The Emerald Mountains
Situated at the southern end of the Green Realm, the Emerald Mountains are steep, rugged peaks blanketed by alpine forests often deeply shrouded in mist. These mountains are dangerous to those who have not been invited. There are many natural threats, from wild animals and perilous fey to treacherous paths and sentient plant life, but most importantly, the grey elves of the heights do not like visitors.
Blanketed by high alpine forests at the southern end of the Green Realm are the Emerald Mountains, which are known to the elves as Gora Harmyth. Here is the home of the near mythic grey elf kingdom that shares the mountains’ name. The magnificent halls of their capital of Suomen Gron are seldom visited by denizens of the Green Realm, save for rare pilgrimages by nobles who would seek advice from their ancient forebears in times of travail.
The grey elves of the Emerald Mountains are quiet free spirits when left to their own devices. Being more closely related to the pure essence of the Fey Realms than other elves, they have become near legend even among their own kin, who refer to them as the Hidden Ones or the Shining Ones. Indeed, they are rarely seen anymore because they have so deeply attuned themselves with the world of spirit, fey, and magic that many of them are on the verge of becoming one with the fey essence of the cosmos. Some of the Shining Ones spend centuries dwelling among the glades of fairy folk, only seldom taking time to return to the gleaming fortresses of the Suomen Gron to observe the happenings of the mortal realms or to take action against the resurgence of Vilik Strad.
The Hidden Ones have a natural capacity for wielding the chaotic forces of raw magic and shaping it into the natural world around them as easily as a potter shapes clay. It was with the help of the grey elf wizards of the Emerald Mountains that the wild elf high lords of the Green Realm were able to raise the Cinderhame Mountains from the crust of the world and thwart the advance of their dark elf adversaries across the Talanos Peninsula in year 52 I.R.
History and People
The grey elves were the first of the children of Darach-Albith to voyage from their ancestral homeland on another plane to Boros, even before the First Exodus of the Elves. More arrived in the First Exodus in roughly the year –6484 I.R. along with others of their kin, ancestors of the wild elves and high elves. What drove the elves to cross over to Boros in this wave remains a mystery of which the grey elves — who alone of the elves may know the truth — will not speak.
After coming to Boros, the grey elves and their progeny were little changed. But, particularly after a few generations had passed, the other elves seemed to take on aspects of their new homeland. Their strong skin and flashing eyes came to reflect the colors of their native forests, of which their spirits quickly became a living part. As they matured and married, they conceived more quickly by the standards of the Shining Ones but lived shorter lives than the grey. Their lives were just as deeply in tune with the natural order of the world but were perhaps richer for the shorter time they had upon it. These changes to their kin were at first considered quaint and primitive by the grey elves, who loved them all the more for it. But their new differences did result in the two groups of elves growing apart. The Shining Ones for their part largely left their exuberant cousins to their own devices and relocated to a new home in the Emerald Mountains, only interfering when advice was asked or when their society was threatened with destruction. In these days, sometimes princes and princesses of the grey would marry into the rising noble houses of the other elves to enhance the richness of the Eldest bloodline among their kinfolk.
The other elves quickly spread throughout the Great Akadonian Forest, which then spanned the length and breadth of the continent, and tended the ancient woodland as wardens and protectors. In the east, they built cities indistinguishable from the primeval forests. Unfortunately, many of those cities were destroyed or abandoned following the Hyperborean invasion and the massacre at Lake Crimmormere in – 91 I.R. As many elves fled west in the Second Exodus, they were welcomed by the grey elves into the Green Realm, who helped re-establish noble lines and serve as mediators as new lands were settled and tribes formed. From this time forward, the elves of the west who rejected Valenthlis became known as the wild elves.
The wild elves of the west came to enjoy a close relationship with the grey elf kind, which proved critical when they were forced to call upon grey elven aid to prevent an invasion of the Green Realm by the dark elves of Vilik Strad.
But after many years, once the survival of the wild elven lineage was ensured with the establishment of the Harwood line, the host of the grey elves at last retreated into the alpine peaks of the Emerald Mountains and their secretive palace fortress of Suomen Gron. For their part, they were happy to withdraw from the ambitions of elves, dwarves, and men.
