Llewyrr

The Llewyrr, also known as the Llewyr, were a race of elves that once held sway over the isle of Gwynneth and perhaps others of the Moonshae Isles. As humans began to colonize the islands, the Llewyrr decided to retreat to Synnoria and isolate themselves.
==Description==
The Llewyrr had fair skin, golden hair, and green or brown eyes with flecks of gold. They were very similar to those called the high elves and were the descendants of the survivors of a shipwrecked elven vessel that was on a pilgrimage to Evermeet.
==Society==
Llewyrr elves lived mostly in small, remote sanctuaries hidden from the outside world. Births were rare and cause for great celebration, but they were not enough to replace those lost to natural causes, accidents, and battle. Male children were especially rare and many of the traditionally male duties were taken over by females, including the defense of the realm. The warriors of the Llewyrr were called the Sisters of Synnoria and rode white chargers into battle with silver lances and enchanted longswords. By the late 15 century DR, an order of crusaders known as the Knights of Synnoria also served as defenders of Llewyrr settlements. All such Llewyrr warriors took the time to learn how to wield traditional elven weapons.
The Llewyrr were vegetarians, shunning all meat, and the animals of Myrloch Vale were either trusting friends or treated as pets. Trout were regarded as sacred creatures that some believed represented the spirits of their ancestors. The Llewyrr had strong, primal bonds with the natural world, and venerated "fey gods" rather than the Seldarine. This mainly included the powerful primal spirits that watched over the Moonshaes, such as the Earthmother and her children.
Given their long history of isolationism, those Llewyrr who wished to learn about another culture were more likely to study its history rather than meet with them, and many Llewyrr were voracious consumers of such histories. The Llewyrr also felt little kinship with other elves outside of their own culture, and distrusted elven "politics" in all forms. In particular, they retained a lingering grudge against all sun elves for ancient aggressions against their people. Although they were slow to form ties with outsiders, the Llewyrr were strongly invested in their familial and community connections. Their friendships were lifetime bonds, and they considered their promises to be binding oaths.
Allies of the Llewyrr included those who venerated primal spirits, fey, and the druid circles of the Moonshaes, with whom they studied the natural world and learned to speak the Druidic language. The Llewyrr were also known to value mastery of arcane magic.
==History==
At the time of the Crown Wars, the Llewyrr elves were the moon elf inhabitants of the Llewyrrwood on the Sword Coast. They fled the Vyshaan occupation of their homeland in , and after failing to reach Evermeet due to a fierce storm, arrived in the Moonshaes where they were greeted by the leShay. Synnoria, the Llewyrr realm, was founded by these refugees in the safety of the mountains. They named the realm after their queen who had led them over the sea.
Over the next eleven thousand years, these elves developed into their own distinct subrace. While their physical appearance changed, they retained a passion for magic and for the building of grand cities. The Llewyrr expanded the capital city of Chrysalis and enhanced its beauty with works of magic into a dazzling settlement of glass, crystal, and silver. But over the millennia, as isolation and declining birth rates took their toll, Chrysalis became quietly abandoned due to the dwindling population.
Long before the humans arrived in the Moonshaes, dwarves began to immigrate and lived in peace with the Llewyrr mostly due to the fact that they did not compete for resources. The dwarves lived underground and in barren and rocky terrain in which the Llewyrr had no interest. When the Beast in the form of Kazgoroth rose to threaten the Balance by calling the firbolgs to kill and pillage, the Llewyrr and the dwarves, aided by the children of the goddess (Leviathan, Kamerynn, and The Pack) fought them for decades. Eventually the allies drove the firbolgs into small corners of the isles and balance was restored for a few centuries. When the short-lived, prolific, and aggressive humans started to arrive, the Llewyrr began their retreat into isolation.
As the Llewyrr felt little affinity for the rest of elvenkind, very few of them joined the Retreat in the mid–14 century DR.
In the , the Sisters of Synnoria were in service to Prince Tristan Kendrick of Corwell. They escorted the prince and his companions through Synnoria while holding off an army of Northmen. Later, they were involved in was the Battle of Freeman's Down and the siege of Caer Corwell, both against the Bloodriders, undead horsemen that served azgaroth the Beast.
Synnoria was attacked by the Ityak-Ortheel in 1365 DR when Malar and Talos sent it through a portal but the elf-eater was defeated and banished back to the Abyss after it had destroyed Argen-Tellirynd, the Palace of Ages.
Legends among the Llewyrr foretold a resurgence would one day bring them back to dominance of the Moonshaes, but they always doubted this legend until it proved true when the entire island of Gwynneth was taken over by High Lady Ordalf of the leShay, leading to humans being banned from its shores beginning in 1375 DR. Even so, their demographic challenges continued, and males comprised only a quarter of the population by the late 15 century DR.
The Llewyrr came to swear fealty to the High Lady of Sarifal over the crown of Evermeet.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===References===
FR:Llewyrr
===Connections===
Category:Eladrin
Category:Fey
Category:Humanoids
Category:Tel-quessir
Category:Elves
Category:Races