Chapter Text
To Be Read Under Seal of Command Only
Since my last dispatch, the war has changed irrevocably.
The venin remain a scourge upon this world, yes. But the greater threat, the one that lurked at the edges of every battlefield, has been silenced. The war we could not afford to forget is over.
That war was with Orlyth.
Once, we called Eleanor Lennox unstable. Unfit. A weapon too wild to be wielded. We underestimated her. Through blood and bond, she crowned herself Eleanor Riorson-Tavis, Queen of Orlyth. And beside her stood Garrick Tavis—her chosen king, her blade, her shadow. Together, they forged a den, a kingdom older than empire, and raised the Shadewings from ash.
They were no longer rebels.
No longer cadets.
No longer mortal.
They became predators. Monsters. Reapers of death.
Every betrayal, every clash, every storm of Voidfire that scarred our skies could be traced back to them. They were the axis on which calamity spun.
But no longer.
The Battle of Draithus has ended with the fall of the Tavis family. The wild queen and her king lie slain. Their dragons, their parasite, their fox—all reduced to carrion. The den is broken. The nightmare that might have spread unchecked has been ended, here, by fire and blade.
Let this be recorded: Navarre has not only defended its borders from the venin menace—it has struck down the darker, older peril. The one that would have ended not just kingdoms, but existence itself.
Eleanor Riorson-Tavis was not a savior. She was not a ruler. She was not human.
She was Oblivion.
And she is no more.
Take pride in this victory. Learn from their ashes. Remember their threat, and remember that it was Navarre who cut it down.
– General Augustine Melgren
Commanding Officer, Navarrian High Council
Addendum: The following reports were compiled on the Tavis family and their allies before their deaths. They have since been amended for accuracy.
CONFIDENTIAL DOSSIER
Updated Following the Battle of Draithus
To Be Read Under Seal of Command Only
Subject: Eleanor Riorson-Tavis
Status: DECEASED
Cause of Death: Confirmed execution by ritual — pierced by eight blades during the Battle of Draithus.
Location of Death: Draithus.
Designations: T he Viper. The Reaper. The Inferno. Queen of Orlyth. Commander of the Shadewings. Commander of the Veylthorn. Warrior of Malek (Death). Warrior of Myrnin (Fate). Mother of Monsters. The White Serpent. The Widowmaker. The Balance. The Serpent's Daughter. Oblivion. The Lost Flame.
Rank: Cadet, Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing (stripped). Crowned Queen of Orlyth.
Dragon: Noxarathian (White — Shadewing, apex predator). Confirmed deceased alongside rider.
Signet: Voidfire (Unclassified — apocalyptic destruction capability).
Strategic Summary: Eleanor Riorson-Tavis was Navarre's greatest paradox: the realm's most powerful ally, and its most imminent threat.
Cunning, volatile, and charismatic, she united not only the ancient Shadewing Den but also the parasitic Veylthorn horde beneath her banner. Her kill count exceeded 5,000. She survived every attempt on her life. She domesticated monsters meant to kill her. She wielded a god's fire with the loyalty of a queen.
Had she lived, the balance of the world would have tipped toward annihilation. Her death at Draithus prevented a collapse from which no kingdom could have recovered.
Navarre records this as victory: the end of a threat greater even than the venin.
The Venin threaten our borders. Eleanor Riorson-Tavis threatened existence itself.
Updated Psychological Assessment
Evaluator: Nolon
Posthumous analysis confirms: Eleanor Riorson-Tavis was fractured beyond redemption.
Her formative years included sustained torture, sexual assault, imprisonment, and familial betrayal. While such trauma should have broken her, it instead produced a paradoxical survival — one sharpened into brutality.
Observed traits:
Empathy limited to immediate circle; broader populations expendable.
Sociopathic tendencies: mass killing executed with precision, no remorse.
Chronic depression: frequently offset by recklessness and self-destruction.
Substance dependency: alcohol and churam used as compulsive numbing agents.
Anger dysregulation: escalated instantly when family threatened.
Self-sacrifice fixation: repeated disregard for personal survival when protecting her "den."
It is the conclusion of this mender that, had Eleanor survived Draithus, her fractured psyche would have led inevitably to collapse. Either madness or corruption. She was never built for peace — only for fire and ruin.
