Norsa

the lights of Norsa at twilight

Norsa is the easternmost stronghold of the blue elves. It is situated approximately 100-150 miles from the edge of the Fethil, and is nestled against the foot of the Klevarcht Mountains. Thus, the ancient citadel serves as one of the few points of entry into the lands of the blue elves. Given the suspicious and reclusive nature of the blue elves, it should come as no surprise that Norsa is guarded fiercely by well-trained soldiers.

The reknowned magicologist Phineas Flumpert is one of the few humans to have successfully entered and exited Norsa alive. He gives a detailed account of his experiences with the blue elves in his book, Chasing the Blue Mist: Conversations with the Magickal Folk of the Erkenheld, which will now be quoted at great length:

Living among the blue elves was, perhaps, the most alien and bizarre experience I encountered in my travels through this mighty forest. The Vinkenti, as the blue elves prefer to call themselves, are at once the most harmonious and divisive people I have ever seen. They are totally at one with their surroundings, to the point that I would call their relationship with the earth and living creatures symbiotic.

They draw strength from the natural world, and spend much of their time caring for and nuturing it. In response, the elements yield to the readily, and the very plants and animals change to accomodate the Vinkenti's needs. A kinder, more obedient species of woodland sprites seems to have evolved here which the blue elves keep as intelligent, helpful pets. The trees here now grow large, hollowed out pod-shaped structures which the elves use for their homes. Indeed, the entire city is one large, interconnected network of treehouses!

However, the unity the Vinkenti show with nature bears a striking contrast to their attitudes towards outsiders, and the internal structure of their own society. We have known for a long time that the Vinkenti are hostile and suspicious of all but their own. Verily, the red elves explained to me that there are internal racial tensions, and that the blue elves that elves originated as the protectors of the forest. They claim that the red and silver elves forsake their roles as protectors and abandoned the forest, an act which the Vinkenti find inexcusable. Similarly, the blue elves have proven to hold antagonistic attitudes towards races that do not dwell in the Erkenheld. They have good relations, generally, with the centaurs and gnomes, but the elderly elf who shared his pod-home with me mentioned that I was the first human he'd seen enter the city in all his 500 years.

Outlanders, as beings such as myself are called, are usually dispatched quite quickly by the silent soldiers that patrol the city. These warriors strike with deadly force in the blink of an eye. Legend has it that they are able to become invisible, or even teleport, but my analysis shows that this is unlikely. In actuality, the warriors hides amongst the tree branches and fire off arrows or use slingshots with frightening accuracy from afar. They do appear to occasionally use small amounts of elemental magic, however, to still and quiet the air around them, giving them and eerie and absolutely silent effect. Altogether, I can think of assassins no more deadly than the blue elves.

This dispositional tendency towards suspicion and emphasis on responsibility manifests between the blue elves themselves. I would characterize their society as both matriarchal and honor-driven in nature: a rare combination indeed! The women of the blue elves are considered to be the stronger and more resourceful of the sexes, in part because it is believed that the act of childbirth gives them a stronger connection to the natural world. Because of this, a woman's first child is a doubly joyous occasion - it signifies not only the continuation of her family line, but also her coming of age as a woman. While all women are held in high regard, virtually worshipped by their men, mothers truly hold the greatest positions in this society, including all political positions of leadership and the more magical role of 'tender,' a sort of cross between a priestess and shaman who cultivates the magical energies of the forest.

The women without children - often young, sometimes barren - and the men are relatively removed from the seats of power, but are no less necessary to the functioning of their society. Often, they take on the roles of communally raising the children. It should be noted here that to the blue elves, men can really only be counted as brothers and sons in terms of family. The mother is the only contributer to the bloodline, which is passed matrilineally (though, most who I spoke to said that generally a family name is only given to daughters, since sons cannot extend the family line themselves and do not get absorbed into the family line of others), and the other women of esteem in the village are the child's 'other mothers.' The young women and men, regardless of gender, are referred to collectively as 'aunts' and the children they raise them with are treated as siblings. These elves also make up the hunters and soldiers who sustain and preserve Vinkenti society.

Given the nature of their society, the very idea of adultery or cuckoldry is absurd. Indeed, the women have their choice of any man in the village, at virtually any time. The idea of honor for the blue elves, then, is structured in a way which mirrors their society. It is concerned with the preservation of a family's religious and magical honor - not the sexual purity of it. Therefore, acts which dishonor a blue elf are those that tarnish their family's position as the forest's protector. The punishment for such acts, which include everything from a man not showing due respect to a woman to outright abandonment of the Vinkenti way, ranges from a challenge to duel, to sequestring, to banishment. Though the society is generally peaceful, any trangression that disrupts that peace is dealt with swiftly and forcefully. The blue elves are severe, and fierce in their protection of their way of life from attacks from outside and within.

In addition to the fine portrait of Norsa that Flumpert draws here, it should be noted that the political structure of the blue elves is composed of a currently unknown number of loosely aligned city-states, each with its own queen. Norsa, with its geogrpahic position, is one of the most important and influential cities, making its current temperamental ruler, Svava Taggar, a force to be reckoned with.

See Also:
Benno the Blue Elf