Aravess

Aravess claims the distinction of being the oldest sovereign state in the world today. It has existed since the time of the Andarian Empire and is steeped in elven tradition. To outsiders it is that mysterious elven realm hidden within the Great Forest. To the Aravessi, it is a land of artistic expression, thought provoking poetry, graceful dance, alluring song, ancient lore, and skilled Mystic Arts.
For over 2,000 years, this elven land has endured through numerous conflicts with neighboring barbarians, orcs, gnolls, dragons, drow, and even humans. The elves are staunch defenders of their homeland and see unwelcome intrusion into their realm as an offense. To those invited, however, they are gracious hosts.
Aravess has always existed as a hereditary monarchy, with the same family ruling since its founding. In 406 AV, as the result of a devious plot, King Roquill Glynthara was assassinated, leaving Queen Telithandra to rule since their son, Prince Elomin, was only ten years old. She became known as the Queen Mother Telithandra, ruling until Prince Elomin came of age. The Queen Mother, however, has become a popular and effective ruler in her own right. Her swift and decisive action after her husband’s murder helped to unravel the heinous murder plot that took her husband, revealing a conspiracy between a rival noble family and the ancient elven enemy, the drow. Now she rules until her son, Prince Elomin comes of age, though many believe she should remain as queen even after.

Life and Society

Elven society in Aravess is very clan oriented. The family structure dominates most aspects of life. Each family has a patriarch, or in a few cases a matriarch, who sits as the undisputed head of the family. Due to elves’ long lives, a patriarch can help care and guide as much as five, sometimes even six, generations of his family. The clan usually lives in close proximity to one another. Often, an ancestral home is the family base, possibly housing multiple families at once. Elves are not as quick to procreate as shorter-lived races typically are, so the common elven family only has one or two children.
Social status bears much weight in Aravessi society. Noble families are revered, and the older the clan, the more the reverence. A clan with less than five generations cannot even be considered for noble status. Despite the class divisions, commoners are not necessarily looked down upon. They are respected for the role they fill in the overall society. Every member has his place in the community and is expected to contribute to its overall wellbeing.

Major Geographical Features

To most visitors, Aravess, under the Great Forest appears like an untouched expanse of woodland. To the elves who have lived here for over 2,000 years, it is home. They understand the forest, particularly the section they call Aravess. They tend to its needs and wants, which in a self-sufficient forest, are usually few. They can sense its changes and adapt to them, unlike other races which strive to make the terrain adapt to their needs. Aravess’ trees, valleys, rolling hills, and gentle rivers maintain a balance that rarely requires, or appreciates, outside interference. The Aravessi understand, more than most, that in order not to upset that balance, one must live with the terrain, not in it.
Blood Hills: These rolling hills get their name from the countless battles that have been fought here. Orcs and barbarian tribes have always lived to the north and east. The elven nation of Aravess has occupied the west for centuries. Humans dating back to the Andarian Empire have dominated the south. Historically, when the various groups have met in the middle, they have fought, more often than not.
Aravess’ northeastern border ends at the Blood Hills.
Blue River: This river runs down the Serpent Peaks and across the northern stretch of the Great Forest. Its cold water is particularly clear, giving the river its name. The part of the river that runs from the mountains and reaches the Blood Hills marks Aravess’ northern border.
Ever Hills: The Ever Hills run from the southern edge of the Serpent Peaks down to Golden Lake. In the southern half, below the Blacktooth River, the rolling hills are a pleasant and serene landscape dotted with warm gnomish burrows. North of the Blacktooth River, however, the beauty of the Ever Hills is often marred by goblinoid tribes originating in the Haegren Barrens. Creatures from the Orgron Mountains and Serpent Peaks often explore these hills below the mountains as well.
Aravess’ southewestern border ends at the Ever Hills.
Great Forest: This massive forest dominates the center of the continent of Velen. Oaks, maples, elms, birch, pines, and numerous other trees can be found within its broad expanse. Broad leaves that shed in the autumn are common. Nuts, fruits, pinecones can all be found in the forest’s different regions. The Great Forest is considered by many the most beautiful forest, if not terrain, in all the world. But it can also be one of the most dangerous. Creatures of all kinds call the forest home, from small kobolds to gargantuan green dragons. The southern half of the forest is the most civilized, but the farther north one goes, the wilder, and more unpredictable it becomes.
High Hills: The hills here are, like the name implies, high. Though not quite tall enough to be considered small mountains, these hills are imposing. Covered by the Great Forest, the High Hills possess a thick underbrush that makes traversing them difficult. Many creatures make their homes within the region as the hills have not been properly civilized. Aravess, Oathendale, and Karavale all mark the end of their borders where the hills begin.
Rin Lake: This lake is fed by the Myth River and spills out into the Rin River. The city of Mythryden is situated at the north of the lake where the Myth River joins it. Elves enjoy fishing in the Rin Lake, catching various species of freshwater fish, like blue gill, sturgeon, and trout.
Serpent Peaks: These mountains were named after the shape of the range, and not because it is home to several dragons. However, it is still home to many dragons, as well as other creatures that home in mountains. At the southern edge of the Serpent Peaks sits the ruins of the ancient dwarven city of Volgamir, destroyed almost 2,000 years ago by drow invaders from the Underdark city of Deep Lodren. Drow from Deep Lodren have been enemies with the elves from Aravess since they first crossed paths in the Great Forest.

