Eland

## Overview

Eland

Map of Eland Home of the Deep Elves in southern Rione

## Eland Flag

The central portion of the crest is the trunk of Elandwin the mother tree who’s canopy bends around to form a full circle. Within Elandwin is a house grown over generations of nature shaping. On either side of the trunk, but inside the canopy circle, is an elf one with a bow the other with a spear and shield facing away from the trunk (this symbolizes the elven protection of the trees with the canopy encirclement showing the trees protection of the elves).

The Current flag is the Valphine family crest backed by the Earth and Sky representing Elandwin's dominion over both and the mutual protection between Elandwin and the deep elves

## Government

### Leader Name

Halafarin Valphine

Family Motto: May we dedicate our lives to Elandwin and spread her progeny to create a more perfect world

 Withdrawn from even normal elven circles the Deep Elves (a cultural subset of Tree Elves) gain their name from their existence deep within the territory of the Tree Elves. They traditionally have had virtually no contact with societies outside the ownership of the sister elven races and have shown a greater degree of xenophobia to non-elven races than even the normally xenophobic Tree elves. The only peoples which prove to be an exception are the Dryads whose close connection with Mother Nature plays on the Deep Elves worship of nature granting them semi divine status within the Deep elven society.

Other than their general location and basics of their religion the outside races know little of and care little for the Deep elves allowing their culture to grow in a near vacuum making it seem slightly alien even to the other elven races. The Tree elves were thought to have originated from their territory in southern Iria and spawned from the mother tree Elandwin there by the will of the Divine.

## Geography and Climate

 North: Coast

East: Forests

West: Forests/river

South: Dense Jungle

Overall Climate: The Deep Elven subculture of the Tree elves lives deep within the Tree elven territory on Iria in the southern tree elf territories. The territory is tropical with an unusually long wet season and short dry season leading to the area having the densest vegetation of any known lands in either Cadia or Iria. In the center of the Deep Elven territory is the tree Elandwin which is perhaps the oldest and largest tree in existence.

Vegetation has grown, due to promotion by a hundred years of chants, to a level where it is now incredibly difficult to generally navigate by anyone but the native deep elven peoples. The densest parts of the forest or jungles are always nearest the mother tree or her seedlings, it progressively thins as you move further away from them towards the edge of the provinces or elven territory. Despite the dense vegetation travel between cities is simple, even for outsiders, as it is part of the duty of each caretaker to direct the energies of Sunday congregations towards the creation and maintenance of roads and paths necessary for travel.

## Major Settlements and Provinces

Each of the Deep elven cities is centered around either Elandwin or one of her seedlings with the city being named after that seedling or Elandwin herself

***Elandwin City*** - the first city of the Deep Elves elandwin city is based centrally around the mother tree elandwin, the city has the largest population of any of the deep elven settlements and houses the basis of their religion and so is also the city from which all other cities derive their authority. Within the base of Elandwin at the center of the city are the two most important structures within the city which were both expanded and nature formed into Elandwin over many centuries, those structures being the Central caretakers residence and the Deep Library.

***Fammel City*** - generally thought to be the oldest of Elandwin’s seedlings the tree Fammel is the center of the second largest city of the deep elves and home to the deep elven school of magic, the school has one of the only open non-forested areas so far in deep elven territory an area set aside for the practicing of earth magic. Here the ground has been torn and shaped by countless spells from innumerable students who seek the mastery of earth  magic that is only possible after decades of study and practice.

***Alamir City*** - this city is the most recently established of the deep elven holdings, on an island just to the north of Elandwin the province Alamir is often the site of dangerous magical experimentation and is home to the majority of the Eland naval forces.

