Icon representing the Wood Elves of Athel Loren
Allisara was the sister of the Wood Elf Mage Queen Ariel, as well as the tragic lover of the future Dark Elf Witch King Malekith, doomed to die by the treachery of Malekith's mother, the ever-scheming Morathi, who wanted to ensure that none could influence her son to pursue a better path than that of vengeance and blood.
History[]
Prince of Nagarythe[]
After the death of Aenarion the Defender, first Phoenix King of the Elves, in the Great Catastrophe, the princes of Ulthuan gathered to decide who among them should succeed him. Many looked to Aenarion's son Malekith, Prince of Nagarythe, to lead the Elves of Ulthuan into this new era. However, others remembered the darkness that had befallen Aenarion's court in its latter years and feared the nature of a child raised within it.[1a]
In the end, the doubters prevailed and Bel Shanaar of Tiranoc was elected as the second Phoenix King. While Malekith seemingly accepted this decision with good grace and was the first to swear fealty to Bel Shannar, in his heart he resented the election and soon parted from Ulthuan.[1a]
The prince travelled to the newly-founded Elven colony of Tor Alessi, in what is now the western Old World. There he met and married Alissara, a priestess of Lileath. At the time Tor Alessi was the eastern frontier of the Elven empire, and the constant threat of Orc hordes and Chaos beasts ensured Malekith's warrior soul would be sated. His campaigns to secure the Elven colonies would lead Malekith to make common cause with the Dwarf High King Snorri Whitebeard, as the Dwarfs were spreading westward from the Karaz Ankor.[1a]
Athel Loren[]
As stories of Athel Loren began to spread in the outside world, so too did word concerning events in other lands trickle into the forest. Many of the tidings were ignored, for the Elves concerned themselves little with the affairs of their inferiors. Reports concerning the ongoing vendetta between Ulthuan and Naggaroth were not so readily dismissed. Most Wood Elves were filled with disdain that such a pointless war still dragged on, but to others the news brought only sorrow. Foremost amongst these was Allisara, sister to Ariel and once, long ago, wife to Malekith of Naggaroth. She had come to Athel Loren shortly before Malekith began his rebellion, unleashing the terible conflict of the Sundering, and had ever since dwelt in solitude, seeking to still her troubled heart.[2a]
In time she came to learn much of Malekith's deeds and came to feel guilt for the path her husband had taken. So it was that Allisara pleaded with Ariel for leave to depart Athel Loren and return to Malekith's side, in order that she might soothe the rage in his soul. Ariel was loath to grant this request but, seeing her sister's determination, relented. Arrangements were made and Allisara soon traveled west with an escort befitting her rank.[2a]
Malekith strove to keep Allisara's imminent return hidden from all in Naggaroth, but his mother Morathi flouted these precautions with laughable ease. She did not want Allisara to return and so weaken her own influence upon her son, nor did she dare act directly. Instead, she disguised herself and charmed Valedor, a disgraced prince of Ellyrion, and led him to believe that Allisara's escort was an army of Dark Elven corsairs who had pledged aid to Naggaroth.[2a]
Blinded by Morathi's spells and his own desire to regain high station, Valedor gathered what forces he could and brought the Wood Elves to battle on the shores of Bretonnia. Mighty was the battle that day, though it is ill-remembered by any save the primitive tribes of Men who were the ancestors of the Bretonnians, for whom it passed into legend as a battle between glorious and terrible gods.[2a]
Though the Wood Elves fought without fear, it was a battle that they could not win. As it became clear that they could find no victory, the leader of Allisara's escort bade her flee. Alas, an ill-fated arrow felled the Great Eagle that carried her away from harm, and she was left unarmed and alone before Valedor. As the prince moved in for the killing blow, Allisara saw plain the madness that Morathi had placed upon him. Desperately, she sought the proper counter-charm that would set the prince free, but the Dark Elf Sorceress was not so easily thwarted.[2a]
Allisara was still trying to break the spell when Valedor's spear pierced her heart. As she collapsed, her dying breath formed the final syllable of the counter-charm. All at once, the madness fell from Valedor's eyes, and he wept for his deeds that day. Overtaken by despair, the prince cast himself from the bluff and into the churning waters below. Allisara saw none of this, for her soul had already fled. With their commander's death, the High Elves withdrew. Some thought that they had prevented a great evil; others suspected that same evil had been wrought by their own hands. Few of either group spoke of it ever again.[2a]
Only a handful of Wood Elves survived to bring word to Athel Loren and, when Ariel learned of her sister's death, a great quiet fell over King's Glade that remained unbroken for many risings and settings of the sun. Winter came early to Athel Loren that year. As the frost hung ever heavier on the bow, Ariel's grief became bitterness, and bitterness became wrath. The Season of Retribution was about to begin.[2a]
As for Malekith, when the Asrai later assaulted the city of Ghrond, Morathi sent messengers south to request aid from her son, the Witch King. Alas for the Sorceress, Malekith had long since learned of his mother's role in Allisara's death. Though the Witch King had publicly forgiven Morathi her transgression, he now saw an opportunity for vengeance for his lost wife and it was with grim amusement that he forbade any aid be sent north.[2a]
Trivia[]
Interestingly enough, Allisara was never mentioned in any other source material, either armybook or novel, before the introduction of 8th edition.