‘But then, he conceived of, and did, an incredibly evil thing, practising on the Elid-hranin what he had learned from his brother; as when Bellandor had created a Wizard’s Staff, he attempted to use the Elid-hranin themselves as the means to articulate his Power, at the same time creating a receptacle of such might as was clearly insane to do-’
‘But it is well known,’ Mraan protested, interrupting, ‘that there was no corruption of the Elid-hranin; that they were and always have been Dark Elves-’
‘There is no need to remind me of this!’ his father replied patiently. ‘As I said at the beginning, this is a fiction of Men, who seem to love perpetuating such myths. Regardless; according to the tale, his brother proceeded with a reckless abandon that, in the end, thwarted his mad ambitions, for he too was as blind in his way as the kindly Bellandor; his attempt failed, the Elid-hranin were changed, horribly, becoming the warped, gangrel creatures they are today; yet he succeeded to the extent that they had no choice but to answer to his will.’ Mraan rolled his eyes at this.
‘Bellandor, meanwhile, was greatly disturbed by the Power he could feel behind the Goblins’ very essence, so similar was it to the Lore he knew so well. “How can this be?” he wondered. A cold dread made him confront his brother, who was often seen entering and leaving the Library, in secret, or so he thought. But suspicion and fear had sharpened the Elves’ eyes, so that his comings and goings no longer went unnoticed. They then told Bellandor what he dreaded most to hear; that his brother was often seen sneaking about in secret. He would disappear for months at a time, travelling Northeast into the Forbidden Mountains, where only Trolls and the self-exiled Elid-hranin lived.