The betrayal of Elven Lord Fariadith

This is one of many drafts destined for suppression and denial, should it ever have surfaced. The Elven Lords were brutal, uncaring and sadistic, and many of the wounds made on this land are still sore, infected and close to the surface. Despite all this, are there those of us that have seen signs that there were more to the tales of the old. Tales of betrayal, cooperation and mercy. Perhaps it is still too early to explore these topics, perhaps we will never be ready. A colleague of mine ascertained that perhaps due to the Elves' long lives, do their ghosts linger for much longer as well.

Background on Lord Fariadith

Lord Fariadith is a name that all school children learn from an early age. He was the first of the Elven lords to fall, and his realm was turned into the first true bastion for the creation of the nation that came to be known as Landhurst. He is described in the history texts, and in the few portraits that survived as tall, handsome, and with sharp green eyes.

His realm, now known as the county of Mooshügel is located at the border to the southern mountain trail, and is primarily known for its deep oak woods and lush forested meadows. Home to many Goblin communities of traders and tenders still present to this day. 

There are many explanations of why Lord Fariadith's dream so suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed, and there is truth to most of them. It is true that the presence of so many Goblin tradelines made it easier for rebels to organize. It is also true that the abundance of forage made it easier to field larger armies, as well as the fact that the lord's less than harsh treatment of his realm had led to easier times to organize the rebellion.

With this said, is it still feasible, and I wish to show, probable that the fall of Lord Faridith's realm came as much from internal forces, as they came from external ones. It is taboo to paint the Elven Lords in anything but the darkest of lights, there is, I would argue, a place for nuance and complexity within this image.

Evidence of Lord Aradix Fariadiths betrayal

The evidence I have collected here is woefully inadequate, and poorly corroborated. I have done my best to add sources and references when possible. As any seasoned scholar knows, does sources of the Elven kind seem to vanish faster than we find them.

Textual evidence 

The kingdom of Fariadith has had a clear and long history in the Books of nobles. There is one glaring exception, lord Aradix Fariadith is not mentioned in any of the Books of Nobles, and seems to have been violently removed from others. No other lord defeated by the rebellion has had the same dishonor carried out on them.

Material evidence

Statuary gardens around neighbouring Elven Realms have, as was tradition, kept a living memory of stone of all the Lords considered allies and families. These always contained the Lords of bordering realms. This is true with one exception, the complete absence of Lord Fariadith or any of his family.

Notably has several woven family trees been found in the ruins of elven stronghold, the branch that ends in Aradix Faridith's lineage has been hastily yet artfully sown over. These modifications must have been done as the war was starting, or even during the conflict itself.

References in other places

There is other evidence, rumors and tall tales mostly, but still important sources of information. There is a persistent tale amongst the smugglers and traders amongst the rivers of Mooshügel. It tells of a tall and dashing rogue that leads the first rebels into the halls and store rooms of the lord himself. Here they found food and armaments of the kinds humans had never seen before or since.

This dashing and tall figure is described differently in almost all myths. Some details are always the same, he is masked, tall, and with piercing green eyes. There are some details that hints that this person is of elven, or at least half elven origin, though no positive confirmation of this has been able to be done

This is the extent of my surviving notes regarding my first investigation of Lord Fariadith. Much has sadly been lost, most of it was confiscated during my last doctoral semester. It is a topic that I will return to later, but with a lot more wisdom, subtlety and guile in my later career.