Elven Conclave

Literally living in the shadow of its former self.

Exiled from Xanthun, crushed by Aemark, and legally relegated to second-class citizenship, the elves of the Conclave face considerable barriers to development and independence. What remains from their travails is a fiercely protected culture and feebly defended town deeply rooted in respect for the Turbulence.

Founding of Aeleatir

Elven Conclave by SK Kage (via Firefly)

The elves of Xanthun are mercurial in their tastes, religion, and law, causing consternation for foreign nations, but also for those within their borders who prefer a more measured existence. Aele the Explorer was one such individual. During his voyages, Aele experienced the cultures of elves, Kaokutians, and Al'Orphics across a wide range of eastern Turan's continents and islands. Observing how these peoples revered tradition caused Aele to question Xanthun's preference for 'guided chaos' (as Aele phrases it).
Tired of the ever-shifting belief system, Aele drafted plans to leave the core Empire and found a colony of those similarly disillusioned. Studying the history of prior colonies, Aele operated under the assumption they would receive no support from Xanthun, despite the assurances of the government. At the time, Aele declared, 'We will not be subject to the whims of an attention-deprived bureaucrat or the vicissitudes of masses.' Thus, Aele gathered enough funds to buy a fleet replete with the seeds of irontrees, magically enchanted devices of growth, vast stores of food, and four thousand elves.
Having previously established treaties with the Kaokut Coalition and Aemark Kingdom, Aele and his thousands launched from An'Xan Aiki in 582 PoA. The destination was an area of land between the Aeclind River and Green Barrier, which (at the time) bordered the Coalition and Kingdom. Their ships were designed to traverse both the South Sea and Aeclind to ease their travels.
Arriving in 583 PoA, Aele and his people planted the first irontrees and orchestrated their magically-aided growth until the trees towered above the rest of the Singing Forest. Hundreds of feet tall, hard as steel, and shaped by magic and craftsmanship, the treetop city of Aeleatir was founded. For decades, the elves flourished amongst the treetops, growing food on the boughs, drawing water from the river below to its heights, and retaining the principles from their life in Xanthun.
Foremost among those was the individuality and independence of each elf. They left the Empire at a time where the value of personal expression and experience was declining in favor of conformity. (This is unusual in Xanthun history, which otherwise places great emphasis on individual freedom.) Scholars would later attest the shift to several simultaneous events: aggression by Xanthun to its western neighbors, a plague infesting much of its northern lands, catastrophic weather in its south, and the subsequent focus on hygiene, safety, and wartime production.
Of note, Aeleatir continued to observe the loose traditions of the Turbulence by shifting their pantheon of deities according to circumstance and time. However, in contrast to the million elves of Xanthun, these changes came slowly or not at all as the collective wisdom and spirituality is far less among several thousand.

The Fall of Aeleatir

The rise of Markus the Third in 640 PoA began a new period of expansion by the Aemark Kingdom. Though its early efforts focused on negotiating for the remainder of the northeastern peninsula from Rundheart, the second phase moved against Kaokut. Though the Coalition held lands both north and south of the Green Barrier, fighting broke out first in the south.
Markus rapidly conquered the Southern Fields and shifted its production to chitin wheat, further accelerating their campaign. Aeleatir was largely spared during this time, but by 680 PoA, Aemark found the inconvenience of the colony's position untenable. According to the treaty with Aemark, armies required permission to pass through the treetop city's lands, which it was loathe to grant for fear of reprisal by Kaokut.
The Kingdom laid siege to Aeleatir, lasting the better part of a year. Markus' alchemists found a method to infect and destroy irontrees, at which point the elves surrendered as the leaves and branches fell around them. Forced to the ground, they accepted the terms forcing them into conditional citizenship. The condition was to produce 'military assets,' which meant 'wizards' in practice due to the way resources were credited.

Current Affairs

'Peace is the veil on the face of subservience.' Old Man Aele, as he is now called, repeats this phrase as a teaching to young elves and accurately reflects the status of the Conclave, where there is no strife, no famine, but little dignity. The Kingdom mandates their most valuable goods are 'donated' to the military and their magically-gifted children must join an Academy or otherwise face the consequences of losing citizenship for all in the Conclave. Without this, they would be no better than slaves.
A single elven wizard could be worth decades of citizenship, but even though elves birth a higher percentage of gifted children, they reproduce rarely, evidenced by a growth of just one thousand elves since the founding of Aeleatir. Without wizards, elves would eventually lose their remaining years of status because the output of bows, arrows, and other arms is insufficient to meet the demands of Aemark. Currently, as of 1043 PoA, the Conclave has just twelve years left.
Many of the years granted have been the contribution of the Grandmaster of Telancla Academy, who was the first elven wizard born to the Conclave. Old Man Aele hopes to leverage the talents of Sheyla Enelladalcol Aeleat and Shikya Enelladalcol Aeleat to gain further years of citizenship. (Charitable, Sheyla, but we both know it's almost entirely on your shoulders...)

Alternative Name(s)
Aeleatir

Type
Large Town

Parent Location
Aemark Kingdom - Location

Owning Organization
Aemark Kingdom

Craftelva, AeM

The only approved vendor of elven military arms and the best amongst all. Quality craftsmanship available upon request.
Not sure why they're advertising. It all goes to the military anyway. Do quartermasters even read this? Is there a shortfall this year?

Soundtrack by SK Kage (via AIVA.ai)

Related Plots

• Adv 01 - The Trikin Trio

Related Historical Events

• 1030 PoA
  Coming of Age
• 1026 PoA
  Shikya's Attunement Test
• 1019 PoA
  Sheyla's Attunement Test
• 583 PoA
  Founding of Aeleatir

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