scholarship of erenth

Caelenth

Little is known about this domain. Here a day would be about 18 hours long, but a year would be 31,000 days long with seasons lasting for twenty years each.

Some believe that Caelenth is the promised home of the Aeniresa that first animated the Urok race. Others maintain that Erenth itself was promised to the Aeniresa which wanted to be a part of it and therefore that being will remain on Erenth forevermore.

Yomenth

The domain of Yomal the Aenire, maker of the Halflings. At one time she was trapped in Erenth like the rest of the Aenire, but since the end of the Second Age she has regained much of her power and managed to take up residence there.

Those on Yomenth actually live on a smaller world which is dragged along by it -- Racela. From its surface, they can look upon the massive Yomenth and the rings which surround it. Like Drasenth, Racela boasts a Day World and a Night World and it takes 30 years of Erenth for one day to pass on Racela.

Yomenth is visible to the naked eye during the Ninustar -- the second week of the ninth month.

Drasenth

The domain of Drasch the Aenwel, maker of the Vyrum. At one time he was trapped in Erenth like the rest of the Aenire, but since the Sixth Age he has regained much of his power and managed to take up residence there.

Drasenth is a world beneath a thick layer of clouds and which has one side locked in permanent day, while the other is locked in permanent night. The Day World of Drasenth is extremely hot and arid, while the Night World is quite cold and snowlocked. These extremes prompt most dwellers to live in vast lairs below ground. Those who venture out of these deep shafts will see their greatest activity in the thin zone of Dawsk that rings the planet, where trees grow and liquid water can be found. The trees of Drasenth are extremely hearty, but are difficult to cut and bend and ply. Their roots go extremely deep.

The landscape of Drasenth features high steep scarps and boasts two main features of Dawsk apart from its innumerable cliffs: the Great Valley and the Calorri Sea. The Great Valley is a huge meadow stretches for hundreds of miles. The Calorri Sea is a massive fresh-water ocean surrounded by concentric rings of mountains and cliffs.

Gorenth

The domain of Goren the Aenire, maker of the Gnomes. At one time he was trapped in Erenth like the rest of the Aenire, but since the Cataclysm of the Third Age he has regained much of his power and managed to take up residence there.

Gorenth is more than ten times the size of Erenth and it boasts flying machines and great floating cities in abundance. All non-gnomes on Gorenth will find themselves quickly exhausted by the fact that they are only one-third as strong. Only the cities of Gorenth contain breathable air. The rest of the planet is filled with other gases and for this reason it is analogous to an undersea kingdom.

A day on Gorenth only lasts 10 hours, and a year is about 12 earth years. Each season lasts about 3 years.

Larenth

The domain of Lareth the Aenire, maker of the Elves. At one time he was trapped in Erenth like the rest of the Aenire, but since the end of the Fifth Age he has regained much of his power and managed to take up residence there.

Larenth days run in reverse, that is that the sun rises in the West and sets in the East. Moreover, its days are longer than its years, taking some 6000 hours to complete. This also means that the world will see all four seasons with every new day and then all four seasons again at night. The world is covered by a thick forest of plants and trees which grow at an incredible rate. A tree felled by day will begin to grow from its stump again in just a few hours time and be utterly replaced before the year is up. Meanwhile the flora of night withers and dies.

Morenth

The domain of Morad the Aenire, maker of the Dwarves. At one time he was trapped in Erenth like the rest of the Aenire, but since the end of the Fourth Age he has regained much of his power and managed to take up residence there.

Morenth is about half the size of Erenth. It also has 24 hour days, but since its months last twice as long, its years are longer as a result. Morenth is known for its vast cities of white steel, stretching higher in the air than any of the towers of Erenth.

Metaxyterran Sea

The Metaxyterran or Astral Sea is a silvery space that serves as a conduit for travel between different planes of existence. The so-called “place between places,” it is devoid of physical matter, although objects and creatures from other planes have been brought into it through magical means.

The Astral Sea is said to be a vast, starry expanse, with constellations and galaxies visible in every direction. However, they are only visible because the borders of the plane are translucent, allowing the features and locations of the Prime Material Plane to show through them. Actual locations in the Metaxyterran Sea appear as islands, with astral waves breaking against them.

Hyburleth River

The Hyburleth, also called the River of Fate or the Astral River, flows outward from Erenth in ever-widening circles through the heavens.

Its first reach carries it to the Lantern, after which it passes the celestial bodies of Larenth and Morenth. There the River divides into two great courses.

One branch continues onward to the Forge of Worlds before flowing into and being consumed by Malenth.

The other leaves the Forge behind and winds past the worlds of Caelenth, Drasenth, Gorenth, Koharenth, and Majenth, until at last it comes to rest in the shimmering Bay of Aenas.

Beyond that bay, the Hyburleth is no longer known by any chart or reckoning, for its waters are swallowed by the endless currents of the Astral Sea.

Marius Vuld

Among the great names of swordsmanship, Marius Vuld is remembered as the supreme master of two-handed weapons. Where other duelists often relied upon precision and economy, or improvisation and transition, Marius embodied dominion of space itself.

Born the son of a charcoal burner near the foothills of Mount Talomir during the early Seventh Age, Marius’ enormous size and unusual strength drew him first into labor and later into soldiery. Yet contrary to later legends, he was not merely a brute. Contemporary accounts repeatedly remark upon his patience and restraint.

