Eloitan
The name Eloitan is a corruption of a very old elvish term originally meaning “Verdant Heart.” The wild elves who dwell in this region, on the very eastern frontier of the Xha’en Hegemony, are among the most insular and dangerous in Akados, shunning even relations with the neighboring Green Warden Nations and the elves of the Green Realm. Many of their fellow elves feel that there is a darkness here that gnaws at the hearts of the Eloitan folk and affects the land itself, transforming it into a hostile, perilous place, as if the entire region is a single living organism that is inimical to all life save its own.
History and People
The Third Exodus of the Elves saw the westward retreat of elvenkind in the face of advancing human civilization, falling back into the remnants of the ancient Akadonian forests west of the Crescent Sea, leaving the Green Warders behind to guard against incursion. The elves who settled in the north-western portions of the forest bordering on the Plains of Xhas dubbed their region the Eloitan.
Originally known as the River Singers, they had been great artisans — singers, musicians, players, balladeers, bards — but after this third forced exodus, they were hardened, embracing a fanatical self-reliance and separatism from the rest of the world. Though initially there was tentative contact between them and the Xha’en to the west, this ended quickly as the humans, ever seeking new lands and resources, began to move into the forest, felling trees and building roads and settlements. The elves of the Eloitan quickly struck back, raiding Xha’en settlements along the forest’s edge and killing lone foresters and hunters. The Xha’en responded, sending punitive expeditions into the forest in a low-level conflict that lasted for decades.
The last chance for trust between Xha’en and Eloitan was lost. The forest elves would tolerate no further incursions and broke off all contact with the humans. These were elven forests, and elven forests they would remain — only the utter extermination of the Eloitan folk would change that. The wild elves would die rather than take even a single step backward.
The Eloitan’s insularity extended even to the other elves of the Green Realm. At first, the shared sense of hardship and heritage bound the forest elves together, but the Eloitan, stern and unyielding in their dedication to the old ways, began to drift away. When the elves of the northern forests split off from the Court at Solis Alunaris and became the Green Warden Nations, Eloitan ultimately refused to join and went their own way. Formal cordiality devolved into cold indifference and in some cases outright hostility, for Eloitan warriors sometimes clashed with Green Warden elves, especially those of the Serpent’s Coil, whose territories adjoined the Eloitan.
At the same time, Green Warden elves began to sense a change in the Eloitan region. Some elves believe that the destruction of the Green Warder monolith Tyriem may have marked the beginning of the Eloitan’s descent, bringing a shadow to the entire forest region. Since that day, the Green Warden elves say, Eloitan has been slowly but steadily transforming into a dark and dangerous place. Natural creatures have grown larger and more aggressive. Hostile humanoids such as goblins and gnolls wander these woods, and even more fearsome creatures like ettin, ettercaps, giant spiders, and other arachnids have seen their populations increase. Violence in the once-peaceful region has grown and sometimes spread to affect adjoining regions of the Xha’en Hegemony.
With this has come greater conflict between Eloitan and the Green Warden Nations, particularly the Serpent’s Coil — itself one of the more fearsome wild elf nations. Open conflicts between the two have grown more frequent in recent years, sufficient to concern even the other elven nations, with some leaders sounding the alarm and openly considering whether something needs to be done.
Most humans, especially those of the Xha’en Hegemony, consider the Eloitan elves to be primitive savages with little regard for life or civilization. On the contrary, of course, like the nearby Green Warden Nations, the Eloitan are anything but primitive, though they have willfully embraced a far simpler and less technological existence than the humans.
Eloitan elves usually live in temporary or semi-permanent camps throughout the region, moving as the seasons dictate and the welfare of the tribe demands. They are an unmaterialistic people, preferring to hunt with flint- or obsidian-tipped weapons (or, rarely, artifacts left over from before the Exodus), and wearing clothing derived from animal hides and natural fibers. Fur cloaks are worn in the cold winter months, while simple loincloths or less are favored during the heat of summer. Body decorations in the form of pigments, tattoos, or scarification are common, with each tribe having its own unique motifs and practices.
Long-lived, the elves have few children and the birth of a child is cause for great celebration by a tribe and its neighbors. Youngsters mature much more slowly than humans and are carefully taught the ways of their tribes. Normally, children are considered adults at age 20, when they most closely resemble humans of ages 12 to 14. These new adults are expected to immediately take on adult responsibilities such as hunting, fishing, farming, and training for battle with the other tribal warriors.
