Avareen

"To this day I do not know why my request to visit Avareen and write about my experiences was granted, though I suspect that the main reason was that it amused the noble granting me hospitality to do so. And despite the many wonderous sights and beings I have seen, I felt a profound sense of relief when I left the forest behind me again, for at numerous times I felt like I was not only close to loosing my life, but also my soul.
Yet in some way, deep in my heart I still yearn to return to this enchanted forest realm..."

- Geoffrey Malacay: My Time Among The Elves, Avane Street Publishing (1913)


Capital: Lorendur
Population: 3,210,640 (71% elves, 20% fey, 5% centaurs, 2% half-elves, 2% humans)
Government: Monarchy
Imports:
Exports:



This forest kingdom is probably the biggest authentic feudal society remaining in the world, though it is far from a typical one. Everyone is a Lord, a Lady, a Dame, or a Knight, or so it seems - and woe to the outsider who confuses any of these titles, for this is taken as a great insult, and few will hesitate to challenge the offender to a duel. The whole society functions through an elaborate set of etiquette rules which are hard for others to understand. Nevertheless, individuality and eccentricity are highly priced here, and being called "boring" is often considered the ultimate insult.
The elves and the fey are mostly content to stay in their forest home and watch as the world outside rapidly. No matter what happens elsewhere, they figure they can still celebrate as the seasons go by. Outsiders, such as humans, have no rights save what an elf noble is willing to grant them - and they are often fickle enough to remove that protection in the blink of an eye. Some elf nobles take up hunting "lesser mortals" for sport, especially hobgoblins.

Industries

Life and Society

Government and Politics

On top of the feudal hierarchy of Avareen stands the monarch, who is always a Queen and the oldest living female descendant of the last Queen. Below her are the royal nobles, or Anril, who are blood relatives of the Queen and are always are 49 in number. These rule over the towns and districts of Avareen at a fixed order of preference depending on how closely they are related to the Queen. Only elves who have reached their 121st birthday can hold the title of Amril, however. The orders of preference are: The sole exception to this system is the Amril of Enegorn, who is always the father of the Queen if he is still alive, or else her oldest male relative if he isn't. The Amril of Enegorn is supposed to stay out of politics, but this has not always been observed by the current title holder.
If a new close relative of the Queen reaches his 121st birthday or an existing Amril dies beyond hope of ressurection (either because of old age or terrible death magics - which are rare, but not unheard of), the list of Amril and their order of preference changes - which means that those whose position has changed must move to a new town or district. This prevents the Amril from creating a large power base in any one place with which they might threaten the kingdom, though most have a staff of advisors and aides which they take with them whenever they move. Still, most are eager to leave some kind of mark on any city they have ruled - ideally, something that cannot be casually reversed by the next ruler.

Groups and Organisations

Religion

Important NPCs

- Queen Arwanna (CE female elf ari5/sor10) is beautiful, charming, intelligent - and utterly without any morals. Spoiled from birth and adored by her people, she is utterly convinced that the world and its inhabitants merely exist to be the playthings of elves, and that the elves are there to be playthings for her. She spent most of her rule savoring the pleasures of life and encouraging the intrigues in her court, although she is smart enough to do so without wrecking her kingdom or leaving it defenseless, or alienating her subjects. She will let herself entertained by visitors with an audience as long as they are amusing, and discard them as soon as they cease to be amusing without a second thought - and that is only if they are lucky.
Of late however, she is troubled. She was disgusted when she heard of the recent defeat of the navy of the elven kingdom Narevoreen, and that nation's subsequent attempts to learn from humans. And she was shocked when she became aware that the elves of Turaveen stooped so low as to use humans as breeding stock. The Queen now fears that her race might be in decline unless something drastic is done to remind both the elves and the world that elves are vastly superior to humans in every way, or else elves will loose all respect. Now all she has to do is to figure out what should be done.
And when she comes to a conclusion, her human neighbors had better watch out...

