Issilidor

Issilidor

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The Ancient Elven nation of the far north.

An Elven nation in the far north of the Western continent, bordered by the Frozen Wastes. It is known best for its lengthy history as the first nation of the Elves, and for the vast forest of glass trees that borders its capitol.

History

Ancient History

Founding

Issilidor was the first Elvish Nation in the mortal world. It was established by the goddess @Eldanna herself, leading her banished Eladrin out of the Fey Wild into their new home on the Material Plane. She planted the first Glass Trees and founded the city, before leaving her body to ascend to the heavenly realm of Arcadia, on the surface of the moon.

Splintering Factions

Shortly after her death, the Elven people began to splinter: The first group blamed Eldanna for their loss of immortality, denied her divinity and were banished from Issilidor for heresy. Led by @Elaveera Molgleem, the elves traveled North, were taken in by Lloth, and became the @Drow.
The second group were close followers of Eldanna's brother, Gurallan, and turned away from Eldanna when they learned of his fate. These elves accused Eldanna of abandoning her brother, and were also banished for heresy. In the cold north, they turned to Gurallan, now @Grumsh, for guidance, and he changed them to be strong enough to survive in the harsh north, and merciless enough to not repeat the mistakes of his sister. They became the Orcs, although this story was not accepted as canonical by Eldanna worshipers until recently.
Over millennia, many elves wandered outside of the first city to live more simple lives in the forests, abandoning devout devotion to Eldanna for more casual worship and acknowledgement of other gods. Choosing to simply embrace their mortality and enjoy life, these became Wood Elves.
The final group to completely break from Issilidor however, were a group of high elves. 5000 years after the founding of Issilidor, a large population of high and wood elves in the nation grew tired of the zealotry and single-mindedness that had taken hold of Issilidor, and broke away, choosing to leave of their own accord. They traveled to the more temperate forests in the south, and founded @Nelleneth, a neighboring Elven country that more tightly mixed High and Wood Elven cultures. Some Nellenethians believe that they were led in their Exodus by a champion of Eldanna. Issilidor denies this claim.

Recent History

War of the Banished

Due to the actions of Rathilion Pacan and Caewin Perwarin, Orcs invaded Issilidor to demand a cure to the magical plague put upon them, motivated by an elvish man named Vacan, a known rebel against Issilidor. To stop him, Vacan's former lover, the runaway noble woman, Raina Tallatina, along with her companions, Opal and Ira, were called back to the nation. But, to everyone's surprise, Raina had found the bow of Eldanna and was declared the Champion of Eldanna by the church.
Raina, Opal, and Ira, along with the Glass Rangers, captured Vacan and defeated the invading Orc army, but in the process, discovered that the plague affecting the orcs had been orchestrated by Rathilion Pacan and Caewin Perwaring. During a trial for Vacan, they revealed this to the council. Just as Rathilion was being arrested however, Vacan unleashed a spell, sinking the council building deep into the earth, where a Drow invasion force was lying in wait.
Revealing that the Orc invasion was a diversion, and that he'd been working for the Drow all along, Vacan kidnapped Raina, while assassins led by TathDath Quavir and Lady Xana killed the majority of the council. From there, the Drow invaded and seized control of the city of Casal Issilideth, taking much of its population hostage.
However, the heroes, Raina, Opal, and Ira, with the help of others in Issilidor, managed to kill Vacan, and then fight back against the occupying Drow army. They rescued the captured Glass Rangers from Lady Xana, killing her in the process. Then, in a final battle, they defeated High Priestess Sarariel Luelyton, daughter of High Matron Molgleem, and the leader of the invasion, breaking the Drow army for good. Tathdath negotiated, returning his prisoners, and in exchange, was allowed to leave with the bulk of his forces through the tunnel they had dug underneath the city. He was however, attacked by a Mind Flayer the heroes had allied themselves with, just as he escaped.