***Dacia City***

***Gabben City***

***Halafra City***

***Jorkall City***

***Lorethal City***

***Orphalong City***

***Patrician City***

## Religion

 In the early days of the first age, soon after the creation of the lands and seas of Rione, there was nothing but rocks and dirt an empty world not fit for the presence of the divine. It was not until the divine seeded Rione with Elandwin that life grew to encompass the lands we know today as Cadia and Iria. This growth was without direction, purpose, or protection and so the first elves were created by the divine in order to direct and protect the forests. These first elves spread with the forests caring for the seedlings of Elandwin and assisting in the expansion of the forest shaping it to provide living spaces and resources they needed for the expansion of their own population. One among the first of the deep elves was gifted with the knowledge needed to care for Elandwin and her seedlings by the divine. He was the first caretaker of elandwin and leader of the Tree elven people, it was he who brought together elven communities in the Sunday nature chant for the first time bringing about the earliest structures and tree homes of Elandwin city.

Elandwin is the progenitor of all life in Rione elves and all other lifeforms originated from it and the will of the divine, it is the closeness of the elven people to Elandwin and their mission from the divine to protect her that prevents them from surviving outside of Elandwin's or her seedlings presence for without Elandwin or her progeny there is no reason for a deep elf to live.

It is the belief of all Deep elves that it is the destiny of Rione to be fully encompassed by the forests and jungles that spread from Elandwin and her seedlings, once all lands have been made habitable to deep elves and seeded by elandwin the divine will be able to walk among the elven people as Rione will have been fully prepared for her holy presence as was her original divine plan. Those that seek to play their part in the expansion of the forest and protection of it and the mother tree are known as Elandists (individual Elandist).

## Government and Politics

The government of the Deep Elves is essentially that of a dictatorial religious theocracy with the Caretaker of Elandwin (aka Central Caretaker) having political, military, and religious control over Deep Elven society. New villages and settlements of Deep Elven society are traditionally only built around a planted seedling of Elandwin with the Caretaker of that seedling being a direct subordinate to the Caretaker of Elandwin and thus his/her direct representative within their settlement.

The Caretakers of seedlings within villages are those individuals that planted the seedlings and founded the new settlement (only the central caretaker can bestow a seed from Elandwin), from that point on Caretaking acts almost as a trade where the current Caretaker will take on one or multiple apprentices and teach them the ways of governance and of the horticultural needs of Elandwin and her seedlings and upon the passing of the current caretaker his/her apprentice will take his/her place while the others act as administrative assistants and replacements in the case of the loss of a designated apprentice. The process of becoming a caretaker requires a binding to a seedling that then prevents long excursions away from said seedling leading to apprentices holding substantial power outside of the cities in most major provinces.

The subordinate caretakers designated apprentices can be called to form, and are mandated to form, a council of caretakers to act and vote on the caretakers behalf in two events. To elect a new caretaker of Elandwin if the central caretaker dies without a designated apprentice(in the event of a vote on a new central caretaker it is not uncommon for the caretakers to make the journey and vote in person) and/or at the request of the Caretaker of Elandwin to decide upon some matter of extraordinary importance. Individuals are often called up to form a semi council which acts as the Central Caretaker’s executive council on matters of state.

The religious aspects of the positions of Caretaker include ensuring the sanctity of Elandwin and her seedlings and the forest in general, leading/directing the energies of the weekly chant, which occurs every Sunday morning, enforcing religious law and making local doctrinal decisions (disputes to be decided by the Caretaker of Elandwin). Non-religious aspects of the position include all those related to governing of any sapient being including enforcing mortal law, carrying out capital punishment, and seeing to local public works. Seeing to the expansion of the forest and propagation of Elandwin. Forestry propagation is a task that has many religious and non religious aspects both of which are seen to by the central caretaker or local caretakers/apprentices as delegated to by the central.

***Taxation*** – there is essentially no taxation of physical goods in Deep Elven society but there is a system of commitments that every Tree Elf in society is expected to participate in and are mandated to participate in. Participation in the weekly chant is required; deputation in minor law enforcement duties cannot be refused. Any calls to arms by the local or central Caretaker must be answered if at all possible; every member of society over the age of 18 is expected to keep in working order a bow and requisite arrows or a spear and shield. Each local is expected to but not required to provide a service or good to the local caretaker in relation to the caretakers basic needs, to be determined by the need of the caretaker at the time, that he may focus on spiritual matters.

