Steeped in History
As told in
The Dawn of the Gods the elves of the
Echovad Forrest have resided in their homeland since the Voices first cast their calls out for the peoples to gather.
Lameravis the Voice of the elves made his home west of the
Spiral Mountain Range in a land that by legend was a plain as bare of trees as the
Whispering Plains are today.
But not for long. Lameravis took a branch from the World Tree
Elysium and planted it in the center of the seeminly endless Spiral Plains. This branch sprouted and grew into a vast woodlands, now known as the
Echovad Forrest. At its heart, lies Fellalond, the original home of the elven gods: the Voice, Lameravis, and his Six: Hyadilith the Fair, Ancyia the Dark, Murudu, Saimon, Naanam, and Larisa the Nymph who took for herself the name
Ligeoa after the Betrayal.
The Amphitheater of Song
Every large city is built on the remains of those who came before, and Fellalond is no different. Here, the Amphitheater of Song lies just outside the city along the road into Fellalond, but remains mostly unused by the elves through much of the year. The Amphitheater is a frequent gathering place and holy spot for the Grekelski who adopted the space after having been taken into exile from the regions around the inland sea and removed to the elven swamplands after the
The Swamp Battle. This use of an elven holy place by the grekelski is officially tolerated by the elven authorities, as the use is not considered officially profane to elven religious practices, however, generally elves are highly resentful of the intrusion of the grekelski into this religious place, and violent encounters between elves and grekelski are not uncommon and are initiated by both sides. Tourists are warned to stay clear of the area unless they are escorted by elven government officials.
The Amphitheater was the location of the Festivals of Song mentioned in ancient elven texts, and the musical nature of the place is overwhelmingly evident. The walls and temple resonate with remembered music such that even the tiniest tones will be amplified a thousand times over. The "Rememberers" are a group of elven religious practioners who come to the Amphitheater monthly to sing the ancient songs in the magical place where they were born and sung by their lost gods.
The Heartwood
The Heartwood (also referred to as "the palace") is the current home of
the Green Lady, and the resting place of the semblance of
Hyadilith, Song of the White Lady. Originally the home and center of worship of
Lameravis, the site is filled with gorgeous art in a fully integrated natural environment, resting, as it does, in the very branches of Yggstrasil, the elven World Tree.
The Heartwood is an interesting anachronism. Most of the elven great houses dwell in large floating cities that are accessed via arcane teleportals keyed to a giant transportation and communications center,
the Hall of Together, located in the Heartwood in a hub and spoke fashion. The centrality and fixed nature of the Heartwood being tied irrevokably to a particular spot on the world while the elven people fly untethered except in the most tenuous way to it is highly symbolic of the social dynamics that permeate modern elven culture.
A Busy Metropolis
Today, Fellalond is busy city, a place of business, trade, and leisure, a place of homes and family and little things that make up the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of elves. The bones of history lie exposed for all to see - and some, such as the Heartwood home, are used daily and beloved by all. Others, such as the Place
of the White Lady and the Amphitheater of Song are too profound to be loved, but are instead venerated. They are visited on special occasions and form a deep conscious bond to the painful history of the elven people.
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