In issue #5 of Traversing Telara, Anmar defends Silverwood and Freemarch while learning about the Kelari and High Elves of Telara.

Traversing Telara is an exclusive series of articles from Trion Worlds that explores Rift's lore and gameplay mechanics through the eyes of one intrepid adventurer. It's a great read and a fantastic introduction to the world of Telara. Even if you're a veteran of Rift, you might enjoy hearing about the game from another perspective! Read on for Issue #5: Silverwood and Kelari!

Catch up on all the past issues of Traversing Telara here!

Let's jump right in. My Guardian character Anmar is being hailed as the foretold hero, come back to save Telara from the Dragon Gods. And the quest givers around Divine Landing want me to get right into it and banish Maelforge's dragon cult from the holy forest of Silverwood. My first task, though, is to collect three holy relics that have been lost in the area. Retrieving said items means fighting my way through Wanton Destroyers and exploring the area beyond Divine Landing right down to the beach.

It is here I see a red dragon on a small island just beyond the shoreline. I don't approach yet. I head back to Divine Landing, and it is here I am told that the dragon is actually an avatar of Maelforge himself. It seems Maelforge's followers are using some kind of dark ritual to communicate with their master. Orin Bancroft wants me to use the Spear of Light to disrupt that ritual, and I must do it quick, before they manage to find a way to release their dragon lord from his prison.

I make my way to the small island and, after fighting off his guardians, I use the spear on him, banishing his avatar back to his prison. It is a relatively easy job, to be honest, and seems more about feeding me some background than actually testing my battle skills. Orin is pretty happy with me when I return to him, though. Silverwood is an extremely holy place and, if Maelforge had managed to slip free from his shackles, he would have burned the whole forest to the ground.

But it is not over yet. Not by a long shot. Maelforge's goblin hordes are now descending from the north, spilling into Silverwood to wreak chaos. I must hurry through the forest to speak with Rudi Tanlap in order to save the Guardian town of Argent Glade and Quicksilver College, one of the foremost houses of learning in the land.

Silverwood.

Silverwood is a huge zone in RIFT. But just why is it so important to the elves?

After the gods made the world and its people, Tavril the nature goddess, called the High Elves together at the Mirror of Ages, a holy location deep inside Silverwood. Tavril had chosen the elves to guard the wild places of the world. The High Elves accepted this Covenant, from that point on becoming Tavril's favored race. Throughout the centuries, the Elves have remained true to their task, traveling far and wide across the world so they can better carry out their holy duty to protect the forests and rivers of the world.  But it is Silverwood that is their spiritual home, the place their hearts long for when they leave.

The Elves, as a show of goodwill, allowed the Mathosians to build their city, Port Scion, just outside Silverwood. They also allowed the humans to build Quicksilver College inside the boundaries of their land. The college is a great hall of learning, a symbol of the Guardian alliance. Mathosians, Elves and Dwarves all enroll in in Quicksilver College to learn the magical arts, and the college is now the greatest school of magic in Telara. It is said that the research that goes on behind its doors could very well be what ultimately saves the land from the rifts.

This is the reason Silverwood must be saved.

Defiant

Anmar is on something of a public relations job this week. The Wardens who are in charge of Freemarch are not really happy with the Defiant hanging around their homeland, even if they are ostensibly helping them fight off the Dragon Cults. They are very suspicious of us, not really sure if the Defiant are going to turn into another enemy they will have to battle.

So the first of my missions this week is to venture out into the wilds and treat wounded Freemarch soldiers. The wounded soldiers are scattered around the grasslands close to King's Retreat, and I have to fight my way through quite a lot of Degenerated Defiant-fallen Defiant fighters who have somehow been corrupted and raised from the dead by the Endless Court-to get to them all.

This is a good start to getting the Wardens to trust us, but it is no way near enough. Apparently the people of Freemarch think all the Defiant are like the Degenerated monstrosities shambling around. If I want the Defiant to be trusted, I have to deal with them. This involves killing as many as I can and taking Controlling Stones from their bodies. Proof for the Freemarch people that they are being controlled by the Dragon Cult of Regulos.

While doing this I move up to level 9. I'm using the automated soul tree, and the game suggests I spend my points in Killing Focus (for my ranger soul), and Single Minded Focus (for my marksman soul). I go along with these choices because I am pretty much exclusively using my rifle when fighting now, and increased focus will help in combat.

My next mission is to take a crate of medical supplies to a Kelari elf called Halvon Cesriel. He is the leader of a Kelari refugee camp, and a lot of his people are ill and urgently need help. 

And what better time to talk a bit about my own people?

The Kelari.

The Kelari are of elven blood. In the past, all elves were united as the protectors of Telara. Tavril had tasked them with watching over the land, but not all the elves were happy with this. Some saw it as a burden. These Elves came to call themselves the Kelari, and they saw themselves as equal to the gods, wanting powers that, in their minds, were more suited to their heritage and noble ancestry.

It was during the Age of Dragons that the Kelari finally turned their back on the goddess Tavril. They formed secret pacts with powerful spirits and lesser gods, hoping these alliances would give them the power they wanted. But their plots were soon discovered, and a bloody civil war broke out. Finally, when both sides realized they were simply destroying their own people, the High Priestess Isidora offered to take the Kelari away from their homeland and separate them from their elven kindred. Her offer was accepted, and the Kelari settled on a tropical archipelago far from those they once called brothers and sisters.

They created a new identity, one that befits the powerful beings they saw themselves as. They thought of the Kelari as the next stage in elven evolution, equal to the gods. They created elaborate magical cities from the bedrock of their islands, bonding powerful spirits to the structures. But the more spirits they attached themselves to, the more complicated and confusing the rituals that were needed to keep the spirits appeased. 

When the Shade struck Telara, Akylios stirred in his deep ocean prison. He sent trickster spirits to the Kelari. They drove the priests insane and they turned on their own people. Once again, a brutal civil war broke out.

One of the High Priestesses realized they would once again have to abandon their home if they wanted to survive. She led the Kelari over the waters, away from their island. 

Only about half made the journey, washing up on the shores of Freemarch. Here they sought refuge among the Defiant, hoping to once again build their home. 

And this is the story of the Kelari people and their rift with the High Elves.

Written by Paul Crilley