Artorious

Artorious was one of the Seven Archangels of Utur-Mira and is now known as the First Naphil.

Life
Artorious was a student of the Kormon military academy and commander of the militia of Utur-Mia upon his return in 92 BRU and eventually the Crusading Army. During the First Crusade at the Battle of Szaalenden he, together with an army led by Aristides, were surrounded by the armies of Elam and the Arch-Devils. It was their resounding victory that sent the Devils fleeing south and allowed the North to gather strength. When he returned to Kormon to report his victory he found the body of Morotor sprawled in the cathedral. Aiding Utur-Mira he, along with six other elves ascended to the Divine, resurrecting Morotor and becoming the Seven Arch-Angels. Upon attaining divinity Artorious went among his troops and hand picked the finest among them to be his Paladins, called The Order of the Divine Lance. The first and only Headmaster of the Order is Falmir Gild'rae.

The Crusades
Artorious was made Supreme Commander of the Elven forces under Utur-Mira. In 18 ARU the small Kingdom of Quom renounced Utur-Mira and took as its patron the Devil Lord Zrada and Artorious declared the Second Crusade. Eager to fight once again armies were gathered from many kingdoms for what was called the purging of Quom. Fighting was intense but under Artorious the Devils were pushed within the walls of Quom's capital city by 23 ARU. The seige of the city continued for seven years and ended when the armies of the Arch-Angels entered the city and found that King Cambysus of Quom had become an Avatar of Zrada. He met with Artorious in single combat as the city was purged around them. Cambysus was slain and Zrada banished for 100 years, and the inhabitants of Quom were all killed or fled. Horrified by the slaughter the other Arch-Angels abandoned the crusade and left the ruined city to crumble and be retaken by the surrounding forest.

In 72 ARU the fey of the forest came under attack by the servants of Baba Yaga. When the elven host of Wilwaren entered the forests to assist them they came under attack by foul beasts in huge numbers. Artorious declared that Baba Yaga must be aided by at least one of the Devils and in order to avenge the fallen Fey and elves called for the Third Crusade. The other Elven Gods were hesitant and mostly declined the endeavor but Aristides, the former student of Artorious joined him and they assembled their forces. At the river crossing to Seanathair they were ambushed by swarms of Sahuagin. Unprepared for so unexpected a foe the battle started poorly for the large Elven host and it was some time before Aristides gained control of his men and beat back the Sahuagin. By then it was realized the avatar of Artorious was gone and Aristides' attempts to reach him in his Domain home were unsuccessful. With no clear enemy beyond Majeden within his whirlpool far to the south the armies of Artorious, now under command of Aristides occupied the Feywilds in order to prevent further attack. In 77 ARU, with still no sign of Artorious, the occupation ended and Aristides ended the Third Crusade.

In 112 ARU, 40 years after the disappearance of Artorious the Headmaster of The Order of the Divine Lance, Falmir Gild'rae, was contacted by his God in a dream. Artorious told him he could not return while his own Order was corrupted and infiltrated by those who could not bear the weight of their duties and weakened the rest by their incompetence. Gild'rae, long tormented by the loss of his liege, contacted the chapter heads of the order and issued an order for an inquisition of their own ranks. Using names provided by Artorious the numbers of the Divine Lance were halved in the brutal slaughter that followed. When the slaughter ended Gild'rae declared Artorious returned in a public ceremony in Kormon. The Order appeared in the gleaming silver armor and white sashes they wore before the disappearance for the first time in forty years and to the disbelief of the gathered crowd Gild'rae declared himself the avatar of Artorious. An outraged Aristides demanded that action be taken for the murder of so many Paladins but Morotor, hoping for redemption of the Divine Lance and still wondering about the reappearance of Artorious instead ordered the remaining Paladins out of their cities. With no attempted resistance the Order gathered and departed, singing the songs of glory and victory that had been silent for nearly half a century.

The Order of the Divine Lance
Before the fall of Artorious The Order of the Divine Lance was a powerful order of Paladins with houses within every major elven city. When Artorious was lost the order fell under military command of Aristides, changing their shining armor to solid black in morning. For forty years the order searched for signs of Artorious and when he returned and they were banished from the city they worked to return to glory. The order no longer exists in the Elven cities of Utur-Mira but rather in Neutral and Evil cities willing to accept the Orders protection in exchange for their presence.