Sarifal
Sarifal was an isolated fey and elven kingdom located on the Isle of Gwynneth in the Moonshaes. Among its fey inhabitants, "Sarifal" referred not only to their kingdom but to the entire island of Gwynneth. Non-fey were generally not allowed on the island.
Structure
The kingdom was ruled from the city of Karador by High Lady Ordalf and her leShay advisors, although by the late 15th century DR, she had delegated most responsibilities to her son, Prince Araithe.58 Great care was taken by the High Lady to project her image as an all-powerful ruler to outsiders, but to the inhabitants of Sarifal, it was known that the High Lady instead managed a careful balancing act to maintain her rule, having to appease powerful archfey, spirit lords, and fomorians.5
The royal seat was known as the crystal throne.9 The royal symbol was that of a climbing rose, and was known as the "Rose of Sarifal". Some members of the leShay royal family had this symbol tattooed on their bodies.
Culture
The fey of Sarifal were prone to mischief, both benign and malicious. Political intrigue and shifting alliances were commonplace.6
The preservation of the natural world was upheld as a moral good.13 The fey and fey-descended folk of Sarifal had a connection to the Feywild that made them uniquely attuned to nature in a way that transcended the mortal world. This made them surprisingly acrobatic and athletic, allowing them to navigate even challenging terrain with swiftness and stealth.
Things like culture or technology changed very slowly or not at all in Sarifal.14 While the fey enjoyed cultural pastimes such as drinking, music, and hunting,15 their interests were largely aesthetic and lacked in quality: their clothing was gaudy, their wine was terrible, and their music was frantic yet haunting (even as they found human music to be fascinating).16 Because they did not tend to travel beyond the shores of their island (largely out of fear), they had little knowledge of the current events or even languages of nearby islands.
History
Sarifal was originally founded by the leShay around −10,500 DR to rule over the fey who had begun settling the Moonshaes as early as −15,000 DR.2
At some point prior to −4366 DR,25 Sarifal forged an alliance with Imaskar, a relationship which led the Imaskari to master the creation of portals which would allow them to capture and enslave people from another world, who would eventually become the Mulan.6
After Kazgoroth wrecked havoc on the isles for the first time circa −2000 DR, Sarifal fell into decline. The realm ultimately retreated into the Feywild around −500 DR,2 following a prophecy that foretold High Lady Ordalf's death on the Prime Material plane.26 The fey thus abandoned their lands, and capital city of Karador sank beneath the waters of the Myrloch.2
By the 14th century DR, tales still spoke of an ancient faerie kingdom lying beneath Myrloch, although no hint of it existed from the lake's surface. These tales claimed that one day, if human encroachment into the wilds of the Moonshaes became unbearable, this sunken kingdom would become the final bastion of the fey.
In the Year of Risen Elfkin, 1375 DR, High Lady Ordalf moved the city of Karador through a portal from the Feywild and it rose from the depths of Lake Myrloch.2 Her fey forces soon began pushing out the Ffolk of the kingdom of Corwell, despite efforts by the ruling House Kendrick to hold them back.28 After mercenaries from Amn torched the countryside of Corwell, High Lady Ordalf declared that all non-fey were to be expelled from Gwynneth in the Year of the Dauntless Dwarves, 1412 DR. Soon, all humans were driven from the island.5note 1 While a tenuous peace would eventually be brokered with the Ffolk thanks to negotiations by the Callidyrr dragoons,29 humans continued to be barred from Sarifal.3 Over the next century, the ruins and remains of Corwell were largely reclaimed by the wilderness.8
By the late 15th century DR, it was rumored that many of the eladrin, elves, and fey had come to despise their leShay rulers—who could be petty and cruel—and some members of the Llewyrr even plotted to overthrow them and install Ordalf's half-sister, Amaranth, on the crystal throne.30 As of 1479 DR, High King Derid Kendrick of the Ffolk sought to establish a lasting peace between his kingdom and Sarifal, and pushed to be allowed to reclaim his ancestral city of Caer Corwell on Gwynneth as an embassy.328 As late as 1489 DR, High Lady Ordalf would not consent to allow this.
