Elandir
Elandir: the ancestral home of all elves. Here amidst the wide open forests, the tall mountains, and the deep blue waters of Lake Mythal, millions of elves live out their near-immortal lifespans. From the great towers of Mythal Thalore, to the quiet forests of Rea Caelora, to the bubbling brooks and rivers of Alelhil, all manner of elves can be found in these parts. Sun elves roam everywhere as merchants, craftsmen, soldiers, politicians, peddlers, and pawns. Moon elves are easily distinguished by their priestly robes and dark hair. Sea elves make their home in the rivers and lakes and even the cold northern shore around Ayanora, and wood elves keep careful watch of the Valwood. For all, Elandir represents this diversity.
Out of all of the nations, Elandir has the longest continuous history as a single unified nation. Unlike the humans, who have constantly broken apart into wars in their history, or the dwarves, who have also been faced by infighting or foreign incursions that broke their nation, the elves have enjoyed continuous unity since the founding of Elandir. This is due in large part to the teachings of Corallon Larenthian, which strongly forbade elves from killing their fellow elves. Elves have the smallest birth rates of all races to compensate for their thousand-year lifespans. As such, a single death in the elven community is considered a travesty, especially if committed by a fellow elf.
Part of Elandir's long-lasting history is due to the individualism and autonomy of the elves. Although Mythal Thalore has been the capital since its founding, each individual city in Elandir is capable of handling its own affairs without the say of the capital government. There is a natural bend towards libertarianism in elven communities, which can sometimes create trouble when two or more cities need to cooperate on large tasks, or when the health of the people or the land is threatened by outsiders. But the elves are proud of their autonomy and they will fiercely defend it against anyone who decides to threaten it.
History
After Cataclysm, the elves followed the northern chain before establishing their capital four hundred and ninety leagues from the holy mountain. Being so slow in growing their population, the elves primarily stayed there around Mythal Thalore as the city was built, or in the wooded slopes near the capital. Without war or much competition, and having unity in purpose, the elves eventually outgrew the city of Mythal Thalore, even as it rose higher into the sky, and moved off to form new settlements. Most of these were established by the wood elves. Sea elves in Lake Mythal established Syren Serine, and from there, the elves spread out even further.
The territory south of the Northern Chain (modern day Tuatesar) was unclaimed and uncontested for centuries, so some elven settlements were established there, but these served more mercantilistic purposes, gathering raw resources which were sent over the mountains for processing in Elandir proper. During the Great Human-Elf War, these lands became vast battlegrounds that destroyed many of the resources. When the war ended, the elves withdrew from their holdings, allowing the tortles to form their own nation.
Elves have never been as expansionistic as the humans have. Empire never achieved the goals of the elves, which was their unity of purpose and autonomous thinking. In this and many ways, the elves seem contradictory to non-elves. Today, Elandir occupies more land than Angdor or Aurelia, and millions of elves call this land their home.
Territories
Elandir covers a land mass larger than Angdor or Aurelia, stretching along nearly the entirety of the Northern Chain, which forms the western boundary of the land. The wood elves have established cities throughout the Valwood, which fills the interior wrapped by the Northern Chain, surrounds Lake Mythal, and grows all the way northward to the Borealis Sea. All of these lands are considered ancestral to the elves and they guard them fiercely. The wood elves especially control the forest and have the final decision of which trees might be cut down, and only for the benefit of the forest.
Military
Throughout the country, if every city watchman, militia, or regular soldier were combined, it would account for a little over 1.5 million soldiers. Most of these are regular foot soldiers trained in conventional hand-to-hand combat, archery, cavalry, or magic use. Due to their heavy reliance on magic users on the battlefield, elves have not fully diversified their military forces with modern weaponry like rifles or airships; however, there are individual elves who do use modern weaponry and can be called upon at a moment's notice.
Agriculture & Industry
Elandir does not have much agricultural land except what the wood elves clear from the Valwood. Terrace gardens dot the mountain slopes around Mythal Thalore, but they barely produce enough to feed the city.
When elves discuss industry, they mostly discuss the timber, which is cared for in the Valwood and processed by the wood elves. These timber products are shipped out by lightning rail from Mythal Thalore to much of the Twin Continents as furniture or wood siding for houses or construction material.
