Raid Shadow Legends Lore: The Story of Prince Kymar
According to legend, Prince Kymar is one of the oldest of those Demonspawn who were not born directly of Siroth’s dark power. Once an Elf noble of Aravia, Kymar was prone to hedonistic pursuits, and many of those who valued Aravia’s strength and stability were relieved that he was far from the direct line of succession.
Over time, the prince grew embittered at the fact that he was not set to assume the throne, and frequently quarrelled with his older brothers and sisters. Derided as indolent, he was caricatured as a noble only concerned with spending his lavish wealth and hunting or feasting with his cronies. Some Elves pointed out that Kymar did at least try to become learned in matters of statecraft and leadership, and had even dabbled in the magic arts, but the stereotype of a foolish and arrogant dilettante prevailed.
Relationships between Kymar and the rest of his family continued to deteriorate, until there was an irreparable rupture between the prince and his eldest sister, Alandra. At this point, Siroth made his move, for he had followed the prince’s faltering progress from afar, his dark consciousness attuning to Kymar’s bitter dreams. Siroth orchestrated a plot in which an assassin made an attempt of Alandra’s life. It failed, but saw Kymar framed for the crime. The prince flew into a rage at the accusations levelled against him, and when guards were sent to arrest him, he slew them with his bare hands. Cursing his family, he fled into exile.
In those darkest hours, Kymar decided Siroth was his only hope of seizing what he believed should have been his all along – the crown of Aravia. Deep in the wilderness, he sought out a portal to the nether realm of Anathraad. When he eventually unearthed it – in a dormant state – within a long-forgotten shrine, he had no hesitation in using what magics he had learned to awaken it with his own blood. In stepping through, Kymar became one of the first mortals to voluntarily pass into Siroth’s realm since the Sin of Dragons.
Siroth welcomed Kymar like a long-lost son. For Kymar there was relief – his fears of being met with Demonspawn and all manner of horrors to gain the Shadow God’s attention left him. Instead, he marvelled as Siroth took him on a tour of his infernal, unnatural kingdom.
Kymar did not intend to submit wholly to the forces of darkness but had hoped rather to bargain with them. Kymar was a being of ambition and intelligence, or so Siroth claimed, and if Kymar were the king of Aravia, Siroth was certain a fair agreement could be made between the two of them. The question that Siroth posed to Kymar was simply this: Did the prince have the strength to take back his homeland?
Kymar was convinced he did and intended to prove as much. Siroth promised that, if Kymar became King of Aravia, he would give him back his soul in full, but until then, he would have to accept the Shadow God’s benediction and take on the aspect of the Demonhood. Confident in his eventual triumph, Kymar did so, and joined the ranks of the Demonspawn.
With a darkening sense of purpose, Prince Kymar led an army of Demonspawn in a campaign against Aravia. At the battle of the Silent Vale, he met his elder sister, Alandra, in the thick of the fighting and, after a wrathful exchange, slew her. Only when her body lay broken in his hands did he experience one last moment of regret. It passed quickly. Alandra would have had him executed, of that he was sure, had he remained in Aravia. All that mattered now was that he was one step closer to the throne.
Despite Alandra’s death, Silent Vale was a defeat for the treacherous prince. Siroth was enraged by Kymar’s failure. For a long time Prince Kymar wandered in despair, abandoned by both his kin and the god he had sworn himself to. Only with time did he find purpose again – he realized that, being immortal now, he had all the time he needed not only to conquer Aravia, but to make himself king of all Teleria. In an effort to recover his standing following his defeat, he set about slowly building a base of power among his fellow Demonspawn, where his cunning and charm proved most effective. Sometimes, among mortals who have taken up Demonhood, Kymar’s name and title are finally spoken with some of the respect he knows they deserve. If his ambitions are realized, a day will come when he’ll cease being merely ‘Prince’ Kymar and become the king he has always intended to be.