Society in Elladrell

Elladrell

Elladrell is a nation of deep forests, rolling hills, mountain ranges, and windswept coastlines. it is home to elves, gnomes, firbolgs, and creatures typically associated with the feywild: fairies, harengons, satyrs.

Elladrell Society

The people of Elladrell are diverse and it can be difficult to generalize. However, people of other nations would remark on their creativity, their artistry, their deep connection with nature, but also their aloofness, their arrogance, and their intransigence.
Elladrell is largely governed by what is called 'collective wisdom'. The voice of wisdom and experience is what matters most. As a result, there is not much written law as opposed to ettiquette, convention, and decisions handed down by ruling elders.
Council of Elders are found at many levels of self-organization, whether it is a small parish in a small town, a province within the nation of Elladrell, and at the head of a Great House, ruling over many smaller houses.
The people of Elladrell do not consider themselves part of a single nation. Instead, they associate most closely with one of the Great Houses. However, they all agree to be subject to the Council of Trees.

The Council of Trees

Aldanolwë, The Council of Trees (literally the Wisdom of Trees) is the singular authority in Elladrell to which all Great Houses defer. Their wisdom and experience is considered to be far beyond that of any other mortal. Very few other than representatives of Great Houses have ever witnessed a Council Meeting. Decisions made at this meeting are delivered by the representatives in attendance. The Council of Trees can only be found by navigating the Secret Ways of Elladrell, deep in the heart of Minyataurë.
The Council of Trees meets once per year, and very rarely if an urgent situation arises.

The Great Forests

There are seven Great Forests in Elladrell, and many smaller ones. The seven are:

• Minyataurë, the first forest. The Council of Trees can be found here.
• Tatyataurë, the second grove.
• Nelyataurë, the third grove.
• Eärtaurë, the sea grove. This grove spans the coastline from north to south
• Martataurë, the fey grove. This grove is where the veil to the Feywild is thinnest.
• Mórëtaurë, the dark grove. This grove is where the veil to the Shadowfell is thinnest.
• Haldataurë, the hidden grove. Its location is unknown.

The argument is commonly made that the distinction of 'Great Grove' is arbitrary, as there are other groves that are larger, or more populated, or more significant. It has also been pointed out that this number of seven does not comport with traditional druidic wisdom in which 4 is a sacred number. However, the Council of Trees themselves named these as the Great Groves, so people do ultimately comply.
It has been hotly debated whether Reithataurë, the Caldera Forest (literally the Forest Rescued From Ruin), is a Great Forest, as it was built with the life essences of tens of thousands of Elladrell druids (as well as druids from other lands). But the Great Houses say that the Council of Trees was asked and decided against it.
Great Gatherings only occur within the named Great Forests, and occasionally, and unpredictably, within Reithataurë.

The Secret Ways

The Secret Ways are paths that appear and disappear, that twist and turn, that seem to have a will of their own. Many people travel the Secret Ways, but only those who respect and honour the Forest do so successfully. The Secret Ways can appear anywhere within the forest, and travelers are warned to stick to the marked roads lest they wander off onto an unmarked path that turns out to be a Secret Way, and get lost in the forest forever. Residents of the forests typically have more success navigating the Secret Ways than do travelers - whether they are from Elladrell or not. It is said that the Grove itself controls the Secret Ways - that the Forests are in possession of a greater consciousness than one would think.

The Heart of the Forest

Many forests are rumored to have a Heart that is protected by the Secret Ways. Few people have ever visited a Heart, or at least, have been able to return to tell about it. As such many people feel that the idea of a Heart is, in reality, just a myth to scare people away. It is said that the druid groves were once in these Hearts, and that the druids regularly walked the Secret Ways. Every now and again, one might meet someone who claim to have visited a druid grove at the Heart of a Forest, either by getting lost of by being rescued by a druid. It is also said that the Council of Trees can be found in the Heart of Minyataurë. But as none other than Great House representatives have ever attended, it has never been confirmed. And so the legend persists, and the debate rages.

The Veil

Two planes of opposition lie overtop of the Material Plane: the Feywild and the Shadowfell.
The Feywild is also known as the Plane of Faerie, a whimsical reflection of our world, filled with potent magics, wild nature, and unrestrained emotion. It is home of pixies, sprites, fairies, satyrs, harengon. It is said that the so-called 'monstrous' races of goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears were once residents of this plane of existence, but were forced out into the Material Plane.
The Shadowfell is also known as the Plane of Shadows, a dark reflection of our world, full of decay, death, and desolation. It is home to creatures such as the shadar-kai (shadow elves), shadows, shades, shadow mastiffs, shadow dragons, and shadow demons.
It is said that the veil to these planes are thinnest in Elladrell, with Martataurë being the easiest place to cross into the Feywild (and vice versa), and Mórëtaurë being the easiest place to cross into the Shadowfell (and vice versa). There are known crossings in other parts of Arkadia, but they are not as numerous nor as reliable as in Elladrell.

The Great Houses

There are five Great Houses in Elladrell. This number is not fixed, and has gone as few as 3 and as high as 9. The naming of a house as a Great House is a decision made only by the Council of Trees, and they are given a new name when this occurs. The names generally comport with what is seen as the theme of the house, but it should be remembered that all houses have great diversity in the lesser houses that are part of their Great House.
The current five Great Houses are:

• Yaranossë, the oldest house with the longest lineage. They can be found in Minyataurë
• Máranossë, a mighty house of warriors. They can be found in Tatyataurë.
• Súlinossë, a house of poets, singers, painters, and artists. They can be found in Nelyataurë.
• Ingolnossë, a house of wise sages. They can be found in Nelyataurë.
• Sinwanossë, the house of the sea. They can be found in Eärtaurë.

