Skovlengen
Skovlengen is the city of lorekeepers and dedicated to the goddess Tordenna. The city lies in the middle of a dense forest of immense trees known as the Elderwood. The Lore Masters of Tordenna write the history of the Northern Reach into a massive tree called the Tree of Tales by using powerful nature magic known as Treeweaving. Lesser Lore keepers practice their craft by creating smaller trees used to record the stories of individual families or cities. Skovengen also has a deep appreciation for music, and keeps records through its skalds who learn to read the trees and turn their stories in songs. Many aspiring skalds come to Skovlengen to hone their craft, before setting out and travelling the rest of the Reach to share their knowledge.
Skovlengen is ruled by a rotating series of Fey Courts, each with their own customs, nobility, and priorities. This connection to the Fey has also created a strong belief in the preservation of the natural world. There are several druidic orders located in Skovlengen and the surrounding forest that work to preserve the parts of nature in the Lands Below that survived the Fourth Calamity and restore the world from its damaged state. These communities have made Skovlengen a larger hub for practitioners of primal magic.
Skovlengen is ruled by a rotating series of Fey Courts, each with their own customs, nobility, and priorities. This connection to the Fey has also created a strong belief in the preservation of the natural world. There are several druidic orders located in Skovlengen and the surrounding forest that work to preserve the parts of nature in the Lands Below that survived the Fourth Calamity and restore the world from its damaged state. These communities have made Skovlengen a larger hub for practitioners of primal magic.
Demographics
35% Elves, 30% Fey Creatures, 15% Gnomes, 5% Halflings, 5% Humans, 10% Other
Government
Skovlengen is led by a Fey Queen. The title of Fey Queen rotates between the four courts that each have their own noble families. The four families are the Hesperids of the Court of Light, the Dryads of the Court of the Forest, the Naiads of the Court of the Lake, and the Lampads of the Court of the Crystal. While these courts do interact with the more powerful Fey Courts of the Reflection, they are not beholden to any of them and consider themselves to be completely separate entities. Each of these courts also rules a semi-independent enclave located near the city.
Defences
Skovlengen is protected by a force of highly skilled rangers who regularly patrol the forest for threats, as well as a powerful force of living plants that work with the local Fey.
Industry & Trade
Skovlengen is largely funded through its service as a record keeper to the Northern Reach. Many people travel to the city in search of specific knowledge that is kept within the Tree of Tales, and it is common practice to leave a donation in exchange for the information received. Many wealthy individuals hire Lore Keepers to record their own personal stories, or that of their families, in order to try and preserve their legacy.
History
Skovlengen was the third city founded in the Northern Reach after the Fourth Calamity. The founding of the city served as a turning point in the history of the Northern Reach. The denizens of the Reach had been struggling to survive for nearly a thousand years since the end of the Third Age, but Skovlengen would be the third major settlement to be contracted alongside dozens of smaller settlements. Many of the people of the Lands Below felt this signified that they were beyond simple survival, and could actually start moving forward as a civilization again. They had a vision for Skovlengen to try and be a leader in this goal, and so the city was given two purposes. The first was to create a record of all that had happened in the Northern Reach since the beginning of the Fourth Age to serve as testament to what had been done so far, and the second was to begin the process of rebuilding the natural world and attempting to heal it from the damage caused by the Third Calamity. The elves were selected as a good candidate to serve as the city's founders since due to their extraordinarily long lives, and connection to the Fey. Early on the city decided to have it focus rotate between different aspects of nature, and put into place the system of the Four Courts in order to ensure that the city would always be led by an individual best suited for its current goals.
Since the founding the city has been hard at work fulfilling its tasks, but it has not always been free from conflict. There can be a particularly strong rivalry between the Court of Light, which believes in attempting to restore the way the world used to be and return light to the Lands Below, and the Court of the Crystal, which believes it is better for the city to focus on adapting to the world in its current state, and that trying to force more dramatic change before the world is ready could have dangerous consequences. This rivalry very nearly sparked into open conflict in the Year 2459 of the Fourth Age, when the current leading member of the Court of Light proposed that the Court of Crystal be removed from their position of leadership. This set off a chain of events that nearly led to war between the two courts, but eventually both sides were talked down and peace was restored.
Since the founding the city has been hard at work fulfilling its tasks, but it has not always been free from conflict. There can be a particularly strong rivalry between the Court of Light, which believes in attempting to restore the way the world used to be and return light to the Lands Below, and the Court of the Crystal, which believes it is better for the city to focus on adapting to the world in its current state, and that trying to force more dramatic change before the world is ready could have dangerous consequences. This rivalry very nearly sparked into open conflict in the Year 2459 of the Fourth Age, when the current leading member of the Court of Light proposed that the Court of Crystal be removed from their position of leadership. This set off a chain of events that nearly led to war between the two courts, but eventually both sides were talked down and peace was restored.
Architecture
The buildings of Skovlengen are largely made of wood and built into the forest itself. Some draw inspiration from the Fey aspects of the city, and take on very chaotic, nonsymetrical designs.
Founding Date
Year 856 of the Third Age
Type
Large city
Population
45,000
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Additional Rulers/Owners
Ruling/Owning Rank
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