#Graefmotte

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Durven Graef

Darklord: Lord Durven Graef Domain: Graefmotte, The Font of Sorrows Domain Formation: Unknown Power Level: 💀💀💀⚫⚫ (3/5 skulls) Sources: Dragon Magazine #375 (4e) Lord Durven Graef is the Darklord of the Domain of Graefmotte, which many refer to as the ‘Font of Sorrows’. A bit pretentious, but so is our little lordling. 

Durven was the Lordling of a small province within the far reaches of the Kingdom of Nerath. When the land was invaded by an overwhelming army of gnolls lead by the tyranical and ruthless “White Ruin”, King Elidyr called for his lords to raise their banners against the invasion.

Durven had lost two sons already and having to protect his people from the occasional skirmish with the orcs that resided in the nearby mountains, ignored his King’s orders. Not only was his town far from the war, but he was unwilling to potentially sacrifice his only son to the cause. An understandable decision, yet one should never question the orders of one’s King and it seems, in a rare instance, our tormentors and I agree on this.

Durven’s son, Geoffery, however, was patriotic to the point of disobeying his own father and wished to join the deadly war. When the official orders came, in the form of a severely injured young soldier, Durven thought he could finally convince his son not to go.

Upon entering his son’s chambers, Geoffery was already eagerly packing. The two argued, which quickly devolved into violence during which Durven ‘accidentally’ killed his son. Not wanting to face what he did, Durven fled from the room and ordered it to be sealed away, leaving his son dead where he laid. An understandable reaction. Even when one is forced to execute a loved one for the good of the realm, it is not an easy thing to face. Durven, of course, did no such thing and his act was out of pure selfishness.

That very evening, a horde of gnolls descended upon Durven’s township and slaughtered those within. Durven retaliated and empowered by his grief, rage, and blood lust, forced the gnolls to retreat. Though he may have gained some form of vengeance in that fight, the damage on the town was too great to repair and Durven himself sustained a few mortal injuries. All expected him to die in a day or two.

Our tormentors had other plans for Durven and the instead of death stealing him away from his grief, the Mists rose up around his township and the surrounding lands, drawing him into Ravenloft. Durven awoke in his bed, fully healed and now in a land known as Graefmotte. 

Durven does not age, nor can he truly die. If one manages to kill the swordsman, he returns the next day at dawn upon his bed without a single scar on his person. Upon entering the Mists, Geoffery’s body disappeared and now haunts Lord Durven’s keep as a powerful ghost. Geoffery’s ghost draws the spirits of the dead who fell during the gnoll invasion. Because of this, the town is infested with the undead, putting Mordent to shame. What people remain in Graefmotte are starving for their is little to eat, there is no one to trade with and the surrounding woodlands, known as the Ill Wood, are infested with more undead and gnolls.

Though Durven is a craven swordsman who betrayed his Kingdom, it is said that when he falls, the gnolls will invade Graefmotte. Perhaps they remember his battle rage and fear retaliation. Either way, while he lives, the gnolls dwell within Ill Wood and who’s to say what exactly they will do when Durven is gone indefinitely.