Lord Faleria stepped closer and closer into madness after the death of his Elven wife, though he could never explain his troubles to his peers in the outside world. To keep his Elven family a secret, he continued to use disposable labor to expand their realm and give them new comforts.

The children grew into adults, rarely seeing sunlight. Well into adulthood, his youngest son could not take his confinement any longer. He managed to escape, and do so easily and often. Inevitably, as these things happen, he fell in love with a merchant's daughter. It was not long before she was with child. The girl's family, horrified at the child's Elven traits, forced the young woman to confess that her lover was Lord Faleria's son. Horrified at being discovered, Lord Faleria took his grandson and hid him with the rest of the family.

The Empire was at his gate within days. Treason. Giving aid to the enemy. Crimes against the Empire. He had no defense, but he'd prepared a response for this day. In his madness, Lord Faleria prepared a dark ritual. If he could not be with his family, he would rather destroy everything, and the Imperial Army with it.

The night came. The ritual concluded. It would take only one final gesture to consume the entire castle in darkness. At the final moment, a hand fell on his shoulder. His son was behind him with the rest of the family.
It was too late. The very shadows crawled like smoke from the ground, dissolving objects, walls, men, and mer. Some formed man-like shapes and attacked the besieging army from within. Others opened up like rifts, and the world fell inside.

When it was over, only Lord Faleria remained in an empty field and some freshly-made ruins. As the legends say, he buried his children and grandchild on the surface, where he never allowed them before, retreated into the hole in the ground, sealing it behind him.

For most great men, the walls and monuments live far longer than their name. For Lord Faleria, the location of his fort is lost to time, but his name remains.