Located in the heart of the Chevan wilderness lies Zetarn, a sacred site to the fierce tribal people known as the Firilani. In the surrounding hills, there are extensive barrows, burial sites for the greatest of Firilani warriors and chieftains. The Delfari Empire conquered deep into the Chevan Gap early in the 28th Century and maintained a lonely fort at Zetarn to control the warlike Firilani. The fort, and its entire garrison, were massacred by the Firilani in 2765. The following tale suggests one reason for the massacre.

Nahandis the Scholar, the tenth Delfari Emperor, was a learned and intellectual ruler who encouraged scholarly pursuits throughout his reign. He also patronized archaeological expeditions to various ancient sites. In 2763, Gelan Terrik received a charter from Nahandis to excavate the Zetarn barrows in the hope of finding the resting place of Lahrkim the Wanderer.

Gelan was a somewhat unlovely character, even considering that he was a covert priest of Naventhül. Gelan believed that Lahrkim the Wanderer had possessed several enchanted artifacts of Immortal (or even Ancient) origin, and that these were likely buried with him. It is probable that Gelan intended to keep these artifacts for himself rather than turn them over to the Imperium, as required by his charter. In any event, he assembled an expedition of “archaeologists,” all of whom were Naventhülian acolytes, arriving at Zetarn in the fall of 2764.

Gelan had no idea which of the hundreds of barrows might hold Lahrkim’s remains, and several attempts to elicit that information from captive Firilanii failed when the prisoners died under torture. Frustrated, Gelan began his search at random, excavating barrow after barrow, amid growing Firilanii unrest. After months of effort, he had nothing to show for the work except a dozen wagon loads of normal Firilanii grave goods.

Gelan’s grave-robbing coincided with the rise of Voyerin, a warchief of the Aranak Firilani, whose goal was to drive out the hated Delfari invaders; the unrest caused by Gelan’s desecration of the tombs was the spark needed to unite the fractious tribes.

In the summer of 2765, the Firilani fell on the Delfari fort, and although Warchief Voyerin himself died in the assault, the garrison was massacred to a man. Gelan’s fate was far less pleasant; he and his assistants were taken alive and suffered grisly and painful tortures atop one of the many barrows they had desecrated, and were then buried, still alive, within one.

It is said that to this day Gelan’s shade haunts Zetarn, still seeking the barrow of Lahrkim the Wanderer. A variation of the tale has the Firilani tribesmen burying him alive in Lahrkim’s own tomb, but given the northern tribes’ reverence for the Wanderer, this seems very unlikely.