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NelesiansNelesians are a violent neutral faction found only in North Ideitess. They consist primarily of -- unfortunately -- children, and they guard the temple of Avora. They guard it, not because it is sacred, or because they are so commanded, but because it holds the treasure of the few adult marauders who keep the nelesians going. These men kidnap children who show potential, take them into the snow and to the temple, train them for some years, and then send them out to keep the legionites away. They use children because the legion has not developed a suitable method for handling such foes; the nelesians are violent and barely hesitate to kill. HistoryThe founder of this faction, Heroica Frederic Nelesar, was a hero of the king around the year 790AL. His appearance in battle as always met with attention and celebration and even on the streets he would have people looking his way and wanting to speak with him or hold his sword or wear his helmet. Such was his bravery and ferocity in battle and his kindness outside of it that his reputation remains unmatched to this day. However, in the middle of the year 795, he mistakenly killed one of his own elites in the heat of battle and this was witnessed by many and talked about by many more. Though almost none doubted it was an accident, the king looked upon Nelesar with great judgement and had people watch him. Against great odds, it happened a second time, and Nelesar slew a fellow hero in battle in the same year. The cracks began to show and many whispered that he was using his reputation to climb his way to the top, and that he was trying to take the king's place by slaying those in his way and using his reputation as a shield against any accusations. It did not work. Nelesar was stricken of his rank entirely and practically forced out of all cities and towns. His life was twisted in such a short amount of time and Nelesar grew suddenly bitter towards others, and he made efforts to take vengeance on the king. Though he was skilled in many areas, everybody recognised him too well and all of his schemes failed. It wasn't before long that he was planning on recruiting somebody to help him; somebody nobody would suspect. And so he kidnapped the king's young son and daughter, named Timotheos and Saralia, and fed them corrupt words about their father abusing his power until they, too, wanted to help him take vengeance. Nelesar's words were so manipulative that those who met the prince and princess thereafter said that they were entirely unrecognisable in personality and mannerisms. Timotheos was taught to use daggers and knives and Saralia was taught to use a bow, and together the two of them slew the king and stole his personal treasures to return to Nelesar. The king's oldest son, who Nelesar did not attempt to kidnap, immediately took his father's throne, and set up searches and investigations, but almost no evidence of the murderers could be found. The only evidence they did find pointed to the young royals, but they lived in the castle and were only children and so were not accused of anything. Within a week, though, they were gone; they went with Nelesar and traveled far away, eventually finding a temple called Avora far north of civilisation, in the deadening cold. Details of events after this point are vague and unclear. It's said that Nelesar hired marauders and established a faction of violent thieves who would go south, steal riches from the people, and then take it all to the north and hide it in the temple. As the marauders were almost always out hunting for treasure, Nelesar and some of the others began to kidnap other children and train them to savagely protect the temple from anybody else. Appearance and BehaviourAdult nelesians are almost indistinguishable from average people, as they dress as normally as possible and are skilled in stealing things in broad daylight and then appearing innocent if questioned. The other nelesians, though -- the children who protect Avora -- are easier to spot. They often wear lots of animal furs and white or grey rags both to keep warm and to camoflage in the forests and snowy fields, and always cover their mouths with grey cloth when around others. If they carry daggers, they are hidden in their outfits. They move quickly and quietly and generally will not speak with strangers. The boys generally use blades and the girls use bows, but this isn't always the case. Of course, the legion has tried to develop many techniques to rescue these children: the first thing they tried was to simply trap them, disarm them, and bring them into a secure environment to undergo a number of approaches to either find out information about the faction or to get them back into a normal life. None of these approaches, however, have worked. The children placed back into a household are terribly violent and will run away at the first chance, and were presumed to have returned to Avora. The children interrogated often sooner cut out their own tongues than reveal information about the faction. So, the legion concentrates on protecting the people from the theives and issues strong warnings about people travelling that far north.
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