Emperor Cul'sir, also known as Titan King Cul'sir, was the titan ruler of the preeminent giant civilization of Xen'drik, the self-styled Cul'sir Empire.[3] Emperor Cul'sir made the region surrounding Stormreach the center of his empire.[1]
Personality[]
Cul'sir acknowledged the unmatched potential for magic in the blood of elves and cultivated this in the elf slaves in his dominion.[3] The giants of his empire had no qualms going against the traditional teachings of the dragons, and pursued the study of blood magic.[5]
History[]
War with the Eladrin[]
80,000 years ago in the Age of Giants, Shae Tirias Tolai slipped from Thelanis to the Material Plane in Xen'drik, and the giants pillaged the feyspire and claimed both its people and its treasures for themselves.[6][7][8] The lords of Shae Doresh, the Spire of Dreams, demanded vengeance beyond what the other eladrin lords of the feyspires were willing to do.[7]
Before the coming of the quori, the Cul'sir Empire decided to break with giant tradition and unify under an emperor,[9] though it is unknown if this was the same titan king as Emperor Cul'sir.[speculation]
The next time the plane of Thelanis was coterminous with the Material Planes, the Lord of Dreams and his allies challenged the emperor of the giants. The Titan King cast a powerful ritual of exile on the feyspire, which sent it into Dal Quor, the Region of Dreams. The Spire of Dreams became Taer Lian Doresh, the Fortress of Fading Dreams, and remained trapped in that plane until its cycle eventually returned it to Thelanis; that long process corrupted them into nightmare fey known as wyrds.[7][10][11]
Quori Invasion[]
40,000 years ago, the Cul'sir Empire called the city that is now Stormreach the academic center of their empire.[9] At that time, a host of extraplanar quori arrived in Xen'drik from Dal Quor, the Region of Dreams.[6]
At the time, Emperor Cul'sir is said to be the leader of one of the civilizations of giants, including the Group of Eleven and the Sul'at League, who brought war upon the quori of that age in Dal Quor.[12]
Once the campaign against the quori ended through the use of the Sul'at League's Moon Breaker doomsday weapon, the elves and other slave races to the Cul'sir giants seized the opportunity created by the devastation to the land to revolt.[1][9][6]
Elf–Giant Wars[]
When the elves rebelled, Emperor Cul'sir called on his spellcasters to craft a curse to match the mighty Moon Breaker weapon constructed by the Sul'at League to sever the connection to Dal Quor and end the quori invasion.[9]
The Tairnadal tell stories of the elf hero Dyrael Morain, who launched an effort to destroy Stormreach, to "destroy the greatest evil in the dark land." Dyrael assembled the largest elf army ever seen, but his forces were annihilated in the assault on Stormreach.[1]
An elf hero born among the free elves named Vadallia rallied the elves to fight against Emperor Cul'sir, knowing her people would not know peace while he still lived. Vadallia united the Taeri, Elorrenthi, Shol, and Thuranni clans to clash with Cul'sir and his forces many times.[3]
After receiving a vision in her crystal eye, Vadallia convinced the elf wizard Cardaen within the Cul'sir Dominion to join her cause. Cardaen, who cared for naught but magic for its own sake, stopped supplying magic weapons in support of the giants' war effort and came over to fight by her side. But Cul'sir used Cardaen as a means to scry on Vadallia's host, and brought a united force of drow and giants to face her host in a massive battle. Cul'sir then unleashed a mighty curse on the elves crafted by Cardaen that rotted their bones inside their bodies. Vadallia had not been able to sway Cardaen to her side, but after seeing the horror he'd wrought inflicted upon the elves, Cardaen turned against Cul'sir. He was able to counter the curse and the spells of the giants. Cul'sir fled the battle, and his host was scattered.[3]
Emperor Cul'sir secretly crafted a doomsday weapon that would release a contagion, a magical plague that would only affect the slave races while leaving the land and buildings undamaged. This weapon drew on an ancient source of power beneath their capital city. Antaegus, a storm giant sorcerer working on part of the project, discovered the plot and sabotaged the plan by destroying his team's work. This delayed the project by over a year. Emperor Cul'sir learned of Antaegus's actions, and ordered that the sorcerer be executed, but his advisors convinced the emperor to delay his sentencing until the end of the war. Antaegus was imprisoned by his former associates within an object to await a sentence that would never come.[9]
Emperor Cul'sir's Fate[]
As Aeren led the elves on their long exodus to Aerenal, Cardaen chose to remain behind to finally end the threat of Emperor Cul'sir. It is unknown if Cul'sir still lives, but he is thought to have fallen.[3]
Legacy[]
Cul'sir centered his empire around the capital city in the north of Xen'drik, and its ruins lie under the city of Stormreach.[9] Most inhabitants of Stormreach are unfamiliar with who Cul'sir was, though they refer to the statue of him in the harbor as "the Emperor;" it has an overwhelming magical aura and unknown purpose despite the efforts of wizards studying it.[2] In Stormreach, the yearly festival on Therendor 1 known as The Burning Titan commemorates when the ancient titan kings of Xen'drik were cast down and burned by dragonfire in the devastation of Xen'drik.[13]
The giants of the modern age seek to placate titans like Emperor Cul'sir, believing they escaped the calamity through fearsome magic to project their spirits to a place beyond life and death. These vestiges of titans are said to wait in that realm and search for a way to return. They make burnt offerings of food and precious materials to placate their ancient forbears, which they believe keep the titans content instead of returning and destroying their giant descendants. Some giants are rumored to be able to contact the titans.[14]
Rumors & Legends[]
Followers of the Sovereign Host believe the titan Cul'sir was the mightiest of the giants. Cul'sir employed plagues against the elves who rebelled against him, and made shadow assassins out of the elves to be used against them. He pulled the thirteenth moon from the sky and shattered it in anger. They say he was prepared to pull down the remaining moons and throw them against his foes, destroying the world in doing so, until Aureon called down the dragons on the giants. Vassals believe that Cul'sir was then slain and his people scattered across Xen'drik.[15]
According to the tales of the elves of House Phiarlan and House Thuranni, Emperor Cul'sir was the same Titan King who faced the host of elves during the time of their rebellion. They say Emperor Cul'sir was unmatched in power and greed. Despite possessing immeasurable strength, knowing one thousand spells, and holding the treasures of Xen'drik in his vault, the Titan King still desired more.[3]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 33. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Keith Baker (January 2021). “Eye on Eberron: Vadallia and Cardaen” (PDF). Dragon #407 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 1–2.
- ↑ Keith Baker (October 2010). The Fading Dream. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 126. ISBN 0-7869-5624-0.
- ↑ Keith Baker, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Nicolas Logue, & Amber Scott (2007). Dragons of Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 10. ISBN 0-7869-4154-5.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 36. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 143. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
- ↑ James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 196. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 158–159. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
- ↑ Jeff LaSala (May 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Fortress of Fading Dreams” (PDF). Dungeon #178 (Wizards of the Coast) (178)., p. 79.
- ↑ Jeff LaSala (November 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Villains and Vendettas” (PDF). Dungeon #184 (Wizards of the Coast) (184)., p. 50.
- ↑ Keith Baker, Jason Bulmahn, & Amber Scott (2006). Secrets of Xen'drik. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 154. ISBN 0-7869-3916-8.
- ↑ Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 26. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
- ↑ Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 84. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
- ↑ Keith Baker, Jeremy Crawford, & James Wyatt (2019). Eberron: Rising from the Last War. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 138–139. ISBN 0786966890.