“Is this how you act before a king? I am Eldoliere, King of Artaerys, Lord of these lands. You stand in my own halls and insult me. But Eldoliere is not unchivalrous. Show your courtesy, interlopers, and we may speak.”

Once the legendary king of Artaerys, Eldoliere has returned as a fearsome wraith, a shadowy figure of spectral fury bound to his burial site and the army he once led. In life, he was a masterful tactician and a warrior unmatched in skill, but now he is little more than a dark echo of his former self.

In undeath, Eldoliere retains the tactical brilliance that made him a king to be feared, but now it is twisted by a seething hatred for the living. He no longer fights for honor or glory, but out of a deep, abiding rage born of centuries of unrest. The once-mighty warrior king is now a creature of despair, driven by a desire to restore his kingdom, no matter the cost.

His wraith form allows him to move effortlessly through walls and obstacles, making him an elusive and dangerous foe, and his mere presence drains the life and hope from those who draw near. Though he no longer wields the enchanted sword that made him famous in life, his touch is now far more deadly, capable of sapping the strength and will of any living creature he encounters.

History

Eldoliere’s kingdom, called Artaerys at the time and ‘Artarium’ by the current locals, was founded 712 years previously by the legendary king himself. Originally a petty lord—one of many in a quasi-feudal system before the rise of the organized kingdoms—Eldoliere made a name for himself as a warrior and a strategist. He fought in dozens of battles as he expanded and cemented his territory, establishing Artaerys for an area of roughly fifty miles’ radius around what is now known as Billingston Mine, and was then known as Eldoliere’s Grave.

Eldoliere's Death

Eldoliere was killed in battle with his cousin - another feudal lord who established his own territory on the borders of Artaerys - and left the throne to his daughter, Guevaire. He was buried with the soldiers who served him so faithfully: the foot soldiers in two antebarrows, and himself and his loyal knights in a grand funeral in the barrow now known as Billingston Mine.

After Eldoliere’s death, Guevaire ruled long and peacefully, eventually passing the throne to her son, Robaer. The kingdom persisted peacefully for almost two hundred and fifty years, before a treaty was signed (the Treaty Pacifica) with five other neighboring kingdoms to establish the Kingdom of Endon. The name of Artaerys, which morphed into Artarium over time, was used to refer to a province for another century or so, and then was gradually forgotten.

Description

His form is shrouded in tattered, ethereal robes that flicker like smoke, and his face, once proud, is now a mask of rage and regret. Eldoliere’s eyes glow with an unnatural green fire, and his voice is a hollow, rasping echo that chills the air around him. He drifts through the ruins of his old kingdom, commanding the undead legions with cold efficiency, bound to his ancient throne by the same dark magic that brought him back.

Traits and Motivations

Though Eldoliere’s existence as a wraith is one of torment, there is still a faint glimmer of his former self buried deep within the shadows. Some believe that Eldoliere’s fate as a wraith is tied to the unfulfilled oaths he made during his reign, and that there may be a way to free him from his dark curse. Others, however, see him as a harbinger of doom—a spectral king whose return marks the beginning of a new age of terror. His connection to the lands of Artaerys remains strong, and as long as his kingdom is threatened, Eldoliere will rise again, a wraithly guardian bound to protect what he once ruled, no matter how twisted his purpose has become.