Brightbough Forest
Brightbough Forest extends from the west and covers most of the bottom edge of Starhelm to the southernmost tip of the Barrier Guard of Denethen. On its eastern border it meets with the western edge of the Marsh of Menlos and the Grippli there.
The Elves of Brightbough hold a great reverence for their past, but they also embrace the future of High Elf and Wood Elf society. They work tirelessly to protect the forest, educate the races around them, bring harmony to the area, and defend against the Fallen. They work very much in conjunction with their surroundings, and both High Elf and Wood Elf work together to maintain their realm.
Elves have great respect for high level practitioners of magic and leaders of their religion. Lyradell played a key part in the Elves’ survival and success on Starhelm and they do him great honour. In addition, Elven communities have a great respect for teachers, regardless of trade, so they take great pride in making sure their children are well taught. This is true of both High Elves and Wood Elves but what is considered important is different for each group.
The High Elves of Brightbough place importance in knowledge, social interaction, the arts, and botany. The great botanists of Brightbough are well respected for their ability to manipulate the forest gently and integrate into nature without injuring it. The musicians and entertainers are the heart of Elven society, feeding the Elven soul, particularly with ethereal music and poems akin to their Avariel heritage. The learning of high magic is also important and can make an Elf a very important member of their house or even the royal house.
The Wood Elves appreciate knowledge but of their surroundings, the flora and fauna, the ways of surviving in their environments. They value freedom and will fight to protect it. They prefer the study of swordplay to the arts but there are still a number of Wood Elves who can play an instrument or sing a haunting melody. They prefer magic of the elements to any high ideals of magic. Their appreciation for their religious leaders is equally as powerful as any High Elf.
Keeping as much to their old ways as they can the High Elves of Starhelm have kept their previous monarchy structure. Their long life has blessed them with wisdom and they seldom have kings that are unfit. The consistency of rule makes for high levels of success and there has only been a few Elven kings since they were Avariel. Family houses make up the rest of the nobility and each house provides at least one advisor to the royal household. The High Elf nobility do not live outside their respective city, but they may travel to visit other villages, towns, or cities of other races.
Wood Elves have taken on more of a tribal social structure, with their tribal leaders acting in the place of royalty with their family acting as nobility. While they do not have advisors or family houses they prefer to work more collaboratively as necessary. They perform tasks as needed and do not rely on forced structure to dictate to them what they need to do or learn. They try to learn as much as they can with the understanding that specific knowledge may save their life one day. They do still have more permanent homes than traditional tribal cultures, they are just smaller and less developed than the cities.
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