General Eldarath. Few names bring such a mix of sorrow and hope to my heart. Once, he was a tyrant of the worst kind—a warlord who ruled by fear, cruelty, and magic. A high-elf with no love for any but his own kind, he crushed those beneath him with an iron fist, especially those he deemed lesser races. He tortured his enemies, enslaved their families, and even held Amalia herself in chains. He treated her not as a person, but as an object. Imagine that! Our blessed Mother, in the hands of a monster like him.

When Amalia escaped, rose to power, and returned with her Exalted March, it was Eldarath who stood against her. He didn’t just seek to stop her—he wanted to make an example of her, to make her a warning to all who would dare defy him. But the Divine had other plans. Amalia’s forces defeated him at the Battle of the Lushplains, and Eldarath, this once-terrible tyrant, was brought low. He deserved death, surely. All who suffered under his rule would have cheered to see him executed for his crimes.

But Amalia… She was not like the rest of us. Where we would seek vengeance, she offered mercy. She looked into the eyes of the man who had enslaved her, and instead of hatred, she gave him kindness. She approached him, forgave him for all the pain and suffering he caused her, and then, in a show of grace beyond what any of us could understand, she released him. No chains, no conditions, no punishment. She simply let him go.

And that—that—was what changed him. That act of mercy pierced the darkness in his heart. Eldarath, who had known only power and fear, was undone by her grace. Her forgiveness broke something in him, and in that moment, he saw the truth of her message. The woman he had once sought to control had shown him the light of the Divine, and he could not turn away from it. A man who had caused such misery, knelt before Amalia and swore his loyalty. From that day forward, he became one of her most trusted generals, fighting not for power or cruelty, but for redemption. He united the High Elves under her banner, a race he once ruled as a tyrant, and led them in her Exalted March.

Even after her betrayal by her husband, it was Eldarath who exacted justice. He was the one who killed the man who sold Amalia to King Junot. And when he learned she was to be burned at the stake, Eldarath led an army to try and save her. But it was too late. She was gone.

He spent the rest of his life trying to live up to the forgiveness she granted him, never truly believing he was worthy of it but striving all the same. To this day, we call someone who has turned their life around after being lost “eldarathian.” His story is the greatest example of how even the darkest soul can find light, so long as there is someone willing to offer it. And that, above all, is the message of Amalia.