Eralus

Eralus, a red elf living in Susselfen, possesses many of the traits characteristic of his race: he is quite friendly, has a deep love of ale and pipeweed, and is perhaps too chatty for his own good. It is this last trait that tends to get Eralus into hot water most often (although it is, of course, exacerbated when he is drunk and stoned). Though not a member of the Rebel Army himself, much of his information about its movements comes from his Uncle Jelli and is, in fact, highly classified. Though a sweet lad, those closest to Eralus would be the first to acknowledge that he lacks good common sense and is prone to make friends with those he ought not to.

Flumpertist vs. Eirellian Theories of Magick

a theoretical map of a human's aether in the 4th dimension

A war currently wages in the field of magickology concerning the actual physical properties and manifestations of magick itself. A good amount of descriptive analysis has been conducted on the expressions of magick, allowing for the classification of different types of magick and the establishment of magick-related neuroanatomical stuctures. The theroetical aspects and the processes through which magick has such obsevered effects, however, are still not well understood. Two schools of thought have developed in recent years¹, each with strong models of magic, and the magickological community is currently embroiled in sorting out this heated debate.

Both views generally agree on a number of things. Namely, both theories take for granted that all objects - both animate an inanimate - exist in a 4 dimensional conceptual universe. Magickologists further posit that these objects have features which exist in the magickal dimension - called aether, after the magi concept of a 'magickal element' - which when manipulated, may have an effect on its appearance or functioning in the other three dimensions as well. Both views also agree that the existence and size of Flumpert lobes determines an individual's awareness of the aether of those around them and their ability to cotrol their own aether in various ways.

Flumpertists claim that time itself is a separate vector, or perhaps a physical force, which affects all dimensions simultaneously in a linear fashion. Time, then, is a factor which is independent of magick. The separateness of these two things, along with magick's close relathionship with the physical dimensions, requires users of magick to be relatively close to objects they manipulate, and that such magickal manipulations must fall in a temporally close and logical order. Fruthermore, Flumpertists explain the differences between ethereal beings (such as spirits) and corporeal as a function of the direct proportion of their aetheric matter to their physical matter, and suggest that a higher degree of aetheric composition can be used to sculpt the physical in self-directed ways and to minimize physical needs.

The Eirellian view challenges many of these positions. Eirellian scholars, led by the supposedly (but as yet unsubstantiated) halg-mage, half-human magickologist Silva Eirelle, propose that mgaick and time are fused at their very core. The 4th dimension in this model is referred to as aether-time, which is essentially a plane of infinite probablities. Here, time is not presupposed to have a linear structure, and can manifest as circular or curvilinear given certain conditions. The great divergence between Eirelle's theory and Flumpert's centers on how magick is actually performed: through the direct, tangible influence of one aetheric being on another in the Flumpertist's view or by using one's aether to choose a course (from an unending set of possible courses) for another's in Eirelle's. The close linkage between time and magick has led Eirellians to question Flumpert's classification of the Art of Seeing as a non-magickal pheomenon.

_______________________________________________________________
¹It should be noted that this debate rages within mundayne circles only. Leading scholars' repeated attempts at gain insight from magickal beings on this matter has proven unsuccessful due to reluctance or inability for elves, mages, and gnomes to discuss magick scientifically.

Elshin

Elshin, a member of the Rebel Army who ran with Jellihondor's battalion for a short time, is a man internally at war with himself. Though he identifies as a red elf, it is quite clear to those who meet him that there is more to the story: he has the rosy skin and ease with social magicks of an Athenorkos elf, but his black hair, brown eyes, and muscular build betray his mixed heritage.

Elshin was born to a young human woman in the Fethil about 150 years ago after she had had a fleeting tryst with a handsome red elf at a dancing circle where the pipeherb and ale flowed perhaps too freely. Thinking herself a single mother, with a child who was not fully human no less, the girl steeled herself against the prejudice she knew she'd face raising him alone, and named him Otellian to give him the strength of Elothnin's founder.

Only two days after the baby was born, the handsome red elf returned to the girl. At first she thought he had come to her to make her his wife and to raise the child together, but it soon became clear that he had no such intention. With cold, hard eyes that looked nothing like what she remembered from that fateful night, the elf demanded the baby boy, explaining that should he inherit his father's magickal abilities, it was important that the child grow up among his kind. when the girl pointed out that humans were the baby's kind as well, the elf gave her a withering look and replied that humans were little more than greedy children themselves and shouldn't be allowed to raise their own young anyway ¹. Scared and shamfaced, the girl handed the baby over to be raised by the elves and told the human villagers it had died in the crib the night before.

