Graychurch Family Line

"'If yet this evil does not die, then hit it harder.' - The Graychurch family creed."The Graychurch family are a well-known family through-out Everfall, and they are known mostly for one thing; they are the Dragon Slayers. It is said that a person born in the Graychurch line is destined to either kill a dragon or sit on the throne, but neither at once. The Graychurch family line has always held a seat of power in Aldor; one of the largest empires in the Further Kingdoms, and have played their part in a lot of the History in Everfall; including both the Crusades and the War of Dondros; in fact, it is well thought that the Graychurch family were responsible for initiating the conflict between Dondros and the Upper Lands; a conflict that consumed many lives and almost ended all peace.

This particular family is a bloodline of kings, meaning that at one point in Everfall History, they ruled all of Everfall. Although in the current year, this is no longer the case, as the family abjucated the seat of power after the War of Dondros and allowed the dwarves to take over dealings with keeping the people safe. The Graychuch Family line as always been respected in the Further Kingdoms, despite its deep history of trouble, and many citizens across the span of lands even go as far as to secretly wish for bloodline to take the seat of power once again.

Despite everything though, the Graychurch's have always been a family of immense pride and courage, especially when it came to the Dragon Contracts in 139 E.O.K, where they declared war on the dragons and severely hunted down every chromatic dragon they could find across the face of Everfall.

Family History
This particular family bears it's roots in the BEFORE, and as such no one really knows the true legacy of the Graychurchs but it is believed that they were conquerors before they were kings. Sometime in the before, one of their ancestors led an army from a far off forgotten kingdom to the mainland along the Avanni Coast and took the realms for themselves - perhaps even leading the first men into the continent. Where they landed became the Kingdom of Aldor and what followed was a large city of stone, filled with thousands of people.

Although a lot of the family lore is lost in the before, there are records kept of the first kings during the Great Halt with the family line beginning with Chaultrick Graychurch who commanded the forces of Aldor and kept an eye on their neighbouring kingdom of Draax. Chaultrick was said to be the last of four brothers, all who died in conflicts that had arisen during the Great Halt, and his was the first name inscribed on the Wooden Throne - a makeshift seat of power comprised of what was believed to be the ship that carried their ancestors across, each King or Queen that takes the seat enscribes their name onto it and the family are convinced that when the throne has run out of room; the Kingdom of Aldor will come to an end. This has resulted in one of the Further Kingdoms most popular sayings 'No wasted words on your seat ' - meaning that a person should consider whether an action is really important before performing it.

The Dragon Contracts & the Dragon Slayers (137 E.O.K)
No one can think of the family without also thinking of the words 'Dragon Slayers' as these particular words have the most to do with their family history. During the Empire of Kings, sometime in the year 137, a secret cabal of five dragon lords (each representing a colour of chromatic dragon) came together to discuss problems they had been having with Everfall. With the failure of the Immortal King and the rapid growth of humans, elves, dwarfs and other races, both their territories and treasure were growing smaller and smaller with every passing season. So, they reasoned that something must be done about this, the Dragons went about to every town, hamlet, and city and demanded subservience or else be destroyed. This subervience came about in the form of blood contracts that the people of Everfall were forced to sign, or else, lose everything.

When a dragon reached the Kingdom of Aldor, the reigning Queen there, Amelia Graychurch the First, refused to sign the contract and so the dragon promised to tear her kingdom apart. The dragon's name was Koveinth, the only son of X'axalese, and not a Dragon Lord in his own right. Koveinth breathed fire down upon the kingdom, but Amelia stood strong, commanding her armies and out-performing the dragon, until, she delivered it a finakl blow mid-flight with her mighty greatsword - unfortunately though, her brother Rallius, died during the conflict. This event was spread across Everfall, in every town, hamlet, and city, and suddenly people were rallying behind the Graychurch family name. Amelia, along with many brothers and sisters, took the seat of power and became the rulers of Everfall, commanding every armies. They decreed that no evil dragon should live that would destroy the lives of the good, and they hunted down each and every one of them.

They started with the Dragon Lords and as time went on, the rest of the dragons as well. A blood lust fueled every person bearing the family name, and for countless centuries they discovered the whereabouts of every dragon, and found a way to destroy them. All except for one dragon, X'axalese, the ruler of Draax who commanded a countless army of Dragonkin. X'axalese wanted blood for his son Koveinth and offered up an uneasy truce; if Amelia came to his city an sacrificed herself, he would leave them well-enough alone and abandon his plans for domination. Amelia agreed, went to the city, and at the last moment revealed her trick. She imprisoned X'axalese in the Wellfall Mountains, but not before he could take off her arm and utter a curse on her bloodline; any member of the Graychuch line that took her name was also destined to lose an arm.

Following on from their example, during the Empire of Kings many mercenaries took up the name of Dragon Slayer as it was discovered that dragon bones carried a peculiar property of ignition and were very valuable to spellcasters and those that desired more powerful weapons - these hunters did not care to differentiate between Good and Evil dragons either. The profits were short-lived however, as at the end of Empire of Kings in the year 456, the last of the dragons was wiped out and with them went the prolific powder; a rarity in today's Everfall. The whole event was so influential on the family line, they took the dragon symbol as their main insignia.

It is said that there are only 15 known dragons left across the world; one of them is X'axalese.