Demography and Population
Population: 50,000 in 1479 DR
Sarifal was home to a wide variety of peoples, many of whom possessed strong charisma and powerful magic.517 The most numerous were the fey, notably the diminutive varieties of fairies, pixies, sprites, and the like,5 but also including brownies, dryads,19 faerie dragons,17 hamadryads,32 nereids,19 and satyrs.32 The gnomes of Sarifal were also regarded as fey,10 and the most adventurous and mischievous among them were sometimes dubbed "fastpaws".6 The ruling fey were the leShay, including High Lady Ordalf herself,172 although the populace rarely every laid eyes on them.8
The leShay's rule was contested by the unseelie fey of the realm, including banshrae,8 boggles,28 fomorians,5 hags,31 quicklings, and spriggans.8 Many of these evil fey, notably the fomorians and their slaves, arrived on Gwynneth alongside the return of Karador.11 The nine clans of fomorians who dwelt in the Underdark beneath Winterglen were a particularly notable threat because they desired revenge against Sarifal's rulers for the abduction of one of their princesses, Marabaldia. As of the late 15th century DR, they had constructed a massive highway running beneath the Cambro Mountains of eastern Sarifal from Winterglen to Synnoria, enabling them to rapidly move an army nearly to the Myrloch Vale.14
Sarifal was also home to elves and eladrin, although in much smaller numbers than most outsiders expected. The only high elves were the Llewyrr, who dwelt in the subkingdom of Synnoria and historically swore fealty to High Lady Ordalf. In contrast, the green elves lived in their own communities and were often at odds with the High Lady and her perceived expansionism.517 The land was also home to some wood elves13 and winged elves.8
Aside from fey and elves, some dragonborn, shield dwarves, wild dwarves (called greenbeards), firbolgs, human druids, treants and shifters were known to make their homes in Sarifal.617819 By law, non-fey visitors were not allowed on Sarifal7 and non-fey were forbidden within the capital city of Karador, with some exceptions.28 Humans were not welcome within Sarifal at all: they were sent away if found within the realm26 or would be attacked if they set foot in Myrloch Vale 24 or in Synnoria.30 The only exceptions were a handful of esteemed guests8 and a population of human slaves maintained and bred by the leShay—who made use of them as laborers,15 servants,10 and entertainers16—with some pockets of escaped slaves occupying the former ports of Kingsbay and Borth.33 Tieflings were not only also forbidden from the realm, but were regarded with additional apprehension.7 Drow were likewise unwelcome and excluded from Sarifal,13 however a population of Araushnee-worshiping drow who dwelt in the Underdark beneath Winterglen aspired to be allowed into the fey society, and were known to serve as mercenaries for the leShay in hopes of receiving permission to live in the forest like surface elves.1621
More monstrous inhabitants included cyclopses, ettins, and trolls, and the land was also host to many sentient undead, including banshees, will-o'-wisps,19 and fey lingerers.
Territories
The heartland of Sarifal was the verdant Myrloch Vale. As of the late 15th century DR, the kingdom's borders encompassed the whole of the island of Gwynneth as well as the shallow underwater realms along its coast and the Underdark beneath it.
Military
The fey and eladrin armies and champions of Sarifal were led by Prince Araithe.422 The kingdom was further protected by a fanatical force of guardians and spies loyal to the High Lady, known as the Sarifal feywardens, who wielded arcane and primal magics to preserve the realm and maintain its natural beauty.1323 The leShay also maintained a cadre of elite dragonborn guards, who rode dragonspawn mounts into battle.
Religion
The inhabitants of Sarifal, especially those who channeled primal magics, venerated primal spirits and archfey in a manner similar to divine worship,17 a situation that led to some of these entities jockeying for political influence within the realm.5 The Earthmother was most prominent, but worship was also present for Amarok the Wolf, Aurilandür the Frost Sprite Queen, Lurue the Unicorn Queen, Magnar the Bear, Nobanion the Lion, Ouroboros the World Serpent, Quorlinn the Raven, Relkath of the Infinite Branches, Remnis the Eagle, Sarula Iliene the Nixie Queen, and Verenestra the Oak Princess.17 There were no temples to these entities, but small shrines existed in abundance in places like the capital city of Karador.8
Holy sites dedicated to Silvanus were said to be found in the deep wilderness of Sarifal,18 and Eldath was venerated as a spirit of the Myrloch lake.19 Worship of Corellon and the rest of the elven pantheon was notably absent from Sarifal, which some followers of Lashrael saw as a result of the corrupting influence of the leShay.8 Some fomorians honored Selûne9 while the leShay were content to let her old temples fall into ruin.1015
In the Underdark beneath northeastern Sarifal, a population of drow worshiped Lolth as a combination of her modern Spider Queen incarnation and her original aspect as Araushnee.1620 This cult maintained effigies of Araushnee as an elf, as a spider, as an elf/spider hybrid, and as a hypersexualized human woman. They maintained that the Earthmother intended to help cleanse Araushnee and raise her out of the Demonweb Pits.16 Despite venerating her as a goddess who was innocent of the crimes imposed on her by Corellon, this cult was still known to make blood sacrifices in her name.
Foreign Relations
Sarifal shared Gwynneth with a number of dwarven settlements as well as the Llewyr subkingdom of Synnoria.4 Their most immediate enemies were denizens of the Feydark and the unseelie fey of Winterglen forest.423
The fey of Sarifal were not on friendly terms with the human kingdoms of the Moonshae Isles, although they were allied with the local human druids and were sometimes known to accept aid from trustworthy adventurers from the Isle of Alaron to the north.4 The concerns of human realms were generally beneath the notice of Sarifal's rulers,24 although they did have some spies in foreign lands.13
Sarifal had a long history with Imaskar, a human empire far to the east,6 and the only humans permitted near or in Sarifal's capital was a delegation from High Imaskar.
Laws
Trade & Transport
Although trade with the outside world was outlawed, such restrictions could technically be circumvented as long as foreign merchants were elves or eladrin.7 Sarifal minted its own gold coins that were standard enough to be accepted anywhere in Faerûn, although Moonshae merchants were wary of them.12 The fey were also known to acquire thalers for doing business with foreigners.
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