Her death was not merely necessary. It was inevitable.
Final Threat Assessment
Classification: IMMEDIATE GLOBAL THREAT (neutralized).
Conclusion: Eleanor Riorson-Tavis was both the blade and the pyre — the ally who saved Navarre countless times, and the enemy who nearly destroyed it.
Her death ensures the survival of the realm.
May she find peace in the After.
CONFIDENTIAL DOSSIER
Updated Following the Battle of Draithus
To Be Read Under Seal of Command Only
Subject: Garrick Tavis
Status: DECEASED
Cause of Death: Confirmed burnout following the slaying of Elder Venin Aedriel.
Location of Death: Draithus.
Designations: The Reaper. The World Walker. King of Orlyth. General of Orlyth. Warrior of Izara (Time). The Shadow of the Storm. The Hurricane of Orlyth. The Father of Monsters. The End's Blade.
Rank: Cadet, Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing (stripped). Crowned King of Orlyth.
Dragon: Chradh (Brown — apex berserker-class). Confirmed deceased alongside rider.
Signet: Aerokinesis. Expanded beyond known classification through Flamebound bond. Confirmed capacity to kill Venin — unique among Riders.
Strategic Summary: Once called the calm hand, the protector, the innocent — Garrick Tavis has shattered that illusion. Years of war, betrayal, and above all, the torture and near-execution of his wife, Eleanor, have stripped away his restraint. What remains is a general without conscience, a king forged in blood, and a reaper who leaves nothing behind.
Often dismissed as the calm hand to Eleanor Riorson-Tavis' volatility, Garrick Tavis obliterated that image on the field of Draithus.
He revealed the impossible: he could kill Venin. Not merely foot soldiers, but an Elder. Aedriel — centuries of corruption and power — fell beneath Garrick's storm. He tore the creature apart with nothing but will, wind, and fury. Witnesses confirm: nothing remained.
But the victory came at cost. Burnout consumed him. He died at Eleanor's side.
On the battlefield, his storms erased everything in their path. Flesh, bone, and stone disintegrated. He was not a shield, not a stabilizer — but a hurricane, clearing the world for his queen to burn behind him.
To mistake him for mercy was error. His silence was not grace. His storms were execution.
Had Garrick Tavis lived, the ability to end Venin would have made him indispensable. But his devotion to Eleanor meant he was never Navarre's to wield. He was her blade. Her shadow. Her storm. Nothing more.
Together, they were inevitability.
Together, they were Oblivion.
Now, they are nothing.
Updated Psychological Assessment
Subject: Garrick Tavis
For years, Garrick Tavis was assessed as steady: composed, empathetic, and measured in ways rare among Riders. He earned loyalty through loyalty. He fought with strategy. He appeared incorruptible.
Draithus stripped away that illusion.
Before his death, he exhibited:
Anger dysregulation: concealed beneath calm exterior until provoked by threats to Eleanor — then catastrophic.
Overprotectiveness: pathological devotion to Eleanor; her suffering eroded every restraint.
Strategic brilliance: tactical foresight and precision, but increasingly weaponized toward ruthless ends.
Empathy warped into rage: unusual capacity for care toward his circle, but each loss transformed empathy into uncontrolled fury.
Violent repression: where Eleanor externalized her wrath, Garrick internalized it — until Draithus, when all barriers broke.
In death, Garrick Tavis revealed the truth. His storms were not born of balance. They were born of silence, repression, and loyalty sharpened into obsession.
His restraint is gone. His storms were not control. They were the eye of Oblivion.
Threat Assessment
Classification: IMMEDIATE GLOBAL THREAT (neutralized).
Conclusion: Garrick Tavis was more than his wife's shadow. He was the blade she carried, the storm she unleashed, the reaper who tore Elder Venin apart with his bare hands.
If he had survived Draithus, his power would have rewritten the war. He was not only capable of killing Venin — he was willing.
That combination made him unstoppable. That combination made him necessary to end.
Like his queen, Garrick Tavis was not built for peace. He was built for ruin.
May he find peace in the After.
Designation: Son of the Great Betrayer, Former Duke of Tyrrendor, Aretia's Heir, Commander of the Aretian Revolution, Venin.
