Eldako (? AC - 425 AC) was a male Merkitsa Elf of the Singing Rain Clan and the son of Chieftain Tho-ket. He was renowned as the best archer in the entire Tamire region, and was also well trained in the healing arts. Eldako bore his flame colored hair in tight braids that hung down to his waist, was lean and wiry, and wore a breastplate that was fashioned from the shell of some giant insect. He often bore crimson striped war paint on his face, and his teeth were filed down to points, giving him a feral look. He almost always carried a 7 foot longbow and had a quiver of arrows across his back. He sometimes wore a headdress of golden feathers, which were claimed from a Griffin that Eldako personally hunted down and killed single-handed.
Fighting for the Uigan[]
In the summer of 424 AC when Chovuk Boyla and his Uigan Tenach Hult travelled to the Dreaming Green, Eldako was granted leave by his father to return with the Uigan horde in their invasion against the Imperial League. On returning to the horde, Eldako showed his worth instantly when Hoch Tegin and Sugai Tegin revealed they were trying to take command of the horde from Chovuk. The merkitsa elf shot both traitors from their saddles, ending the threat to Chovuk's power within seconds. At the Battle of the Run,
Chovuk tasked Eldako with singling out the officers of the Imperial League and shooting them down. The merkitsa elf scaled nearby cliffs and prepared to take down several targets when he witnessed a destructive tidalwave sweep through the Run and decimate the Uigan forces. Fearing for his life, Eldako raced further up the cliff to safety.
Barreth's New Companion[]
Eldako went about trying to find Uigan survivors after the battle and came across Hult and his new companions, the Silvanaes Elf Shedara and the human Barreth Forlo. He assisted them in driving off some Shadow-Fiends and then carried Barreth back to Coldhope Keep, where he treated both Hult's and Barreth's wounds. On seeing the dragon scale left behind by whoever kidnapped Barreth's wife Essana, Eldako suggested seeing the Wyrm-Namer, a Silver Dragon that lived in the Panak Desert and who could identify the scale and the dragon it came from. However the group was interrupted by Minotaur soldiers of the League who tried to capture them. Eldako and Shedara escaped, however the other two were captured. Eldako travelled with Shedara to the forests of Armach-nesti, where they met with her brother Quivris and convinced the Silvanaes Elves to aid them in rescuing Barreth and Hult from the Imperial Arena of Kristophan. The group managed to stage an escape and then travelled to Panak in search of the Wyrm-Namer.
On travelling through Panak, the group ran into several Ice People of the Spirit Wolf Clan, who were friends of Eldako's. They were welcomed and escorted towards their village of Kitaglu, narrowly escaping the clutches of marauding Uitayuik and reaching Kitaglu. In the village, Eldako and his friends met with the Makau Tulukaruk, who helped them commune with the Amaguik to learn the precise location of the Wyrm-Namer's lair. On finding Ukamiak the Wyrm-Namer, they discovered that the dragon was dying, but before passing away, the great beast revealed that the dragon scale they carried belonged to Gloomwing, a black dragon that lairs in the Marak Valleys. The group travelled to the Marak Valleys, where they met with the Marak Kender and learnt that Gloomwing had abandoned its lair and migrated southwards. They did encounter The Teacher, one of the Faceless Brethren at Lake Starshimmer, who they learnt was responsible for the creation of the Shadow-Fiends. Eldako and his friends killed the Teacher and also learnt in the process that the dragon and the Faceless Brethren were based in a temple in the jungles of Neron.
On Gloomwing's Trail[]
On reaching Neron, the group was ambushed by the dragon Gloomwing. The surprised quartet discovered that they were also amongst a Cha'asii war party, who wanted to surprise the dragon. Eldako made a brave stand to goad the dragon into attacking, leading the beast towards the cha'asii elves. Gloomwing fell right into the trap and was killed, but not before unleashing a blast of acid at Eldako, knocking the elf under the waves and vanishing from sight. His companions assumed he was dead and continued on. Eldako was injured by the acid but not killed, he drifted along in the water for some time, regaining consciousness and struggling ashore before he was captured by the Yaggol. The cha'asii elves and his companions hunted down the yaggol and rescued Eldako, bringing him back to Ke-Cha-Yet, village of the Cha'asii.
After several days rest, a greatly weakened Eldako travelled with his friends to the Temple of Akh-tazi, fighting the yaggol on the way before facing the Faceless Brethren on the roof of the temple. Eldako shot down and killed The Speaker, but witnessed his friends all become incapacitated by the magic of The Master, leader of the Brethren. Near death, Eldako raised himself up and charged the Master, drawing the foul man into an embrace and launching himself from the temple roof. The pair fell to their deaths on the jungle floor.
References[]
- Blades of the Tiger, p.282, 301-305, 321-322, 346-347, 358-360
- Trail of the Black Wyrm, p.26-36, 42-49, 52-63, 87-99, 111-138, 150-151, 154-184, 186-193, 197-204, 232-236, 238-245, 250-271, 286-288, 292-297, 302-317, 330, 377-380
- Shadow of the Flame, p.18-19, 33, 110