Major Geographical Features

Important Towns and Cities

Athieniel (Small City, 75,326): This small city close to the Old Road follows an unusual custom: Transactions of money or even ordinary barter are forbidden. Instead, people get what they need through gifts - and indeed, visitors need barely mention that they need something - food, a place to stay, a certain item - and it is likely that soon a native will arrive and offer the thing needed (or something close to it) "for free", and will list an impressive number of reason why he has taken to the new arrival and can't bear to see him suffer for the lack of the gift.
However, what new arrivals aren't usually told is that there is almost always an expectation of a gift or a favor in return, usually of similar value to the gift given. The natives understand how the system works, and not soon after they have received the first gift will try to come up with a suitable gift in return - no one of them likes to stay in debt for long, and in this way the economy of the town keeps function in a way not dissimilar from communities with more traditional barter economies. But outsiders are likely to find themselves in heavy debt very soon unless they are very careful. If there is a gross disparity between the original gift and the return gift, the offended party can take their case before the ruler of the city. The current ruler, Lord Thorodel, doesn't like to be disturbed for petty cases, but when his curiosity is piqued his punishments for "the defendant's appalling lack of generosity" can be highly inventive and humiliating - and likely to be reinforced by a geas.
It is entirely possible to refuse offered gifts, though the elves will pretend to take great offense at this and continue to offer the gift. After the gift has been refused three times, the giver will give up. Additionally, if the gift was one offered to erase a debt from an earlier gift, it is customary to give a hint on what kind of gift the receiver would actually be interested in.
Enegorn (Small City, 55,823): This town on the shores of the Great Lake is home to those who wish to get away from the wild abandon and intrigue of mainstream elven society - or who fear for their continued health should they remain there. The unspoken agreement is that elves who retire to this city stay there and no longer involve themselves in the courtly power plays elsewhere in Avareen - and in return, the elves elsewhere will leave them alone. This does not always work out - some try to continue their plots from exile and build up a new power base - but the elders of this city exile anyone they see as abusing their hospitality.
Many elves spend the rest of their days here in artistic pursuits, mastering skills in a variety of crafts and creating items of unsurpassed beauty - or power. This gives the city an unusually quiet and contemplative atmosphere for an elven settlement, and perhaps it is not surprising that the fighting styles of monks in the Western Known Lands were first developed here. There are several schools of martial arts in this city, and some accept students from all races.
Lorendur (Small Metropolis, 613,243): The capital of Avareen, legions of elven craftsmen work here to make Lorendur a city unsurpassed in grace and beauty. It is said that all humans who visit Lorendur become so enchanted by its glamour that they will never want to leave - and even if they are made to leave through force or trickery, their hearts constantly yearn to return here.
Under the pretty exterior however, the schemes and intrigues of the elven nobles can become extremely vicious, and even lethal to non-elves who become entangled within them.
Sormar (Small City, 80,311): This city boasts some of the elves best experts on illusions, or glamours, as they call it. When these elves are not busy defending the realm by obfuscating the entrances to the forest, they reside here to research their craft, teach promising students, or just show off their latest innovations.
While the city's architecture is spectacular, it is illusionary more often than not, and changes on a frequent basis determined by the whims of its inhabitants. The many students - including a few promising humans hand-picked by the elder illusionists - and the often excentric personalities of the masters give this city a whimsical atmosphere, but just like the other communities of Avareen it can become dangerous quickly to any non-elven visitors who don't know how to behave.

Important Sites

The Orchard of Tears: One location kept secret from most outsiders, this is where punishment is dished out who have earned the special hatred of the ruling monarch. The offenders are brought here and polymorphed into vaguely humanoid apple trees - their mind is still intact (at least initially, though the unfortunates soon become insane), but they are rooted into the earth and can do nothing that slightly shake their branches and emit wailing sounds.
The apples harvested from these trees taste delicious, and are often offered at special occasions, such as at banquets in the honor of important visitors. Even those who know the true nature of the apples had better eat one apple and visibly enjoy eating it, for rejecting the apple or expressing distaste is a sure way of offending the queen.
The Fountain of Youth: It is said that somewhere in the Forest of Avareen is a spring that is the source of the elves' famous longevity - and it is also said that any human who baths within it becomes young again, and possibly immortal. Whether this spring actually exists is unknown, and when asked, the elves of Avareen give contradictory answers. What is known is that any human (or any other member of a non-sylvan race) who searches for it within the forest is hunted to death by the nobles of the court.
The Old Road: Protected by ancient treaties, this is the only road that passes through the entire length of the Forest of Avareen. By tradition, anyone who travels on this road is safe from the elves, but anyone who moves more than a dozen steps away from it is considered fair game. The elves and fairies often resort to trickery to lure travelers into the forest. Illusions of beautiful elf maidens are a favorite...

Regional History

Adventuring in Avareen

It is important to remember that non-elves in Avareen have no rights apart from those that individual elves deign to grant them. If they are lucky, an elf will accept them into his entourage, which will confer them some protection since harming these is a serious slight to their patron. An elven PC might fill that role, but since such a PC might have been away from Avareen for a long time, he might not have enough social standing to protect them effectively.
Even such protection is not foolproof, however, for their patron's rivals might try to harm them with underhanded means that leave no trace back to them, since the inability to protect his entourage will cost the patron serious loss of face. They might also trick them to unknowingly violate some taboos or customs, or offend some elven noble, in which case their patron has to either withdraw his protection or suffer serious consequences himself.
If they have no such protection, the best way to survive is to be entertaining, for the elves are much more willing to suffer a charming and witty bard, daring acrobat, or other entertainer in their middle than a surly soldier without any social graces - and indeed, they might handsomely reward such people for their performances. Being too entertaining has its own dangers, however, since then an elven noble might invite them to join his entourage - and such people rarely take "No" for an answer.

Adventure Seeds


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