Friday, August 3, 2018

Alarielle : Seasons of The Everqueen

Alarielle, Handmaiden of Isha, Queen of The Radiant Wood, Goddess of Life, The Everqueen.  Alarielle has been a pivotal figure in The Mortal Realms, her influence, and marks on history stretch far back into The World That Was where she was the eleventh Everqueen of the Asur.  Today I want to take a deep look at Alarielles past to see how she became the being she is today (If you like this type of article check out my previous post entitled Morathi: Journey of The Shadow Queen).  Alarielle wasn't always a being of supreme power as she is now, but in fact, began her journey as an  Elf who was unsure of her power, how to use it, and how to lead a people as was her destiny.  While not helpless by any means she has had many brushes with Death over her long life.  Her growth and metamorphosis as a character in the lore is a fantastic tale and one worth knowing.


The Everqueen of Ulthuan, from The World That Was, was the chosen Priestess of the Elf God Isha.  Intricately tied to nature and life on many so that even the Everqueens mood would affect the weather around her for miles.  When she wept so did the sky and when she was full of joy the sun would shine on the land through a clear sky.  The tradition of the Everqueen always existed in The World That Was and her power would pass from Mother to Daughter.  After the first Pheonix King walked through the Flames of Asuryan a tradition was born seeing The Everqueen and the Pheonix King wed and give birth to a Daughter who would ultimately inherit the power of The Everqueen.  Alarielle was the eleventh generation of Everqueens and she found herself thrust into the role quicker than expected due to the assassination of her Mother through poison.

This assassination was issued by The Witch King Malekith (now Malerion) who used it as the beginning of his invasion of Ulthuan and his "allies" who were worshippers of Chaos.  Alarielle, at the time, was beginning to learn about her role as Everqueen and was holding a competition of Champions to find her personal protector in the safety of the forests of Averlorn.  The Witch King was devious indeed as he launched an army to march on the camp of the attendees in the midst of the night with the help of the enslaved Daemon N'Kari.



Surrounded and captured it did not look good for Alarielle, but she was saved by her fate by Tyrion who walked up to the guards surrounding her as he wore the armor of a slain Druchii allowing them both to escape into the deep and dangerous woods of Averlorn.  During the escape, Tyrion was cut by a poisoned knife of a Witch Elf forcing the pair to rely on each other for survival in the coming days.  Alarielle and Tyrion were not getting along as their initial meetings in the days before were odd, to say the least as Tyrion found him irritated and begrudging her for no reason he could truly explain.  Through their mutual reliance on survival, the two came to respect one another and learn more about their fears and nuances which would spark into love in the future.

As they disappeared into the woods rumors of the Everqueen, Spiritual Leader of the Asur was dead, but one elf refused to believe it.  Teclis, who was studying in The White Tower of Hoeth knew his brother was still alive and would be protecting the Everqueen and set out to find them.  Teclis would find the pair on a dark night as they fought for their lives against assassins sent by The Witch King who had tracked their path through the woods.  The three would defeat the assassins and the Daemon N'Kari who was also searching for Alarielle in thanks to the power of Teclis.  Tyrion could barely stand with the poison in his veins and Alarielles power was diminished as her home of Ulthuan was desecrated by the war, but they would survive with the aid of Teclis.  The three would go on to rally the last standing army of Asur and cement their mark on history by winning the day in The Battle of Finuval Plains, banishing The Witch King.


This initial ordeal as Everqueen had taught Alarielle a lot and would shape how she wielded her power.  Typically, The Everqueen would be a figurehead and lead her people spiritually.  However, she knew that she was not helpless and while she had found a companion in Tyrion she need not rely entirely on him and her guard for protection.  Alarielle would take the field in battle and use her power to cleanse corruption with a touch and heal the most terrible of wounds as she grew into her powers of the Everqueen.  She would lead many armies over her reign, even leading in place of The Pheonix King himself while he fought the battles at his royal court.  There are tales of her banishing hordes of Daemons with impunity and even cleansing the Chaos taint from one of their Warriors only to have the Chaos Gods immediately try to once again "bless" the warrior as they battled against Alarielles magic, ultimately killing the warrior.  Where she walked, life blossomed and hope spread as her control of light and life was unmatched.

She would, over time, continue the legacy of her line and give birth to a daughter named Aliathra believed to have been fathered by the reigning Pheonix King Finubar.  Aliathra was mending the wounds between the Elves of Ulthuan and the Dwarfs of The Old World before she was captured by Maannfred von Carstein who, working with Arkhan The Black would sacrifice her to reawaken Nagash.  Tyrion fought madly in a battle to save her, but had failed and due to advice from his brother let his friend Eltharion and his Squire Princess Eldyra led the final attempt to save Aliathra.  They would fail, but Nagash's resurrection would not be pure as it was revealed that Alithra was born from Tyrion and Alarielle.  This went against the tradition where The Everqueen's first daughter would be fathered by the Pheonix King.  This act showed how against tradition Alarielle truly was as she chose love over tradition.  The End Times had begun and the death of her daughter was only the start.


