The San-Kesh Desert

the endless rolling dunes of the San-Kesh

The San-Kesh is a vast desert to the north of Elothnin which is currently home to the Elvo-Felintark Empire. Though it is considered impassable and deadly by Elothninians, the felintarks and tinker elves have established extensive trade routes through it, both south into Elothnin and north into the Unknown Territories.

Unlike the Brovnajian Steppes and Dark Lands, which it borders, there appears to be a powerful vein of magic flowing through the San-Kesh, as evidenced by the existence of several magical creatures. Though information about these creatures is still spotty, specimens of what appear to be desert variants of sprites have been obtained from felintark traders. Autopsies have revealed the existence of Flumpert nodes, similar to those found in sprites from the Erkenheld, and observations of living specimens suggest that the desert sprites have a similar level of psuedo-sentience and language as the sprites with which we are familiar.

Though less substantial and largely uncorroborated, recent reports suggest that dragons may exist in the San-Kesh region. Long considered the stuff of myths, dragons have been described as very real creatures by felintark diplomats. Conversations among the tinker elves in Neerhemhind's Elftown suggest that dragons, if they exist, possess strange magical properties that are largely unfamiliar to the magical beings of the Pan-Elothninian world. However, these reports and conversations should be taken with a grain of salt as no physical proof of the existence of dragons has yet turned up.

Perhaps the most definitive proof of the San-Kesh's underlying magical nature lies with the felintarks themselves. The felintarks have long been classified as magic-influenced mundane beings, suggesting that though they cannot use magic they did evolve in a magical area. In the case of the felintarks, scholars (drawing both on modern biology and the traditional creation stories of the felintarks) theorize that the humans most likely populated the San-Kesh by migrating out of the Dark Lands. Upon populating the desert, the humans quickly domesticated a species of large panthers, whom they used for travel, hunting, and protection from predators. Eventually, the felintarks magically evolved sensory perception close to that of their panther companions. The panthers still exist, and are often used as mounts for traveling messengers. The riders are said to have deep, almost spiritual connections to the animals.

Klevarcht Mountains

The Klevarcht mountains run along the northern edge of Elothnin and the Erkenheld Forest. The range is full of sharp, jutting peaks and craggy cliffs, giving it an ominous and foreboding appearance. The mountains are treacherously steep and virtually impossible to navigate, rendering them impassable by conventional, mundane means. However, it is rumored that magical passes created and used by elves and dwarves do exist, and that it is possible to move freely through the mountains if one knows how to access them.

The Klevarcht Mountains contain a source of magic as deep and powerfully ancient as the Erkenheld Forest. According to dwarves, a magic-born mundane race native to the region, the magic of the mountains is of the elemental variety and manifests primarily in stone and metal. Indeed, the dwarves have established a flourishing trade of magical jewelry with Elothninians, especially in the court at Neerhemhind. Klevracht-made blades of the dwarves are also said to possess strange and mystical powers, as if each blade has a distinct (and sometimes quite temperamental) personality.

Brovnajian Steppes

The region to the north of the Klevarcht mountains and west of the Dark Lands is known as the Brovnajian Steppes. The terrain of the steppes reflects their positioning between these two regions: they are neither sharply mountainous nor as open and flat, but tend to be rolling and hilly.

Much of what is known about the Brovnajian Steppes comes from Elothininian relations with giants - indeed, the term Brovnajian is derived from the word giants use to refer to their race in their own language. The race of giants, along with several other giant variants of animals, originated in the steppes, and most giants still reside in their ancestral homeland. The steppes are arable but easily exhausted, which means each plot of farmland can support only a handful of giants. Subsequently, giants have formed a semi-nomadic agricultural society of small, loosely aligned, tribes which usually stake out a huge area and move from section to section of it as their soil becomes depleted. The massive size of Brovnajian animals and beings is thought to be a result of the extraordinarily low population density required by such farming techniques: giants and their livestock thought to adhere to the principles of goldfish, where a more spacious tank begets impressively larger specimens.

Curiously, no native magical creatures have ever been discovered in the region, suggesting that the evolution of massive creatures in this area occurred through mundayne means. The existence of magic has been confirmed in the northen parts of the San-Kesh desert, but the lack of it in either the Brovnajian Steppes or the Dark Lands has caused magicologists to speculate that the Klevarcht Mountains somehow block the magical currents in the Erkenheld Forest and Elothnin from traveling northward.

The Dark Lands

The Dark Lands, so-called in Elothnin for their mysterious and ominous reputation, lie North of that country and the Erkenheld Forest, separated by the Klevarcht Mountains. It is not surprising that the Dark Lands have garnered this sinister air, given that no state claims dominion over them, those who dwell there are not the most-sociable of individuals, and the overall landscape is harsh and unforgiving.

