Opsalathys, as you may or may not know, was an elven city in the days before they were all conquered by King Lennox. It was one of the very last of their cities to fall. Unlike most other elven cities, the buildings were not constructed in the treetops of the forest. Rather, it was made from bricks of mud and straw and built upon the banks of the Guyver River. Elves had little need of the river for transport, as most of their major cities relied on teleportation between the emperor trees.
So the Guyverian elves were viewed as the backward cousins of the more traditional elves who lived in the trees, both for their choice of homes and for their religious views. They followed the practices of their forest-bound brethren by cutting no timber and building no fires (the bricks were all sun dried) but they favored Callistria in their worship over Erastil. They tolerated the forest elves well enough, allowing them safe passage through their lands, but did not invite nor did they welcome any visitors or trade. Further, instead of mounting griffons as aerial cavalry, they cultivated swarms of enormous wasps.
Opsalathys was a singular development in the kingdom of Old Sylvania. By the time the humans got about besieging the place, they were well practiced in the art of destroying the elven emperor tree colonies. They had it down to a science, it is said. While the particulars are lost to history, what is still known is that the emperor trees did not last long to imperial magical fire. But Opsalathys was not a typical colony. The wasp cavalry proved much faster and more difficult to kill than their griffon counterparts. It has been said that more human lives were lost in the siege at Opsalathys than at any other battle during the war of elven subjugation.
Despite their valor, the elves were heavily outnumbered and could count on no support from other regions which had already fallen by this time. It is unlikely that the independent Guyverians would have called upon Sylvania for help in any event, even if aid could have been had. The killing stroke came when the eastern wall was breached by human sappers. By morning, the burning wall would collapse and imperial troops would take the city. Rather than face defeat, the elves of Opsalathys called upon their strange god, making a pact with her and Urgathoa alike. They would sacrifice their lives in a mass ritual that profaned the ground with their own blood. Each male soldier was charged with killing 10 women and children, who are said to have willingly lined up for the slaughter. Then groups of soldiers drew lots, with 1 slaughtering the other ten. This continued until the remaining soldier killed himself, breathing a curse to the human invaders and a prayer to Urgathoa and Callistria to honor their sacrifice.
When imperial troops entered the silent city, they found some 6000 elves, all dead. The retinue that examined the city left in tears, some retching at the scene, some refusing to continue to serve. A few court martials and hangings brought an end to any insubordination rather quickly.
Would that this were the end to the story. It is said the army encamped around the city, making pits for mass graves. They worked all day and were still not finished by nightfall. Accounts vary as to what happened next. It is said that the dead elves rose to wreak revenge on the imperial troops within the city limits, and those they killed also rose and killed their former comrades. In the morning, over 3000 imperial troops had gone missing in the night, and horrible slaughter had followed horrible slaughter. No trace of the bodies was ever found, and the place was shunned for 40 years by the living until completion of the Guyver dam, which flooded the plain and the city of Opsalathys. It is said that King Lennox visited the city once years later during the daytime (this was before the completion of the dam) to leave some great treasure at its heart, but none who dared to look ever survived to claim the prize. It is unknown whether the dead still walk in Opsalathys in their underwater graves. It is hoped that now they rest in peace.
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