City of Elv'elda

The **City of Elv'elda** is a republic that established in the North, and one of the Eldar Kingdoms, specifically being the only one founded by slaves. A very powerful and wealthy nation, based on war and trade, the nation has a long history of alliance with the Kingdom of Atheria. It is sometimes referred to as just Elv'elda, after the name of its capital.

## History

The Elv'eldar started off as slaves, living under the yoke of the Eldar Empire. As for all slaves at some point, they attempted many revolts, and ended up succeeding in leaving their slave camps. The Elf slaves then ran away from the Eldar Empire, and came near Agenarich I, a chief that had conquered one of the two capital cities of the empire. Even though he had conquered it, he gladly gave it to Elves, prompting them to thank the chief for his kindness, renaming the city Elv'elda. Thus, Elves were given a land and quickly grew to be rich and powerful, trading with all countries of the Known World, safe for a select few. After Atheria was unified, the City of Elv'elda grew to be a strong ally. Due to its history, Elv'elda held a strong hatred towards the Eldar Empire and towards the Mytherid Empire as well, by power of alliances.

Sires of Elv'elda remained very anti-slavery, their hegemonic domination quickly becoming clear, meaning that only a few countries would refuse trades with Elv'elda, despite most countries supporting slavery. In underhand, Elv'elda funded many slave rebellions, gladly accepting the people who had managed to flee. It benefited from alliance to Atheria, and more than once, the Sires of Elv'elda met Kings of Atheria in one capital to seal an alliance pact that has never been broken.

Elv'elda, unlike many countries, didn't suffer much from the Flood, losing some of its coastal lands, most of which wasn't very developped to begin with. As such, it survived well better than many nations, notably due to its ties with Atherians. Currently, the Sire is Lerion II of the Telyn Bloodline, known as "the Trader", for his skills at negotiation and trades, being considered inelven, even by the standards of Elv'eldar.

## Government and Politics

### Power Structure

The Elv'eldar City's government is ruled by a single sire who held most of the power within the government. Below the sire are the advisors, tasked to advise the monarch in many subjects, and sometimes had enough power to serve as co-rulers. It is however important to note that these advisors were selected based on merit.

Below the advisors are the district chiefs, powerful lords who managed the economies of their district. These are elected among the people of each district.

Each position within the government, even the Sire, is a governor whose titles would be then put into an elective succession, after twenty years in office. Early on, women were allowed to be a part of government affairs and they now are able to be in positions of power as high as the office of sire and as such, some Sires of Elv'elda have been female Elves. However, the nature of the Bloodlines' way of functionning means that more often than not, a few families will be Sires of Elv'elda and district chiefs.

### Military

Elv'eldar military was a very strong one, nearly as powerful as Atheria was, although it was weaker than the Mytherids and Imperial Eldars. As such, similar to how Mytheryne and Atheria acted, the commanders and generals were chosen based on skills. Their military commanders tended to lack charisma, hence why many are actually half-eldars or even human commanders from Atheria or Dreolia. Unlike many kingdoms, there were no slaves in Elv'elda, and the soldiers were willing to fight, which meant that the Atherian Armies aren't big but are loyal and skilled. Standard Elv'eldar footsoldiers were taught to typically wield swords, axes and bows in combat. The most commonly used material for weapons was steel and wood.

Trained in weaponry and magic, the army is mostly used for self defense, as the Elv'eldar Republic is too powerful and important as a world bank and strength to be attacked. It is prepared for any attack, and the City Walls are famous for having been defended by many heroes. Many soldiers are Half-Eldars, notably among the sorcerers, due to common goals for Atheria.

### Economy

After its formation, the Elv'eldar Republic adopts a semi-feudal system, with peasants of a district required to farm the fields for the nation's agriculture. In exchange, the peasants can keep a portion of what they farmed, and people were tasked to make law and justice prevail. As well, a ceremony was allowed to talk with the Sire. Among its primary crops were the Mannus Hearts, although Golden Apples were common too. Atherian Grapes are also used for winemaking.

Coinciding with its agricultural aspects, the kingdom's economy is very open to trade, notably with their longest allies, the Kingdom of Atheria. It also allows merchants to settle and run businesses within its borders. Elv'elda pays a monthly fee to Atheria as a reward and gift for letting them settle. Not long ago, Elv'elda also developped as a bank for the Known World. Currency in the Elv'eldar City is called Agen, and is divided in silver Agen and steel Agen. A silver Agen is equivalent to sixty steel Agen.

## Society and Culture

The people of Elv'elda are a proud and independent people, fiercely anti-slavery, after having been slaves themselves. Elves had a very good view of Atherians that they consider as siblings, and considered the other Eldars as bad people, notably the Imperial Eldars.

As part of their culture, Elv'eldar typically adopted a unique surname to coincide with their first name, referring to their family as Bloodlines.

Despite having chosen Eldar Paganism as the official religion, the Sire of Elv'elda is not recognised as one of the Archbishops of Eldars, due to its tumultuous relationships with the other Eldar states. It serves as a place of safety for half-eldars. However, the Church of Aym exists as well, and did have some influence.

Due to common contact with Humans, most Elves are at least knowledgeable in both Eldarin and Common. Many nobles are educated in both and to become a Sire, you must be able to talk Common as fluently as Eldarin.

## Geography and Climate

The Elv'eldar Republic is a country, in the North, located directly west to the Kingdom of Atheria, and east to the Kingdom of Dreolia. The northern coast was mostly steppic in nature. Asides from that, the lands were fields, although cold ones, with some forests among the fields.

## Trivia

* The City of Elv'elda is loosely inspired by Switzerland and the Benelux. Other inspirations include Braavos from ASoIaF and various trader empires throughout history.