Kyonin

(Nation)

(Regional map)

(A typical Kyonin elf town)

**Kyonin** is the elven homeland located southwest of the River Kingdoms and the Stolen Lands, separated from Galt by the great river Sellen, and bordered by the Five Kings Mountains to the south.

## Lore

The homeland of the elven race on Golarion, **Kyonin** was almost completely evacuated by the elves just before the fall of the *Starstone*.
 They only recently (by elven standards) returned to Golarion to reclaim
 their ancient homeland and have become an isolationist realm, allowing
few non-elven visitors into their mist-shrouded capital, *Iadara*

## History

**Kyonin** may not always have been known as **Kyonin** and has not always
had the same borders as it has today, but it has always been the
spiritual homeland of the elves. It is unknown exactly how long elves
have resided there. Before *Earthfall*,
 the elves did not measure time in any meaningful way, only by the great
 astrological cycles and the ebb and flow of the seasons. Certainly
**Kyonin** was inhabited for a very long time before *Earthfall*, as numerous
ruins of monuments, buildings, fountains, orreries, and sculptures still
 dot the forests north of the Five Kings Mountains.
 The elves lived in harmony with the land during this period, as the
structures they built seem to grow from the landscape itself.

## Geography

**Kyonin** is a haven of incredible natural beauty. The predominant feature of the country is the *Fireani Forest*, but **Kyonin** also boasts sweeping plains and the northernmost peaks of the Five Kings Mountain Range. The Five Kings Mountains form the southern border of **Kyonin**. On the western border lies *Lake Encarthan*, and the northern and eastern borders are formed by the *Glass River*, the West Sellen River, and the Sellen River, which flows to the Inner Sea.

## Inhabitants

**Kyonin** has the largest population of elves on the planet,
 despite their low birth rate. **Kyonin** is considered the spiritual
homeland of the elven people; as such, many elves are steadfastly
opposed to the idea of non-elves living in **Kyonin**. Some extremely isolationist groups, such as the *Winter Council*, are known to be violent in their opposition.

There are, however, three communities where non-elves are welcomed. The port city of *Greengold*
 was founded to allow trade with foreign merchants on **Kyonin** soil, and
has flourished into a cosmopolitan city inhabited by members of every
civilized race. Additionally, half-elves occupy the fishing village of *Erages*, and gnomes have built a treetop community above the elven settlement of *Omesta*.
Despite the fact that the return from *Sovyrian* happened over
2,000 years ago, the elves of **Kyonin** are still in the process of
reclaiming the settlements they abandoned while fleeing the *Starstone*.

## Government

*Queen Telandia Edasseril*, bearer of the *Viridian Crown*,
 is the ruler of **Kyonin**. Although she is an absolute monarch, *Talandia* understands that freedom is one of the highest
ideals of the elven race. As is the case in human courts around the
world, elven courts are no strangers to factionalism and intrigue, and
members of her court and her advisors question her decisions, or
actively work to advance their own interests. Their advice is
wide-ranging and include urging her to retake more of their ancestral
racial holdings across Avistan and Garund, definitively deal with *Treerazer* and his minions, or address the *drow* issue. In addition to members of her *Iadaran* court and her own advisors, independent elven groups, such as the conservative *Winter Council*, also hope to change the queen's mind on a number of issues.
 *Queen Telandia* knows that for elves to recapture their power in the
current age, they must shrug off their cloaks of isolationism and
reengage with the world, and with each passing year, more non-elven
ambassadors are allowed into **Kyonin** to explore the mysterious nation.