Opleneer

Opleneer's fabulous waterfront

The city of Opleneer, resplendent on the shores of a glittering sea, lies at the southern tip of the land of Elothnin. The landscape of the area takes the shape of a coastal plain, with rolling hills gradually descending towards expansive beaches of beautiful sand that varies in color from a bright white, to a brick red, to a dark black-blue in some areas. The city is centered around a deep, natural harbor sheltered from the squalls that routinely hit the coast by a set of high cliffs that allow wayward sailors to weather even the most adverse conditions. The city further takes advantage of its location with the creation of a series of canals that allow goods to be moved efficiently throughout large segments of the city.

The inhabitants of Opleneer span a wide spectrum from gruff, gritty seamen and roustabouts, to the most refined patrons of the art in all Elothnin, but the city's most noteworthy residents are the artists themselves. The birthplace of Elothnin's traditional art form, silothil, has the highest concentration of artists any area in the country. The bulk of these artists are of the starving variety, eking out wages through a variety of less-than glamorous professions. The city itself reflects this wealth of creative force, with an almost unwieldy amount of glass fountains and other works of art littering every available open space.

In addition to its historical significance, the nation's artists are attracted to Opleneer because of its reputation as being accepting of and willing to reward individuals with artistic talent, regardless of the milieu into which they were born. Ambitious youths from even the most remote corners of Elothnin have been able to come the great City of Glass and become famous through a combination of skill, luck, and charm. However, the artistic set of Opleneer society is also notoriously fickle, often abandoning one artist or style after another at a truly staggering rate. Nevertheless, both in terms of quality and quantity, the birthplace of silothil is the undisputed leader of Elothninian art.

The city is also distinguished from its counterparts by its renowned university system. Though they do not offer as thorough an education in the sciences as those of Neerhemhind, the universities of Opleneer are at the forefront of Elothninian philosophical and literary thought. The city's artists are kept company by a thriving community of bohemians aspiring to excellence in the written word.

Neerhemhind

an aerial view of Neerhemhind

Neerhemhind is the great, bustling capitol city of Elothnin. It is located in the province of Helletiern, and positioned where the Erem and South Samat Rivers meet the Great Land Sea. Its strategic location on these central waterways has made it a major center of trade.

Neerhemhind is also the major political center of Elothnin. It houses Captfael Castle (see left), where all the rulers of the Otellian lineage have resided since the establishment of the empire, including the current Queen. Captfael Castle and its surrounding areas also house the court of Elothnin, which brings together the social, intellectual, and political elite of Elothnin.

The Elftown district is situated near to the castle, and its nicer hotels usually house various diplomats and emissaries who are in Elothnin only temporarily. Elftown is an exotic and strange place to many Elothninians, and is one of the main tourist attractions of Neerhemhind. Many creatures that do not dwell in other areas of Elothnin, like the silver elves, can be found in Elftown's narrow, crowded alleys, and the Elftown markets (see right) are known as the best place in the empire to find rare and valuable magical objects.

Neerhemhind has also developed into a major cultural and intellectual center. This can be attributed most directly to King Gimelthorpe who, saddened to leave the artists and philosophers of Opleneer upon ascending the throne in Neerhemhind, decided to make his new home as intellectual stimulating as his old one. Gimelthorpe himself built highly regarded Fountain at Neerhemhind (see left), and also founded Gimelthorpe University, which has trained such intellectual giants as Phinneas Flumpert.

See Also:
Queen's Court

Susselfen

Susselfen is an important border town in Elothnin. Though it is dwarfed by the empire's major cities, like Neerhemhind and Opleneer, Susselfen is comparatively large for the Fethil. It is located at the base of the Klevarcht Mountains and lie directly on the Quentalno River. The city is positioned near a magnificent waterfall (see left) that pours down from the mountains, feeding the river, and the crashing mist that rises from it shrouds the entire city in a dense fog year-round.

Susselfen is perhaps one of the most bizarre towns in all of Elothnin. Given its position, it plays host to a more diverse cast of characters than any other city. The usual humans and red elves of the Fethil are joined by dwarves from the mountains, displaced tinkers, any number of drunken satyrs, and the odd blue elf. Occasionally, stranger and more exotic being are said to roam its hazy streets.

Perhaps because of the strange composition of its inhabitants, Susselfen has gained a somewhat unsavory reputation. It is thought to be home to assassins, be the center of black marketeering, and may even contain underground cells of rebel spies! Though most of these claims remain unproven, it is certainly true that Susselfen has been home to any number of bizarre individuals, including the legendary Web-Footed Elf.

See Also:
Benno the Blue Elf

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

West Fethil

The main thoroughfare of the town

The Township
West Fethil is a small border town nestled between the grain and tall grass of the Fethil and the beginings of the ominous Erkenheld Forest. While it was originally established as a military outpost town by the Worthis clan, it is no longer used in such a capacity. Instead, like most other Fethilian towns, male citizens are drafted and sent elsewhere to fight.

The Townsfolk
Generally, the citizens of West Fethil (and the Fethil more broadly) are rugged, hearty people. They take joy in the simple pleasures of their life, especially their cuisine, which is hailed throughout the empire for it's substantial nature and pleasing taste.

Mush, a type of porridge, is widely considered the quintessential Fethilian dish. Mush is based around the grain grown in the area, and is made by stirring boiling water into the ground wheat until it has reached an appetizingly gluey consistency. Then, butter and honey are added. Mush is a staple of the Fethilian diet, and an annual competition for the best mush is held during the West Fethil Strawberry Harvest Bazaar. Though people from all over the Fethil participate, the contest has been dominated by Jarthen's mum (shown left) in recent years. This is considered by some quite ironic, given that she is wholly unremarkable in virtually every other respect.


MacCrath's kitchen (shown right), the Elothininian only restaurant of note specializing in Fethilian cuisine, is also located in West Fethil. Mush, of course, is serves, along with other common dishes of the region. The cooking staff at MacCrath's has been recently incorporating the meat of the floating Fethil sheep, with strange results. It is reported that the meat is tender and succulent, but that cooking it results in thick, billowing smoke that obscures the vision and makes it difficult to cook properly.