Elvhenan

Elvhenan, roughly translating to "place of our people" in the Dalish spoken form , was the original civilization of the Dalish, or elvhen. It covered most, if not all, of Thedas.

Dalish Legends

Before the tremble of outside feet touched these lands, our people were glorious and eternal and never-changing. They felt no need to rush when life was endless. From time to time, our ancestors would drift into centuries-long slumber, but this was not death, for we know they wandered the Fade in dreams.
--Dalish tale

Little is remembered of this ancient civilization, for much of its history has been lost or scattered through out all of Thedas in its forgotten corners. In these times, the Dalish gods walked the world, spoke to the elvhen, and provided them with knowledge and counsel. Amongst the lush forests and flowing rivers, the elves would pray and make offerings to their gods. These are looked back as deeply spiritual times since the elves were immortal, never deteriorating in the mind or body. There was no rush like many Dalish feel now, since they could pray and focus as long as they needed to.
Most Dalish tales focus on the fabled city of Arlathan, or "this place of love". Human scholars once held a three-week long debate in the Grand Library of Rivain as to when this city may have existed. Despite all that time, no academic consensus was reached and even to this day the question remains open and hotly debated.
The only real knowledge of Arlathan comes from the Dalish, who have a deeply vested interested in the city, since it was the once-great home of their ancestors. As they tell it, the city was located in one of the great forests in northern Thedas, likely in some region in the Tevinter Imperium. Arlathan was a place where the best of the ancient elvhen would go to trade knowledge, greet old friends, and settle disuptes that had gone on for millennia. The city inspired its people with grandiose architecture in homes, galleries, and amphitheaters that stood for ages.
As humans came to Thedas, the elves named them "shemlen", or "quicklings" for their short life span. Elves viewed humans as brash, warlike, and impatient. They contracted human diseases and some of which proved lethal. Even worse, those elves who spent time around humans began aging. Elves immediately and fearfully moved to close Elvhenan off from humans but it was far too late.
As the Tevinter Imperium rose to power, they moved to conquer Arlathan. Dalish claim that sieges of magistrates, demons, and dragon thralls bombarded their civilization. Eventually, the city was breached and the Dalish ancestors fleed their lands. Then Tevinter magisters used their great destructive power to force the very ground to swallow Arlathan whole. Those remaining elves who could not escape, which was the vast majority of Dalish at the time, were enslaved.
The Dalish attribute Fen'Harel, the trickster god, to the failure of their gods to protect the elvhen. Supposedly he had trapped the Dalish gods and their nemeses, the Forgotten Ones, in some unknown land. Whether that be some sort of heaven, abyss, or possibly even the Fade, no one could ever know for sure.

Language

Much of the language of the ancient elves was lost with the fall of Elvhenan and the long enslavement of the elves by the Tevinter Imperium. Some words have survived and are cherished by the few Dalish who know them. One of the few people still attempting to hold onto all this knowledge are the Dalish Keepers.
The Dalish verbal language has bits and pieces known, but the written language is all but completely lost to all but the Keepers. Thus, it is terribly difficult to have expeditions down into elven ruins since the language is completely indecipherable unless the group is able to convince a Keeper.

Religion

Ancient elves worshipped a pantheon of gods and goddesses known as the Creators. Their religion also mentions another set of gods called the Forgotten Ones, the eternal enemies of the Dalish pantheon. Only the trickster god Fen'Harel, also known as the Dread Wolf, has been known to walk freely between the two groups.
Dalish look back upon the ancient times of Elvhenan and wonder about the immortality that their people once had. Some believe that having their lives sped up has detracted from their ability to concentrate and spend enough time spiritually participating in the world. They claim, due to this, that the watch of the gods is waning and one day will no longer aid the Dalish as they once did.

"Place of Our People"

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Related Ethnicities

• Dalish