Trade & Transport
Most trade is focused on Mythal Thalore, as the only city in Elandir with a lightning rail train connecting it to Terrapoint in the west and Aurelia in the south. The city is also host to dozens of airships flying in and out daily, and a land caravan route eastward to the Arjun.
Aside from these modern transportation methods, most travel across the country takes place by river, which connects most of the Valwood cities, centered around Lake Mythal and Syren Serine.
Education
Due to their extremely low birth rates and long-aged natures, elves have the most peculiar education system, combining elements of apprenticeship and small classrooms. Elves usually consider adulthood as starting at 100 years of age, which means after young elves learn the basics of history, math, science, and literature, they will usually spend time in multiple apprenticeships with older elves. These apprenticeships are considered part of an elf's education as they learn about the world. It is considered important, in those first one hundred years of life, for elves to gain multiple perspectives of the world. These apprenticehsips typically give each young elf a chance to travel and see the world during their first century, after which, they are considered adults and will take a job in Elandir, usually with the chance of having young elves apprentice under them.
For those desiring a more regimented education system, a university was established in Mythal Thalore in the style of other nations for elves over a hundred years of age who wished to specialize in a particular field, especially magic. Other colleges of engineering, mathematics, science, and literature are also housed in the University of Mythal Thalore. However, most students at the school learn one of the schools of magic from trained wizards in the same field.
Infrastructure
Most of Elandir is not crisscrossed with roads, given that most of the territory is the Valwood where the wood elves will not allow such development, and the rest are mountains where building roads is impossible. The only highway cutting through Elandir territory is the "Caelora Highway, which runs from Mythal Thalore through Alhe Caelora and Rea Caelora to the peninsula of Syren Serine. Most intra-country travel takes place on the rivers, which connect together at Lake Mythal and join most of the cities, including Mythal Thalore, which is connected to a small port city near the mouth of the river.
Capital
Demonym
Elandarians
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Traditional
Major Exports
Elandir primary exports: ore, timber, fur
- Ore from the Northern Chain accounts for less than twenty percent of Elandir's exports, but also accounts for more than thirty-five percent of the country's GDP, given the value of the ore in modern days. Iron is sent to Terrapoint for processing into silver. Previous metals are shipped by train through Aurelia to Dhardaral for refinement.
- Timber is Elandir's largest export at over forty percent. Wood elves select the highest quality wood and either process it themselves or send it to Aurelia for further processing.
- Furs account for fifteen percent of Elandir exports. Furs-trapping has been a proud Elandir tradition for centuries. Many elf, deer, beaver, and bears call the Valwood their home, and the trappers keep strict control of the population. Poaching is punishable by hefty fines and prison time if you are caught. Most furs are sent to Aurelia, but there are markets for the furs everywhere around the world.
Major Imports
Elandir primary imports: agricultural products, processed metals, glass
- Elves in Mythal Thalore cannot grow enough food to support the population, whereas Tuatesar to the south grows too much rice for it all to be eaten. So many agricultural products like rice from Tuatesar or wheat from Aurelia are imported to feed the population.
- The elves choose not to process the ore that they produce on their own territory, opting to send it to other countries. Iron ore is sent to Terrapoint where the tortles process it into steel which is sent back to Elandir for crafting into frames for new buildings, reinforcing old buildings, or for making weapons.
- Glassblown products are a favorite of the elves, even in the forest cities. Along the trade route from the Oasis at Glass Pillars, caravans can be seen every day bringing Dragonborn glass products to the cities for crafting into windows and jewelry.
Legislative Body
Inside each town or city, representatives on a council of elders are chosen to make laws and hand down rulings. Each city demonstrates their own autonomy in this regard, and Mythal Thalore has several elder counsels inside of its city to account for the millions of people. For nation-wide ordinances, there is a separate counsel of elders made up of representatives from the cities and the priesthood that meets in Mythal Thalore to make decisions.
Judicial Body
Individual city watches and a simple court system deals with any crime that occurs in elven society. The city watch is selected from the military, whereas the courts and judges are selected by the ruling representatives.
Official State Religion
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Comments