Editing Alatar Locke (section)

{{Character Summary
 |              Image = Alatar Locke Live.jpg
 |               Name = Alatar Locke
 |               Race = 
* [[Isparian]] ([[Aluvian]])
 |     Related Groups =
* [[Exploration Society]]
 |        Eras Active =
* [[Portal Year Era]]
 |    Important Dates = 
 | Related Characters = 
* [[Elysa Strathelar]]
* [[Lilitha]]
 | 
 |  Display Top Links = True
 |       Link Related = True
 |       Link In Game = True
 | Link Lore Articles = True
 |         Link Texts = True
 |    Link Characters = False
 |        Link Quests = True
 |          Link NPCs = True
 |     Link Creatures = False
 |     Link Locations = True
 |         Link Items = True
 |        Link Images = False
 |    Link References = True
 |
 |         Minor Char = True
 |      Isparian Char = True
 |       Aluvian Char = True
 |        Living Char = True
}}

'''Alatar Locke''' is a famous early explorer of Dereth.<ref name="ANoteFromIquba">1999/11 [[Release]] - [[A note from Iquba]]</ref><ref name="TheLostLight">''Date Unknown'' [[Microsoft Zone Archive/Asheron's Lore/The Mysterious Portals Archive|The Mysterious Portals Archive]] - [[Microsoft Zone Archive/Asheron's Lore/The Mysterious Portals Archive/The Lost Light|The Lost Light]]</ref><ref name="GeneralHistoryOfDerethVolXI">2000/12 [[The Child of Daralet]] - [[General History of Dereth Vol. XI]]</ref><ref name="TheExplorationsOfAlatarLocke">2001/11 [[Dark Majesty]] - [[AC:DM CD Lore/Early Dereth Texts/The Explorations of Alatar Locke|The Explorations of Alatar Locke]]</ref>

Alatar is from a region of Aluvia not unlike the rich farmland of the [[Plains of Gaerwel]] on Dereth.<ref name="QuickRefCard">1999/11 [[Release]] - [[Quick Reference Card]]</ref> He is of the highest education that Aluvia could provide, taught by the most brilliant Gharu'ndim scholars his father could afford.<ref name="AnExplorersNotes">2001/11 [[Dark Majesty]] - [[AC:DM CD Lore/Early Dereth Texts/The Explorations of Alatar Locke/An Explorer's Notes|An Explorer's Notes]]</ref> It is not known exactly when Alatar arrived in Dereth, however, it is known that he explored [[The Floating City]] at least a decade prior to any other Isparians,<ref name="TheExplorationsOfAlatarLocke" /> which means he explored it in Harvestgain, [[Portal Year 1]], if not earlier.<ref name="GeneralHistoryOfDerethVolXI" />

In his early days of exploration, Alatar was famously the first Isparian to chart the [[Direlands]],<ref name="TheExplorationsOfAlatarLocke" />, the first to explore the [[Halls of the Lost Light]],<ref name="TheExplorationsOfAlatarLocke" /><ref name="TheLostLight" /> and as previously mentioned, the first to explore [[The Floating City]].<ref name="TheExplorationsOfAlatarLocke" /> Alatar also explored the [[Swamp Temple (Yanshi)|Swamp Temple]] in the [[Blackmire Swamp]],<ref name="SwampTempleTome">1999/11 [[Release]] - [[Swamp Temple Tome]]</ref> and many other dungeons throughout Dereth.<ref name="InuoKonKousBook">1999/11 [[Release]] - [[Inuo-Kon Kou's Book]]</ref>

Alatar is an old friend of [[Elysa Strathelar]], and the two corresponded up to [[Portal Year 4]].<ref name="ACrumpledLetter">2003/05 [[Discoveries]] - [[A Crumpled Letter]]</ref> Alatar was still active up to [[Portal Year 10]]. In his text on the festival stones, as well as the map credited to him that was provided to new arrivals, he mentions both the towns of [[Al-Arqas]] and [[Lytelthorpe]],<ref name="TheFestivalStonesOfTheEmpyrean">1999/11 [[Release]] - [[The Festival Stones of the Empyrean]]</ref><ref name="QuickRefCard" /> which we know to have been founded in Portal Year 10.<ref name="ACManualAlArqas">1999/11 [[Release]] - [[Asheron's Call Manual/Al-Arqas|Asheron's Call Manual: Al-Arqas]]</ref><ref name="AlArqasTNSign">2010/06 [[Shifting Gears]] - [[Al-Arqas (Town Network Sign)]]</ref><ref name="ACManualLytelthorpe">1999/11 [[Release]] - [[Asheron's Call Manual/Lytelthorpe|Asheron's Call Manual: Lytelthorpe]]</ref><ref name="LytelthorpeTNSign">2010/06 [[Shifting Gears]] - [[Lytelthorpe (Town Network Sign)]]</ref>

Despite this, by [[Harvestgain, 12 PY]], the scholars of the Zaikhal Arcanum feared that Alatar may have been lost before Lifestones rose.<ref name="ACDMCDLoreIntroduction">2001/11 [[Dark Majesty]] - [[AC:DM CD Lore/Introduction|AC:DM CD Lore: Introduction]]</ref><ref name="TheExplorationsOfAlatarLocke" /> It is not known why they thought this, but perhaps they were unaware of his more recent activity, or perhaps they thought he had never attuned to a lifestone. Thankfully, the Arcanum's judgement was wrong in this case. In [[Seedsow, 13 PY]], adventurers discovered Alatar Locke residing in the [[Precarious Sojourn]].<ref name="ArcanePedestalQuest">2002/06 [[Castling]] - [[Arcane Pedestal Quest#Dialog|Arcane Pedestal Quest: Dialog]]</ref> Alatar explained that he was a cartographer for the [[Exploration Society|Explorer Society]], and that he had ended up at this location after spending some time in the Floating City.<ref name="ArcanePedestalQuest" /> After resurfacing, Alatar sent correspondence to his old friend Elysa.<ref name="ACrumpledLetter" /> She wrote back to him around [[Solclaim, 14 PY]], however, her letter was intercepted and found its way into the possession of the [[Mite Warrior Queen]].<ref name="ACrumpledLetter" />

Presumably also after resurfacing, Alatar helped Elysa and her allies identify the Tursh Totem, which Elysa's Royal Guard had found some years prior to [[Snowreap, 16 PY]].<ref name="ReplicaOfATurshTotem">2005/01 [[Assault]] - [[Replica of a Tursh Totem]]</ref> After searching through a series of ancient Empyrean texts, Alatar discovered that Tursh was some sort of being worshiped as a god by a group of cannibalistic savages that once lived in the snow-covered peaks of Dereth. Tursh was purported to be the god of Hunger, though no other reference to Tursh's specific powers or exploits were uncovered in Alatar's research.<ref name="ReplicaOfATurshTotem" />