The scarcity of children, as well as some very old societal practices, has encouraged the development of group marriage among the Eloitan, a situation in which several individuals of varying gender live in a loose group, caring for each other and, if necessary, raising children collectively. A child usually refers to all males in his group as “father” and all women as “mother,” as specific parentage is often not known for certain.
Religion
The wild elves retain some elements of their people’s ancient faiths, but other deities have arisen more in keeping with their current status as keepers of the forest and defenders of nature. The fey goddess Arialee is most commonly worshipped and thought to be the primary deity among a host of nature spirits and elementals who make up the rest of the Eloitan elves’ pantheon. The mysterious nature god known as the Green Father is also worshipped, but usually by the druids alone, who carry out his rituals in secret, and receive messages from the great deity delivered by intelligent white ravens.
Various demigods and spirits, often associated with very specific local regions, all serve under Arialee, who is considered to be kind and benevolent, but must still be respected and appeased. The wild elves truly believe that every plant, animal, and natural object possesses its own spirit, and that some even contain the spirits of their own ancestors who can be summoned through ritual and called upon for wisdom. An Eloitan legend speaks of an entire tribe of wild elves that sought refuge in the plants and animals of its region to escape persecution, and that may someday return.
Priestly duties are carried out by a shaman class that practices druidic magic and cares for the natural life of the forest. These druids usually dwell apart from the tribes but can be approached for advice or called upon for divine assistance. These druids are among the most fanatical of the region’s defenders, and often use their magic mercilessly against trespassers and innocent travelers alike.
Trade and Commerce
Trade is an entirely internal matter for the Eloitan elves, as, with very few exceptions, outsiders are forbidden. Most tribes subsist on hunting and gathering and maintain a fairly non-material culture, living in skin tents, hunting with bow and spear, fishing with net or bow, sometimes engaging in a small amount of cultivation, or keeping small herds of goats. Trade usually takes place in spring and summer as tribes trade excess food, tools, weapons, clothing, and animals among themselves. From time to time, goods from Xha’en or the Tycho states may be available for trade, the result of successful raids on unfortunate communities or travelers.
Loyalties and Diplomacy
The elves of Eloitan are loyal to no one save each other — not even the elves of the Green Warden Nations. Folklore and history have shown that non-elves are untrustworthy and should be either driven out of elven lands or slain without mercy if they refuse. Humans are usually attacked if encountered, which forces them to rely on stealthy passage through the treacherous depths of this ancient forest. Other elves are allowed to enter the region but are often followed and treated with suspicion.
Prisoners are rarely taken, though in recent years disturbing reports have emerged and suggest that some Eloitan communities have taken to capturing enemies and putting them to torment before finally killing them. The truth of these rumors is not yet known, but they are disturbing and consistent with the suggestion that the Eloitan’s character has grown even darker over the centuries.
The Eloitan do not maintain formal relations with the Green Warden Nations, though from time to time they accept aid or in especially dire circumstances, offer it themselves. For the most part, however, the Eloitan consider the Green Warden elves to have strayed from the paths of ancient wisdom and authority, and shun contact. In some cases, the Eloitan come into open conflict with their fellow elves, especially the Serpent’s Coil. The two groups clash over control of various sacred sites such as the Circle of the Wild and the site of Tyriem’s warder.
Government
The elves of Eloitan have nothing resembling a central government, instead consisting of small tribes ranging from 20 to 200 members scattered across the region. Though once their forebears followed a single monarch, the move back toward a “purer” and less technologically-advanced society also encouraged reversion to earlier cultural practices. Most of their communities are overseen by a chief — usually an older, accomplished warrior, hunter, or druid. These chiefs can be of any gender and are selected by the other elders of the tribe upon their predecessor’s death or disability.
Chiefs are assisted by councils of elders, usually the oldest of the tribe. These groups are also of mixed genders, and though their advice does not have to be followed, it is considered very unwise to ignore them. Councils are able to remove incompetent chiefs from power and accordingly reduce their status though this occurs only rarely.
Some Green Warden elves who have visited the Eloitan region report that in some communities, the priestly class has grown in influence, sometimes dictating decisions to chiefs and elders. When taken with the rumors of tortured prisoners and violence growing in the heart of the Eloitan region, these reports are even more alarming.
Military
All adult elves, including those who have just reached adulthood, are expected to fight and defend the tribe. About half to two-thirds of each tribe is capable of fighting at any time.
