Our story begins in a time long ago. In a time shrouded in a cloak of apocrypha, yet forever in our memory as a reminder of what we once were. Long before the Setallians of today, before the pirates of yesteryear, and before even the ancient dwarves of Firehammer Keep, our people walked among the surface and gazed upon the stars and the sun.

We lived no pastoral life, for the island was a cruel home and filled with danger. Yet despite our circumstances, or perhaps because of them, our people stood strong among the races of Edermayer. In those days, we did not hide among the shadows and in the caves, and so we were not known as the Shadar-Kai. Then, we were known as the Ehl-Kai, and we walked among the dwarves and humans as equals.

The island sought to challenge us at every step we took. Savage minions of an unspeakable beast burrowed through the ground and demolished what we built for ourselves. Larger creatures than those carried hordes of consuming bugs which annihilated our crops and ravaged those who were caught in escape. Even the very trees of the island seemed to conspire against us. The master of the island used us as its herd to feed its bloated mass, and what we remember from when we were young, was a race to survive.

After untold years of oppression, the Ehl-Kai found a moment of respite as the beast began to slumber. We searched for the dwarves and humans, and formed a union comprised of all those on Edermayer. We began our preparation, for we knew we had not long before the beast awoke once more. Our assassins worked with dwarven engineers and human mages to accrue what weapons we could for the battle to come.

We knew that we could not kill the beast, so we created a prison for it. A colossal stone structure formed of darkwood and stone magically woven together by the dwarves. We named it the Ashtomb, and put in place great shackles to bind the beast forever. It was constructed just in time, for soon after the final stones were slotted into place, the master of the island awoke.

With the combined efforts of all on the island, we had put together our final stand against our oppressor. Wave after wave of its minions were sent to tear down all we had built in its slumber, but time and time again, the advances were turned aside. Finally, the beast emerged from its resting place and attacked us itself. When it arrived, it was the Ehl-Kai who strode into battle first, wielding the combined might of all resistance on the island.

And in the end, it was just enough. The beast had been forced into the Ashtomb, and Edermayer was quiet.

For some time, we lived in peace. We Ehl-Kai kept to our old ways, and trained our mind and body in discipline and strength. Custodians of none but oneself and ones family, we preferred to leave the others to do as they saw fit, just as we preferred to be left alone ourselves. The island prospered, and many other peoples joined us, among them many of the fey.

Inevitably though, the tranquility did not last. No peace without a common enemy ever can. Eventually the dwarves and humans had built great cities of fabulous wealth and knowledge, while we were content with meager but functional homes. In their greed for expansion, they asked us to join their cities, and when we refused, they tried to integrate us by force.

Though we fought back, their sheer numbers overwhelmed us, and many of our kind were thrown into the very prison containing the beast we had fought to capture in days past. Our people were forced from their ways, or forced into captivity. We had become almost overnight, a dying race.

While in the Ashtomb, several of our kind were thrown into cells overlooking the beast. It had taken on humanoid form over the years, and watched us in silence for a long time with quiet interest.

One day, when the guards had all left, it spoke to us as one. First it mocked us, for being imprisoned alongside it - the captive alongside its captors. Next, it expressed sorrow, at the life our people had lost. Finally, it offered us hope in a dangerous proposition. We had the power to free the beast alongside ourselves, but we had to act together.

None can say if accepting the offer was justified, but accept it we did. The Ehl-Kai were free, but so too was the great power unleashed on the island once more.

The beast set its minions upon the island immediately, tearing apart the grand cities and places of learning that the new times had allowed. The beast was hungry, and it spared no thought in devouring Edermayer's progress.

In those days the fey magics were strongest of all, and at great expense to themselves, the fey peoples were able to constrain the beast to a piece of their wilderness. Its power was so great, that a great chunk of the island was broken off to separate the devouring beast and its influence from all else. Powerful wards were placed on the broken island, and three masterwork artifacts were created and distributed among the mainland.

The fey were at this point occupied with managing the beast, and so the other races turned to the Ehl-Kai in vengeance. All blame was directed at our people, and we were once again hunted down for the sins that had been forced upon us. A new kind of beast stalked us, and we ran among the forests and the mountains seeking escape. Some among the others stood alongside us, but they did naught but damn themselves.

Unsatisfied that we could not be tracked down one and all, the leaders of our enemies placed a curse upon us and all who aided us, that we should never walk in the light again. The Ehl-Kai were forced into the caves deep beneath the surface, and so became the Shadar-Kai, cursed to the shadows by those we had helped free.

Now though, after so many years, the old magic weakens. Some among us can stand contact aboveground once more. It is through them, that we shall be freed.