Dragon: Sgaeyl — Navy Blue
Signet: Shadowmancy
Rank: Former Commander of the Tyrrish Revolutionary Faction / Leader of the Aretian Revolution (Stripped of command following corruption.)
Summary: Once the son of Fen Riorson, the Great Betrayer, and Duke of Tyrrendor, Xaden Riorson rose to command the Aretian Revolution and led it with precision, brutality, and unshakable resolve. He was heir to a cause, wielder of shadows, and one of the most dangerous men alive.
Now, he is something worse.
During the Battle of Draithus, Riorson succumbed to Venin corruption. His shadows — once extensions of his will — now consume him, feeding on magic and blood alike. His marriage to Violet Sorrengail shortly before his fall secured her title as Duchess of Tyrrendor, and left her to rule the fractured territory in his stead.
Riorson's current whereabouts are unknown. His degree of corruption is unverified. What is certain is this: if he has not already fallen entirely, he soon will. And if he returns with full Venin strength, no army on this continent will stand against him.
He has survived every attempt on his life. He has commanded every battlefield he's touched. And should we fail to stop him, he will not merely lead an army of shadows — he will become one.
Threat Assessment: IMMEDIATE GLOBAL THREAT.
Designation: Second in Line to the Tyrrish Throne (after Violet Sorrengail)
Rank: Section Leader, Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing (Stripped)
Dragon: Cuir — Green
Signet: Counter-Signet (Advanced Nullification) & Mimicry (Rumoured)
Summary: For years, Bodhi Durran has been overlooked, dismissed as the lesser among the infamous heirs of the rebellion. Where Eleanor Riorson-Tavis and Xaden Riorson became weapons of fear, Durran was seen as background noise — loyal, quiet, a shadow that walked beside them.
That perception is no longer possible.
During the Battle of Draithus, Durran revealed terrifying depths of his Signet of Nullification, erasing Venin constructs and collapsing wards on a scale previously thought impossible. More disturbing are the unconfirmed reports that he wielded not only nullification but also Voidfire and Shadows, suggesting the impossible: a second Signet, or worse — a mimic's ability to wield what belongs to others. If true, Durran may not simply nullify magic, but also become it.
Though quieter than his counterparts, his violence has been no less brutal. Witnesses recall him cutting off Darius Kasten's hands with clinical precision, and executing enemies with a coldness that matches Riorson or Tavis at their worst. He is, by all accounts, a wolf in sheep's clothing — underestimated for too long, and now revealed as every bit as monstrous as his family.
Currently, Durran supports Violet Sorrengail, Duchess of Tyrrendor, as she struggles to rule in Xaden Riorson's absence. Should she fall, Bodhi Durran is next in line to lead Tyrrendor outright — a terrifying possibility, given his demonstrated capability and his growing reputation as the quietest of the Aretian Reapers.
Threat Assessment: IMMEDIATE GLOBAL THREAT.
Designation: Leader of the Aretian Revolution, Duchess of Tyrrendor (by marriage to Xaden Riorson)
Rank: Cadet, Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing (stripped), Commander of Tyrrendor's remaining forces; co-sovereign authority recognized by Orlyth and Poromiel allies
Dragons: Tairn — Black, Andarna — Irid
Signet: Lightning Manipulation — capable of both precise targeted strikes and continent-spanning destruction.
Summary: Violet Sorrengail-Riorson is not to be underestimated. Highly intelligent, politically astute, and deeply dangerous, she has risen from cadet to Leader of the Aretian Revolution and Duchess of Tyrrendor. While overshadowed in raw power by Eleanor Riorson-Tavis, Violet's combination of strength, strategy, and symbolic influence makes her no less of a threat.
Like her husband, Xaden Riorson, and her sister-in-law, Eleanor, Violet is ruthless when required — but unlike them, she retains a measure of humanity and innocence they long abandoned. This morality, paradoxically, makes her more dangerous: she is not driven by destruction alone, but by an unyielding determination to save everyone — from the Venin, from Navarre, and even her husband himself.
Physically, she suffers from a chronic illness that weakens her body, but this must not be mistaken as vulnerability. Her bond with Tairn and Andarna provides staggering magical force.
