Cothellon

The Cothellon

The Cothellon (a High Eldrim word translating to "enemy elves") are a secretive, highly advanced faction of elves who serve as the primary antagonists for much of the Earth-based storyline in The Metalwood Saga. Known to the oblivious human inhabitants of the floating sky cities as the Planners, the Cothellon abandoned the natural Woodways of the traditional elves in favor of ruthless technological advancement, societal control, and corrupted Darkprime magic.

Origins and Philosophy

The Cothellon splintered off from the main elven society on Valaralda thousands of years ago. While traditional Eldrim chose to live in harmony with nature and strictly regulated magic through the Department of Magical Research, the Cothellon believed this pacifist approach was foolish. They sought to combine magic with advanced science to unlock the true potential of the universe.

Their technological progress accelerated massively when the ancient scientist Orym (formerly Aten) defected to join them, eventually becoming their Scientist General. Driven by the looming, apocalyptic threat of The Fall (Guruthos), the Cothellon dedicated their entire civilization to one singular goal: survival at any cost.

Leadership and Structure

The Cothellon operate under a strict, militaristic hierarchy that demands absolute obedience.

The Cundu: The supreme leader of the Cothellon. This position has been held by the beautiful and ruthless Lorelei for over a millennium. Her word is absolute law.
The Conin: The Cothellon governing council, which is split into the Large Council and the inner, more powerful Small Council.
Key Figures:
- Quynn (Simon): The Monitor Master and Lorelei's right hand. He commands the mindmasters.
- Orym (Aten/Marcus): The Scientist General, responsible for the invention of Darkprime magic and the design of the sky cities.
- Grathgor: Small Council member overseeing the synchronization of Fennas Elenathon.
- Droth: Head of Cothellon security.
- Morgian: Council member who oversees the Transmuter Legion and resource flows.
- Argus: Manager of the Forcefinder Corps.
- Aelwynn: The arrogant Director of City Three and Fallfoiler Captain.

The Ascension and Fennas Elenathon

Roughly three hundred years before the main story, the Cothellon executed The Ascension. Fleeing the impending Sundering of Earth by the Eldrim, the Cothellon cloaked and levitated seven massive replica cities (including New San Francisco, New Tokyo, New Manhattan, and New Paris) high into the atmosphere.

They trapped millions of humans inside these cities, lying to them about a deadly "nanovirus" on the surface. In reality, the entire United Sky Cities infrastructure was a cover for building a colossal planetary device known as Fennas Elenathon (Gateway to the Stars).

Lorelei's ultimate plan was the Conjunction: physically connecting all seven floating cities together to tap into Earth's core. This would generate a planetary-scale gate intended to transport the entire Earth twenty thousand light-years away, effectively escaping the reach of The Fall.

Atrocities and Control

To maintain their floating empire and fuel their technology, the Cothellon committed horrific atrocities:

The Darkprime Ceremonies: Because darkprime wood (metalwood) cannot be grown naturally, the Cothellon established the Department of Civil Service. Topside citizens were "drafted" and secretly murdered, their blood used to water darkprime saplings to generate the magical fuel required to keep the cities afloat.
Centennial Reductions: To manage limited resources, the Cothellon secretly orchestrated mass riots and population cullings every hundred years.
Mindmaster Control: Quynn's black-clad Monitors constantly used corrupted poplar wood to wipe memories, suppress rebellions, and enforce docility among the human population.
The Below: At the very bottom of the cities, the Cothellon enslaved transmuter mages to process human waste into water and Synthbeer. To keep these slaves compliant, the Planners fabricated a fake religion known as the Wavelight Church, led by figures like High Priestess Glimmer.

Downfall

The Cothellon's grand design began to unravel when Orym defected back to the Eldrim, realizing the Conjunction would cause mass planetary devastation. Simultaneously, an uprising led by Phoenix, Rylan, Dill, and the underkids of the Shock Crew caused massive disruptions.

The killing blow to their empire occurred when the elven infiltrator Dunedar successfully detonated a bomb in New Tokyo (City Seven) during the Ascension sequence. With one of the seven required cities destroyed, Fennas Elenathon failed. The enslaved human mages were freed, the sky cities were liberated, and the surviving Cothellon leadership—including Quynn—were imprisoned. Following their defeat, many former Cothellon soldiers and citizens integrated into the new, peaceful society of Pano Sylrantheas.