Ost-Il-Secal

### Nomenclatuur and religion

Ost-Il-Secal, also called Secal, also called the elftown by the people and other races in the north, is an Secalian name it means Elven holy place in the common tongue. The elves who live here mostly believe in the tree of life, a tree standing at their holy place. It gives the town a magical protection against the harsh northern climate, while not as cold as the high north, winters are still seriously cold. The tree of life, wich on it's own was a seed off the tree of light. Gave the people of Secal the chance to grow a lot off crops, even in winterconditions. During the summer it was even possible to have some crops that would normally not grow in this environment. Because of this the elves believe this tree is holy. The tree of life religion is part off the mulfloric naturalism religion since it's such a small religion.

### Language

Today the woodelvs speak the common tongue, spoken by the humans off Cyneria and most other humans in the wider region. In very ancient times the woodelvs spoke another language wich was secalian, translated it means elvish, experts have pointed out that they are many more elvenlanguages and are preferring the elvenname for the language for that reason. Also the reason that the transalation is called elvish comes from the very fact that the woodelves never met elvs or elvengroups speaking an other language. Even the remaining wild elves in the north did spoke the secalian language. Nowadays it is even sure if they are still wild elves remaining in the north. Only rumours about sightings, for this reason the secalian language is deemed 'extinct'.

### geography

Secal is laying in the north, in the birch forest. It's location is on the mulfloric peninsula in a valley. Around the town the forest is much thicker making it very hard, next to impossible to enter the town without using the proper entry. Waterfalls give the valley a natural high fertility.

### History

#### Rise of The empire of Secal

Secal was the second town founded by the northern wood elves. The town was founded as a colony from Port-Du-Secal. The first elventown in the north, it was builded around the tree of light. Enlighting the wild elves living around it. The tree gave a seed wich was planted in what is now known as Ost-Il-Secal. This seed grew into the tree of life, giving the elves a big advantage in crop growing. This in combination with the knowledge given by the tree of light caused an explosion in the population. This would lead to the height off the kingdom of the woodelves, also called The Empire of Secal. It could be stated that this rise happened very quickly.

#### Height of an empire

There are tales about a great sea war that was fought against a league of human cities locayed more to the south. Experts discuss if it could be the almost mythical Vinitican League. However tales tell that the elves won this war. The first official records that survived the test of time are coming from the later era, the Era of the decay. Much knowledge of this period has been lost to time. There are tales about having a colony in Mascai... but nothing is sure about this period. It is around this time Laydan, the grand elf was born.

#### Slow decay off the empire and incorporation into the vinitican empire

This last era is where the first official documents are from. Shortly after setting up a colony in the Mascai island chain, problems started. People of the sned culturegroup migrated into the elven heartland. The human lifestyle of cutting down trees and mining the landscape caused friction with the elves. These frictions would lead to a war between the two peoples. After 75 years of war, a brittle peace was reached. The humans would respect elvenculture and humans would only take what they need to live, needs that require exhausting the land would have to be negotiated with the elves first. The war also resulted in abandoning any off shore colonies and occupation.

Only 25 years another migration came, this time from Enroyan Tribes who migrated into the Enroyan peninsula. Since the Elves where still exhausted, this meant they had to completly abandon the Enroyan peninsula. In the centuries that would follow the Enroyan empire that formed on the Enroyan peninsula would conquer a small part off the smaller and still weakening Elven kingdom.

After this war the original elvenpopulation was very exhausted. Humans where slowly taking over higher positions within the kingdom. Elves saw this a threat and there xenophobic ways lead to the decision to not teach the humans the Secal ways of leading a nation. This lead to further breaking and segregating the nation, up unto the point that when the vinitican empire finally invaded the elves could only defend the capital and the mountains around what would later be Valvirium. The siege of Port-Du-Secal was the only real resistence the viniticans had to deal with. The elves actions against vinitican forces during the enroyan conquest by the viniticans and recent taxes on Vinitican merchants leading up to the war, angered the Viniticans so much that a genocide was held on the elves. The tree of light cut down... every citizin in Port-Du-Secal killed to the last man. The tree of life reacted on this by making the trees grow thicker around Ost-Il-Secal, giving the town a natural protection against invaders.

#### Surviving and discovery by Kaosaria.

In the centuries that would follow elves would be hunted down for execution. Ost-Il-Secal would survive thanks to the tree of life, giving the elves a very long lifespan. Laydan, who had become leader when he came of age was granted this gift a very long time ago as one of the first of his kind. He made a total seclusion policy to the outside world. Unlike his ancestors he was not xenophobic to humans, he saw what they achieved without elvenhelp and saw the humans as equals, a policy that would gradually all the elves would accept as they saw the same thing as Laydan did. After the fall off the vinitican empire and the fall off the tiemolence empire the kaosarians where eager to map out the forests in central Mulfloria, a place that humans counted as haunted, for the dissapearance of many human beings. These where mostly people who found Secal and where obliged by the elves to stay in Secal because off their seclusion policy. The expedition, lead by Joker would lead to the discovery off the town by a human nation. Since Secal had no army and the kaosarians did not know about elves living here a diplomatic point was reached and the elves would join the human nation. The tree of life, even after millenia, was still giving the town the possibility to grown southern crops in the summer and northern crops even in the coldest days of winter. The elves under Laydan's leadership decided that becoming more open to the outside world was the future. Some elves are now even wanting to go so far to even build some defenses in the city, a thing Laydan still oposses since the city is still a holy place.