Riflian
This is the land to the north. The land behind the Wall. The isolation of the Elves. Riflian encompasses the entire northern reach of Chenravo, locked in a perpetual state of arctic cold. With such a long stretch, it has a wide varety of geographies and environments. The area also seems to be expanding. When the elves isolated themselves over 700 years ago, they built the Wall of Walking Frost, then known as the Frozen Battlements, at the edge of their terretory. Since then, the area that remains frozen year round has slowly expanded further and further south year by year.
While the Elves do have a king and nobility, it is strangely the military that has most of the power in the Elven North. The Enlightened Luunlird Forces have cultivated strong support, politicians, and military power within the Elven Nation. While the king and nobility still have nominal powers (such as the ability to name a person or persons as Elf-friend), the Enlightened Luunlirn Forces have largely stopped taking orders from them and began to rule themselves.
The name Riflian comes from the name of one of the first Elven leaders and Cheznerix's first Saint: Saint Riflenli of Pilfered Promises. She was well known for her ability to locate people who had been promised something that had not yet been done and fulfilling that promise herself. With this, she was able to accumulate a large amount of political power. Some of her detractors named her a Kleptarch, but many more loved her as a ruler.
The elves are the only ones to meaningfully inhabit Riflian. While some non-elvis that have been named Elf-friend may choose to live in Riflian, they are few and far between. In addition, many of the elves, despite the status of their guests, refuse to see them as worthy. Due to the Elven Isolation, the feeling of Elvish Superiority behind the Wall has grown strong in the last several hundred years. The isolation has grown so severe that the Elves pay the Warpstone Operator's Guild a high premium to keep the addresses of their stones off of official records.
Geography
The Polrenni Mountains start in the far northwestern corner of Riflian, and continue a few hundred miles east of Polomis. These mountains are huge, though still smaller than the Hammershard Mountains. The only other mountains in Riflian are a much smaller and shorter collection on the east coast known as the Ithnredi Set.
Riflian also has several large lakes, some of which are saltwater, and an inland sea. The Celinaire Sea is the source of two major rivers, the Chanithar and the Plendicar. The Sea itself is freshwater, though why it refuses to freeze despite its surroundings is a mystery. Some of the lakes freeze seasonally, despite being in an environment that should keep them frozen year round. Some chalk the strange behavior of Elven lakes up to Elven magic, others up to Cheznerix's involvement, and still others to the land's innate mysticism.
There are four forests in Riflian, though they all appear mich the same. These forests are completely coniferous trees with lichen and hardy underbrush. Despite the ice and snow, these plants always seem to have enough water, even if they are hundreds of miles from a lake.
Climate
Riflian is a cold, hard, demanding place, filled with a people that embody those things more every year. As the frost works its way gradually south, things seem to be getting colder in Riflian. The elven nation that once delighted in stories and mischief has long since faded. There are still individual elves that carry on the tradition, but no longer a culture.
In the winter, some ice forms along Riflian's north shore as the saltwater freezes in the frigid environs. The salt, however, does not freeze, making the ice safe to drink when melted.
Fauna & Flora
Many of the types of vegetation in the northern reaches of Chenravo manage to survive despite the continuously frozen environment. This includes the lichens, trees, and underbrush prolific in the forests. While some elves have done research on these phenomena, they have not released their findings.
Along the northern coasts, there are also several varieties of scrubgrasses living on the cold sandy beaches. Some illicit goblin studies conducted on covert expeditions revealed that these grasses have the ability to grow from saltwater. Their hypothesis for the other plants is that they have extensive and interconnected root systems that can consume and filter seawater.
Natural Resources
In the areas where Riflian borders the Land of the Magiliths, a strange arcane ice is produced. This ice is exceptionally resistant to heat and has been used as both a material in advanced rituals and as a focus for spellcasters. Spellcasters that use this ice find that their spells that channel the cold are oftem more effective.
In the northwest, there is also a healing spring. The water here is warm despitet the environment and has great restorative powers. There are many stories of those who were blind or who lost a limb soaking in these waters to regain that which had been lost. Trespassers into Riflian often state that their goal was to heal here from wounds or disabilities.
History
The cold northern lands were first claimed and settled by the elves, back when the world was still new. Many of them weren't fans of the cold weather though, or had insatiable wanderlust. Because of this, before the elven isolation, it was not rare to see elves out in the world, in other nations, or adventuring. They also allowed others in to their lands, offering warm hearths and meals to travelers. With the isolaition in effect however, many non-elves were expelled, but those who refused to leave were imprisoned. Not even the non-elves that lived in Riflian at the beginning of the isolation are sure why they chose this extreme path.
Tourism
There are no tourists in Riflian. While those who are Alf-friend may roam freely (often under watchful eye), anyone who is neither elf nor Elf-friend attempting to gain entry to the Elven North will be detained at best. Intuders are often subjected to elven-based imprisonment terms. As such, many non-elven prisoners recieve life sentences for even minor offences.
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