From Talbot Derin, Malan Cleric of Tarasmur and Magistrate of the Khadra’khal Bazaar to gathered parties on Fayan and her “children”:

“Medres is a child goddess.  Indeed, she and her sibllings, Zelres and Urthes, are the children of Fayan, the Elder Goddess of Murderous Death, an evil if there was any.

This is where it gets complicated and if you hunt undead you will want to know the whole story.

Before Fayan existed, there was no murder.  Not per se, though I’m certain Sythlia would disagree.  See, when her consort, Evin, was slain, she begged the concept of Death — not yet a fully formed god which is nothing more than a sphere of conceptual possibility given form and independent thought — for control over Death in her newly created realm, the Material Plane.

This proves deities have their weaknesses; Sythlia had to bargain for control over how life ended in a plane she crafted from the energy of the universe but death — or the concept of it — preexisted even her.

Moving on.  When she made that request, Death literally was torn in two.  A child of the Tirsar ‘requesting’ something is akin to us giving birth.  It’s not a question, it’s an act of creation.  Make sense so far?  Good.

Death had to continue to exist otherwise Life would be out of balance.  So it split from a parent, Death, into a brother and sister: Fayer and Fayan.

Fayer, the brother, is as neutral and uncaring as a god could be.  He serves the original function of balance to Life but now ensures that those that possess material bodies — like you and I — have those bodies return to the earth to provide nutrients so that life may continue elsewhere.  In the Fayerite religion, some sects hold it forbidden to ever be resurrected or reincarnated and likewise, to ever murder or bring premature death to someone or something.  They do not eat meat and only consume portions of plants so that nothing may intentionally die.  This is why there are not many of those sects around: they… tend to pass out from starvation.

Other Fayerite sects believes theirs is to prevent unlife — which cheats the natural process — in its entirety and enter the world fully capable of destroying undead.

Other sects still will kill anything for food but make sure each and every single bit of the creature that sacrificed itself so another may live is used in a productive and recycled fashion.

Now enter Fayan, the sister to Death.  See, Evin was murdered, the first murder, and Death became divided.  Evin was not killed for food as would occur in a natural setting.  No, no… Evin was slain out of a desire to change the course of events, a selfish act.  This, my friends, was murder.  Death couldn’t resolve this so it split.

Fayan, a creature born from selfishness and greed, from lust and wrath, came to Sythlia in her grieving state and was the one Sythlia wished to see.  For though her wish for control over death in her realm was presented, it was wrapped in deceit fueled by selfishness.

Sythlia was now able to restore life: the revenants were created, Sythlia’s stay of death to the deserving.  But with that came an alteration of the magic that had slipped into the world by Evin’s spilled blood: resurrection and reincarnation were now possible but since Fayan was involved, so was the creation of undead made possible and manifest.

Fayan had her hands full.  People and creatures started murdering each other now that knowledge of it was released in the world.  Some say evil didn’t truly exist until that very moment but Fayan was yet done.

Again, selfishness ruled her actions.  Evin was an elf and the reason why she existed in the first place.  Remember, his murder caused Sythlia to unwittingly divide Death.  Or perhaps it was part of ‘Her Plan’.  Either way, Fayan visited each of the three kings of the race of elves, the most established of all the races and from whence Evin had come.

She slew each of them and their blood was poured into what we call the ‘Pond of Lament’.  From the Slindar’il’s blood, the purest life of them all, was fashioned an unliving female child of perverted innocence: Medres.  From the blood of the Myrad’il, the most noble of all elves, was fashioned a corrupted male child that knew only of lies and deceit: Urthes.  And from the focused and skilled Adri’il, an androgynous child representing neither male nor female and yet both was fashioned: Zelres who is utter chaos brought to life.

Medres is cold and calculating just like the one that created her.  Her only motive is not to destroy life but to bring about death in any form.  Fayan gave her the ability to raise the dead so the process (and balance) of life would be upset.  A direct fly in the face of her brother, a selfish and evil act.