The elf, knowing that the black hair and brown eyes that were already noticeable would set the child apart from his future playmates, named him Elshin - the Athenorkos word for strength of character. Such a name was fitting for the boy, who grew up having to defend his odd background, explain his strange features, and prove over and over again that he was as magickal as the next elf.

Elshin's earliest memory was not of games or a meal at home, but instead was of Imperial soldiers surrounding and burning his compound to the ground. The smell of burning thatch and the stark shadows cast by the sweeping flames still haunt Elshin's dreams, and the knowledge that the soulless, heartless beings that cause him and his family such trauma were a part of him only feuled his hatred of humans. For the rest of his life, Elshin truly never accepted the human side of himself - he admitted that it was true that he was a 'halfie,' but never acknowledged that his human traits were more than cosmetic, which marked him out from the other elves. Elshin was tempestuous and headstrong, willing to trample friendships and feelings to make a point, which was in stark contrast to the ways of red elves.

It was no surprise to anyone who knew him that Elshin joined the Rebel Forces. Ironically, his mixed heritage made him an excellent soldier: all the grace and dexterity of an elf, but with the extra strength and size of a human. Elshin thrives on being in the thick of battle, and feels more fully elvish with every human soldier he mercilessly strikes down. When Jellihondor's battalion struckout on its northbound journey to the Dark Lands, Elshin found himself getting more and more frustrated with the lack of combat. He cordially took his leave of the group when the oppurtunity presented itself to him in the City of Mages and gratefully returned to the front lines.
______________________________________________________________
¹As Elshin was born in the height of the Years of Red Grain, this likely refers to the elves' perception of humasn as encroaching on their land out of selfishness and greed.

Avadon Clarence Grundlethump

Avadon Grundlethump is part of that group whom war cheat the most - fine young lads drawn into the fray not of their own volition who are senselessly cut down before they have the chance to be men.

Avadon was born in the Fethil grew up with his brothers Rundleton, Lemonius, and Malmont on the family's Fethil sheep farm. It was a bucolic childhood, among the swaying wheat and floating sheep, that isolated him from the horrors of the long-waged war all around him.

Avadon was a lad who looked to have a good future ahead of him: he was strapping and strong, with an intuitive grasp of common sense, unerring sense of decency, and was bright enough without ever being too intellectual curious. At the age of seventeen, Avadon was preparing to take over the family farm and was starting to think about settling down and marrying one of the village girls.

These hopes were dashed by a slow rapping at the door one evening as the Grundlethump family was sitting doen to their nightly mush one evening. A man, introducing himself as a one Larthon Ractor, explained that according to the Service and Loyatly Act of 953, the most able-bodied man of the house would be drafter into Her Majesty's Imperial Army. Glancing swiftly about the room, he pointed at Avadon and gruffly told the shocked lad to report for duty at the West Fethil garrison in two days' time.

Avadon, and his family, knew what drafting lead to, and each of them tried to steel themselves for the heartache that so often followed such orders. Avadon left for the garrison the next morning, promising to write often. He proved himself to be an able soldier in basic training and survived his first year as a soldier with no close calls or injuries.

It was close to the end of the campaign his battalion had been assigned to that tragedy struck. Avadon's battalion had been stationed on the edge of the forest, and he was on sentry duty. As he paced back and forth endlessly through the night, the lad had a moment of terrible luck. Avadon happened to glance up into the forest at precisely the wrong moment and locked eyes with a red elf. The elf acted quickly, glamouring Avadon before he could scream and luring him into the murky depth of the forest. Once inside the Erkenheld, the rebel elf snapped Avadon's neck in one fluid motion, wanting to spare the poor, unlucky human boy as much pain as possible.

The rebels buried Avadon in one of the magickal paths to ensure that the Imperial soldiers would never find his body. The search parties warily sent in after Avadon's disappearance found not trace of clothing, no blood, no evidence that the young man had ever been near the forest. After some weeks, Avadon was presumed dead and the sad news was delivered to his his family. Each of the surviving Grundlethumps knows that their beloved Avadon is almost assuredly dead, but not one of them can quite give up hope that he is simply AWOL and still trying to get home again.

Major Ambrose Pearson

Major Ambrose Pearson is a spy in the Imperial Army stationed in Susselfen along with Nelhoepher, Lem, Bertronius, and McNab. Pearson is a thin, narrow man in his early thirties and is highly regarded by his fellows as a spy, but not well-known by any of his comrades.