He came to prominence during the Border Feuds north of Bolden. Witnesses describe him fighting with a blade “as long as a man is tall.” What separated Marius from imitators was his uncanny ability to halt momentum instantly. Men expected wild strength and found measured structure instead.

His greatest feat occurred at the Black Ford of Anforod, where he reportedly held a narrow crossing against seventeen armored men while reinforcements withdrew civilians from the far bank. Every surviving account agrees on two things: no enemy crossed alive, and his blade shattered before he retreated.

Unlike many grandmasters, Marius left no treatise. His teachings survive through students and the oral traditions of several military fencing halls in Peakshadow, Bolden, Rath and Menea.

Halric Hael

Halric is perhaps the least refined swordsman on this list and, according to many masters, the most dangerous. He was known for his single-minded dedication to his craft. He earned the moniker "helm hand" for having defeated an armed rival, a master swordsman in his own right, without ever drawing his sword. Instead, Halric lifted his helm and used it to block his opponent's strokes and to repeatedly riposte with it, bludgeoning his opponent senseless... all while using his off hand.

The Hael Treatise on fencing is crudely illustrated and annotated by Halric himself. It is still studied by masters and copies are found in every school of swordsmanship in all Four Lands.

Guerren Decio

The son of Provincial sea captain, Guerren Decio first practiced his swordsmanship on the rolling deck of his father's trader in the narrows of the Dagger Sea. While in his youth he is said to have helped fend off Northruners bent on piracy, often engaging in pitched battles among the ships rigging.

The sailing life is one of intemperate approaches to drink and gaming. Guerren was not immune. On his 18th birthday, he was put ashore in Watersedge for gambling debts incurred. A stint in debtors prison saw him ransomed on his 22nd birthday. Having run afoul of the Vicegerent, he could not be licensed for captaincy, and he left the life at sea for the life of a caravan guardsman.

His travels eventually brought him to the lawlessness of Harmony and there he began his reputation for fighting in the style of the Fraternity -- with sword and axe.

At the Tournament of Darhollow he taught an exposition of saber and dagger, scoring blooms on 22 opponents. His skill at arms was unparalleled in his lifetime and he is famous for having dueled two men simultaneously while armed with two longswords. This was said to be over a game of chance.

Guerren lived for a time in Balduren as a horse breeder and gentleman about town. At the age of 40, he was brought before the Marksmarshall of Balduren for unpaid debts. In satisfaction of which, he was forced to give his right arm at the elbow. Humiliated and impoverished, Guerren made his way back to the Provinces and taught himself to fight left-handed.

Even handicapped, he had few true rivals. He won multiple tournaments using sword and shield, and the Saier Trophy without a sword, at all. Attendees agree that Guerren strapped a small shield on each arm, alternately using them for defense and for bludgeoning his opponents -- this odd combination the result of a sizable proposition bet made with another gentleman.

At the age of 50, he founded the school which bears his name in Old Dovaris.

Guerren is consistently named as one of the greatest swordsmen of all time.

Leorus Argens

Before he was exiled and before the ruin of the Vyrum Republic, Leorus was considered the perfect embodiment of the Cavalier ideal. He eschewed the struggles at the end of the 6th Age and became an itinerant swordsman for hire well into the rise of the kings of men.

He was tall even for a Vyrum, and possessed of uncanny balance which allowed him to recover almost effortlessly from lunges that many contemporaries would find unwise.

His duel against Prince Caladros on the Steps of Ald Veyr remains mandatory study in several surviving fencing traditions. Chroniclers claim that Leorus had struck Caladros four times before the prince realized he had even been wounded. His final stroke, an act of mercy to a dying man, left his blade buried to its hilt in the prince's abdomen. As Leorus' lunge had carried him past his opponent, he turned to catch the stouter man as he swooned, so he would not fall ungracefully to the ground in front of his bride and courtiers.

Leorus is consistently ranked in the top ten swordsmen of all time.

Elathir Valorun

Elathir Valorun, also known as Valorun the Dancer, was not nobly born, but earned more renown than dozens of kings born since his time. He was said to have fought in over 100 disputes of honor, and never once struck at an opponent before being attacked himself. An elf of the 6th Age, Elathir was no mere tourney swordsman. He ultimately gave his life at the Battle of the Dry Rift, but not before slaying many who opposed his lord.

Before the great war of that age, his reputation had already earned him several powerful rivals, almost all of whom spoke in terms of respect, if not admiration. However, he also suffered the enmity of dishonorable men, including the White Prince of Wosonia who hired assassins to end his life at Darrow Hall. He is said to have faced the three of them of them at once, and after giving them many opportunities to depart in peace, dispatched them from oldest to youngest, and without spilling his wine goblet.

The instructional tome which bears his name, "The Form of Valorun" was written by his apprentice, Talethir, who carried his sword out from the Dry Rift and wrote his treatise just into the dawn of the 7th Age. According to the Form, Valorun espoused a narrow stance, economy of movement and timing over strength. From him, comes the maxim, "He wins who strikes fast slowly."

Among modern swordsmen, Elathir is considered to be a grandmaster and in the top ten of those who have ever held a blade. Several schools bear his name, but few if any can claim direct lineage to the elf or his students.