Elveshaal

**Elveshaal**, meaning "place of our people" in the elven language, was the original civilization of the elves. It covered most of Morgaea, from the city of Hathalas to Nordain, Maudet and lands east of Maudet.

## Sylvan Legends

The Sylvan retain vague memories of early history, when elves did not age, and elven gods walked the earth, speaking to the people and providing them with knowledge, counsel and protection, while the people prayed and made offerings to them amongst lush forests and ancient trees. The Sylvan believe that magic is the gift of their gods, and all elves once had it.

It is said that elves built multiple cities. Most Sylvan stories, however, focus on the fabled city of Hathalas, or "this place of love". As a result, human scholars came to believe that it was the only elven settlement of note. According to the elven calendar, it was founded around **-7600D**. The city was presumably located in the great forest of the same name in southern Morgaea. Hathalas was a place where the best of the elder elves would go to trade knowledge, greet old friends, and settle disputes that had gone on for millennia, with homes, galleries and amphitheaters that stood for ages.

According to the elven calendar, they made first contact with the dwarves in **-4600D**. The Sylvan have no legends about fighting the dwarves, although they have a story about how the dwarves fear the sun because of Elderath's fire. The dwarven Repository also speaks of a Morgaea entirely devoid of humans, when elves reigned over the land and dwarves ruled the underground. A rare few ancient works of great beauty depicting cooperation between them still remain.

The Sylvan tell that when humans first arrived, elves named them "bhinan", or "quicklings", for their short life span. Elves viewed the other race as brash, warlike and impatient. They contracted human diseases, some of which proved lethal. Furthermore, those who spent time with the humans found themselves aging. Fearful, elves immediately moved to close Elveshaal off from the humans to preserve their civilization.

But it was too late. As the human-led Adamantium rose to power, they moved to conquer Hathalas (aided, it is said, by demons and dragon thralls). According to the Sylvan, when the city was breached their ancestors chose to flee rather than fight. Then Adamantine magisters used their great destructive power to force the very ground to swallow Hathalas whole. Elves were enslaved, and human contact quickened their veins until every captured elf turned mortal.

The Sylvan attribute the failure of their gods to protect their people to the trickster god Fenegoth, who had deceived both the Assemblage and their nemeses, the Forgotten Ones, and had trapped them in heaven and in the abyss, respectively.

## Language

*Main article: Elven language*
Much of the language of the ancient elves was lost with the fall of Elveshaal and the long enslavement of the elves by the Adamantium. Some words survive, however, and are used by modern day elves, primarily the Sylvan.

## Religion

*Main article: Assemblage*
Elder elves worshipped a pantheon of five gods and four goddesses known as the Creators or the Assemblage. Their religion also mentions another set of gods called the Forgotten Ones; the enemies of the elven pantheon. Only Fenegoth, the trickster god of the elven gods, was able to walk freely between both groups.