A Northern Kingdom of Terath, the home of the elven people. In August of 212 PB, an onslaught from Typhon the Father of Monsters resulted in the destruction of much of the country which surrounded the Ethlinspire, by sinking it under water. Since then, the kingdom has been known as The Ethiln Isles. Great swaths of the land was temporarily submerged after a massive explosion and tidal wave. The decade that followed was one that focused on disaster recovery, pushing back the hordes of Typhon’s monsters which lingered, and beginning to rebuild. Many of the elves of the Ethlin Isles have felt abandoned by their leaders, who are believed to have sealed themselves away at the highest levels of the great spire.
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Important figures
King Roivas Gilbereth – The King was considered very wise by his people. Though in his youth he was a skilled warrior, he is carful not to involve his people in conflicts that are seen as ‘not concerning the Elves.’ As one of the few long lived elves in Terath, he had ruled for centuries before the Father of Monsters attacked. He has not been seen since the fall of his Kingdom and while many hope he is in the remnants of the Spire, many fear he fell.
Crown Prince Valinoth Gilbereth – The king’s oldest child and next in line to inherit the throne, Valinoth prefers to spend his time as an instructor at the Elentari battle school of Ro’Nivar. Though there are some who are concerned he is too lax and nonchalant to make a suitable King should his father pass, none question his dedication to the Elven people. Though the King has been missing for over a year, Valinoth refuses to take on his fathers mantle until his death has been confirmed.
Lady Callisthene Gilbereth – Over the course of her life, Callisthene has become the public face of the Elven nation to the other kingdoms and peoples of Terath. Unlike her older brother, she has fully embraced the political aspects of her life and serves as the ‘unofficial’ ambassador of the Elves. She is known as the most ‘open-minded’ of the royal family when it comes to questioning the long held traditions of the elves.
Baron Therin Gilbereth – The youngest of the royal children, his inexperience and youth is quite apparent in his attitudes. At times he shows a wisdom similar to his father that is considered beyond his years. Unlike his sister, he is old-fashioned in many ways and prefers the conservative and elitist thinking of his elders.
General Vorhil’il Celestion – The Grand Marshal of Rhoum. One of the truly long lived elves, General Celestion has been involved in many of the largest military conflicts in Terath’s history. The most recent conflicts he has been involved in are the Dark War in Lairroth, the Forsaken War and Typhon’s invasion. General Celestion is considered on of the most skilled tacticians and warriors in Terath. He personally trained some of the best warriors Terath has seen, including the previous High King Arador Kajorelle and King Charles Rezak Fallion the Red.
Domestic products
Knowledge, paper, ink, wines, fruit, chocolate, tea.
The Elves are known for their fascination with esoteric knowledge and ancient lore. Prior to Typhon’s invasion, they were also known for their centers of learning throughout their kingdom. With the sinking of much of the kingdom the elves have been left with little in the way of resources, though they have been working to rebuild since Typhon’s Invasion in 213 PB.
Prior to the invasion of Typhon, the elves were mostly self-sustaining. This resulted in little trade and few dealings with the rest of Terath. With the destruction brought on by the Father of Monsters, the Ethlin Isles is now very dependent on trade. Their primary dealings are with Falconcrest for foodstuffs and Ebrus for minerals and crafted goods.
Relations with other nations
Dragonheld – When the Draconic Domination of Terath took place, the elves were one of the few peoples spared their wrath. Many believe this was due to some kind deal the Elves made with the dragons.This sparked some controversy when the elves were forced out of the ancestral home and were refugees.
Narovo – Historically, the Elves have had poor relations with the desert kingdom, as a result of Narovo’s former status as an Ethlin Colony. While the Ethlin kingdom has attempted to improve the political relationship in recent years, the people of Narovo seem determined to maintain an adversarial stance. Long ago, the elves used the territory of Narovo primarily as a source for the valuable prismatic gems that came from the dwarven mines, which they used to empower their magic. In some parts of Narovo, a travelling elf is more likely to be attacked than greeted with kindness.