Where Eleanor controlled her power with apocalyptic precision, Violet lacks the same restraint. Her lightning is wild, volatile, and unpredictable — making her battles as much storm as strategy. Yet her moral compass has rallied soldiers, Riders, and dragons under her command. She is well respected, deeply feared, and increasingly viewed as the Revolution's last unbroken leader.
To underestimate Violet Sorrengail is to mistake compassion for weakness. It would be a fatal error.
Threat Assessment: HIGH
Designation: Former Colonel of Navarre (stripped), Commander within the Aretian Revolution, Husband of Katherine Ryder, Father of Elara Nyx Ryder
Current Status: Venin (Corrupted)
Rank: Former: Colonel, Navarrean Army, Former: Senior Commander of the Aretian Revolution, Current: None — status revoked upon confirmed corruption
Dragon: Miroth - Red
Signet: Telekinesis
Summary: Once a highly respected Colonel of Navarre, Elias Ryder defected and pledged himself to the Aretian Revolution, where he quickly became one of its most trusted and beloved commanders. Both Tyrrish and Orlythian factions held him in high regard — not only for his martial skill, but for his unwavering loyalty, compassion, and fierce dedication to his family.
That loyalty, however, became his undoing.
During the Battle of Draithus, his wife, Katherine Ryder, was nearly killed at the hands of Darius Kasten. In a desperate attempt to save her, Elias surrendered himself to Venin corruption. The transformation succeeded in sparing her life — but cost him his humanity.
Since that day, Elias Ryder has vanished. He left behind Katherine and their newborn daughter, Elara Nyx Ryder, now one month old at his disappearance. Whether he has aligned himself with Xaden Riorson or wanders independently remains unconfirmed.
What is certain is this: the man once known as a father, husband, and leader is gone. What remains is Venin — and if he retains even fragments of his discipline and tactical mind, he will be as dangerous as any enemy we face.
Do not underestimate him.
Threat Assessment: HIGH
Designation: Former Strategist of Navarre (stripped), Commander of the Aretian Revolution, Wife of Elias Ryder (now Venin), Mother of Elara Nyx Ryder
Status: Whereabouts Unknown
Rank: Former: Colonel, Navarrian Army (strategist-class), Former: Senior Commander of the Aretian Revolution, Current: Missing
Dragon: Sereil — Green
Signet: Decay Manipulation — limited ability to accelerate breakdown of organic or material matter. Considered "weaker" than her inner circle, but nonetheless dangerous in close-quarters.
Summary: Katherine Ryder has always been underestimated. That is her weapon.
Once a strategist for Navarre, she defected to the Aretian Revolution, where she became a critical mind behind its survival. Known for her intelligence, ruthlessness, and ability to see ten steps ahead, Ryder carved her place not through overwhelming magical power, but through cunning, weapons mastery, and unrelenting will.
While her Signet — decay manipulation — is comparatively weaker than those of her infamous counterparts, it would be a fatal mistake to dismiss her. Katherine Ryder does not need a Signet to win. She is a strategist, a weapons master, and a tactician without equal. Those who underestimate her rarely live long enough to repeat the mistake.
It is widely believed that she played a pivotal role in Eleanor Riorson-Tavis' survival and recovery following her torture, molding her into the weapon she has since become. If true, Ryder is as much responsible for the monster Navarre now faces as Eleanor herself.
Since the Battle of Draithus, Ryder has vanished with her infant daughter, Elara Nyx Ryder, and her dragon, Sereil. Whether she is in hiding, regrouping, or preparing a counterstrike remains unknown.
What is known is this: Katherine Ryder is unpredictable. She is patient. She is ruthless. And she remains one of the most dangerous minds alive.
Threat Assessment: HIGH
Species: Brown
Status: DECEASED — chose to die alongside his rider, Garrick Tavis-Riorson, King of Orlyth.
Bonded: Garrick Tavis-Riorson (confirmed dead, Battle of Draithus).
Alliances: Close ally and companion of Noxarathian, King of the Shadewings.
Age: Unknown — estimated middle-aged by dragon standards.
Summary: Once known among dragonkind as measured, wise, and unusually peace-minded, Chradh represented a balance rare among apex predators. He was regarded as intelligent and pragmatic, a steadying counterweight to his rider Garrick Tavis' ferocity.
