Yannica Champion Lore
The first Dark Elves riled at the arrogance of so many of their ‘High’ Elf counterparts, even of those in the middling tiers of society. From birth they were bred to look down on any beneath them. Yannica was a formidable sorceress and a skilled warrior, and her snobbery and sense of self-importance were renowned. She made many enemies, and even those ostensibly on her side during the War of the Elves were loath to work with her.
Told that she would become the greatest mage of all time by her tutors, Yannica desired anything that would show up her fellow spellcasters. Setting someone on fire? How blasé. Freezing them solid? Child’s play. Yannica wanted to wield magic that would make her victims and servant’s eyes pop out of their heads — quite literally in some cases. She scoured every ancient tome, codex, and grimoire she could get her hands on, hunting for that spell that would make her the talk of the magical world. If she could marry that with her desire to crush the upstart Dark Elves that terrorized Aravian society and threatened to tear down centuries of Elven accomplishments, even better.
Yannica’s breakthrough came in the form of an invisibility spell, which she realized would be perfect for infiltrating Dark Elven encampments and supply hoards, as well as Dreamwalker cult gatherings. While she was able to cast this on herself without difficulty, she had less success casting the illusion on others – she found she could not sustain the magic for long. It was, of course, she said, not down to her inexperience as a mage — it was in some way due to the incompetence of her followers. She told herself it did not matter – she would make the spell work when she needed to.
During the war, a High Elf army launched an assault to oust a host of Dark Elves from the Shimmering Plateau. Yannica was tasked with using this as a distraction to allow her and her warriors to infiltrate the foe’s encampment. Their goal was to seize maps, papers, and correspondence. Yannica decided she would not cast her invisibility spell until the very last moment, partly because she could not apparently trust her followers, but also – a reason she held more privately – to conserve her strength.
Yannica’s band made considerable progress, slitting the throats or magically freezing multiple Dark Elf sentries before they were identified. Shadow bolts and black arrows flew, striking down several Aravians. The High Elves raced toward their foe blades ready, and cut down many Dark Elves, but were all surprised by the tenacity of their enemy, whom they had all seen as little more than envious gutter trash. Unable to gain more ground, Yannica weaved her prototype spell in frustration, forcing more energies into it than she ever had before, causing her and her allies to vanish into thin air.
As the Dark Elves scrambled to find their newly disappeared enemies, Yannica and her followers struck, cutting down foe after foe.
The High Elves pushed on deeper into the Dark Elf fort, and they could hear the din of battle in the distance. Ahead were hastily erected huts and tattered tents where they might find what they were searching for. The Dark Elf rearguard had been pulled into the ongoing clash, leaving much unguarded, and Yannica’s warriors stormed every shelter they could find. They recovered troves of valuable information. They had triumphed. Yannica wanted to be seen when the van of the High Elf army reached them, to present the commander with what she had found. She planned a great spectacle. She would cease her invisibility spell at the perfect time so that she and her band would materialize before the commander’s very eyes.
But when the time came, and Yannica attempted to undo her spell, her followers reappeared, but she did not. She was horrified. She had to be seen by all as the fantastic arcanist she knew she was. It took much effort to restore herself to visibility, and by the time she succeeded any hope she’d had in making a dramatic display to impress the commander had passed. She thanked Yannica politely for her efforts, but said nothing more before moving on.
What made matters worse for Yannica was that she later discovered that even a small drop in her concentration caused her form to flicker and fade. Somehow she had forced the invisibility magic so intensely that it had become all but permanent. From that day forward she was forced to remain ever vigilant and sacrifice a portion of her enormous power to hide her mistake. All so that she could be seen.