, Jadri Owlwise hunted her like a beast and ended her rampage.