The Green Realm
The Green Realm originally referred to all of the remnants of the Great Akadonian Forest west of the Crescent Sea, reaching from the Crynnomar Gap in the north to the High Barrens, The in the south. Since then, incursions of humans have reduced the extent of the forest, particularly in the lands of Reme, and nearly a thousand years ago, the northern wild elves seceded to form the Green Warden Nations. Since that time, the Green Realm encompasses only the forest south of the Ilber Peninsula. But even so reduced, the Green Realm constitutes well over one million square miles of subtropical and temperate woodland, the largest remaining extant of primeval forest in the world today, and the home of the largest nation of wild elves on Akados.
The wild elves of the Green Realm seek to keep their primeval paradise as pristine and unmolested by the taint of man, dwarf, goblin, and orc as possible. As such, they have built a tightly-knit bulwark around their realm made up of hidden woodland fortresses, awakened plant life, prehistoric beasts, and brutally ignorant neighbors that would dissuade incursions by their human neighbors, or the more complex threats from their dark elf kin based in the ever-shadowed walls of Vilik Strad.
History and People
The first elves arrived on Akados over 10,000 years ago, voyaging from their homeland in another plane of existence. Some event there eventually led to great numbers coming to live on the continent in what is now called the First Exodus of the Elves. Eventually, the elven forest realms grew to encompass most of the Great Akadonian Forest, which then covered nearly all of the southern half of the continent.
For thousands of years the elves lived in harmony with one another and with the creatures of the great forests. They roamed freely across Akados from the polished wooden halls of Solis Alunaris, the Sylvan City, in the west, to glorious Parnuble and Arendia in the east. Wherever they went, they learned the nature and names of things around them and gave name and life to other things as befit their wild imagination. Always they stood against the terror of troll and giant, of ogre, and goblin whenever such creatures crawled down from the mountaintops or up from the chasms of the earth. They largely ignored the humans, who were mainly rustic farmers and ranchers, then populating the continent.
The Green Realm extended far to the south on the west coast of the Crescent Sea, but it never reached into the Talanos Peninsula, which then was a jungle plateau teeming with monsters and covered in a darkness that the elves feared. Then in –201 I.R., fires were seen behind the dark walls of Vilik Strad. The Lords of the Green Realm were alarmed and took counsel with the grey elves in the Emerald Mountains. Together, they began formulating a plan to halt the advance of their drow cousins, who were now observed in the deep shadow of the jungle canopy even in the brightness of day.
Then came the event that changed elven history on Akados forever: the invasion of the Hyperboreans in –109 I.R. The elves of the Great Akadonian Forest gathered their strength and fought against the invaders, initially with great success, but in –91 I.R. they were betrayed by the mountain dwarves of the Stonehearts and their main host was massacred in an ambush at Lake Crimmormere.
The power of the elves was broken, and they faded back into the forests. But the Hyperboreans followed up their victory at Crimmormere and pressed on into the forests where they attacked and destroyed now-defenseless elven settlements. A byproduct of the evils visited on the elves by the Hyperboreans was a sudden increase in half-elven births among the elven remainder. After the loss of so many at Crimmormere, many among the elves saw the swift-maturing half-elves as a blessing. But others shunned the half-elves, calling them in elvish the “war-dead.” In –27 I.R., a half-elven leader named Valenthlis rose and demanded a place of honor for half-elves in elven society. A civil war broke out between the elves who welcomed their half-brothers and those who did not, ending only when Queen Vaissilune was killed in the conflict. As a result of this tragedy, the elves that rejected the half-elves decided to withdraw to the west and migrated to the Green Realm in –26 I.R. in what became known as the Second Exodus of the Elves. They began calling themselves the wild elves to denote their complete denial of humanity and their civilization. The elves that remained behind and supported Valenthlis began calling themselves high elves, the ancestors of the elves who live today in eastern Akados.
There in the Green Realm, the elves withdrew from the world and for a time were at peace. This was broken in 52 I.R. by an incursion across their southern boundaries of armies of goblins, ogres, orcs, and bugbears driven by the dark elves in Vilik Strad.