During The End Times, Alarielles power would grow greatly as she, reluctantly, absorbed the power of a dying Ariel who was the Queen of Athel Loren and leader of the Asrai.  Ariel was revealed to also be the reincarnation of Isha.  There are hints that this act allowed a few of Ariel's and Isha's tendencies to blend into Alarielle as the memories would bleed into her own, but her will remained strong and kept her in control.  She would learn how to wield the magic of nature and even navigate The Realm Roots and in doing so become the Avatar of Isha.  Alarielle would also see her beloved Tyrion fall to the Curse of Aenarion after the death of their daughter.  Tyrion would become more corrupt as time passed in no small part to his new consort, Morathi.  The Elves were split and Tyrion, claiming the title of Pheonix King, came to lay claim to Alerielle as his rightful queen.  Alarielle would have none of it and told him the harsh truth he refused to see.  He was an empty shell of his former self and Khaine had filled the void left behind.  He was no longer worthy of her despite the love she had for who he once was.  After the ensuing battle, Tyrion was defeated, but the damage was done to both sides.

The forces would meet once more as the newly crowned Pheonix King Malekith lead the last stand as Teclis, working with Caledor Dragontamer's, to rip apart The Great Vortex so the remaining winds of magic could be placed inside Elf Champions in order to stop Archaon and his great plan.  Morathi ruined the careful spell weaving and caused the winds to scatter.  The Wind of Ulgu entered Malekith, Teclis claimed The Wind of Hysh in his staff, and The Wind of Ghyran entered Alarielle.  Alarielle had officially become The Incarnate of Life.  Tyrion would die in this final battle and Alarielle used her power to harbor as many elves as she could to Athel Loren through use of The Realm Roots as Ulthuan sank beneath the waves.  She would wed Malektih if only for tradition's sake, to make his title of Pheonix King official before he was eventually crowned The Eternity King by the Elf Goddess Lileath.  Tyrion would be reborn through Teclis's magic as he imbued him with The Wind of Hysh after his death to ensure any presence of Khaine was burned out.  The rift between Alarielle and Tyrion would remain sadly as what was done could not be undone.  At the end, when Teclis's plan had failed and the third Chaos Gate was opened Alairelle and Tyrion found a small bit of resolution as they held hands while Chaos absorbed them and the world entirely.  


Alarielle, against all odds, would survive and awake in The Mortal Realm of Ghyran.  Being the Incarnate of Life and wielder of The Wind of Ghyran that created the new realm she was directly tied and held power over the realm.  As Sigmar awoke other gods and formed his Pantheon Alarielle would partake.  Despite her Aelven heritage, however, she was more recluse and cared little for finding any sign of the remnants of her own kind.  As Tyrion, Teclis, Malerion, and Morathi worked to find their lost kin Alarielle retreated to her realm to plant Soulpods she had taken from The World That Was to grow the Sylvaneth.  She eventually left the Pantheon and spent her time growing her children across her realm rather dealing with nature than civilization.  Tales are told of how she walked the land planting grove after grove of Sylvaneth and forming a Royal Court out of the noblest of Groves similar in style to the courts held by Ariel in The World That Was.

This time of growth and peace would not last as the Chaos gods turned their eye greedily on The Mortal Realms.  Nurgle claimed Ghyran as his own and set to work destroying all Alareille had created.  The Sylvanrth found themselves losing ground and many groves falling to Nurgle.  Alairelle swore to reverse the tide, but what happened next is unknown as she wiped all accounts of that time from the memory of every Sylvaneth.  Shortly after she entered in a time on waning as she took what Sylvanrth she could and went into hiding, the outlook did not look good for Ghyran.


Alarielle remained hidden as Chaos swept through The Mortal Realms until Sigmars Stormcast Eternals found her hidden vale.  Unfortunately, Nurgle had followed and the survivors of the Battle were forced to flee.  During this time Alarielle returned to her Seed form and after a long journey, the Hallowed Knights and Sylvaneth brought her to a field where Heroes had shed blood to be planted and reborn.  After a climactic battle won by the intervention of the Celestant-Prime, Alarielle was able to be reborn as ready for war!  In her new form, she wields the mighty Spear of Kurnoth similar to the Spear of Kurnous wielded by Orion who fell protection her in The World That Was.  She also rides a mighty Wardroth Bettle into battle to crush her enemies.  Her power allows her to sweep away enemies in the hundreds while simultaneously heal all of her children so they can continue to fight.  She is a beautiful and terrifying sight to behold.

With help from the Stormcat Eternals, she was able to push Nurgle back and reclaim much of her lost realm.  During the Seeds of Hope, her realm saw civilization return as Greywater Fastness, The Phoenicium, and The Living City be created.  Alarielle is now in full bloom and fights alongside the forces of Order against any who look to spoil her domain.  Sylvaneth across the realms have been roused to war in response to their queen's song of vengeance and over time Humans and Aelves have begun to worship her once more.



Alarielle is a powerful character and truly a force of nature to be reckoned with on the field of battle.  Her story began while she was an elf maiden who was thrust into a bad situation and now is the embodiment of life and as powerful as any being in The Mortal Realms.  Everqueen, wife, mother, and now Goddess.  Alarielle has shaped the history from The World That Was as well as The Mortal Realms and she shows no sign of stopping.

There aren't many characters with as much history and influence as Alarielle.  She is a strong character and there is a lot more to tell beyond the scope of this article so I encourage you all to dive into her history and lore yourself.  If there is a part of her story I might have missed let me know in the comments below and help spread the story and until Next time, Happy Hobbying.

Chuck Moore