***Capital punishment*** – there are very few instances where capital punishment is handed down but those instances can include, the killing of any Deep Elf (excluding in acts of self-defense), the felling of any tree not mandated by the local caretaker, and the growth of any seedling of Elandwin without the consent of the Council of Caretakers or the Caretaker of Elandwin, punishment is handed down at the digression of the local caretaker. The form of capital punishment will be that of nature forming whereas the individual will be strapped to a tree and have said tree grown to encapsulate his body so that his life force may be donated to the forest and so to society. The Caretaker is to be the one to perform the magic necessary for the process, this happens traditionally in the seedling of Elandwin in the center of the settlement in the belief that closeness to the mother tree may help cleanse the soul of the individual.

TLDR; Elandwin (main tree) caretaker king, seedling caretakers governors/mayors, special council of caretakers called up for periods of need (they can make up the king's council)

***Apprentice Caretaker of Foreign Affairs (Jorkall)***– sees to the relations between Eland and the other kingdoms of Rione, the caretaker of foreign affairs is also expected to observe and ensure the safety of any seeds of Elandwin that are gifted to individuals or nations outside of Eland

***Apprentice Caretaker of Production (Lorethal)***– responsible for the general coordination of all the chants in the main cities of Eland towards the needs of the congregation and nation, these may include such things as the production of weapons or the creation/maintenance of a multi-city road.

***Apprentice Caretaker of the Army (orphalong/patrician)***– responsible for the training and deployment of the nations armies (each individual citizen is expected to keep their own weapons so training is done on the local level overseen by local caretakers)

***Apprentice Caretaker of the Fleets (Alamir)***– responsible for the training and deployment of the nations fleets

***Apprentice Caretaker of Magic (Fammel)***– responsible for overseeing training at the Fammel school of magic, large magical works outside of chants that may be needed, and leading mages in battle

***Apprentice Caretaker of Elandwin (Elandwin)***– speaks in all matters with the voice of the central caretaker and can represent him/her in situations they can not attend, specializes in economic affairs

***Apprentice Caretaker of Knowledge (Dacia)***– Head of the library in Elandwin city and is the general keeper of all knowledge gathered by the deep elven people (this position is most often held by a dryad)

***Apprentice Caretaker of Order (Gabben/Halafra)***- sees to the coordination of any law enforcement efforts that cross provincial lines and/or renders aid in any instance in which the duties of law enforcement move beyond the ability of the local caretaker

## Magic

 Many mages in deep elven society either apprentice to a caretaker or themselves become caretakers after being granted a seed of elandwin. Those mages that have not yet been chosen or do not wish such a life are often educated at the mage school in Fammel city in order to become wardens. After their education individual mages/wardens often times live a wanderers life shaping and aiding in the growth of the forest where ever they move until they find a community of deep elves they settle in with in which they assist the caretaker in directing the energy of the weekly chants into the forest. Occasionally a mage will find an area ripe for expansion and request from the central caretaker the right to a seedling of elandwin to plant and claim said lands thus becoming a caretaker bound to that land for the rest of their lives.

## Economy

the economy of the deep elven society in Eland has very little integration with the larger world of Rione and has traditionally been directed towards self sufficiency due to the natural xenophobia of the native elven population. There is currently little to non-existent trade with non elven or dryad nations leading to a lacking of machined or processed goods in Eland, this is generally made up for through magical production methods based on nature forming (enchanting and woodworking) but some goods such as refined metals (ilium) and other luxury items can not be domestically produced and so are near nonexistent in domestic markets.

## Demographics

 Majority race: Tree Elves 85%

Minority Races: Dryads: 7%, High Elves: 4%, Elves: 4%

## Culture and Society

***Religion*** – The Deep Elven religion is centered on nature worship with Elandwin the mother tree being seen as the god of the forest and progenitor of life in the world, each of the seedlings is seen as an extension of the divine being of the mother tree. Because of the heavy nature worship Dryads are akin to demigods and all plant based life is sacred making the felling of a tree akin to sacrilege.  Deep elves are generally very religious and due to their inability to live outside the forest they generally believe that they do live in a semi-divine plane to be expanded to encompass all of Rione in preparation for the divines arrival.