Some believe the mere presence of the undead in the world in some way prevents the thriving of life.  That is to say a day may come when all children by living creatures will be stillborn.  That is when the power of the undead balance the power of the living and neither of which may be created or born until the balance is shifted once more.  And by that time, the world will be a place of nightmare.”

The noted scribe Aristos ri Culstir (Epoch of Creation II) made mention of objects from the Epoch of Creation that were the precursor to the material plane, physical objects that contain a form of pure elemental essence.  It was said these objects evolved into their current state on their own before the necessary elements gathered to create what is now the material place.

Like water on curved piece of oiled parchment, the Caldra’fa Elements would soon be drawn to the worlds created.  As Evindale was declared home to its Creator, the Elements would also make this their home.  When placed end-to-end they form a single spiraling tower in and through which all communication with the Elder Gods is permissible; this is their gateway to the Realm of Sythlia.  Through it also their power may be used in their name.

Nine of the Caldra’fa Elements were known to exist during the founding of Prundem by the Myrad’il.  During the Prunish Wars, three of the Elements (Dren’al-bath, Oerst’al-neh, Sret’al-bah) were used to annihilate 45,000 humanoids who assaulted the city by binding them to the area (Dren’al-bath; control), turning the land to boiling blood (Oerst’al-neh; transmutate), and finally removing the bond between life and body (Sret’al-bah; the scythe).

Each Element may be used independently as was reported by Emperor Ghal of Talais wherein a servant’s body was “changed in frame [form?] to create a gorajish (ceremonial vase) for his new bride.  Like liquid he flowed to become a gift.”  Compare to the Annuls of the Grandastium which states “sevenfold did Alin flow into new form, each in accordance with Worit’s words as held held aloft the gem and commanded him as thus.”

Worit may refer to War’it of Talais who was said to gift his Emporer with the Horet’al-roh (change of state).

Only five of the Elements have been named by Aristos though he died before his work was complete.  Seekers of ancient lore have made the completion of the scribe’s work their life’s mission though none over the past 600 years have succeeded entirely.

Rabek of Staabri, a noted warrior-poet in his lands, tells a story of a great wizard-king from “between where the sky and earth meet, where the foot of the gods lays its final rest” who has in his possession a “pale stone, like one used for grinding” which “when held to the head made man capable of commanding and bending steel to his whim”.  This ‘wizard-king’ is believed to be fictional given the Staabri have had no such being in their history and instead was a king who used the stone to produce effects and was thereby labeled a calliacde, or wizard.  One leader, Balinek Twvidol, is noted for having mastered the sword to such a degree that he could “split the hair of a child’s head with a blade he did not wield nor watch yet commanded with great efficiency.  This he did from his stead whilst the child be a league away.”  He stated his power was in the blood of his line, meaning royal line of family which to the Staabri at that time was anyone who sat on the throne; any who sat upon it were called Astir-Dol, or “kin of kings” until their coronation.  Aristos believed it was literally in his throne, meaning the throne contained a piece of an Element and whosoever sat in it would gain its power.

From his writings in Gr 5:3:225,

“Behold,” the servant claimed of his king, “the power of the Steelwarden.”  And Rjokenthir’s head separated from his shoulders and spoke the Truths unto those gathered.  This the Steelwarden did from his high seat, such was the power of the Steelwarden.”

If Steelwarden were to be translated to the Celestial, it’s name would be byr’taalto, or ‘seat of steel’.  For some scholars this is a near match to an artifact known as the Sar’al-bir, or Master of Steel*.  The Sar’al-bir is the name of a throne constructed from a single crystal upon which sits the ruler of the Slindari folk.

*Bir (Ma.) — byr (Cel.): fired iron, or steel.  Ex., byr’xi, sword (steel edge).
Sar (Ma.) — taalto (Cel.): a) one who sits in a high position, b) a throne and its occupant, c) the position one holds that would require a throne, d) master