Eloitan warrior bands are highly effective at skirmish and hit-and-run, attacking the enemy without warning before vanishing among the trees. Tribal warriors fight unarmored with spears, longbows, clubs, and flint knives. Some tribes employ hide or turtle-shell shields, and others use less-familiar weapons such as atl-atl and stone-bladed clubs. A few weapons that date back to before the Exodus exist, and these are carefully guarded by tribes and revered as sacred objects.
Warbands are often accompanied by druids who use their magic to enhance warriors and confuse the enemy. Many druids also command creatures of the wild — animal companions as well as ordinary creatures under druidic influence — that can attack the enemy from unexpected quarters, perform reconnaissance, or carry messages.
Major Threats
Although the Eloitan once considered the humans of the Xha’en Hegemony to be their greatest threat, a growing sense among the Eloitan is that all peoples beyond their borders are dangerous, including other elven nations. Icily polite relations with the Green Warden elves continue, and the Eloitan accept and offer aid in times of trouble, but it seems that the isolated realm is growing ever more estranged from their fellow elves. Some among the Green Warden Nations, in fact, fear that skirmishes between Eloitan and the Serpent’s Coil elves may erupt into open warfare over sacred sites.
Though the Xha’en see the forest as a vast untapped source of timber and other resources, their past incursions into the area have ended badly, and at this point most Xha’en keep their distance.
The forest’s other denizens have been growing more aggressive in recent years. Significant numbers of goblins, gnolls, giants, and fey of every sort and alignment plague the Eloitan, often requiring several tribes to combine forces to face the challenge. Of these, the goblins are the most persistent. Their warriors are almost as cunning and dangerous as those of the Eloitan themselves and their evil spellcasters specialize in summoning or compelling some of the forest’s more dangerous inhabitants — giant spiders, cave bears, dire wolves, serpents, carnivorous worms, birds of prey, and the like — to serve them and attack the elves. Battles with the goblins sometimes go on for days, with each side sneaking through the woods, attacking, retreating, and counterattacking over and over until both are exhausted and forced to withdraw. The goblins rarely attack to seize or hold territory — they are most interested in theft and mayhem.
The fey are a different matter, for the elves of old maintained a special relationship with the creatures of faerie. In the past, the elves and good-aligned fey kept to themselves, occasionally joining forces to battle mutual foes such as evil fey and undead. The wild elves’ relations with the good fey have been strained, however, as the Eloitan grow more suspicious of outsiders. Conflicts between the elves and the good fey are usually inconclusive, and typically end with either the fey or the elves moving away from the source of the conflict.
War with the evil fey are far more serious affairs, for they are as hateful toward the elves as the elves themselves are to humans and dwarves. Evil fey consider the elves — and their good cousins as well — to be interlopers who have no right to live in the region, and frequently engage in bloody raids, lay traps, and kidnap unfortunate elves and subject them to fearsome torments. Elven children are an especially popular target for the dark fey, and these are sometimes replaced with wicked changelings. For the most part, the evil fey and the elves avoid each other, for struggles are invariably costly and end tragically for both sides.
Alarmingly, some of the stories of tortured prisoners and powerful priests are accompanied with evidence that a few Eloitan communities have made peace with the evil fey and might even be cooperating with their former enemies.
Wilderness and Adventure
The woods of the Eloitan are notoriously wild and dangerous. Even without the hazards presented by the wild elves, the forest, which is full of natural hazards such as pits, ravines, and thickets, is a fearsome place. Even the mundane creatures of the woods — bears, wolves, panthers, boars, etc. — are especially fierce and cunning, and larger species such as cave bears, giant boars, and dire variants of ordinary creatures are quite common and extremely aggressive. It is as if the wildlife of the forest burns with the same fury toward outsiders as the wild elves.
Monsters are even worse, with tribes of gnolls, goblins, ettercap, and ettins. Giant spiders, scorpions, and insects often lair in trees or underground, making even the shortest of journeys in the forest extremely hazardous, and as previously noted, fey — both good and evil — defend their territory fiercely.
Reasons exist to venture into Eloitan, though not everyone agrees that they are good reasons. Certainly, the lure of a permanent trade route between the ancient Xha’en Hegemony and the young and growing Tycho states is a potent motivation, with potential riches awaiting anyone who establishes such a connection. Eloitan is only the first step of such a journey, but the elf tribes are determined to make that step a costly one.
Region
Eloitan, Elven Tribe of
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