Chindius – While officially the relations of these two nations are neutral, there is some unofficial tension between them. Like Narovo, Chindius once an Ethlin Colony long ago, but most of the tension comes primarily from Chindius being one of the first nations to fall victim to the Father of Monsters, and the Elves not taking action to aid them. And then during the Pale War of 216, Chindius called for aid again and the Ethlin leadership responded that they were unable to dedicate resources to the defense of Chindius.
The Queen’s Lands – When High Queen Embla returned from Verath, she named General Vorhil’il Celestion to the post of Grand Marshal of Rhoum and Keeper of the Line. Many speculate he accepted the title in exchange for her blessing in using the combined armies now under his command to reclaim the Ethlin Isles. Regardless, the elves take very serious the honor bestowed upon them by this act and have sworn to uphold and support Embla as the High Queen of Terath.
Haven – Relations with the Xelaque kingdom are strained at the best of times. Many of the older and more ‘traditional’ elves look upon their dark brothers with disdain, though such attitudes are somewhat rare these days. Relations are slowly improving due to Haven’s support after Typhon attacked in 213 PB. King Vol of Haven has risen to the appointment of “High Wizard of The Rhouman Guard” and is said to often work closely with General Celestion, and yet most of the Ethlin leaders seem to believe that Haven is an arrogant nation who are deeply failing and replicating the legacy of The Ethlin people.
Falconcrest – The elves are in the process of building strong ties to the new kingdom, although they view Falconcrest as something up an upstart with overly conservatives views regarding magic. Even so, Falconcrest is their primary trade partner for foodstuffs, and the Falconcrest military has gone a great way toward building trust due to their constant presence in the efforts to reclaim the elven kingdom from the monsters left behind after Typhon’s defeat. King Galathule of Falconcrest is known to have once dispatched a force led by Knight Ambassador Silmarwen Earfalas that worked closely with the elves in a number of campaigns to take back their homes.
Ebrus – During the Golden Age of Ebrus the Elves were strong allies. While they maintained good relations with King Fallion, they began to distance themselves. This purposeful distance with Ebrus continued during the reign of King West of Ebrus, and with the coup that culminated in the rise of Queen Vivian of Ebrus in 218 PB, the Ethlin Leadership have expressed a desire to withhold their judgement (and their friendship) until they see how Queen Vivian handles her first decade or two of rulership.
Westerland – The elves are hesitant to deal directly with Westerland since King MuTt ascended the throne and accepted the fealty of many monstrous races. The rumors of King MuTt’s demonic associations, in addition to his lack of political tact, have made the elves less than eager to engage in anything resembling a formal alliance.
Akeron – The elves have begun to work hard in building relations with the once great merchant kingdom. In years past, the elves were self sustaining enough they had no need of Akeron’s craftsmen and merchants. Now, they find they are in constant need of supplies from the various kingdoms of Terath.
Myzantius – The elves hold a neutral view of the mercenary nation, although they have been known to look at the nationalized institutional pursuit of the mercenary lifestyle with a degree of disdain.
Brief summary of culture
The Ehtlin Isles is the kingdom of the elves, some of whom were already present in Terath and some of whom migrated from Il’lithoria in Lairroth. Before Typhon’s Invasion it was an elitist society that never considered itself part of the Empire, but a neighboring Empire. These views are slowly changing now that they must rely on the other kingdoms for support. Their greatest focus has always been in gathering knowledge in all things, specifically knowledge of ancient and true magiks. They are primarily isolated from the rest of the continent due to a small channel created when Typhon attacked, creating the isles that now make up the kingdom.
The Ehtlin Isles has a very widespread selection of attitudes regarding different magics and mundane skills, but in general the kingdom supports the study of any and all of these. While not illegal, Necromancy is seen as a dangerous tool that should not be abused. Those who make a study of the dark magics are expected to be responsable and model citizans of the Empire. While there are no official rules concerning its study or use, anyone found using it without proper safeguards are subject to heavy fines.