Emissaries were sent seeking advice and aid from the grey elves of the Emerald Mountains. Working together, Queen Talith Harwood of Solis Alunaris and King Reithon of Suomen Gron performed a great ritual at the edge of the Talanos Plateau, tearing a rift in the floor of the world. There they raised the Cinderhame Mountains from the edges of the planes of Earth and Fire, burning the dark jungle of the plateau to the ground and blocking the routes between Talanos and the Green Realm.
King Reithon is said to have passed from the world of Boros as he infused the ritual with the last spark of the soul of the Eldest he held within his heart. His sacrifice was the price required to be paid for such a horrid violation of the natural order.
The dark elves of Vilik Strad who survived the rending of the ground and the scorching of their jungles returned to the safety of their shadowed fortress. It is said that they have licked their wounds since that day, plotting and waiting for an opportunity to blot out the sun and wreak revenge upon their cousins in the Green Realm. Meanwhile, bands of homeless humanoids were left to wander the waste, cannibalizing one another and warring on their kin, until it is believed they finally settled on the shores of the Crescent Sea under the leadership of a prophet of Orcus, who forged the wanderers into what would become the “free” city-state of Braktu.
Their land now protected from much of the rest of the world, the elves of the southern Green Realm grew ever more isolated, even from their kin in the northern parts of the forest. When the north felt threatened by raids from the Xha’en plains or from Castorhage, and even when one of the Green Warders fell, those in the south saw such events as far away, seeming indifferent to the plight of their northern cousins. As is told elsewhere, this estrangement ultimately led the northern wild elves to secede from the Green Realm and become the Green Warden Nations.
And so the Green Realm remains isolated to this day, even from its kin to the north. Whether the rest of the world permits them to continue to enjoy their isolation remains to be seen.
Religion
Like all wild elves, the tribes of the Green Realm venerate the teachings of Arialee and sing the songs of the Fey Lands and the love and protection of the never-ending circle of life. Equally, the tribes follow the animism and naturalism of their elders and claim heraldry from the beasts of the wild and the living trees and plants that they call friends. Among the Unified Tribes are Oaks, Pines, Foxes, and Bears.
Elders of the Green Realm are often skilled in druidic traditions and combine the shamanistic teachings of nature with the legends of Darach-Albith, the god-creator of all elves.
Trade and Commerce
The Green Realm is a land rich in natural resources. Food is abundant in the verdant forests, and the wild elves lack for little. They are careful curators of the ancient wood who carefully manage animal populations and clear dead wood in solemn ceremonies whose traditions stretch back more than 10,000 years. Trade items include rare jewels gifted them by the Hidden Ones of the Emerald Mountains, steel for weapons and armor that are drawn from the depths of the Northern Steel Tongue Mountains, and gold drawn from mines in the Southern Steel Tongues.
Elven-made steel tipped arrows and spears are much sought after by the tribes of centaurs who dwell in Syldryll Vale. The centaurs trade fine horses to the elves in exchange for such steel and the promise to defend the southern entryway to the kingdom from any outsiders.
Like their cousins to the north, the masters of the Green Realm are well versed in the enchantment of magical items and the knowledge of spells, occasionally offering information, education, or magical items in trade.
It is known that many among the human kingdoms of Akados covet timber from the Green Realm. Talk of trade in such things is laughable to the wild elves, who would just as soon dismember a child of their own upbringing as slaughter one of their kinfolk of wood and leaf.
Loyalty and Diplomacy
King Riar Harwood keeps ambassadors among the Green Warden Nations, just as they keep ambassadors within his own court. Though the northern and southern kin of the elves have been sundered, they remain deeply aware that the blood of the ancients, back to the time of the First Exodus, flows through all of their veins. Were a great threat to arise, the elves would be expected to join their forces to face it. In the meantime, King Riar prefers that the Green Warden Nations keep a watchful eye on the doings of the Xha’en Empire while the true High Lords of the Green Realm remain unknown to imperial spies and generals of that populous nation. He is uncomfortably aware that, should Xha’en decide to march into the beloved woods of the Great Akadonian Forest, they would surely take them, should they have the will to sacrifice millions in the endeavor. For this reason, the king encourages nationalistic tendencies among the Green Warden Nations and ensures they receive such weaponry and other aid they might need to act as a buffer.
The Green Realm also maintains good relations with the Five Clans of the Hoof in Syldryll Vale. But other than the centaur nation, the Green Realm has no other allies or relations with any other kingdoms or peoples.