That reputation no longer applies.
The repeated torture, mutilation, and attempted assassinations of Garrick and Eleanor Riorson-Tavis shattered Chradh's restraint. What was once peace evolved into wrath. Protective instinct twisted into brutality. Mercy gave way to cruelty.
Reports confirm Chradh demonstrated sadistic behaviors in his final years: crippling prey before death, prolonging Venin suffering deliberately, and even using battlefield terror as calculated strategy.
His close kinship with Noxarathian, the White Death, cemented this transformation. What began as friendship became a blood-bond of ferocity. Together, they slaughtered with purpose — Chradh the storm, Noxarathian the executioner.
On the battlefield, Chradh was devastation incarnate. Sieges ended in carnage; Venin were torn apart, their deaths dragged out with personal vengeance. He did not kill as a predator. He killed as a protector whose den had been threatened.
At Draithus, after Garrick Tavis' confirmed death, Chradh refused to retreat. He refused to live. Instead, he lowered his head beside Noxarathian and laid his massive body against his fallen rider and queen. Witnesses describe both dragons bowing their heads in mourning before deliberately stopping their hearts.
Chradh's end was not forced. It was chosen.
Threat Assessment
Classification: IMMEDIATE GLOBAL THREAT (neutralized).
Species: Shadewing (White — last of the original den, progenitor of the new den)
Status: DECEASED — chose to die alongside his bonded rider, Eleanor Riorson-Tavis, Queen of Orlyth.
Bonded: Eleanor Riorson-Tavis (confirmed dead, Battle of Draithus).
Position: King of the Shadewing Den.
Age: Unknown — estimated over 100 years.
Summary: Noxarathian was not a dragon. He was an apex predator wearing the guise of one.
The last surviving Shadewing of the ancient Den, Noxarathian became progenitor of a new brood after the hatching grounds in Aretia were reignited. Eight eggs were confirmed under his protection — proof that the most dangerous draconic bloodline in history was not extinct but returning.
Ancient, sentient, and possessed of knowledge even the Empyrean cannot catalogue, Noxarathian refused all authority and operated by his own shifting code. He slaughtered allies and enemies indiscriminately, his definition of "den" the only law he obeyed. Those within it were protected unto death. Those outside it were prey.
Historically, Noxarathian murdered every rider he ever bonded. Until Eleanor Riorson-Tavis. With her, his violence became tethered — not restrained, but directed. Together, they became a singular conduit of Voidfire and ruin, unanswerable to Navarre, Tyrrendor, or even the gods themselves.
Reports confirm: Noxarathian consumed wyverns, gryphons, dragons, and Venin alike. He killed for protection, for hunger, for pleasure. His loyalty to Eleanor was absolute, but his savagery was his own. Witnesses described him not as a mount or a companion but as a king in his own right — and a king of monsters.
At Draithus, following the death of his rider, Noxarathian refused to flee. Refused to live. Instead, he lowered himself beside Eleanor and Garrick Tavis, pressed his massive body against theirs, and deliberately stilled his heart.
His death was chosen. His legacy endures.
Threat Assessment
Classification: IMMEDIATE GLOBAL THREAT (neutralized).
Designation: Noodle
Classification: Veylthorn Parasite (Anomaly-Class)
Status: DECEASED — confirmed to have refused to flee at Draithus; died coiled beside Eleanor and Garrick Tavis, his bonded den.
Size: Default: ~1ft serpent.
Confirmed alternate forms:
Small dragon (~4ft, winged)
Wolf (~6ft, quadruped)
Other voidfire-forged aberrations (unrecorded, presumed experimental).
Abilities:
Siphoning: Capable of draining wards, signets, and Venin corruption mid-combat.
Shapeshifting: Voidfire-based morphing into serpentine, draconic, lupine, or unknown aberrations.
Possession: Mastered full control of human hosts; capable of walking, speaking, and killing while wearing another's body.
Mental Manipulation: Mimics voices, projects false commands, and destabilizes enemy morale.
Distance Wielding: Channels Voidfire via tether to Eleanor Riorson-Tavis, extending her reach through him.
Draconic Communication: Communicates fluently with dragons, parasites, and other void-born entities.
