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.

Following the collapse of the Second Mageocracy in 2836 the warlord Kelvur Yemo proclaimed himself King of Ghalid, and was able to maintain his power through brutal force and terror. Kelvur’s realm extended along the Nyrda from the Siora River to Palnio Keep. During the Interregnum, Kelvur and his minions indulged every degenerate whim at the expense of a cowering populace, earning the sobriquet “Ogre.” Although the Naventhülian rituals over which he presided grew ever more “creative” as his sanity crumbled, he retained his military brilliance.

In 2844, after surviving what appeared to be a crippling stroke, Kelvur claimed to be The Necromancer, the Befouler of the Dead, titles used by Korönians to describe Pürshok Vindu, the greatest of the Chained God’s servants, defeated over three centuries earlier. Two years later he began excavating the Hukaro barrows, a nearby ancient burial site, and was said to be fond of meditating among the grave goods of the ancient chieftains. He is alleged to have devoured even the bones in the barrows.

In 2846 Kelvur was killed in combat with Dorikon I of Arushal, as that monarch expanded his realm. He was entombed in the barrow now known as Kelvur’s Hill. Within a week the grave was found open, with no trace to be found of Kelvur or of the dozen of his lieutenants buried there. The new commander of Palnio died within the year, apparently of heart failure, and his successors for the next 13 years seemed cursed with violent and unnatural deaths. All attempts to re-seal Kelvur’s barrow were futile; on every occasion it would be found open within a few days. Tales sprang up that the barrow was accursed, and there were frequent sightings of Kelvur’s limping ghost.

The death of Eres Janor in 2920 was commonly attributed to Kelvur’s shade. Eres was a Caelite cantor who performed the ceremonies of exorcism over the ruins of the Naventhülian temple, the castle chapel, and Kelvur’s barrow. Thirteen days later, his dismembered body was discovered on the Ivlan bridge, and Kelvur’s grave was found open.

No attempt was made to close the barrow, which has remained open since 2920. Trees were planted on the hill in 3003 but they withered and died. The barrow now is covered by dense, thorny, brush. The curse on the castle’s lords seems to have faded, but locals still blame strange events and accidents on the Ghoul of Kelvur, whose shade is still occasionally sighted. Some say the spectre isn’t a ghost, but the undead form of Kelvur.