Aftermath

With most of the previous council dead or missing, a new council was appointed to Issilidor. Under the guidance of Raina Tallatina, this new council began with trying to fix the mistakes of the past. Caewin Perwarin was ordered to cure the plague he'd placed among the orcs, and they returned home peacefully. The remaining Drow were not executed, but rather welcomed back into Issilidor society if they so chose. Some left, unwilling to give up their hatred, but others stayed, finding their long-forgotton home and Eldanna's light. Finally, Issilidor made steps to move towards equality, for the first time allowing Half-Elves to join the ranks of its Rangers and government.
Still now the city rebuilds from the damage of its last war, healing the wounds of battle, and long-ago schisms of their people.

Demography and Population

Issilidor is mainly a country of Elves. Races are listed in order of prominence.
High Elves: The rulers and founders of Issilidor. While Wood Elves are more numerous, High Elves make up most of the nobility and ruling class. They almost entirely live in the capital of Casal Issilideth
Wood Elves: The most numerous people in Issilidor. Most live in villages throughout in the vast forests surrounding the capital. Some live in the Wood Elven portions of the capital, where they were considered second-class citizens until recently. Still others live in the druid commune, Strix Nebulosa, in the southern part of the forest.
Half-Elves: Few in number. Before the Drow invasion, they were considered second-class citizens and barred from many branches of military and government. Those bans have been lifted by the new council, and Half-Elves have been gaining acknowledgement.
Drow: A small population of refugees and ex-prisoners from the aftermath of the war with the Drow. While tensions exist, they have been accepted by the new council and are working to integrate into Issilidor society and find their place.
Tieflings: A tiny population of refugees from the Empire are currently in the protection of Strix Nebulosa. Many of them are training to become druids or settling in Wood Elf villages.

Territories

Issilidor is a beautiful Northern forest region ranging from tall temperate trees to the south, to dense alpine woods to the North. The forests are wild and untamed, yet the natural peace of the Elven magic makes the forests peaceful enough that wild animals will never attack, save for hunting food. In the South, a fairly large commune of Druids reside in the temperate forest, studying peacefully amid the natural arctic woods.
It borders the ocean on its Western side, home to long stretches of beaches, although dangerous Sahuagin live below the cold waters, tamed by the sea-faring Glass Ranger patrols.
The Eastern and Northern borders are made by the Northern ends of the Axe-Blade mountains, on the other side which is the Frozen Wastes, home to wandering monsters and orcish hordes. The only pass into the northern lands is through Elish Reach, a small break in the mountains, which is closely guarded by the Rangers.
Casal Issilideth lies at the heart of the nation, and surrounding it for endless miles is the Glass Forest, where the trees are translucent and crystalline. These trees grow only here in Issilidor, and contain numerous magical properties, as well as mystical beauty.

Maps

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  Issilidor

  The Ancient Elven nation of the far north.

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Capital

Casal Issilideth

Legislative Body

Issilidor is ruled by a council of 6 elected officials, each the head of an organization or branch of the nation.

Current Council:

Jastra Tallatina - Ranger General
Intevar Virpetar - High Arcanist
Ellenell Ravaran (Retiring) - High Priestess of Eldanna
Callevnel Soren - Army Commander
Lelar Duentha - Head of Foreign Affairs
Luafa Sellenborn - Master of Coin

Previous Council

Rathilion Pacan - Ranger General
Intevar Virpetar - High Arcanist
Ellenell Ravaran- High Priestess of Eldanna
Nambra Venwyn (deceased) - Army Commander
Sansata Qikalyn (deceased) - Head of Foreign Affairs
Llamyril Baocana (deceased) - Master of Coin

Deities

• Eldonna

Controlled Territories

• Casal Issilideth
• Silil Cas
• Strix Nebulosa
• Temple of the Moon

Notable Members

• Garion Tallatina
• Intevar Virpetar
• Raina Tallatina
• Vander Tallatina