The Prophecy of the Fallen Moon
A new cult rises in Azeroth sworn under a little known prophecy. They aren’t idle either; members scour the continents and begin their infiltration at various places and settlements. Most worrysome is their familiarity with magic and meddling with ley-lines and artifacts. One - a nefarious scythe - they seem to have crafted themselves.
Though engaged while executing their will and defeated momentarily, the greatest foes the Vor’dorei conspiracy could face - the Kaldorei and Shal’dorei forces most familiar with their dealings - have erupted in a strife that could compromise the safety of Azeroth and allow the cultist free reign as the elves fight amongst themselves.
I hereby decree, with Elune as my witness, a Divine Struggle against the orders of the Concordat. - Matron Erena Lunarglade
How will the events unfold while those who have the information and power to halt them fight each other? Will there be once more unity between Horde and Alliance as there was briefly in Felwood?
Dark clouds loom … the Moon beckons.
The Story thus far
Before the rip in the sky, before the conclusion of the fourth war an unlikely cooperation of Draenei, Nightborne and Night Elves ventured down to the dephs of a forgotten Elven ruin in Felwood. What they found was a coven of demons; ruins infested to great lengths.
But therein, in the depths of Lothenir, the enemies were scattered - all but a trio of them defeated. A crazed warlock and a pair of fel-stained druids; none of those present expected to meet them any time in the future after their escape.
Six months passed.
Shadows gather around a Moonwell in Felwood; one that was previously used to fuel a portal of the demons while corrupted. The forests around it teem with a strange vision.
A coven of elves gathers up around the Moonwell, their leader bearing a scythe. Incantations follow before the scythe’s blade falls into the water, tainting it a violet hue. No words are exchanged outside the forbidden language of Shat’yar except for a message of prophecy.
The deed is done. The path of the fallen Moon is unveiled. The pact of the broken children is sealed.
One month passed.
The Alliance, the Horde and the Shadowscale Naga allies of the Vor’dorei fought over an artifact in Nar’thalas. Eventually claimed by Night Elves, both the Horde and the Naga supposedly managed to activate it beforehands. The night saw the unofficial re-alignment of the former cooperation known as the “Concordat” on the alliance side; soon followed by a declaration of divine struggle by the Eternal Sisterhood.
The Horde pursued the trail of the Orrery they had uncovered before losing it to the alliance. They ventured to Pandaria and rescued a void elf who sought to claim and corrupt Paragons of the Mantid for the Vor’dorei cause. The Sisterhood interrogated the void elf and gained valuable knowledge about the Vor’dorei, the prophecy and all those involved.
Valthyn Nightsong had a candlestine meeting with Secretary Featherstring in Stormwind, reporting on the events in Nar’thalas. Both were assaulted by Kaldorei cultists. The secretary was carried away to the Cathedral for healing, then was presumed dead while Valthyn was interrogated by the city guard.
The Vor’dorei continued their enigmatic efforts and gained a new, unknown ally for their ranks along with vast knowledge to fulfill their prophecy…
Another month passed.
The Horde ventured to the edge of the cosmos to explore their void elf prisoner’s personal rift and home. They discovered the site where Vethalis crafted Esgalroth’s scythe from the crystal shards recovered from Deepholme. They also claimed the sword of General Milieux, a former hero of the Kaldorei who led forces against the Zandalari empire during the ancient skirmishes against the trolls.
The Magisterial Secretary left Stormwind in secrecy and re-convened with the Dirge of Teldrassil in Everlook. She provided them with information in exchange for shelter and pledged herself to aid them. The Dirge investigated the disturbance at the Moonwell in Felwood and found an old enemy of theirs lurking for vengeance. Their enemy defeated, the Dirge interrogated her ghost and gained valuable information about the Vor’dorei, their prophecy and the Scythe of Esgalroth.
The Vor’dorei continued their effort and ventured to Coldarra, sapping into the ley-lines in Northrend, now Esgalroth’s staff almost complete.
The Antagonist Cadre
The Vor’dorei as they call themselves are a loose group of elves nominally sharing the same belief in the Prophecy of the Fallen Moon. In reality, however, they are as fragmented as the Horde or Alliance - many within their ranks have their own personal goals.
Esgalroth leads the Vor’dorei, a former Kaldorei but now turned worgen carrying an enigmatic scythe. The Dirge of Teldrassil have learned the sheer insanity behind the material that was used to forge the Scythe, while the Eternal Sisterhood (unknown to them) used the same material to create a lesser staff of their own. Esgalroth offered a brief showcase of power to the Eternal Sisterhood where he caused the very stars to fall from the sky and bombard them. His location is unknown, but he is presumed to have left Azeroth to fulfill his prophecy in Outland.
Adrissa Felglow is the vengeful leader of a fel-tainted druidic coven from Felwood. It is unknown what she has done between the events in Lotheril and Aszuna; though it can be easily assumed she harboured deep hatred towards the Dirge and the Sisterhood for foiling her previous venture. Adrissa was finally laid to rest by the Dirge of Teldrassil next to the corrupted Moonwell, her soul raised from the dead and interrogated.