The flat Fethilian drawl he has adopted and the drab, somewhat dingy wardrobe he wears daily masks Pearson's comparatively privileged upbringing. Born to a highly successful book merchant in Opleneer, young Pearson came from a family wealthy enough to afford a classical education for their children - all 17 of them. Pearson is as well-versed in the finer distinctions of the arts and etiquette as any vassal. He is also an extremely well-travelled gentlemen prone to flouting social conventions: prior to joining the army, Pearson joined a band of Felintark caravaners ostensibly to investigate the possibility of acquiring Felin books for sale in Elothnin. During his travels, Pearson became fluent in Felin, participated in skirmishes on the nybbas with Inlan nomads, and herded giant goats in the Brovnajian Steppes before returning home ten years to the day after he'd left. Pearson is currently married to (and frequently corresponds with) an Inalan priestess, a felintark poetess, and has recently secretly eloped with a red elvish whore from the Blushing Loaf, but prefers to keep such things to himself.

Unlike virtually all other spies currently employed by Her Majesty, Pearson was drafted. Given the considerations of loyalty and trustworthiness that distinguish volunteers from the conscripted, it should come as no surprise that status as a draftee alone is typically enough to prevent entry to spy training. Pearson's other undenaible qualities led Atelon Scrudton to look past this in his favor. In a memo to his close confidante and protege, Caspio McNab, Scrudton wrote the following about Pearson:

Caspio! what luck! After many months of searching, I think I may have finally found a suitable replacement for you. What know you of a one Ambrose Pearson? I daresay I shan't expect you to know much - seems as though no one knows much about the lad at all, as if he lacks a past.

But I distract myself. The cause for my unbridled excitement is this: this Pearson posseses such a cunning, such a craftiness the likes of which are rare indeed. And, were that not enough, he has a face that is appealing but never betrays his thoughts, without a lick of training! Such raw talent I haven't seen since I first met you, my dear friend.

I daresay he lacks your warmth, that gregariousness you have which puts people at ease so quickly, but he bests you in at least one way: the boy is a more natural actor than I have ever seen. He is so observant - changing his posture, matching the accents of those around him flawlessly - he is a veritable chameleon. A more natural intelligence officer i've never met, including you or I. Were it not for the troublesome issue of his drafting, he would already have been sent to you for training.

Despite the great talent Pearson has in disguising his true nature from those around him, his peculiar sense of humor has always been his greatest tell. He has a singular wit - acerbic, sardonic, and suspciously worldy - that betrays the full scope of his varied experiences and keen intelligence. It is suspected, but not donfirmed, that a number of the more sarcastic and witty journalistic stories being printed in recent years about experiences on the front are actually Pearson's handiwork published under a pseudonyms.

Sylon Goill

the immense Sylon Goill frightening small children

Sylon Goill is one of the lucky few who benefited from the Border Wars: always larger and brawnier than those around him (by adulthood sporting a size 42 waistline, most of which was muscle) and always a more brutal and vicious fighter than his peers. Goill isthe type of man who would be performing the same actions regardless of context and just happened to find one that encouraged his aggressive and bloodthristy nature. In more peaceful times, he likely would have become a criminal.

Goill was born to a fisherman and his wife in a small village on the coast of the Great Land Sea, the last of seven children. His father was a rather cold and unemotional man, very reserved and gone for days at a time on the water. Though the elder Goill was more affectionate with his octopodes than he was with his children, there's no evidence to suggest that the fisherman had violent tendencies or was even much of a disciplinarian.

Sylon Goill outgrew his brothers and sisters at a young age, as all of the rest of his siblings possessed his father's lankier build. He took to ambushing and attacking his older siblings around age 10, leaving them with bruises and bloody noses. His scuffles with neighborhood children generally had more dire results - broken bones, lost teeth, and in one particularly vicious case, a permanent blinding in one eye. He was feared by all the children of the village, human and Ogrish alike. At 12, Sylon could not be contained through conventional means. He had been expelled from school and stories of his brutality were pervasive enough that the big, muscular lad could not find employment anywhere in the village.

By the age of thirteen, Goill had been deposited at a garrison with stirct instructions from his parents to lie about his age and volunteer for the Imperial Army. These were virtually the only parental orders Goill ever followed. The commanding officer of the garrison never questioned the boy's age and sent him straight through to basic training. It became quickly clear to his drill sergeant, however, that Goill already possessed refined fighting techniques, and consequently recommended that Goill join the so-called Black Diamonds - a squadron of elite soldiers used for the most brutal and dangerous tasks.

As a Black Diamond, Goill proved he has other qualities, too. His commanding officer noted his fearlessness and single-minded dedication to improving his fighting technique. He also noted that Goill possessed a sly, crafty mind that, though uneducated and not what one would call particularly bright, was coldly unemotional and capable of quickly discerning the weaknesses of his opponents. Memorandums sent by the commanding officer suggest that he had ambivalent feelings towards Goill - someone so young with such martial potential and skill, but with virtually no empathy or loyatly can be a very hard soldier to control.