This attitude has heightened since the fall of the Elven Kingdom. Prior to Typhon’s attack, the elves had the resources to deal with the consequences of necromatic research and spell casting (necrovoids, wandering undead, etc.) in a quick and efficient manner. Now, their forces are spread thin and ritual components are rare and difficult to obtain.
Brief known history
Long ago, before the Rhouman Empire colonized Lairroth or Terath the elves had a great empire of their own that spanned the two continents, the Ethlin Empire. The capital of the empire (the great city of Ro’Nivar was located in what is now the land bridge the connects the two continents, when the elven sea was a land mass.
During Typhon’s first invasion of Terath, one of his greatest Heralds managed to cast a series of rituals that sunk the land. Only the powerful defenses of the capital prevented the ritual from completely severing the two continents. This was the beginning of the decline of the Ethlin Empire. The first Gargoyle war soon followed Typhon, and in a desperate attempt to prevent the Abyss from consuming Cyrillia the greatest ritualists of the empire cast the Sky Fire. A ritual of such great destruction that nothing was left bust ash and dust.
With this, the elves of Terath and Lairroth were severed from each other. Over time, they became two distinct cultures united by the Great Spires built by the empire.
Geography
The Ethlin Isles is comprised of three Islands, with the capital city of Gilbereth and the majority of the population located on the center (and largest) of the Isles.
The Northern Isle is comprised mostly of wild and untamed forest land. While some of the Elves make their home there, it is wild and dangerous. The ruins of some of the old kingdoms universities can be found here.
The Southern Isle is mostly uninhabited by the Elves, though not by their choice. Many of the monstrous creatures that fought for Typhon now reside there. Though General Celestion has led many small campaigns to rid the Isle of it’s monstrous inhabitants, they have ultimately failed to push them out. The Isle is controlled primarily by a group of Ogre Magus’ that have dominated the local tribes of Lizardfold, and Naga.
5 things you should know
1. The Ethlinspire is visible from far away, a vast expanse that stretches for over a mile in diameter at the base. It is unknown how many levels the Tower consists of, perhaps sixty or eighty, but there is rumor that the highest levels are only empty shells which contain portals to other locations. Only citizens of the Isles are allowed beyond the 5th level of the tower, and only those on official business can go beyond the 15th.
2. The elven lands have always been a place sought out by the greatest scholars in Terath. Though the great Universities were destroyed by Typhon, the Isles is still one of the central locations for research and study due to their extensive libraries. However, these libraries are often extremely difficult to gain access to, as they are actually a centralized collection of private libraries, rather than a series of public libraries open to visitors. The 5th Level of The Ethlin Spire contains a large library full of commonly copied tomes, of the sort that a novice researcher might find useful. It is also rumored that many private libraries exist within the Ethlin Spire, and while visitors are almost never invited to browse through them, those who have earned the favor of the Ethlin people are sometimes granted permission to examine some of the rare books from these private collections.
3. Within the last few generations, many of the mystery cults of Hadrianus have taken root within the Ethlin culture. This is unusual, as the two nations do not share a border of any kind, nor do they share many other cultural similarities. Even so, the last two generations of Ethlin in particular have shown a great interest in these secret Hadrian societies, often allowing for the creation of Ethlin chapters which mirror their Hadrian counterparts.
4. The Ethlin people are often very hostile towards undead of all kinds. Even relatively harmless undead, or those officially representing the Kingdom of The Night, often find themselves hunted in The Ethlin Isles. A lich who wishes to visit and study within the spire runs a high risk of being welcomed and then trapped. Additionally, noble houses in the Ethlin Isle hold long traditions of hunting and eliminating any sentient undead who have originated within their own holdings, especially if they were formally related by blood.
5. Almost all Elentari children are sent to the battle school known as “Ro’Nivar” from the ages of 10-14, to train in their chosen weapon. Most of these fighters will never waver from their specific fighting style and the vast majority of guards within the King’s court are selected from those who excel during this battle training.
