Alatar Locke

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Character Summary

Alatar Locke

Race:

Isparian (Aluvian)

Associated Groups:

Exploration Society

Eras Active:

Portal Year Era

Related Characters:

Alatar Locke is a famous early explorer of Dereth.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Alatar is from a region of Aluvia not unlike the rich farmland of the Plains of Gaerwel on Dereth.^[5] He is of the highest education that Aluvia could provide, taught by the most brilliant Gharu'ndim scholars his father could afford.^[6] 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,^[4] which means he explored it in Harvestgain, Portal Year 1, if not earlier.^[3]

In his early days of exploration, Alatar was famously the first Isparian to chart the Direlands,^[4], the first to explore the Halls of the Lost Light,^[4]^[2] and as previously mentioned, the first to explore The Floating City.^[4] Alatar also explored the Swamp Temple in the Blackmire Swamp,^[7] and many other dungeons throughout Dereth.^[8]

Alatar is an old friend of Elysa Strathelar, and the two corresponded up to Portal Year 4.^[9] 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,^[10]^[5] which we know to have been founded in Portal Year 10.^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]

Despite this, by Harvestgain, 12 PY, the scholars of the Zaikhal Arcanum feared that Alatar may have been lost before Lifestones rose.^[15]^[4] 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.^[16] Alatar explained that he was a cartographer for the Explorer Society, and that he had ended up at this location after spending some time in the Floating City.^[16] After resurfacing, Alatar sent correspondence to his old friend Elysa.^[9] 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.^[9]

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.^[17] 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.^[17]

Works

The Arcanum described Alatar locke as the first great human Explorer of Dereth.^[4] He is notable for his exploration of the Direlands and many dungeons throughout Dereth.^[4]^[2]^[7]^[8] While he is credited as the first to chart the Direlands, legend claims that Lilitha was the first human to travel through them.^[18]

Alatar is also noteworthy for his study of the Empyrean. The very term Empyrean was coined by Alatar Locke.^[4]^[6] Alatar also theorized that, contrary to the beliefs of Isparian scholars at the time, the Empyreans were not all from a single culture, but instead there were several eras of vastly different Empyrean civilizations.^[6] In some of his early writings, Alatar wrote of the different Empyrean cultures.^[7]^[6] He described the architecture and some rituals of the Falatacot, although he did not call them Falatacot at that time.^[7]^[6] By the time he explored the Floating City, Alatar was using the term Falatacot,^[19] and knew of the Millennium War and the fall of the Ice Throne.^[19]^[20]

Another theory of Alatar's was that Asheron's discovery of portal magic was actually a rediscovery.^[19]^[21] This was later confirmed, as Asheron based his portal magic on the work of Nilrhem Facill.^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25] And later still, we learned of the Falatacot and their portals to Bur. Perhaps the most bold claim made by Alatar is that the Empyrean are not native to Auberean, and that long ago, before the time of the Falatacot, the Empyrean willingly came to Auberean with a singular purpose.^[19] What that purpose was, Alatar was not certain, and he believes that even the Empyrean forgot this purpose.^[19] Whether or not this theory is true remains a mystery.

Some of Alatar's other theories are:

Old Falatacot dungeons, noted for their geometry, symmetry, and repetition of forms that resemble spirals or perfect squares or other such constructs, served a magical purpose.^[6]
The A'mun Desert was once lush and fertile.^[10]
The cove of Yaraq was once an Inner Sea port used by the Empyrean.^[10]
The area of the festival stone of Darktide, where Ayan Baqur would later be founded, was once a port.^[10]
Mount Esper was once a sizable Empyrean town, and they refined pyreal in the fiery core of the mountain.^[10]
The Halls of the Lost Light bore witness to a long struggle against darkness, and when the defenders within perished, their corpses were reanimated by evil magic.^[26]
The Yalaini living in the Floating City that became trapped there after the portals became too unstable eventually turned to necromancy.^[20]

Relationships

Alatar Locke and Elysa Strathelar are old friends.^[9] They have known each other since at least the time when Alatar first explored the Floating City,^[27] which was during Portal Year 1 if not earlier.^[4]^[3] The two corresponded until Portal Year 4. By Portal Year 5, Elysa had gone to live in Asheron's castle,^[28] which may explain why the two lost contact. In her letter to Alatar, Elysa seemed to imply that Alatar has negative feelings towards Asheron.^[9]

Alatar had something of a rivalry with another famous early explorer, Lilitha. Both have claims to being the first Isparian to explore the Direlands.^[4]^[18] In the note she left tucked inside the Elari Wood Bow, Lilitha called Alatar an overweening blowhard.^[29]^[30]

Alatar had a friend named Galtith, who died helping the townsfolk of Edelbar escape from Tumeroks.^[5] He met Ru Shaha the Healer,^[31] perhaps on his way too or from the Swamp Temple. Both Felscuda and Jordan Ibn'Ikia are familiar with his work.^[32]^[33]

Non-Canonical Information

According to old articles about the Undead, Alatar has a son named Ardivan Locke.^[34]^[35] Since this version of the backstory for Undead was retconned later, it is unknown if Ardivan still exists in canon.

The Official strategy guide for Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty lists stats for Alatar's Battle Axe, Alatar's Helm, and Alatar's Platemail Hauberk.^[36] These items have never been discovered and are considered Unimplemented and Unfinished Content. The do provide some insight as to how the developers may have seen Alatar, though. Despite being very well educated and known for his exploration and research, he also would have been a capable fighter, able to wield heavy plate armor and fight with an axe.