The commanding officer's predictions bore some truth over the years. Goill became known as a deadly and reliable soldier, but also began disappearing with no notice when he became bored. He began skipping out on his battalion to join other, more interesting campaigns. Stories of his survival of such campaigns (such as fending off four elves and a centaur simultaneously and torturing a gnome in order to force it to lead him out of the forest again) only adds to Goill's mystique. After 20 odd years in the army, he has become a sort of folk figure to rank-and-file infantrymen, but was regarded with a mix of awe and suspicion by his fellow Black Diamonds.

Despite the unease he causes among others, it is undeniable that he is one of the more....talented...members of the Black Diamonds, and it cam to no one's surprise when he was promoted to oversee their operations. Goill himself has greatly relished the freedom such a position offers him, and has taken to giving his orders and disappearing to pursue his own grisly end unfettered.

The Magickal Paths of the Erkenheld

One of the many mysteries surrounding the Erkenheld Forest are the tales of magickal paths tracing their way through it. Little is known about the forest except that mundayne beings cannot find or use them, and that the Rebel Forces have been using them as a base of operations since the Red Grain period. According to rare first-hand reports and the maps drawn up by tortured elves supplied to General Randle, the paths take the form of a sort of organically grown hedge maze by those using them, but are labyrinthine and hard to navigate. Beyond these few bare facts, little can be reliably substantiated.

Based purely on conjecture and speculation, some particularly brave (or perhaps stupid) magicologists have attempted to gain greater clarity into the manifestation and functioning of the paths. Many scholars have posited that the Sprite Queen created the paths, but there has been, as yet, no direct substantiation of this beyond a couple of ambiguous remarks she made in an interview with Dr. Phinneas Flumpert. It is suspected that the tricky, somewhat malevolent forest sprites native to the region use them to run away quickly from their victims.

Other scholars have suggested that the exclusivity of the paths may account for many of the stranger Fethilian legends. It is well-known that some humans (particularly those with red hair) may display some limited magickal capacity, and it is highly likely that such individuals may inadvertantly stumble into the paths from time to time. The strange disappernces of forresters and soldiers could be the result of slightly magickal lads (fairly common in the Fethil due to the frequency of interbredding between humans and red elves) becoming lost in the notoriously confusing paths. Similarly, some claim, that the well-known Shrine in the Forest may reside within such paths - this would explain why descriptions of it are so consistent across time and region, but also why expeditions to find it tend to turn up empty-handed.

Semadra, the First Tinker

an artist's conception of the mythical Semadra

In contrast to their blue and red cousins, silver elves have a much less narrative creation story. Silver elves believe that at the beginning of time, the magickal and mundayne realms were unified, and that their splitting was the result of some unforseen, unknown force. They further believe that when this disconnection is understood and resolved, the two realms will become unified again at the end of time.

Silver elves further beleive that the purest of beings are corporeal magickal ones (like, not surprisingly, elves) - those which unite the magickal and the mundayne in their very essence. When the two planes split from one another, most beings became either wholly magickal or wholly mundayne, but a lucky few retained their forms.

The three elvish sistes, Vinkenti, Athenorkos, and Semadra, fell into this lucky latter category. Myth holds that the three argued amongst themselves about what should be done. Vinkenti argued that the split was for the best, and that they should try to find a way to becom wholly magickal, so she retreated to the forests, a site of vibrant magic to isolate and protect it from mundayne influences. Athenorkoes argued that, trapped as they seemed to be in the mundayne realm, they had better just roll with the punches as best they could, and immersed herself in the lives and traditions of the mundayne creatures around her. And Semadra shook her head at her sisters and quietly explained that nothing could be done unless they understood why the split had occurred in the first place.

Semadra retreated to the solitude of the mountains, a place which fit her so well that she began to resemble the landscape around her: skin the color of cold granite and hair the color of freshly fallen snow. As she sat alone in the mountains, patterns began to reveal themselves all around her. she found that she had become aware of the motivations of those around here, of the growing of things beside her, and the movements of the weather above her.

Knowing she was on the way to unifying the two planes again, Semadra set out to uncover more patterns - effortlessly using all she learned to build gates through the mountains, find trails through the desert, and learn any languages she came across. It is said that she bore children as she travelled - though who sired them remains unclear - and that all of the silver elves in existence owe their strange talents and coloring to this single ancestor.

Today's silver elves, though not a mystical sort, still hold the art and science of tinkering in a regard that is tinged with religiosity. Though none of them realistically assume that Semadra is among the living, even fewer would openly say that she no longer wanders, searching for a way to unite the two realms.