The Scholars of the White Feather (449 E.O.K - 776 A.O.K)
Time and time again the Graychuch family line has proven themselves to be great warriors and successful conquerors, but timid leaders with a weakness for bad decisions. One of those bad decisions occurred in 449 E.O.K, when they appointed a series of scholars in Everfall to keep natural lore and start writing the histories of the realm, to do this a tower was erected in Aldor and soon other towers sprang up across other influential places too. This group called themselves the Scholars of the White Feather - a name given to them for the amount of white feathers that would litter the tower from an overgrown pigeon population. The Scholars did their work and wrote the histories, but soon they evolved past their position and started, instead, collecting highly powerful magical items and studying highly dangerous magical anomalies. A decade after their inception, the Scholars ushered in a new era to Everfall, the Age of Knowledge.

The scholars used their influence and magical knowledge to blackmail influential people in the realm of Everfall and gain more control over the laws of the land. Soon magical item were banned, wizards had to report to a service, and sorcerers were swept to distant places in order to control their magic. The scholars aim was to prevent disaster, but they let their position go to their heads and that proved to be their downfall. Aldor and the Graychurch line realised, perhaps a few hundred years too late, that the Scholars were actually dangerous after discovering that the group was being run by a former general of the Immortal King, who had in their possession, the Crown of Immortals.

Albin Graychurch, after losing his son in 776 A.O.K, discovered the sinister plot to take the realm and declared them a danger. This resulted in many of the scholars going underground to avoid being hung, to avoid the wrath of Aldor and the betrayal they had performed against it.

The Dondros Crusades (1095-1099 E.O.H)
It started with a vision. Chancery Graychurch was visited in the night by the Archon of Light. A recurring figure through-out the swathes of history that is Everfall. The Archon is said to bestow true knowledge and destiny, and she came to Chancery with a warning about the dreaded region of Dondros. A long-held seal that was instrumental to keeping the horrors on the land, was about to be broken, without it the demons, devils, and decrepit could march on Everfall and make their new homes there.

Chancery did not underestimate his vision, and the warning from the angel. He acted. The King of Aldor built an army of just under fourteen-thousand men, along with over six hundred strong ships, and sailed them into Dondros; where he started a four-year long crusade with the nightmares that dwelled there. Chancery’s goal was to eliminate every bit of evil, but he underestimated his strength in the matter. Armies upon armies of brute and beast was waiting, every day was a struggle to get further inland. Eventually Chancery had to admit defeat, and return home with just under three hundred men.

This was not the end for Chancery Graychurch however, this was just a beginning. He would have to unite the Kingdoms of Everfall if he was to be successful in defeating the upcoming onslaught.

The War of Dondros (1100 - 1101 E.O.H)
The Archon of Light, it was revealed, had not only appeared to Chancery Graychurch. She had shown herself to many of the influential leaders, and rules of Everfall at the time. One of these was King Dobluss of the Dawk; the leader of a strong group of dwarfs in the region of Doomgar. Dobluss refused the vision, and refused the fight. He claimed that the dwarves had lost enough fighting the realms of Dondros, and no more of his kinsmen were going to spill their blood. Even a visit from Chancery Graychurch himself could not sway the leader.

So, forced to continue without the might of the dwarves, Chancery gathered a massive army of every abled man from every kind of race on Everfall. Most took some convincing, but there were leaders among them that came willingly. It is estimated that the Final Pass Army was just over two-hundred-thousand soldiers strong.

The army met the might of Dondros at the end of the Fire Season on the year of 1300. The fight went on for one whole year. There are many accounts of what happened that year, but most have been scattered and burnt in fears of reprisal. Unquestionable and abstract horror is what these accounts entail. Stories passed from generation to generation detailing the burning of men, the corruption of man, and the brutal loss of thousands of friends across the battlefield. It is still regarded as the single largest battle in Everfall history. There has been no other since that can even compare to the mass of bodies that fought over the course of that year.

The turning tide came with the appearance of King Dobluss at the end of the year-long war. His dwarven armies pushed the demons and devils back into Dondros and helped to seal their fate. He had a turn of favour when he found out that his son was killed in the fighting, defying his wishes, and sought out to avenge him.

Victory in the end though, came at a cost. Chancery managed to reseal the lower continent of Dondros, but at the cost of his own life. He made a pact with blood between him and the Queen of Devils. Swearing that in return for resealing the curse that held Dondros at bay, Chancery would relinquish his empire and suffer his soul to the Nine Hells along with every one of his descendants. His final victory was the worst blow the Graychurch line has ever received.

The Attack on Aldor (1204 E.O.H)
In 1204, rumours were abound across the Further Kingdoms that the Immortal King had found a way back to life through a child born through unusual means, a child that could, give life where life was there to give. At the time, the child was in the hands of the Heroes of Syrone who, after bringing the child across the mountains, sought shelter in Aldor to avoid the forces of evil that were after the child. This resulted in a massive fight between the forces of Aldor and the armies of Iswith and Roldrax (two generals of the Immortal King.)

The city was destroyed but the child was kept safe, thanks to the ruling queen at the time, Amelia Graychurch the Fifth who gave her life to ensure the child's survival.

Famous Figures in the Family

 * Chancery Graychurch (1054 - 1101 E.O.H)
 * Amelia Graychurch the First (108 S.O.S - 154 E.O.K)
 * Amelia Graychurch the Fifth (1169 - 1204 E.O.H)
 * Kallirick Graychurch (731 - 792 A.O.K) - Although not mentioned in the main lore, Kallirick became a great figure in the Graychurch line for his dealings with the Scholars of the White Feather. He was the first of the family to become part of the Golden Paladins, and eventually scaled up the ladder to become their leader in 778; where he lead many against the scholars and their powerful magic. Most say that if it had not been for Kallirick, the Scholars would still be in control.