The Elven Empire

Elven Civilization

The elves have always been a proud and isolated people, largely content to stay outside of the conflicts beyond Tron Daurat. Before the Nightmare, their home was a peaceful place: their time was spent enjoying their ageless lives to the fullest, either with courtship and revelry, deep study of philosophy and the arcane, or tending to and learning of the natural world. Primary rule of Tron Daurat was the responsibility of the elven emperor, Malkuth, with dukedom granted to men and women deemed fit to manage lesser local concerns. Even these dukes and duchesses had little to concern themselves with; much of their time was spent with courtly pageantry and arranging pompous ceremonies for one another and the lower-class citizens. Rivalries brewed here and there, but not enough for significant conflict, and certainly not war.

Much of this was thanks to the latent creation magic steeped in all of Tron Daurat, which the elves became masters of manipulating. Activating this magic was nothing special; anyone idly wishing for a refreshing lunch may wander a forest and suddenly find a table of fine wine and biscuits laid out for them, or someone who has suffered a grave fall may find they've landed beside a spring of healing waters. Connecting to this magic and learning to intentionally manipulate it, however, takes decades of focused effort. Most of the elven royalty have established themselves thanks to family members who have studied this magic to the fullest, allowing them to create the things others need and build homes and palaces with the power of the valley around them. The Emperor himself was said to be the greatest practitioner of this art, to the extent that he created the mountaintop capitol of elven civilization with barely a wave of his hand.

The Nightmare threw the foundations of elven society into complete disarray. With the Emperor becoming perhaps the greatest of all demons, massive leadership responsibility fell on the shoulders of the dukes and duchesses across Tron Daurat, and not all have been able to bear the weight. Knights trained in courtly duels have been forced to apply their knowledge to bloodshed against both demons and their own fallen comrades. Sorcerers have had to turn creation magic to fire and shattering energy, or studies to purify the encroaching darkness. The Nightmare has tainted the creation magic in many areas so that all it can do is create demons and horror. The elves have struggled to address the many gaps in their society that have suddenly been laid bare, but time and sweat have given some stability back to their kingdom.

These days, the elves' focus has been on endurance and survival. Dukedoms and villages still come together for celebrations and pageantry, but they have taken on an air of defiance; a chance to distract themselves from the tragedies their people have suffered, to negotiate relations with one another, and to plan their defense against the encroaching Nightmare. Some regions of Tron Daurat are still far enough away from Nightmare-afflicted lands for their residents to enjoy something like their previous carefree lives, but those on the brink of darkness can afford to focus on nothing but conflict. A rare few elves have even left Tron Daurat altogether, seeking refuge from what feels like an inevitable doom.

by Josh Corpuz

The Sun and Moon

Since the onset of the Nightmare, elven culture has split between the sun elves and moon elves. Sun elven culture is rich in traditions and history, celebrating their long legacy of scholarship, acumen, and dance. These elves live in their ancestral cities, where the sun has never set before the arrival of the Nightmare. Whereas those who live in sun elven culture study magic and certain traditional elven martial arts, moon elven culture is freer, retreating from civilization and embracing nature after the onset of the Nightmare. Nightmare-afflicted regions are locked in eternal night, and moon elves have embraced the moon as their protector in the darkness.

Contents

Details

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Demonym

The Golden Ones

Government System

Monarchy, Theocratic

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Post-scarcity economy

Location

Tron Daurat

by Liz Lim