The grey elves now spend a majority of their time re-attuning themselves with the power of the Fey Realms. They may cross into the lands of the fey and dance with the faerie folk, or spend centuries focused in the deep study of arcane magic. Still others take to traveling unseen through the lands of their children as they survey the world as it has become. Over the last centuries, the Shining Ones have turned their eyes once again to the deeps beneath Vilik Strad and rumors of dark powers growing there in strength.
Government
The grey elves of Gora Harmyth are ruled by an ancient monarchy led by Semmjon and Adosha, king and queen of the Emerald Mountains. The pair are descended from the eldest lines of grey elven royalty from before the First Exodus and are loved and admired by their people. The duo has been married for over two centuries and are nearly 400 years old.
Religion
On the surface, the grey elves of the Emerald Mountains don’t seem to truly have any religion at all, until one realizes that these long-lived beings believe themselves children of the divine, descended from the god Darach-Albith and the lost goddess Rialae-Aibaru. A marble temple to Darach-Albith stands in a mountain vale not far from Suomen Gron, as does another small shrine to the fey deity Arialee. Here on midsummer and midwinter the barriers to the Fey Realm become thin and allow the grey elves to refresh their living spirit through contact with their original homeland.
In these festivals they are reminded of the Eldest and the day when all shall join again, dancing at the feet of Arialee in the land of the fey when none shall need take up bow or wand in defense of life and freedom ever again.
Trade and Commerce
The denizens of the Emerald Mountains have little need of trade as they sustain themselves with magic and the bounty of the forests, rivers, and mountains. They receive infrequent though valuable tribute from the lords of the Green Realm as is tradition and return tenfold the gifts they receive from the wild elves in the form of wisdom and magical reinforcement. They have been known to disguise themselves as young wild elves and to trade for ponies and grain from the tribes of the vale.
Military
The grey elves of the Emerald Mountains are known for their exceptional skill at ancient wizardry. They make use of summoned forces to absorb attacks and use explosive invocations to blast through enemy ranks. In addition, many of the Hidden Ones are skilled swordsmen, and their knights are remembered in antiquity for their bravery and deftness of blade strikes. A unit of grey elves is adorned in supple armor and wields bows and thin-bladed swords of exceptional strength and balance. They are fearless in the face of supernatural foes. Were it not for their small numbers and their languorous spirit, the grey elven combination of powerful wizardry and dizzying blade-craft would undoubtedly grant them dominion over any of the lesser mortal races in the world.
Of the population of the Emerald Mountains, three-fourths are capable of taking up arms or wands to combat any threat. Their equipment is considered fine to excellent and has a good chance of being enchanted. A cadre of well-trained knights who ride the winds on the backs of pegasi form the royal guard known as the Tuul Rasaja. These riders of Suomen Gron serve as messengers, scouts, and protectors of King Semmjon and Queen Adosha.
The grey elves forged alliances over the millennia with younger gold and silver dragons who make their homes in the roots of the Emerald Mountains, though they call upon their aid only in extremis, for even kindly dragons charge high prices for their services, and not all of their bills may be paid in gold and jewels.
Major Threats
The most imminent threat to the Emerald Mountains is its proximity to the Cinderhame Mountains. Riders of the Tuul Rasaja have noted movement in those old volcanic cones of fire giant fortresses, as well as signs of hobgoblins and trolls. Already, the wizards of Gora Harmyth wonder if the ancient magic that was once used to raise the mountains from the earth may need to be called upon again to collapse them to dust. Time will tell. What is known is that the dark elves of the high walled city of Vilik Strad have had thousands of years to plan their revenge against the Hidden Ones and their cousins in the Green Realm.
Wilderness and Adventure
The mountains are dangerous to those who are not welcome there. The Hidden Ones have earned that name for a reason. They keep a watchful eye over the passes and are well aware days in advance of any incursion into their sanctum. Should travelers manage to find one of their hidden tunnels or mountain passes, they are met first with conjured weather followed by summoned beings and magical constructs designed to turn interlopers away. Should unwelcome visitors be persistent, they are next met with a force of grey elves intent on dissuading any further exploration of their land.
Region
Emerald Mountains
Alternative Names
Gora Harmyth
Comments