***Cities/production*** – everything produced in deep elven society is produced through nature forming and is tied in with the religion of the people. Every Sunday the Caretaker of a settlement will lead the people in a chant in which they will donate their will and energy to the forest to promote the growth of the forest into the shape desired by society. Living tree trunks growth can be directed into the shape of houses, branches can be shaped into spears for harvest, and pathways/roads can be grown into the forest and such. This is the only means of production outside of gathering and of and shaping of naturally fell trees from the forest. The knowledge of woodworking and enchanting was gifted to the deep elves by the divine to give them the knowledge of how to shape, alchemy and woodworking in turn let them know what to shape.

***Gender equality*** – there is no difference between the treatment of men and women in deep elven society, women can attain all offices including that of caretaker and central caretaker

***Balanced diet*** – because of the worship of the forest and the trees of the forest the only plant based foods that are eaten by the Deep elves are those that have already fallen from the tree, no food is to be harvested directly from the branches, except on the rarest of occasions, once ripened the food can be brought from the tree by nature shaping and so gathering is traditionally done on Sundays after service. Trees and the producers of the forest are shaped to grow more fruit and edible materials by the weekly chanters if that is what is needed, the Wood Saber riders also provide some small amount of meat during occasional hunts.

***Elandwin*** – the pollen produced by Elandwin is known to be an irritant to outsiders that have not been exposed to it since birth. The effects are not immediately detrimental to one’s health but after a few weeks of exposure slight effects such as morning nausea and a slight skin irritation are known to occur, perhaps causing the current isolation of the Deep Elves who live in and around these trees. This may also be why they can not live very long outside of the presence of the forest and Elandwin or one of her seedlings.

***Citizenship*** - citizenship is granted to any individual who was born within one of the territories of the mother tree or her seedlings or any other territory under the jurisdiction of a caretaker, or anyone who partakes in all aspects of society including the participation in sunday chants and is consecrated by a caretaker (dwarves are ineligible for full citizenship). When a new seedling of Elandwin is planted the lands surrounding are known to be new territories of Eland, all who are within during the time of the planting and who attend the planting ceremony may be granted citizenship and all rights and responsibilities that entails. All citizens (upon reaching the age of 10 the age of consecration) receive a tattoo on their forearm with the seedling they were originally associated with, date of birth (or day or granting citizenship) and the words of the first chant (dwarfs may be granted citizenship only on special dispensation by the central caretaker all other races have no such restrictions)

## Specializations

 Woodworking (nature forming) – by shaping the wood on the trees unmatched forms can be created (enhanced number of land trade caravans)

Ilium Enchanting – tied in with ability to nature shape

Alchemy – due to the extreme association of Deep Elves with plants and the forest

## General Information

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Bonus 1: Expansionist

Bonus 2: Productive (boost to nature forming perhaps)

Flaw 1: Reckless (10% chance of a magical accident each turn)

Flaw 2: Offensive (10% chance that a foreign diplomat will be insulted)

## Recent Events (Personal Journal of Halafarin Valphine)

(06/10/18) The dwarven king this day brutally killed a dryad envoy meant to signal a desire for peace between our peoples, upon the death of the dryad the Divine struck the dwarven king with a plague he now tries to disguise as poison ivy it is indeed a dark day for those that seek diplomacy

The armies of all southern provinces have been called forth in preparation for incursions into dalish territory

(06/14/18) While Overtures have been made in the past the hostility of the Dalish Peoples (NPC nation 20) was not know until recently, they have killed just this week an envoy of Eland and attacked two holy caretakers in Dalish territory

The king of the Elven keys has been contacted in the hopes for a close association between our peoples and a possible joint invasion of the Dalish kingdom, my own son Alred with the Eland Fleet to blockade the Dalish ports in preparation for war

(06/21/18) The capital of the Dalish has been sieged after great victories on land and sea were won, an ultimatum has been prepared and delivered to the witch king who is considering our proposal under threat of destruction of his city and self
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(06/24/18) the devil birds of Ti'fur have assaulted the capital of the wood elf people in a cowardly sneak attack, but we were prepared. The forces were repelled at great cost to the enemy and we now prepare for our vengeance