Merres and Ella Cornwall

Merres and Ella Cornwall were a pair of self-styled "battling sorcerers"(though they had no magic) who lived in the early Second Age. Inspired by the romanticisim of the Golden Age, they were explorers and archaeologists who made to visit remote sites and recover lost treasures on the Greater Continent. Though reviled by mainstream academics, they were beloved by the public and remained popular figures in in historical fiction for centuries after their deaths.

Methods and Style

Like Finious Aberton, the Cornwall's sought to visit and rediscover important sites known of but abandoned since the Mage Wars. Unlike Finious, they "Didn't want to die sick and in bed because we didn't pay attention to radiation warnings". As such, the Cornwall's never ventured into the vast Interior, and stuck to sites within a thousand miles of the coastline.

The Cornwalls regarded themselves first as wanderers and explorers, and described their journeys as an end unto themselves. While they were prolific writers and documentary film makers, they often boasted that these exploits were simply 'a means to an end', a way to finance their lifestyle. Later historians were divided on the validity of this statement, as the pair did live quite well. But, by the same token, the lion's share of their income was spent on high-tech equipment and financing their journeys, so it could go either way.

The Cornwalls mostly explored the area of the Nara River basin, the Summer Lowlands, and the great expanses on the north-eastern quadrant. Regions that were then sparsely or even completely underpopulated. While they made a few early expeditions on foot or by boat, they primarily used ruggedized vehicles or light aircraft. Perhaps most famous is their tendency to go out just the pair of them; mastering whatever skills were required to make long, dangerous treks alone. While definitely dangerous, it gave the pair a great deal of mystique.

Their most famous vehicle was a hybrid light aircraft, called 'The Wilting Bird', which was painted a vibrant shade of clean white. A sophisticated twin-engine floatplaine with retractable landing-gear, there's was specially modified with then-state-of-the-art equipment. While they mainly traveled by plane or small boat, they were accomplished trekers and both skilled at navigation.

Discoveries

The Cornwalls made dozens of credible major discoveries in the regions they explored, including numerous lost cities and mage towers. Because of the remoteness of the sites being visited, they were limited in the artifacts they could bring back; focused primarily on anything with writing that could later be translated and studied. Their most famous credible discovery were the Gnecti Compili, a set of clay tablets from a city called Uray. Originally believed to be a lost language, the tablets proved to be written in Common, but in a script that used wedge-shaped indentations that were easier to stamp into clay than modern curved letters. The discovery demonstrated that Uray(a previously unknown city-state) had been a flourishing bastion of culture, with high rates of literacy and a well-developed mythology.

Controversies

While the Cornwall's did indeed visit and map several remote sites, and brought back minor artifacts of considerable significance, they also released a number of 'finds' that were in fact very obvious and poor-quality forgeries. In one instance, they claimed to have discovered the actual Horn of Araya, presenting a very beautiful and ornate item of clearly modern vintage. Since the actual horn was known to be fictional, the discover sparked much controversy. When questioned about their fact-checking, Merres replied that "Given as nothing of historical importance hinges on the validity of the artifact, not much time need to be expended on considering this matter further. We had a grand adventure, we sought to delight the senses and inflame the imagination, and that is all that need be said about that.".

The horn was one of half a dozen such finds of well-known lost artificats that were either entirely mythical or definitely not what they Cornwall's presented.