The Téthias'quarón (Styrásh: Téthias'quarón, lit. "Oath of the Young") is the famous oath sworn by the commanders of the elven and the human armies, the Erpheronian Karthach of Ishmarin and the elven High Ava'ránn hailing from the Maeverhim tribe, Vilanciash of the Sharadon Forest. The agreement was called the "Oath of the Young" as the long serving leaders of both races were eliminated during the war and Karthach hadn't reached his twentieth cyle and the elven Vilanciash also was only in her sixties when swearing to the oath. The oath took place at the final days of the Second Sarvonian War (501 b.S.), marking the end of a period of wars between the human and the elven race, committing both former opponents to the seemingly naive guideline to "never again allow bloodshed" between these two races. Nevertheless the Téthias'quáron has remained valued and respected until this very day, a miraculous fact the historians still fail to explain.

Picture description. The handing over of the signed agreement of the famous Téthias'quarón, the Oath of the Young. Picture from the game Mystical Empire™, used with friendly permission. Illustration drawn by Faugar.

Description. The Téthias'quarón sealed the end of the Second Sarvonian War (550-501 b.S.), the War of the Inpious. SW II was a decades lasting war between the elven and the human race in southern Sarvonia, which started in 550 b.S. with the looting of the Mausoleum of the Leaders on the Isle of Hope. There leaders of both races - humans and elves - had been enterred together as a sign of peace after the end of SW I. With the desecration of the tomb a long and bloody war began, but the Téthias'quarón would finally peacefully unite the races - it would not bring the races together in death as was the case with the Mausoleum of the Leaders, but it would be a sign of life.

In 501 b.S. the joined human armies suffered severe losses, and with the scenes of mass suicide of the Erpheronian army at the Last Stand at the Selidor Pass in front of his eyes, the newly assigned Erpheronian king and warlord Karthach of Ishmarin surrendered unconditionally to the overwhelming elven forces. A treaty was to be signed near the ruins of Nyermersys between the representative of the human armies and the elven High Ava'ránn, the Maeverhim Vilanciash, who - like her human counterpart - had only recently been elected to the elven suvereign. Karthach was no more than 20 years old while Vilanciash in her late sixties.

In this agreement exact borders were defined, but to the surprise of the humans the elves renounced on the payment of reparations. Instead both leaders assured each other by swearing and oath on the own tribe's insignia to never again start the bloodshed of war between the elven and the human race again - not in their lifetime and not among their ancestors. As a sign of their good-will the emblem of the former hostile tribe was burned into the chest and at both arms of each of the leaders, so that everyone could see their commitment to the contract. Thus the more aggressive Erpheronian phoenix from now on "adorned" the elven leader's body and an elegant white bird with the eye of Avá would be seen on the human counterpart. Since this time every new regent of the Erpheronian and the Maeverhim in representation of their race has to go through this ritual before the coronation. The Téthias'quarón also should be renewed on many important occasions by the leaders of the races or at meetings of elven and human commanders at joint operations.

Later on the Téthias'quarón was condemned and praised by many people on both sides. It was condemned as it is said to have been a naive action of mere "children" without thinking about the consequences and it is praised at the same time as it was precisely just this innocence of the oath, which was mainly responsible for many peaceful years to come.

Importance. The impact the symbolic rituals of the oath had on elven and human subjects of that time cannot be stressed enough. The burning of the tribe signs into the flesh of the regents was a demonstration of the new alliance and at the same time a very visible solidarity with the public's pain and therefore seen as an act of courage and strong sign of leadership of a new generation in times of chaos and uncertainty. Not only accidentally his procedure reminded also of the branding of animals or even slaves in former times, where the servitude to a Lord was defined by putting such a fire mark on a beast or human being. Thus with the Téthias'quarón the leaders of whole races brought down their uttermost noble intentions to a level even the peasants could understand due to its graphical display of the basic reciprocal meaning - to serve each other and to be bound to the fate of the other race. Surpisingly for both sides until this very day the implications of this famous oath have been heeded. Actually the oath brought the races more and more together in the course of time, paving the way for the explicit joining of forces against the orcish invasion in SW III and later for the unification in the Kingdom of Santharia. Also the Erpheronians and the Maeverhim tribes still stand in high esteem by the other elven or human tribes for the Téthias'quarón, representing the major breakthrough towards a peaceful development between the two once fierce enemy races.