The Great Gatherings

Each of the Great Forests can be the site of a Great Gathering, in which the Forest reshapes itself to bring houses together for several days. This happens once each season, and is considered a sacred event. The Great Houses often hold annual celebrations, festivals, or meetings during these times. Decisions of great importance are often made during a Great Gathering.
These Gatherings can only happen in a named Great Forest or Reithataurë (which is an argument often used to argue for its inclusion in the category). In the Great Forests it happens predictably, on a schedule - in Reithataurë it happens infrequently and unpredictably.
Each house or family has a different name for these Great Gatherings, sometimes ending with the suffix of -yomenië, -combë, -asar. It has become common to use a more generalized suffix for the Great Gatherings that occur in Reithataurë as none can agree on a nomenclature. As such, the names are often literally translated as "Festival in the Forest", which woudl be Merentaurë, or Merethtaurë, depending on your house.

The Druids

Elladrell had a parallell system of self-organization and government, organized by the druids of Elladrell. It used to be that the elders sought the council of the druids during decision-making. The druids themselves had their own form of self-government, which still followed the concept of 'collective wisdom', but had a single leader at the head of each druidic circle, overseen by the Great Archdruid. However, the druids were almost all killed while giving their essence over to the Reithataurë, also called the Caldera Grove.
Nowadays, druids are rare and do not participate directly in the governing of Elladrell. It is rumored that those who remain are keeping safe in the Heart of the Forests, but none have been able to confirm this.

People of Elladrell

The vast majority of people in Elladrell live honest, leisurely lives - though there are geographic differences. Food, water, and shelter are ample in almost all parts of Elladrell. The people live in harmony with nature, especially within the Great Forests. People spend their time according to their own interests and passions, whether that be mastering swordplay, exploring schools of magic, or composing a ballad on the lyre. Many enjoy long, leisurely walks through the wood, which can take months or even sometimes years. Occasionally wanderers will even cross into the Feywild - but steer clear of the rare Shadowfell crossings. This is largely true for all people who live in Elladrell, whether they are elf, half-elf, gnome, halfling, or any of the fey races who have crossed over from the Feywild.
There is not much external pressure on civilians to strive for survival or even something greater. There are new threats to the north in the form of the lich-queen's armies, and some skirmishes in the mountains, as well as some occasional disagreements among Great Houses, but largely the Council of Trees finds a peaceful route through the vast majority of challenges.
As a result, the people of Elladrell are quite content with the status quo, and are conservative in nature. To other people they can come off as a haughty, dismissive people. Elladrellers would agree, but feel that it is justified. After all, they have found true harmony with the world, and found ways to live for enjoyment. Everyone would do well to follow their lead.

High Society in Elladrell

There are four titled noble ranks in Elladrell, and one non-noble term of respect.

• Nossetur - "House Lord" - The head of one of the five great houses, to which many noble houses are pledged. - is head of household
• Taratur - "High Lord" - The head of a noble house pledged to one of the five great houses. Many noble families are pledged to the noble house. - is head of household
• Galadhtur - "Branch Lord" - The head of a noble family pledged to a noble house. Many families are pledged to this house, but none are noble. - is head of household
• Lassetur - "Leaf Lord" - A member of a noble family pledge to a noble house - is not head of household
• Nossetar - Honored by House, Honored by Family - A head of a smaller family that is pledged to a noble family, house, or great house, but is not a member nobility themselves.

In general, referring to women adds a "-i" to the end of the title. E.g. "Nosseturi", or "Elenturi". However some women have chosen to keep the title as is.
Honorifics: Nossetur is referred to as "Aratur" in Elvish or "High Lord" in common, whereas the others are referred to as "Elentur" (lierally Elf-Lord) or "Lord" in common. Some elves do not recognize the names in Common. This can be used in full: "Aratur Yaranosse" (High Lord Yaranosse) refers to the House Lord of the Yaranosse house, whereas a noble lady of the house "Quenra" would be called "Elenturi Quenra" (Lady Quenra). "Aratur" or "Elenturi" are also proper honorifics when speaking directly to the individual.. Servants refer to their masters with the -en suffix: "Elenturen" or "Elenturien", for example.
Nossetar do not have a specific apellation, but some choose to have staff call them "Elentar" or "Elentari" (literally Honored Elf) or "Honored One" in Common.
Married men are referred to as "Veru" and married women are referred to as "Veri". Collectively a married couple are referred to as "Verëu". Unmarried men are referred to as "Vendu" and unmarried women are referred to as "Vendë" if she is not. Children who are not of marrying age are referred to as "Onna", whether male or female. They typically change their honorifics when they come of age, typically around 100.
Personal Titles: The Council of Trees gives special titles to particular individuals who have rendered exceptional services. It is a mystery as to how these titles are obtained, but the heads of the Great Houses do work to ensure their implementation. These are varied but not unique, and require members of high society to commit much to memory. One of the most common examples would be "Tauretur" or "Lord of the Forests". A less common example would be "Ilwendil" or "Friend of the Skies".
Inheritance: Titles and roles are hereditary, though each house may have their own rules for how the inheritance is done (patriarchy, matriarchy, order of succession, etc.) In some cases, elves have the option of 'naming' an heir of their choosing rather than relying on the rules previously laid down. This is almost always a scandal and is often challenged, sometimes all the way up to the Council of Trees. The decision of the Council of Trees is always final.