Summary: Originally released from Malek's Bay as a living weapon designed to execute Eleanor Riorson-Tavis and Noxarathian, the experiment failed catastrophically. Instead of killing its intended prey, the parasite was adopted into the Riorson-Tavis Den.
Named "Noodle" by Eleanor, the parasite's evolution from shoulder-bound oddity to battlefield horror is without precedent. Reports confirm:
He has dragged Venin corpses from the field to consume.
He has devoured Venin mid-transformation.
He has mimicked Eleanor's voice to confuse and terrorize enemy units.
He has learned full possession of humans, manipulating their flesh like puppets, speaking through their mouths, killing with their hands.
Witnesses described soldiers breaking ranks, driven to madness, as their commander's own voice ordered them into traps that ended in fire.
Despite his volatility, Noodle's loyalty to Eleanor, Garrick, Noxarathian, and Chradh was absolute. He treated them as den, as family, and would kill without hesitation to protect them.
At Draithus, following the deaths of Eleanor and Garrick, Noodle refused to flee. He coiled his body against theirs and stilled his own heart, a parasite choosing death rather than life without its den.
Threat Assessment
Classification: IMMEDIATE GLOBAL THREAT (neutralized).
Final Statement — General Augustine Melgren
History will try to erase them.
The King demands it. Tauri has ordered the names of Eleanor and Garrick Tavis stricken from record — their victories reassigned, their legacy ground into ash. He claims it is for the safety of Navarre. That to remember them is to give the enemy power.
But for the first time in my career, I will not obey.
Because I fought beside them.
I watched Eleanor Riorson-Tavis descend into the archives of Basgiath itself, searching for a cure to the Venin corruption. I stood across from her in war rooms, where her mind worked faster than any general I have ever served with. She was twelve when her own parents caged and tortured her. By twenty-three, she had outwitted gods.
She was Queen for seven months. In that time, she forged an alliance with Deverelli, hunted down relics older than our histories, struck down over 3,000 Venin and wyvern, and saved two cities from falling. And when the world thought the Shadewings extinct, she resurrected their Den.
Seven months.
Garrick Tavis was her shadow, her steel, her anchor. Where she burned, he cut. Where she roared, he commanded. He killed an Elder Venin. He wielded storms that stripped the flesh from bone. And in the end, he chose to die at her side — not as a soldier, not as a king, but as a husband.
Were they dangerous? Yes. Were they unpredictable? Always.
But Navarre molded them into weapons by trying to kill them. By turning their family into targets. By demanding submission from two people who would never kneel.
We should not be surprised they lashed out.
I do not mourn easily. But I will not lie to myself. Quietly, silently, I grieve them. Because as much as they terrified me... they also saved me. They saved us all, again and again, until there was nothing left of them to give.
Tauri will claim they were monsters. He will call them traitors. And the world will forget them, because the world is always eager to forget those who frighten it most.
But I will not forget.
The Tavis family gave everything they had and more to this war. They deserve a legacy, and I will give them one.
Navarre made a mistake calling them the enemy. A mistake that cannot be undone.
Because in the end, whether ally or adversary, whether savior or destroyer, Eleanor and Garrick Tavis were always fated to bring about one thing.
Oblivion.
— General Augustine Melgren
THE LOST GALLERY OF ARETIA
Artwork by Eleanor Riorson-Tavis and others. Recovered by Jesinia Neilwart.
They may have been generals. They may have been kings and queens. But here, in these sketches, they were family. The Lost Gallery of Aretia is preserved so the world will remember not only what they destroyed — but what they loved.
THE OFFICIAL PLAYLIST OF THE RIORSON-TAVIS FAMILY
IN LOVING MEMORY:
Chompy Riorson-Tavis
A creature with no species, no origin, no past—only teeth and acid and a growl far too big for his tiny body.
What he did have was a family. A den. A home he carved out of shadows and laughter.
He died as he lived: feral, loyal, fearless.
A not-fox. A son. A monster. A Shadewing, in all but wings.
May he find, in the After, every bone his little heart could dream of.
May he build his hoard without end.
May he wait there, proud and snarling, until the day his family comes home.
Like a good boy.
Like a Shadewing.