The Leafbower Legacy

Now for something totally devoid of stats, and probably largely useless (but
I had fun writing it, and it was something I had a desire to do, for no
particularly good reason).  Here's my writeup of the Leafbower clan, part 1
:)

Adam


The Leafbower Legacy



            General Arlond Forgeson paced uneasily across the fine Zakharan
carpet.  With one hand on his battle axe, the battle-worn dwarf never took
his eyes off of Bloodgnarl the Thanechief, his mortal enemy.  For the past
decade, their two peoples, dwarf and gnoll, have fought for the moon
Gimduum, a war that has brought death and suffering to all.

            The massive gnoll, almost eight feet tall and covered with
countless battle scars, returned General Forgeson's hard glare.  He growled,
desiring to sink his spear into the dwarf king's flesh.  His subchiefs were
likewise on edge, ready to do battle with the dozen or so subordinates that
Forgeson brought with him.

            A blast of trumpets broke the tension.  The double doors swung
open, heralding the meeting's newest arrival.  A single elf, tall and proud,
strode forth.  He wore a simple, yet elegant military uniform, that of an
admiral of the Elven Fleet.

            A gnoll tensed, dropping his spear as if to charge the new
arrival, only to have it grabbed by Bloodgnarl.  "No," he harshly rebuked
his warrior, "he is a Leafbower.  He we can trust."



            Few names command immediate respect in wildspace.  Leafbower is
one of them.  The Leafbowers is an extended clan of high elves with branches
in Greyspace, Bralspace, Realmspace, and Darnannon.  Many past and current
members have served in the Elven Fleet, but just as many are private
citizens, owning and running their own ships.

            Members of the Leafbower clan are high elves.  In spheres
without native high elf populations, they are considered the local related
elven subtype.  Leafbowers from Realmspace are considered sun elves, for
example.  Regardless, almost every member of the clan has ashen white hair,
sharp facial features, and is pale in complexion.  They make better
listeners than talkers.

            The Leafbowers have a loose structure, with a household head in
each sphere they reside.  He looks out after clan interests in the sphere,
from maintaining the Leafbower estate to running the trade routes to
training new generations of Leafbowers.  A Leafbower residence will be a
large structure, usually a small keep, with luxurious accommodations.  Clan
members are welcomed in any of these estates and can stay as long as need
be.

            The Leafbowers are renowned for their skills in navigation,
diplomacy, spellcraft, and leadership.  Indeed, each estate has an extensive
library with whole shelves dedicated to said topics, but more importantly
are the resident teachers and clan members, who are more than willing to
pass their knowledge and experiences on to the next generation.  A Leafbower
estate can serve as a training hall with expert instructors.



History



Foundation

            The roots of the Leafbowers are ancient and deep.  The almost
mythical founder of the Leafbowers was Ilernil, a famed explorer of his day.
His skill in navigation was legendary, and is credited with the first
complete charts of Greyspace.  Ilernil was granted a noble title after he
returned to Darnannon with charts to the legendary Vedia Sphere, an exotic
sphere of wealth and prestige.  It was on this trip that he was given the
name Leafbower, for he became an honored guest in the halls of the Treant
Kingdom.  The trees themselves bowed to Ilernil after he managed to end a
century-long war between local kingdoms.

            Ilernil's Vedia expeditions, of which there were twelve, brought
great wealth to the captain.  He finally retired in Greyspace, leaving his
trade company to his seven sons.  Having accompanied their father on many of
his expeditions, they had mastered the art of trade, navigation, and sailing
the stars.

            For the next five hundred years, the sons and grandsons of
Ilernil Leafbower made countless trips to Vedia and other spheres,
accumulating vast wealth and prestige.  Each son of Ilernil founded his own
branch of the clan, building estates in different spheres.  Despite the
great distances, they maintained close and friendly relations with one
another.



An Age of Conflict

            A group of Leafbowers set up an estate in Realmspace, in the
Kingdom of Cormanthyr, during the reign of Coronal Miirphys Irithyl.  They
helped cement an alliance to oppose Netheril's ambitions in wildspace.  For
their part in the alliance, the Coronal rewarded them with some land between
the Elven Court and the River Lis.  For centuries they operated a
spelljamming port, quietly handling much of Cormanthyr's trade with other
worlds.

            The Leafbowers proved themselves again during the Weeping Wars.
They turned all of their small spelljammers to the task of evacuating Myth
Drannor when it became obvious the city was lost, as well as slaying any
goblin-kin they could from their ships.  Fully half of their fleet fell in
battle, but their efforts saved more than three thousand lives.

            The clan would be called once more, this time in a much wider
and far more destructive conflict.  During the height of what would one day
be known as the Unhuman Wars, no less than nine Leafbowers served in the
Elven Fleet.  Three rose has high as captain, whilst Aldyn was an admiral
long before the start of the wars.  Many more helped the war effort
indirectly, operating supply ships or raising money via their trade
activities.  Every member of the clan served with honor and distinction, in
their own way.

            As the conflict came to a close, goblins and orcs united under
the command of the half-orc warlord Gralnakh Longtooth.  This Unified Goblin
Fleet caused far more damage than their small numbers should have been
capable of, due in part to their command of a Witchlight Marauder.  Despite
their victories, Gralnakh was pragmatic enough to realize that such
victories were hollow.  Much of the Elven Fleet was at the edges of the
Known Spheres, pursuing the shattered remnants of the goblin hordes.  They
would soon return, and his followers would be slaughtered to a man.  When
admiral Aldyn sent a message offering a peace deal, the warlord accepted.
The two met in secret, hammering out a deal that would allow the orcs leave
the war peacefully, granting them a world of their own to rule as they saw
fit.  In exchange, they would surrender their spelljammers to the Elven
Fleet.  Confident that he had averted a bloody battle, admiral Aldyn
returned to Lionheart to announce the deal to his fellow admirals.  As
expected, they were shocked that he would negotiate with such "beasts", some
demanding his resignation.  The admiral was not dissuaded, and pushed the
deal through.

            The elves honored the deal with the orc warlord, to the letter.
Unfortunately, it was never specified what type of world the elves would
give to the orcs, and they chose the most inhospitable world possible.  The
orc tribes where outraged when they discovered that the world that was now
their home was an ice-ridden, volcanic world with few resources and a brutal
climate that would kill most races in days.  Yet the tribes had no choice,
as the elves had confiscated their ships and left them stranded.  The ice
world, named Armistice after the peace treaty, was the only home they had
left.

            Admiral Leafbower was infuriated when he learned that his trust
had been betrayed.  He resigned his commission and departed the Elven Fleet.
For centuries afterwards he served as a negotiator, settling conflicts and
trade disputes.  He never forgave the elven admirals that betrayed him.



Recent Activities

            The Leafbowers remain an active player in politics in the Known
Spheres.  Some are members of the Elven Fleet, such as Admiral Vallus
Leafbower.  Others run private ships that make expeditions to exotic spheres
such as Vedia and the Vodoni Empire.  The recent resumption of war between
elves and the goblin-kin have prompted many Leafbowers to join the Elven
Fleet.  As in the first Unhuman Wars before, those Leafbowers not part of
the Elven Fleet help by providing money and supply ships for the besieged
elven ships and worlds.