Characters:Creatures:Grendal

Origins of the Grendal

The Grendal is an ancient evil. It was once human, but is now monstrously deformed. Its birth name is not known. Instead, it is now called by the Dwarvish name for its lair, Khrenzlha'rok. Khrenzlha'rok literally means "Hall without Ringing." It implies a place where work cannot be done.

The legends of the Ulfgar people hold that the Grendal was once a member of their tribe in the time of the wars described in the Miloran Cycle. He was a scout and a mercenary for one of the human armies that invaded Aereng and Galoril. Briefly, he came into contact with scout forces deployed by the House of Pelargir. He did nothing about it however, as his utthaan, or outsider chieftain, was more concerned with other groups of Elves. But that little contact with and knowledge of the Pelargir was to be his undoing.

The ulfgard's general won his battle near Old Aerengist and continued south, bypassing Dun Lothond to strike into the heartland of old Galoril. The Lords of the House of Pelargir, because they were stewards of Dun Barethsol, went out to meet the human armies at some distance from the Tower. They meant to use it as a fallback position, but their magicks, though powerful, were little match for the humans in their numbers and their greed. Kidalethil's brothers were slain on the battlefield. His father was lost trying to cover the retreat of his soldiers. Ulfgard legend recalls very little from this battle, other than the fate of the Lord Pelargir and his sons. It mentions very clearly, however, that in the last moments, Pelargir turned his back on the Humans and cast a spell on his retreating troops. One of them, his youngest son, simply vanished from view. Then he turned again and cast his last and most dire spell. A wall of flame erupted from his body and consumed many of the soldiers pursuing his men.

Legend holds that Kidalethil re-appeared at the gates of Dun Barethsol and realized immediately that he alone was to be spared and that only by magick. His wounds should already have killed him, but they did not. Over the next days, his wounds neither healed nor worsened. He realized that he now lived and died by magick and began weaving the spells needed to heal himself, but he was too badly wounded to be healed by his own skill. He languished and slowly died. After his death, Kidalethil's remained spirit in the tower while his body crumbled to dust.

When Kidalethil realized that he had no way of defending his family's home, he wove another spell and drew to himself one of the humans responsible for his family's destruction - one who had met the soldiers of his house repeatedly and yet survived, one doomed to day - and bestow a kind of immortality on that human. The spell worked, drawing the Ulfgard away from his fellow tribesmen just before they were caught in an Elvish ambush and slain. The spell which had draw the Ulfgard to Dun Barethsol gave him the knowledge of his fellow's fate.