The Origin of the Athenorkos Elves

an artist's conception of the mythical Athenorkos

The red elves of the Fethil believe that their existence is proof of the magickal realm meddling in the mundayne realm's affairs. Red elves explain that the magickal realm is far older than the mundayne one, and that the deities and spirits that reside in it, bored of on another, grew increasingly curious about the mundayne realm - a place without magick. As their interest increased, the planes drifted towards each other, eventually colliding in such a way that granted magickal beings limited access to the mundayne.

They came through the plane and saw the wonders of the mundayne realm - solid ground, the firm resistance of stones, the organic patterns of nature - and marveled at it. Wishing to know more, the deities created three elves to explore the mundayne plane and report back to their creators all they saw and learned. They bestowed upon each elf powerful qualities: to Vinkenti they gave great fierceness and tenacatiy so she could explore the darkest and most dangerous places, to Semadra they gave unending curiosity and reason so she could understand and make sense of the uniquely mundayne patterns of life here, and to Athenorkos they gave the gifts of good luck and cleverness so she would be able to discover things not even the gods could conceive of.

But of course, unchecked, these qualities led the elves astray. Vinkenti went into the great forests, but grew increasingly more insular and suspicious of her sisters. Semadra grew more and more fixated on unravelling the patterns around her, and eventually her single-mindedness caused herto lose sight of her duties. Athenorkos, whose cleverness often led her into troubles, always managed to escape from harm through good fortune, and never forgot to thank the gods for her serendipity.

Though the trickiness of Athenorkos and her descendants earned red elves many enemies, every red elf knows that their cleverness and luck will protect them from harm - even as blue and silver cousins have forgotten how to protect themselves.

The Origin of the Vinkenti Elves

a portrait of Queen Svava as the mythical Vinkenti

The blue elves of the forest believe that the magickal and mundayne planes, while generally quite distinct and separate, are inextricably joined in the Erkenheld. This great forest (which was proven by Dr. Phineas Flumpert to be a major source of magick) unites Magick and Reality in a fundamental and unique way, unseen anywhere else in either plane.

The elves of the forest say that seeing the power and ragility in such an intersection, the Green Woman, a deity from the magickal realm, created three caretakers - named Vinkenti, Athenorkos, and Semadra - who were charged with protecting and cultivating the Erkenheld. The three female elves were singular in all the multiple universes - the only beings that were at once mundayne and magickal. In this sense, they were extensions of the surreal forest around them.

At first, the three elves were overcome with wonder and dutifully protected the forest. Vinkenti cared for the plants, Athenorkos helped the animals grow strong of body and spirit, and Semadra catalogued the stones and soil, measuring their various properties.

But the curiosity of the elves got the better of them. Vinkenti felt the temptation to change the plants, but resisted. Semadra, on the other hand, used her magickal gifts to shape the very stones around him - accidentally creating a magickal gate and locking herself out of the forest, leaving her and her descendants to wander the stony mountains and desert without a home. Vinkenti felt pity for her poor sister, and took up the tending of the soil and stones.

Though Vinkenti was once again tempted to overstep her bounds, she resisted. Athernorkos, on the other hand, grew too self-confident and lonely, and began changing the animals into sprites to be her companions. Although vinkenti forwned, thinking her sister to forward, she continued tending the plants and stones. One day, Athenorkos came to Vinkenti and told her to take good care of her sprites. Confused, Vinkenti asked why she should take care of them, and Athenorkos replied that she was bored and still lonely, and wanted to see the rest of the world. Athenorkos left the forest, and Vinkenti was enraged at her sister and vowed never to let her or her descendants return to the Erkenheld.

Thus, Vinkenti was left alone, abondoned by her sisters, to care for the forest in solitude. The burden proved too great and the Green Woman gave her many children to share the duties. The Green Woman granted them long, happy lives as a reward for caring for the animals and sprites and plants and soil, and when she saw her forest was finally safe, retreated into its heart - a place so mystical and so far that not even the blue elves could go. But the blue elves believe that their diligence and firece protection of the forest will be rewarded, and when the two planes finally separate at the end of time, the blue elves will be given a fully magickal existence.

Randle's Folly

artist's conception of the horrid experience endured by a survivor of Randle's Folly

In 1032 OC, the Imperial Army was in a very difficult spot: for 60-odd years, the rebels had had the upper hand by forcing the Imperial soldiers to hover close to the Erkenheld-Fethil border where they would be mercilessly picked off by the rebels guerrilla tactics. Army leaders were also feeling the impatience of the Queen and her royal advisors, who wanted to end the Border Wars as quickly as possible.

It was this mix of urgency and desperations, perhaps, that lead General Victor Alamacious Randle to undertake what had the potential to be a brilliant campaign that had the potential to change the course of the war. After capturing an elf in an attack on his encampment, Randle had some of his spies use various mean to gain valuable information from it - specifically , a hand-drawn map to the rebels' base of operations.

