Harandil

Harandil is a country populated entirely by elves and located in the northern reaches of the prime material plane Taranel. It is not in the Spirit World.
The southern and eastern portions of Harandil are located on a long stretch of beaches that are known as The Frozen Shores.
The Northern and Western portions of Harandil are incredibly isolated in endless tundra and environmental hazards.
Hysteria appears to be from Harandil.

Structure

The Frozen Shores are ruled over by the King-and-Queen from his-and-her throne in the city of Harandil. Harandil is both the name of the country and the city, though most people just refer to the country as "The Frozen Shores" or "the shores". The "Queen-and-King" is a singular title assigned to the ruler of the shores since long before most human societies sprung up in the world. He-and-She is a perfectly bigender individual.
Beneath the King-and-Queen there are several noble titles which make up Her-and-His court. The elves on this court lose their name upon being "admitted" and renounce any ties to previous familes or organizations becoming the title itself in entirety.
Additionally, there are sections of the shores that are managed by members of the royal family, and cities that are managed by mayors, treasurers, and so on. The local structure is not unlike your average fantasy city, though the overarching structure of the country as a whole does deviate slightly.
When considering a new member of his-and-her council, the King-and-Queen consider many aspects: age, wealth, height, weight, intelligence, athletic capabilities, and, of course, character. Family is not factored in when considering new court members, some members just buy their way in.
See main article: Z'emuzk'ral's Court.

Culture

The shores of Harandil wrap around an area of land that has been shrouded in mystery for millennia. While "the shores" themselves are easily visible and frequently get tourists, dignitaries, merchants, and tradesmen alike, the further north portions of Harandil have yet to be seen by an outsider of any kind for thousands of years. Powerful magic, harsh weather conditions, other environmental concerns both biological and geological, and the fact that, for whatever reason, walking through the harsh tundra north of the shores seems to go on forever with no sign of any life or mountain ranges in sight. Blizzard winds cut vision incredibly short so stumbling into any manner of obstacle is more likely, and one may find themselves unable to find a way back to the shores no matter how long they retreat to the south.
There are stories of visitors wandering through the tundra and being lost for decades before finally turning back up in their homes. These people usually return drenched in some strange clear, viscous liquid and mumbling various things including: "need to escape" and "the wooden hand". These individuals are also usually chronically depressed upon their return. The stories involving these incidents have come from many different races, though it has never happened to an elf native to Harandil. Many hypothesize this to be due to their connection to fae somehow.
Because of this the ancient cultures of Northern Harandil are incredibly guarded, not much is known at all about what goes on in that area of the world, and most are happy just leaving it be.
Elven culture in Harandil is one of both incredibly guarded lives and, conversly, pride. They love for you to know that they're better than someone for some elven reason, but at the same time they're likely to not even tell them what that reason is. What is known about this culture is that they are particularly well attuned to fae magic and the fae in general.
This connection to the fae and the world that fae come from has caused some interesting relationships to develop amongst elves including an affinity for making pacts with a certain archfae known only as "The Patron". No one really knows who this "Patron" is, what they represent, why so many elves swear pacts with him, or anything at all. Some hypothesize that he is a powerful archfae, and that he is connected to the Royal Court as well.
The limited information gathered has mostly come from an incredibly rare archeological find by Remlit scholars. An archeological team discovered an ancient text full of elvish writing that was so old and different from the modern day elvish that most of it was unable to be translated. Even spells and magical abilities seemed to be unable to discern much meaning. What they could determine was that some sort of "Patron" was helping the elves find something. Something that translators could only determine had been "forgotten" as something very similar to the current elvish word for "Forgotten" kept popping up.

Assets

The shores primarily export valuable metals not found elsewhere in the world. They also have specialty foods, but the most important aspect that they export would be the magic of their people. Lots of elves frequently travel the world for one reason or another be it to learn about the place, adventure, become diplomats, cooks, scholars and more.

History

The oldest known references available about Harandil date back to thousands of years before Voldaren's founding in 400 BCE. This comes from a book discovered by a Remlit archeological team and studdied by scholars for decades. The language is so old and somehow so completely different from the current elven script that they just couldn't crack it. However, one day they did, and it told of something being lost by the elves. Something they forgot, the word "forgotten" came up a lot, but the elves were working with something called "The Patron" to get back whatever it was.
During the Voldaren and Moraq war, elves would be sent from Harandil to help defend Voldaren from the Moraq navy. Some elves that had been studying or working abroad in Ulktorov's Keep at the time had fought against Voldaren.
Sometime during the Voldaren/Moraq war, a group of elves somehow became lost at sea, blown so far off course through some magical event that they arrived on the completely wrong continent in Casmera. These wayward Harandil soldiers found themselves on a rocky beach that would eventually become a port for their future city. However, a group of humans from the nearby city of Mentara claimed the land against the elves a few decades later, killing any that stood up to them. The remaining elves were exiled to a nearby forest as punishment for "antagonizing the settlers". These events would eventually lead to a very devastating war that would decimate Casmera.
The shores have been mostly quiet, interracting in the necessary political activity to remain relevant, but not really causing any trouble or gaining attention.

Religion

The Elves of Harandil worship a pantheon of beings that they believe were once mortal or, at the very least, elvish at some point in time before ascending. There are mentions or mumblings from elves that have wandered Taranel about a "Patron" as well that seems almost intentionally vague in nature.
The "Pantheon" is made up of ten spiritual beings which they refer to as "Smrtohnya", a genderless term attributed to those that are reveared beyond the Courts of Elves or any other mortal for that matter. They seem similar to the gods and goddesses of other pantheons, though such terminology is never really used.
Main artical: Harandil Pantheon.

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Alternative Names

The Frozen Shores, the shores

Government System

Monarchy, Absolute

Official State Religion

Harandil Pantheon

Subsidiary Organizations

• Z'emuzk'ral's Court

Manufactured Items

• Strange Gem