Important Settlements

In addition to family, elves share a close relationship to nature. In Aravess, their villages blend into the forest, causing as little damage as possible. The elves hunt, gather food, grow vegetables, and are able to support themselves without the need to plow land. To the untrained eye, most Aravessi settlements are invisible. But to the elves, they are simply built alongside nature, not in spite of it. Most Aravessi architecture is organic; from the outside, building appear grown, rather than built. Stone, and sometimes crystalline formations merge with tall, mighty trees to create homes and other structures. On the inside, these structures are riddled with twisting passageways and opulently decorated living spaces, often embellished in gold, boasting glass or crystal floors, mighty archways, leafy curtains, and shimmering fields of magical force that support airy places that are too fragile to exist on their own.
Mythryden (Large City, 21,500): Mythryden is the only true city in Aravess. Built on a natural clearing north of Rin Lake, Mythryden is the only Aravessi settlement that truly stands out. First time visitors are usually forced to catch their breath when their eyes first fall upon its grandeur. This was the intended effect when the city was first designed, in part to honor the royal family, and in part to impress visitors.
Tall spires, made of crystal and gold adorn the tops of towers formed from the trunks of trees. Green canopies mark the rooves of many buildings. Gentle streams flow through the city in such a way as to never feel like they are in the way, with fallen logs, branches, or stone slabs forming natural bridges. Vines, hedges, trees, and stones blend into their surroundings suggesting that the city is alive. Plus magical glows serve as a reminder that elven magic is constantly at work, engrained in one’s very surroundings.
The royal palace overlooks the lake, casting its reflection on the water’s surface through the night. The palace is the tallest and grandest building in Mythryden. It stands like a mighty oak tree, impossibly tall, jutted throughout with spires, high walkways, beautiful gardens, and glowing auras marking magical effects ranging from visually pleasing cantrips to durable protective wards. If stared at carefully, its profile looks like that of two dragons embracing, matching the image depicted on the Aravessi banner. Elven guards in intricately crafted armors stand at attention around and throughout the palace, further enhancing its ambience.