Randle ordered his entire battalion to enter the forest from various points meant to triangulate the rebels' camp. His plan was to rush in and take the camp with no prisoners and use it as a waystation for further exploration of the forest.

But the brilliant plan quickly turned into a terrible failure. The map hand been drawn as if well-beaten paths existed, which should have made storming the camp in such a quick and coordinated fashion easy to do, but no Imperial soldiers found anything but dense undergrowth and nearly impenetrable vegetation. The rebels presumably used the soldiers' disortented state and isolation from one another to their advantage - though no bodies were found after the failed attempt, few men stumbled out of the forest of the next few days. And few of those men were sane enough to speak coherently.

What happened to the men who survived Randle's Folly is not clear, and dependent on the trustworthiness of terrified and now paranoid soldiers. Randle's Folly marks a major defeat for Elothnin, both in terms of the material loss of soldiers and a huge drop in morale.

See Also:
Eldernoth Furbolg

The Great Green Wall

The Great Green Wall is a colloquial term given to the Erkenheld-Fethil border by Elothnin's soldiers. A few years after the quiet that followed the Years of Red Grain, the red elves emerged from the eastern edge of the Erkenheld Forest to fight with the Imperial Army once again. After a few battles two things became clear: that the red elves had allied themselves with other strange forests creatures, like gnomes and centaurs, and that the Erkenheld was completely impenetrable.

In the last 80 years, this term has been used to describe the situation the Imperial Army faces - it has to skirt the edge of the forest in order to fight with the rebels, but can never pursue the rebels when they retreat back into it.

See Also:
Randle's Folly

The Service and Loyalty Act of 953

In the 950s OC, during the peak of the Red Grain period, the Imperial Army had an unprecedented and undeniable upper hand in the Border Wars. The tactic employed by the queen following the victory at Alamodour, however, required a large number of Imperial troops to overwhelm and cut off rebel bases.

As more successes followed, it became clear that army needed to attack and contain compounds in multiple areas simultaneously - it also became clear that the Empire needed substantially more troops in order to achieve this. In a desperate move, with little input from her cabinet of advisors, Queen Lilhelndine wrote the Service and Loyalty Act of 953, which ordered that able-bodied Elothninian man was required by law to serve a term in the Imperial Army, and that punishment for refusal was death.

Very little else was explained in the document¹ - Lilhelnndine did not specify what, in particular, qualified one as 'able-bodied' or how long 'a term' was. thus, the actual implementation of the draft was left in the hands of the army itself. Informally, the rules of conscription developed over the next 50 years: any of-age man who could walk reasonably well, see out of at least one eye and use at least one arm could be drafted. There need not be a clear or regular system which conscription occurred in, instead garrisons coulc (and should) draft from the locals whenever they needed bodies. And a term tended to be the length of whatever campaign a battalion happened to be partaking in.

Due to the lack of oversight or standardizaation, the border provinces of the Fethil and Perejin were affected much more severely by the Service and Loyalty Act than the other areas of Elothnin. Generally, this is thought to be a matter of convenience, though rabble-rousers claim that it is yet nother demonstration of the classism pervsavie throughout the empire.
______________________________________________________________
¹The only other peices of information included were that spies should wear purple when not actively engaged in acquiring new information and that mush should be served for breakfast because, as she put it, "and army travels on its stomach."

Alamadour

the commemorative monument erected at the battle site by the Fethilian sculptress, Lendnisa Worthis

Alamadour was a large and well-known red elvish farming compound situated near Neerhemfeth. Perhaps the nearness of such incursions caused these particular elves (including the famed elvish leader Valiyon) to be among the fiercest fighters among the rebels.

Alamadour was destroyed in the dead of night by a surprise attack by the Imperial Army. The battle itself has become the stuff of highly unsubstantitated legend - it is claimed (sometimes by older Athenorkos elves who claimed to be survivors) that the Imperial soldiers mercilessly killed all evles they found out in the open, regardless of sex or age, and barricaded the rest in their homes to be burned alive.

The destruction of Alamadour marked the beginning of the Years of Red Grain - a period of great loss for the red elves and major victories for Queen Lilhelndine and her army. It is remembered both as a tetament to the awesome military power of Elothnin and as a symbol of the great injustices suffered by the rebels. Since around 1000 OC, when the Rebel Forces emerged from the Erkenheld Forest after the red elvish retreat at the end of the Red Grain Period, the Rebels have shouted "Remember the Alamdour!" as they run into battle with the Imperial Army.