Government
The Green Realms is a monarchy ruled by a king or queen with the guidance and assistance of an Elder Council. This council consists of tribal nobles elected by the heads of each tribe. Most councilors are elected to serve a term of 20 years though some are voted continuous terms by their individual tribes. Final authority is vested in the monarch based on the findings of the Elder Council, though in the majority of cases decisions are consistent with the council’s suggested course of action. Under certain circumstances when the need is particularly dire, the monarch may dispatch emissaries from the Halls of Suomen Gron in quest of further advice from the Hidden Ones who dwell there.
For themselves, the tribes are mostly autonomously run, with their own chieftains relaying information to the Elder Council of happenings in their portion of the Green Realm, making requests for aid in the form of magic, weapons, or reinforcements as needed. Tributes sent by these chieftains to the High King of the Forest include documents obtained from prisoners and samples of technology and magic seized from pirates and raiders.
For himself, King Riar Harwood is nearing the end of his reign and is expected to select his successor sometime in the next 20 years. Riar is incredibly old even for a wild elf. In the last several decades he has begun the process of becoming one with the great forest as his body begins to meld into the tree from which his throne has grown. As one with the tree he can sense immediate threats to the forest and direct resources to the source of those threats as far as the edges of the Green Realm’s roots allow.
Riar’s eldest children Prince Sima and Princess Orovaki serve in effect as co-regents to the throne, standing at each side of their father as he receives advice from the Elder Council. The prince and princess act as intermediaries and ambassadors of the king in their dealings with the Green Warden Nations, and in the rare occasions when the advice of the Hidden Ones of Suomen Gron is sought.
For their part, the monarchs in the line of Harwood have sought fairness and neutrality in their rule, seeking little in the way of tribute but much in the way of respect. They allow the general autonomy of the tribes so long as each tribal chieftain remembers their purpose in protecting the sanctity and purity of the last great forest on Akados. Potential royal heirs spend years among the various tribes learning each particular tribe’s customs and strengths. For example, an heir may spend years learning the stealth tactics of the Fox clan, or the pack hunting tactics of the Wolves. They may train their bodies in endurance running among the Elks, or in observation and sniper techniques of the Hawks.
This personal interaction with the various members of the kingdom helps to ensure the tribal support of the Harwood line. By ensuring that his heirs develop a deep understanding of the other tribes, Riar hopes to avoid the misstep his ancestors made in not fully supporting their northern relatives at a time that they perhaps needed it most.
Notable Tribes
Although there are many tribes among the Green Realm, including some very small ones, the major tribes of the Green Realm are the Fox, the Elk, the Bear, the Eagle, the Leopard, the Wolf and the Red Hawk.
The Fox Tribe is a dedicated clan of scouts who roam the lands between the east and west coasts parallel to Tandril Island. They are sharp-eyed and sharp-witted, with golden-brown skin, hazel eyes, and reddish hair. They are experts at evasion and ambush, leading foes deep into the forest where they are dispatched by hidden traps. The Fox Tribe has the most trade with the Green Warden Nations, though they are still deeply loyal to the ancient bloodline in Solis Alunaris.
The Elk Tribe ranges from the coastal plains of the west to the deep forests that parallel Bitter Coast on the east, and are a strong tribe whose chieftain, Prince Jalaba Vui, is a respected leader known for his speed and strength. The Elks do more than take their name from the majestic beasts of the forest, as most are bonded with great dire elk of the wood and ride the beasts as their southern-most cousins who dwell near the Syldryll Vale ride horses.
Living in the forests around the Karthu Mountains, where it shares territory with the Eagle Tribe, the Bear Tribe is known for its bravery and ferocity. The Bear Tribe maintains some of the most barbaric traditions of the wild elves. Their berserkers have fought at the forefront of every war ever waged on behalf of the Green Realm against its foes. Their villages are built in caves and they spend their days questing for challenges to prove their bravery.
The Eagle Tribe lives among the mountain cliffs of the Karthu range, traveling on the backs of great eagles. A small number of Eagles also live high among the trees close to Solis Alunaris where they offer aid in swift transportation and as eyes in the sky soaring above the majesty of the Green Realm.