Regional History

According to elven history, elven clans from the Westwoods migrated and first began settling the Great Forest in 983 AE, seventeen years before Clades’ Wrath and the end of the Age of Eden. At that time, the elves encountered many monsters in the area, like hill giants, orcs, and dragons. Despite hardships, they carved their niche, blending into the forest. Clans grew and expanded their territories, driving monsters away whenever possible. Great battles with orcs and hill giants were numerous in which both sides suffered many losses. But more clans from the Westwood came, drawn by stories of the massive, and largely untouched, forest to the east.
In 767 AC, a flight of red dragons went on a rage in the Great Forest, setting fires to large stretches of land. The elves in the area united to combat them, led by two powerful sorcerer elves named Aravess and Mythryden. These two elves were new to the Great Forest, having migrated there only a few years before. They were without clans, claiming no familial allegiance from Westwood, but they were lovers, and fiercely loyal to each other. Aravess was the female, with long, flowing golden hair and golden eyes. Mythryden had golden hair and eyes as well, but his hair was cut neatly short, just above his shoulders. His ears were unnaturally long, arcing back, almost past his head. In the final battle with the red dragons, Aravess and Mythryden revealed their true forms, shedding their elven disguise and turning into gold dragons. The elves, with the aid of Aravess and Mythryden managed to kill six of the red dragons, while the rest fled. However, Aravess and Mythryden died in the battle, taking the brunt of the red dragons’ attacks while attempting to shield the elves from harm.
After the battle, the elven clans decided to unite and form a proper elven kingdom to rival Sembria to the west. In honor of their gold dragon heroes, they named their country and their capital city after them, as well as the Myth River, building their city where the battle had been fought. The Glynthara family was the oldest clan in the Great Forest and awarded the honor of leading the Aravessi. The Glynthara patriarch, Rin, was named the first king of Aravess. Rin Lake and the Rin River were named after him. The land, plus the two rivers and the lake can now forever symbolize and honor the relationship the dragons and elves had. Like the river flows down from the mountain, spilling into the lake, so then does the water flow from the river to continue providing for the rest of the land. And as the dragons came from the mountains to aid the elves, the elves continue to provide for the land dedicated in the dragons’ honor.
For almost fifty years, the Aravessi endeavored to stabilize their powerbase as the world around them changed. Humans in the Andarian Empire continued to expand and by 815 AC had conquered the eastern portion of the Great Forest, reaching the Blood Hills. Aravess stood firm against further Andarian expansion in the area. Thankfully, the humans looked elsewhere for expansion while assessing what threat the Aravessi posed to them. Relations between them were cordial.
In 1182 AC, drow destroyed the dwarven city of Volgamir at the southern edge of the Serpent Peaks. The drow had now made their presence in Velen known and almost instantly began targeting the Aravessi elves. Many battles between the drow of Deep Lodren and the elves of Aravess were fought, both in the Great Forest and underground. But neither side made any real gains against their enemy, other than increasing their ire.
It was not until 1709 AC that the Andarian Empire turned to the Great Forest again, this time conquering the land around the Great Lake, all the way to the Orgron Mountains, nearing the Aravessi border. All the while, the Aravessi faced sporadic threats from human barbarian tribes and orc tribes to the north, as well as the drow below.
Though nearer now to their borders, and practically surrounding them, relations continued to be cordial with the Andarians. But human lands changed quickly. In 1952 AC, a new emperor was crowned that called for a purge of elves from the Andarian Empire and was reportedly preparing for war against Aravess. The elves prepared for a war that, thankfully, never came. Opposition to the new emperor’s policy stalled the war from beginning. Then in 1965 AC, the human emperor was killed under peculiar circumstances. Immediately after this emperor’s death, the Andarian Empire collapsed, an event viewed as a blessing by the Aravessi.
Aravess was left the sole power in the Great Forest once more. Former Andarian holdings around the Great Lake fell to raiding goblinoids. The Aravessi continued to fortify their country and face off against barbarians and orcs to the north. Numerous human countries formed in the lands to the south. Gnomes drove away goblinoid tribes to the south and formed a nation of their own in 2435 AC. The elves of Aravess immediately formed friendly diplomatic relations with them, hoping the gnomes would form a buffer between them and the human world.
When the Demon Lord Maglari began tearing through human lands to the southeast, Aravess prepared for an eventual battle against the demons, knowing that eventually, they would find their way to them, if not stopped sooner. Then, when divine intervention stopped the Demon Lord, the world around them changed again. Human began expanding their territories again, venturing into the Great Forest once more. The Lake Kingdoms around the Great Lake formed. The human nation of Oathendale formed. And all the while, the human nation of Kainan continued to grow in power to the south, and to the elves of Aravess, further resembling the former Andarian Empire.
In 406 AV, the city of Mythryden was caught terribly unaware. A small group of drow infiltrated the royal palace using magic portals and murdered King Roquill. They then came after the queen and ten year old prince. Queen Telithandra managed to fight off one attacker and sound out a cry for help. When the guards arrived to aid their queen, the drow fled. The drow, however, did not manage to escape. Most were killed, but one was spared. And using a mixture of magic and torture, a conspiracy against the royal family was discovered. It was learned that a member of a noble Aravessi family, Filverel Kyriel, had aided the drow in bypassing magical wards around Mythryden. Queen Telithandra had Filverel and the surviving drow executed, while many members of the Kyriel clan were imprisoned. The rest were banished from Aravess.
The Queen Mother Telithandra, as she was now known, was to rule until Prince Elomin came of age. In her 90 years of rule, she has proven that she is worthy of the title of Queen, and the role. Her efforts were responsible for the initiation of the Great Compact, signed in 480 AV between Aravess, Luthia, Karavale, Rowadin, Evercress, Great Thrundar, and Oathendale. The Great Compact is an alliance treaty stating that if any of those sovereign nations are invaded by any other nation, each member of the compact will come to the aid of their ally. It is widely believed throughout Aravess, and most of the world, that Kainan eyes the lands of the Lake Kingdoms and Oathendale and will eventually make a move to absorb or conquer them. This alliance between the nations in and around the Great Forest has become a major step in discouraging Kainan from using any forceful measures in accomplishing its goal. The Great Compact is seen in Aravess as a masterstroke of politics, and many of the Aravessi are in favor of the Queen Mother remaining as queen even after Prince Elomin comes of age.

Capital
Mythryden
Government
Monarchy
Banner/Flag
Alternating green and blue background quadrants with gold filigree depicting two embracing dragons in the center
Population
495,000 (elves 99%)
Demonym
Aravessi
Religions
Bahamut, Corellon Larethian
Imports
Some exotic items, otherwise self-sufficient
Exports
Jewelry, minor magic items, textiles, wine
Language
Elven
Alignment
CG, CN, NG

The Continent of Velen

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