The Years of Red Grain

one of the few Fethilian compounds that survived the Years of Red Grain

The Years of Red Grain is a term given by the Athenorkos rebels to the period between the fall of Alamadour in 937 OC and the formation of the Rebel Army roughly around 970 OC. While technically a discrete war in and of itself, the Years of Red Grain are typically thought of as a period of the Border Wars. This period is marked by a dramatic shift in the tactics of warfare, which decisively favored the Imperial Army.

For twenty years after the Burning of Neerhemfeth, the Imperial Army attempted to stave off the red elves, but took hard losses and had no definitive victories. Eventually, the troops were recalled and the queen sent out Prabil Worthis to establish diplomatic ties to the Athenorkos elves. The elves and many Elothninians (including, legend has it, Prabil Worthis himself) assumed that the change in strategy signalled the tacit defeat of the Imperial Forces. In actuality, Lilhelndine used this as an opportunity to strengthen her military forces and have her best and brightest devise a plan to counter the elves' guerrilla tactics.

Roughly a decade after the death of Worthis, Lilhelndine began a brutal but effective military campaign. Instead of trying to establish bases of operation, as they did previously, the now quite large and well-supplied Imperial Army laid siege to the elves' agricultural compounds, typically taking all their food and viciously slaughtering any of the elves they found there before warnings could be sent to neighboring compounds. If the army suspected that elves at the compound had left to make guerrilla attacks or scout out Imperial whereabouts, a contingent was left behind to kill the returning elves without mercy.

In the next 30 years, elvish compound after elvish compound fell to the Imperial soldiers. Military records from the period indicate that 114 compounds were destroyed, and it is estimated that several thousand elves were killed in the process. Elvish scholars, however, claim that these figures are unrealistically low. The end of the Red Grain period came around the early 970s, as the sightings of red elves dwindled dramatically while they fled into the Erkenheld Forest and up into the Klevarcht Mountains.

The Burning of Neerhemfeth

an artist's conception of this most auspicious occasion

Few would suspect that Neerhemfeth, a sleepy and sparsely populated hamlet in the Fethil, has played such an important role in Elothninian history.

Around the Otellian calendar year 850, right at the start of Queen Lilhelndine's reign, Elothnin was beset by a severe famine. As her subjects starved, Lilhelndine had no choice but to make incursions into the Fethil - at that time, wild and untamed except for some stray red elvish bands populating the region after the Athenorkos' First Displacement. Elothnian leaders of the time argued that the red elves were doing little more than dancing in the grain, and that given their dire situation in the way of food, it was their right to cultivate the lands.

Since there was little in the way of a formal, centralized army, Lilhelndine order bands of small, local militias to explore the Fethil and report back vital information about the red elves' whereabouts and character. Forays were made towards the elves, who met the Imperial militia men with great distrust and apprehension.

By 855, Lilhelndine had grown impatient and demanded that an outpost be established in the Fethil, north of Neerhemehind along the Quentalno river. This outpost - which was chistened Neerhemfeth - was to serve as a base for supplies and communication for further explorations into the Fethil.

Though it was a small, dreary, unassuming place, it became the site of great controversies and (many respected historians, both Elothninian and otherwise, agree) its establishment marked the begining of the Border Wars. While the red elves had tolerated Lilhelndine's curious excursions into the Fethil, the establishment of an actually Imperial town in the Fethil provoked them. Many of the red elvish leaders saw the building of Neerhemfeth as a breach of the informal negotiations they had had with Otellian during the First Displacement period.

Memorandums sent back and forth from the militia men charged with the construction of Neerhemfeth and the Queen indicate that all was going very well, with no signs of trouble from the nearby elves. It came as a great surprise when the red elves fell upon Neerhmefeth, razing it to the ground. Valiyon, a well-known red elvish leader of the area, nailed a statement, written in Athernorkos, to a post in the town square. It took sometime for the Elothninians to translate it, revealing the following message:

Because we are honorable, we are warning you. Your Otellian took our ancient lands, but we conceded as long as you stayed there at let us have the Yellow Sea¹. Though we are numerous, though we could overtake you and reclaim what was once ours through magickal means, we did not out of respected for the agreements made with your forbears. Clearly, because your lives are so short and memories so feeble, you do not remember the boundaries your king agreed to in exchange for peace with us.

These are our lands, humans - they are not yours to take. You have grown arrogant and presumptive, like greedy children. Only the Athenorkos can live in these lands. build your puny hamlet again, and we will burn it again and we will strike down any of your forlorn soldiers you are foolish and selfish enough to send here without mercy. This is your only warning, Lilhelndine.

