The Black Forest

The Black forest, called the *Aluvlian Empire* by the Elves, is the ancestral home of the Elves of Myrcia. There are actually two countries in the area of the Black Forest, but the boundaries are nebulous and ill defined. The high elves live in halls of crystal and magically shaped stone culled from the earth itself. Their capital, *Edhil*, in located in the north nestled in the *Aluvlian* mountains. The wood elves control the edges of the forest. Their capital, *Nimloth* lies high among the great Mellon trees in the deep wood.

### Geography

As warm moist air is blown in from the southwest it brings with it soft rains that drop onto the the sides of the Aluvlian mountains to the north. Several different biomes exist in the Aluvlian Empire. Starting at the forest's southern border, the forest is more of a tropical rainforest. This then gives way to temperate forest, and then finally to boreal forest in the north. The Aluvian mountains are caused by the Aluvlian plate subducting under the Anorta plate. There are a few hot springs and geysers which can be found in the forest all of which are considered important land marks.

### People and Politics:

Several different races call the forest home but the most prominent are the elves who have built empires in the wood. Unlike Humans, the races of the wood don't keep strict state boundaries. Usually a landmark of some kind designates an area of the wood designated to one race or another. Wood elves often keep to the exterior of the wood making them the defenders of the forest. High Elves keep to the mountains in the north in the interior of the wood. In the West there is a Drow owned Valley that is believed to be an entrance into the Underdark. This area is infested with spiders. To the North east is an area controlled by a powerful Green Dragon named *Adulesepralgrovisv* but know colloquially as Poisonmist. He has a cult of kobolds known to cause mischief all around the wood. The central area of the wood is a low lying area more of a bog than a wood. A coven of Hags have claimed this area for themselves. Several portals to the Feywild can be found throughout the Forest and if a person loses their way they can wind up there quite on accident.

The Wood elves and High Elves live a long time and in truth there are only a few elven families that exist. As a result most elves know each other in some way, whether by name or by families. Wood elves use a military monarchy to control their forest. The current king, *Aiwith Mystralath* inherited the position from his father and has ruled for only a hundred years or so. The king is also the head of the military and because there are so few elven families, as long as the names are not disgraced, they are considered noble. Wood elves often clash with the other races, having appointed themselves the official keepers of the Forest. High Elves have a meritocracy where a council of elders choose some one who they believe would be a good leader and then the rest of the elves in attendance vote to appoint their leader. The elves choose a new leader every 250 years with past leaders becoming a member of the council of elders. High elf society is rife with political maneuverings. The current leader is *Tari Arodni,* a Elvin mage known for her brilliance and cunning.

Poisonmist keeps a cult of kobolds to serve him and keeps the actual location of his roost a secret. The kobolds worship the dragon as a god and defend their pine forest with their lives. The Drow society is matriarchal in nature and it is believed their outpost here in the wood is built into the side of a Chasm located at the bottom of Spider Valley. Enslaved or cajoled Ettercaps are said to keep watch of their borders.

### Religion:

Both Wood elves and High elves have the same pantheon. They worship a triad of Gods Comprised of Corellon Larethian, the god of elves and society, Fenrir, god of beasts and monsters, and Asase, god of nature, death, and rebirth. Elven gods rarely have temples or churches devoted to them and are instead worshiped in spiritual places. sacred mounds, old trees, fairy rings or similar. The elven Calendar is full of various festivals and celebrations, which are rarely more than a chance to drink and make merry.