Enemies
First Light no longer exists as a normal territory in the modern landscape of Aeternum. The region was overtaken by Artemis and the Angry Earth and transformed into the Elysian Wilds. This page records the enemy population of Old First Light before that transformation.
Keeping these enemies separate is important because the old territory had its own ecological and historical identity: Drowned pirates along the coast, Withered around abandoned farms and settlements, Corrupted forces in caves and camps, Ancient Guardians around ruins, and later Varangian war parties pushing into the region.
Historical Enemy Families
| Enemy Family | Presence in Old First Light |
|---|---|
| Lost | Drowned pirates and Withered were common around the coast, farms, and abandoned settlements. |
| Corrupted | Occupied caves and other hostile sites, representing the spreading Corruption that threatened the early settlements. |
| Ancient Guardians | Defended old ruins and structures that predated the human settlement of First Light. |
| Human / Varangian Knights | Varangian Raiders later established war camps in First Light as part of their southern campaign. |
| Beasts | Boars, wolves, and other wildlife formed the ordinary environmental dangers of the former starting territory. |
The Drowned
The coast of First Light was heavily associated with the Drowned, the Lost remains of sailors and pirates who continued to inhabit shipwrecks, docks, caves, and shoreline settlements.
Nyhart’s Anchorage was one of the best-known examples. Adventurers sent there encountered Drowned crews and were tasked with eliminating pirate leaders including Boatswain Ambrose and Quartermaster Zebulon. Their continued presence around the wreckage of maritime life made the coastline a direct introduction to one of Aeternum’s central truths: drowning does not necessarily mean the end of a sailor’s story.
The Withered
Further inland, Withered occupied abandoned farms and settlements. Locations such as Clearwater Bend and Campbell’s Rest became associated with these degraded humanoid enemies.
The Withered are especially appropriate to First Light’s old identity as a starting region. New arrivals quickly learned that immortality was not a promise of eternal health or sanity. The shambling inhabitants of abandoned communities demonstrated what could happen to people who remained on the island after hope and purpose had disappeared.
Corrupted Forces
The Corrupted represented a more active supernatural threat. Areas such as Letum’s Pick were occupied by Corrupted enemies, while the larger story of First Light increasingly connected the territory to the spread of Corruption across southern Aeternum.
Unlike the Lost, who often seem trapped in the remains of their former lives, the Corrupted act with greater direction. Their presence gave Old First Light both kinds of danger at once: the consequences of people who had broken under immortality and an expanding force seeking power over the island.
Ancient Guardians
Old First Light also contained Ancient Guardians protecting ruins that existed long before the region’s human settlement. One notable enemy remembered from the old territory is the Fathomless Syllogist, an Ancient Guardian mage associated with First Light’s Ancient sites.
These encounters ensured that even one of the island’s earliest human settlement zones contained evidence of a civilization far older than the newcomers arriving on its beaches.
The Varangian Arrival
Later in First Light’s history, Varangian Raiders landed on Aeternum’s southern shores and established war camps in both First Light and Monarch’s Bluffs. Their arrival brought organized living human enemies into a region already struggling with undead and supernatural threats.
The Varangians are significant because they were not victims wandering aimlessly through ruins. They arrived with military goals, leadership, and a broader campaign connected to Warlord Varik and the legacy of King Artorius.
Notable Historical Threats and Areas
- Nyhart’s Anchorage — Drowned pirate stronghold.
- Boatswain Ambrose — Named Drowned officer at Nyhart’s Anchorage.
- Quartermaster Zebulon — Another notable Drowned pirate leader.
- Clearwater Bend and Campbell’s Rest — Areas associated with Withered enemies.
- Letum’s Pick — Corrupted-held location in Old First Light.
- Fathomless Syllogist — A notable Ancient Guardian mage from the former territory.
- Varangian war camps — Later human military positions established during the Varangian campaign.
From First Light to the Elysian Wilds
The enemies described here belong to the historical First Light. After Artemis and the Angry Earth took the territory, its ecology and hostile population changed dramatically. The modern Elysian Wilds is dominated instead by Angry Earth forces, transformed beasts, and Beast Lords.
That change makes First Light unique in the Codex: its enemy population can be studied both before and after the destruction of the territory itself.