While this declaration caused quite a stir among those men on the front lines - who had seen the red elves slipping through the waving tall grass silently, regarding them with wary glances - the threats of the red elves were not taken seriously by the queen or her cabinet, and the immediate rebuilding of Neerhemfeth was ordered. Only two days into the reconstruction, Neerhemfeth was once again burned, and this time, most of the soldiers were left dead or captured by the elves and never heard from again.

Lilhelndine ceased construction on the waystation and had the troops retreat and ordered scholars to pore over what few documents still existed from Otellian's time. After some time, the scholars come to the conclusion that no formal agreement had been reached by the Elothninian founder and the red elves. there was a long standing informal understanding, yes, but there appeared to be (on the human side of things, at least) nothing actually preventing Lilhelndine's encroachment. The queen order Neerhemfeth to rebuilt once again, and this time, ordered extra troops sent to protect it.

Over the next 40 years, Neerhemfeth was burned to the ground 6 more times by angered red elves. The Imperial Army (such as it was) made little progress into the Fethil's interior because the elves used a combination of guerilla tactics and their social magicks to seduce and/or kill humans who ventured far enough away from Neerhemfeth.
________________________________________________________________
¹This is what 'fethil', which is actually an Athenorkos term adopted into the common Tongue, is literally translated as.

Reni

Reni works as a prostitute at The Blushing Loaf, those she often helps out with the bar when it is understaffed. It comes as no surprise to newcomers of the Blushing Loaf that Reni, a fine-looking lass with a lean willowy and vibrant red hair, is a red elf (whores of her kind are highly sought after in Susselfen because of a number of unfounded assumptions about their sexual abilities). She was born and raised in Elftown, but finds the more integrated Susselfen easier to live in as a magickal person.

In general, Reni tends to lack the easygoing nature and patience that red elves tend to have, and does not suffer fools gladly - even going so far as to refuse services if a patron looks at her the wrong way. In spite of this, she has taken quite a shine to Nelhoepher and Lem, finding their antics and irrepressible enthusiasm charming.

See Also:
Arna Clinders

Graz Mayhew

Mayhew, just having finished eating some delicious fruit

Graz Mayhew is a fixture of the seedier side of Susselfen society, and has been for quite some time. Mayhew primarily earns his way by running regular card games and as a part-time bookie for the undrground, illicit Fethil sheep fights that are so popular in the city. Mayhew is respected for the high professional level of his activities and feared because of his reputation for breaking the fingers of those who owe him money - an act which occurs frequently enough that some Susselfenners refer to broken fingers of any kind as having been "Mayhewed".

It is rumored that Mayhew, as a teen and young adult, was a brilliant card shark, though no one has seen him actually play a game in ten years. Mayhew is native to Susselfen, and most likely developed these card skills in order to survive as a young orphan on the streets. His formative years seem to have left him with a deep distrust of his fellow man and a tendency to keep from revealing how clever and crafty he is unless it is absolutely necessary.

Graz Mayhew recently met the acquiantance of Bertronius Worthis at Dunkler's Tavern, an especially seedy pub where he regularly hosts a card game. Although suspicious of the lad at first, Mayhew quickly saw Bertronius' unwavering interest in Larthon Ractor as an opportunity to hunt down and "Mayhew" yet another soldier who owed him money.

The Blushing Loaf

some of the more ardent patrons attempt to entice the staff to open shop early

The Blushing Loaf is a well-respected brothel right in the heart of Susselfen. It is housed in a lavishly decorated three-story building, where the first floor serves as a bar, the second of the romps supplied by the clientele, and the third serves as an office and living quarters for Madame Ondine Weatherby.

Since the matron herself is of half-elvish/half-human descent, it's staff boasts both human and red elvish women, and its bar sells both ale and pipeherb. Thus, the clientele tends to be primarily working-class Susselfenners of the human variety with some red elvish wyafarers and minstrels mixed in.

Noting the diverse clientele and staff (and the buxom wenches and free-flowing ale), Nelhoepher and Lem have become regulars of the first floor, hoping for either some attention from the barmaids, or some information about the rebels from the elvish patrons.

See Also:
Arna Clinders
Reni

Dunkler's Tavern

Dunkler's Tavern has the distinction of being one of the most unsavory, grimy, and all-around shady establishments in Susselfen - a city that certainly has its fair share of disreputable pubs.

This particular tavern - a small, unassuming building whose clapboard sides have been weathered to a dark gray and from whose eaves a large sign in the shape of a stein hangs - is located just off an alleyway. Those who patronize it, then, generally are regulars who know where to find it or are individuals who are in search of some dark, dingy place where they can drink, gamble, and engage in other such activities with some measure of anonymity.

One such regular is Graz Mayhew, a sly and sinewy man who strikes up and uneasy and unexpected alliance with Bertronius Worthis when he reveals that Larthon Ractor sometimes frequented the tavern and owes him money.