Vethalis is a void elf warlock who participated in a remarkable amount of villainy against various factions before. Her current alignment with the Vor’dorei seems to be one of mutual benefit. She loaned her personal rift, a voidscape she calls “the Empire of VETHALIA” to the Vor’dorei and reclaimed a set of crystals from Deepholme which she then used to craft the Scythe of Esgalroth. She was, however, left in the dark about the true nature of the crystals. Vethalis was imprisoned by the Eternal Sisterhood and interrogated. She was rescued by the Concordat, but found greater enemies in the and was eventually executed by the Dirge of Teldrassil after a brief interrogation.
Lady Vor’ashar is the leader of the Shadowscale Naga. Her forces harassed lingering souls in Nar’thalas to harvest them in order to fuel Esgalroth’s artifact. There, they also tried to claim the Orrery, unbeknownst that Esgalroth cursed the artifact and never intended to actually hold onto it. The Shadowscale have since abandoned the Vor’dorei cause after learning Esgalroth wanted to desecrate the Moon and destroy Azeroth. Lady Vor’ashar Shadowscale has since defected to side with the Mistbreaker rebels.
A presumed Nightborne benefactor funds and aids the Vor’dorei. Nothing is known about them yet, apart from the fact that the Vor’dorei seem to be well-equipped with Suramar-made weaponry and supplies.
OOC Information
This thread aims to collect information & guidance with regards to a long-running campaign I have started last November pertaining a cult of elves. I feel the plotline expanded enough to warrant a forum thread on its own; and I believe I am ready to involve those interested in it. Those involved should expect exploring elven ruins, uncovering artifacts and lore and fighting a myriad of conspiring creatures and cultists!
Understand that this is both a new venture and a wild experiment of my own to see how a largely freeform, laissez-faire storyline could work. We’ll see - and I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Event Schedule
Events will be loosely arranged on an “ad hoc” basis, held for a guild involved and announced the week beforehands. These will be either one-night events, or events to be held after regular RP hours for a smaller audience. Larger events, dubbed “mini campaigns” will be arranged two weeks ahead and will last two to three days in a dedicated “campaign location”.
I will seek to keep an orderly arrangement to simulate “time passing” by allowing one major event for the alliance or horde, then one for the other, and finally, deciding on a move for the Vor’dorei / The Elven Cult.
Information available on this thread will not precisely be “open” or “available to all”, but I will note everything that has been revealed to both alliance and horde side of the events.
I am planning to run the campaign/plotline for the next couple months; but I plan to conclude it before the 9.1 patch release (expected-ish late spring).
The Interactions
I aim to handle all interactions within the plotline on a guild-driven basis. That is, there is a whole slew of options available to the guilds and characters involved; the Vor’dorei will react appropriately and enact their own actions and plans.
OOC Co-operation will be involved at every step; I believe the positive relations and common goal to have fun and engage in a storyline thus far created the right attitude between us all to progress on.
I am up to DM & help arrange:
- Attempts from one group to claim an artifact from another
- Attempts from any group to engage with the Vor’dorei in Azeroth
- Attempts from characters to scry and discern more information
- Attempts from guilds or characters to engage with and influence individual elements of the antagonist cadre
- Anything else you can creatively think of! The story is somewhat-set, the goal is there and the means exist. How and when things will unfold is wholly up to those involved.
What to expect
Artifacts and Items
There will be a modest amount of artifacts dispensed and involved in the eventline. They will be handled with the “Ability already around - enhanced” attitude; I am not planning to implement anything weird, awkward or game breaking. Artifacts will carry most of their worth in sentimental value.
However, do expect them. We’re going on an elven adventure!
NPCs
Following the engaging and immersive standards of the PCU, all NPCs featured will be actual in-character NPCs.
Mechanics & Engagement
There will be no enforced mechanics, rolling or such. I aim to DM the events I will held with my general attitude, and encourage all the DMs I involve to do the same. All players involved will be expected to maintain a decent “power level” and roleplay appropriately; any complaints will be handled between officers.
As for event details, expect a lot of information-snippets sent to you in [!] Whispers! A bunch of environmental emotes and never, ever bank on the idea that it’ll be a ride, a fight and a treasure claimed. There’s always twists to have and I do like events without a fight too.
All the above should be the same as usually expected during PCU campaigns.
Antagonists
All antagonists will be RPd as NPCs, can be interacted with, negotiated with, turned against the others, bribed, etc. Killed as well, though there’ll be certain moments where I’ll shoot some “OOC negotiation” to keep them alive for one-more-day before their eventual downfall.
If you want to get involved, feel free to note it on this thread and we can possibly discuss further. I’m open to involving more people, always!
Last but not least…
Shoutout to wonderful people…
... who have, on their own accord, contributed to the Event-chain!
Estalar, for his repeated DMing and NPCing on various events.
Arcaraan, for his assistance in the Felwood mini-campaign.
Altharael/Durb, for his assistance in the Deepholme mini-campaign.
Vashava, for reviewing my full lore/plot draft and providing me with advice.
Tuzoh, for his continued support and NPC appearance as a MURDEROUS night elf out to kill Valthyn & Variona.
Kump, Miwah & Thurondrath for their repeated participation in the mini-events involved.
And the wonderful leaders of the guilds currently or formerly involved…
Lunarglade; leading the Eternal Sisterhood.
Vashava; leading the Dirge of Teldrassil.
Ranko; leading the Dustpaw Caravan
Trautfizzle; leading the Bilgewater Battalion
Ryder; leading the Assemblage of Uld
Valthyn; leading the Umbral Reliquary
Phaidros; formerly leading the Order of Oronaar