The Leopard and Wolf Tribes live deep within the woods. The homes of the Wolves are built close to the ground like the beasts whose name they keep and whose dens their villages emulate. The Leopards build their villages within the branches of the trees, their surefooted step, patience, and gold green eyes making them deadly stalkers of the deep arboreal gloom.
The Red Hawk Tribe lives among the coastal trees of the Crescent Sea. They are one of the most populous and powerful tribes of the realm and are tasked with watching the kingdom’s safety and security from the castle of Linn Tark and for 500 miles to the north. Members of the Tribe of the Red Hawk are renowned archers and strategists whose raiding parties harry pirate camps and burn their ships when encountered.
Like the Green Warden Nations, many of the other tribes are more nomadic in nature and keep small villages throughout the forest where they stay sometimes for a week, month, or even a few years before wandering deeper into the woodland. They let the voice of the forest speak to them, and if danger calls, all tribes are alerted and send their emissaries to the Elder Council for further instruction.
Military
The armies of the deep forest are more varied than those of the Green Warden Nations to the north and have a mix of traditional and non-traditional troops to call on in times of need.
Western territories bordering the broad plains and that have made alliances with the nomadic tribes of centaurs dwelling there possess a mounted light cavalry that can be called upon to harry and harass foes if necessary. Their numbers are small, so that between the western coastal plain and Syldryll Vale their numbers are under 5,000, though when bolstered by the wild centaur, the cavalry muster could potentially be much greater.
The cliffs of the Steel Tongues and the Karthu Mountains farther north are homes to tribes known for their tamed and ready giant eagles, with each region accounting for nearly a thousand air cavalry. Typically, these great birds are ridden by sorcerer knights, rangers, or druids who rain down thunder and lightning from the skies.
The forest’s interior is home to a host of rangers as well as sure-eyed archers of note, druids, sorcerers, and the alliances of treants, friendly forest giants, and fey creatures whom the elves call forth to reckon the terms of old alliances dating back to their mutual ancestors’ origins in the Fey Realms.
The eastern coast along the Mud Coast, the Forest Coast, and the Cinderhame Mountains contain more organized military forces with garrisons built along the timberline and hidden in the sides of hills. These forces are drawn from a mixture of tribes and train together for years in preparation of a human armada bent on invasion and conquest.
Major Threats
The deep forest holds its secrets, and some locations in the forest are dark and rotten. In such places, unclean spirits sometimes rise from the pit of hell to challenge the sanctity and security of those around them. There are monsters in the depths who claim their home among the shadows of the trees. Trolls and ogres are found in the deep forest, as are chimera, dangerous dinosaurs, carnivorous apes, harpies, hags, and other folk who remain dangerous and hidden in their own steadings.
When threats arise from the shadowy parts of the forest, the guardians of the wood band together to thwart the threat. Rarely, they have been known to quest forth beyond the borders of their ancient kingdom in search of aid for things that they admit that they cannot vanquish on their own.
Less common though still dangerous threats to the Green Realm arrive in the occasional appearances of exploratory missions sent from Xha’en that are quickly turned away at the western coast. Other common dangers include pirates who pierce the veil of the forest in search of fabled elven treasures.
Rarer still are encounters with legendary green dragons said to sleep in the depths of the deep timber or from one of the spawn of Qoatl Boax that slithers across the Mud Coast to test the resolve of the wood’s defenders.
In recent centuries, ogres, hill giants, fire giants, trolls, bugbears, and gnolls have taken up holdings in the Cinderhame range. Bloody skirmishes have been fought that have set the elven sages to searching for the crumbling scrolls that detail pieces of the old ritual that would break open the earth to devour their enemies once more.
It is speculated that these monstrous foes have been driven across the High Barrens, The to take their home there by their shadow-walking overlords in Vilik Strad.
Wilderness and Adventure
Like the Green Warden lands of the north, the elves of the Green Realms use magic and illusion to hide their villages from outsiders, preferring to direct them into traps and capture if they seem to be a mild threat. Strangers who enter the outskirts of the forest as often as not find themselves standing along the coast several days later, relieved of all but basic survival equipment but otherwise no worse for wear.
Region
The Green Realm
Type
Geopolitical, Tribe
Controlled Territories
Comments