The fantastic rock formations of the western Dark Lands

Upon crossing the Klevarcht Mountains, the landscape transitions rapidly into an arid, hilly terrain. The western Dark Lands are an extremely dry area, verging on desert, characterized by otherworldly rock formations crafted by the strong winds that sweep over the bare rock faces. Hardly any plant life exists naturally in these areas; though some brave souls have attempted to eke out crops of hardy cultivars through elaborate irrigation schemes and sheer stubborness.

The slightly more habitable eastern Dark Lands

The eastern reaches of the Dark Lands receive more rainfall than the west, sustaining some grasses, scrubby shrubs, and thick patches of prickers. Here, the landscape is dominated by rolling hills, sweeping plateaus, and lofty vistas. One can often see for miles, creating a very intimidating impression of the Dark Lands' size for the weary traveler.

The inhabitants of the Dark Lands are uniformly wild and independent. They swear no allegiances to recognized powers, and are primarily concerned with their own survival in the face of an inhospitable environment. The entire area is known for its pervasive lawlessness, where all disputes must be resolved by the parties involved, and the use of violence is commonplace. Although it is undoubtedly a peculiar region, the Dark Lands are not known for particularly high levels of magic, or large populations of magical creatures; rather, the bulk of its inhabitants are mundayne.

See Also:
The Nybbas

The Great Erkenheld Forest

The Erkenheld Forest is a large, dense forest bordering Elothnin on its western edge. It extends along the whole side of the country, from the mountains to the coastline, and covers the countryside as the land transitions from mountains, to rolling hills, to plains, to the sea. At this time, no one is sure how wide the forest is, since no Elothninian has ever traveled through it from one side to the other and returned to tell the tale. The measurements we do have, however, suggest that the forest is at least half as wide as Elothnin itself.

The forest extends into Elothnin proper in some places along the border, especially in the south, and it is from these areas that we have gleaned most of our knowledge about this fascinating and forbidding place. Those in the south who work in the forest as loggers describe it as a dark and mysterious place, full of magic and strange creatures. They tell tales of meeting with centaurs and being cruelly tricked by woodland sprites on their way home. They also describe the interior of the forest as dense and nearly unnavigable, and filled with an eerie bluish fog.

The Erkenheld Forest is also unique in that it does not seem to belong to a specific nation, and exists on its own, seemingly self-governed. It is known that centaurs, gnomes, and elves all live in the forest, and perhaps they have carved it up amongst themselves. Currently, the forest houses the rebel army (composed of such magical and magicked-up creatures), which is presently at war with Elothnin.

See also:
Imperial Army
Randle's Folly
The Great Green Way
The Sprite Queen
The Shrine in the Forest

The Land of Elothnin

Many thanks must be given to the right-honorable Van Parker for his masterful cartographic rendering of the Land of Elothnin and surrounding geography.

Elothnin is a large country lying to the southwest of the San-Kesh Desert. It is bordered by the vast Erkenheld Forest to the West, the Klevarcht Mountains and Dark Lands to the North and East, and the Sea to the South.

Provinces of Elothnin:
The country of Elothnin is divided into five provinces: the Fethil, Helletiern, Perejin, Ostrassa and Shabarcht. Each of these large, administrative districts has its own particular regional flavor, history and characteristics.

The Fethil, Elothnin's northernmost province, acts as the empire's breadbasket, producing vast quantities of grain that eventually ends up as bread in all corners of the land. Despite its agricultural prosperity, the Fethil has lived under the shadow of a protracted war with the strange beasts of the north for many decades.

To the south and west of the Fethil, lies Perejin. Perejin's economy relies primarily on its proximity to the great Erkenheld Forest, from which it harvests great quantities of lumber and other arboreal goods. Perejin is considered by many in Elothnin as a strange and wild place because queer beasties and magical creatures are as commonplace as house cats and dustmen. One encounters gnomes and even the odd centaur trading their curious wares in Perejin's border towns.

Elothin's southernmost province, Ostrassa, has strong ties to the ocean and its bounties. Within Ostrassa's borders lies the mysterious Pokelocken, a marshy bog home to a host of strange, unsettling creatures. Also of note is Ostrassa's capital, Opleneer, a large, coastal city famed for its abundance of silothil: indeed, one can barely turn a corner in the great city without tumbling into a fountain!

Helletiern is in the heart of Elothnin, bounded by both the Great Land Sea and Neerhemhind, which fulfills the dual role as the national capital of Elothnin and the provincial seat of Helletiern. Helletiern is the most populous of Elothnin's regions, and acts as the country's financial and political base: any Elothninian wishing to make his fortune as a 'great person' must at some point find his way to Helletiern. In addition, Eremineer and Heletiern City are also major population centers.

Shabarcht, Elothnin's easternmost province bordering both the awe-inspiring, snowcapped peaks of the Klevarcht Mountains and the ocean to the east. The energies of its citizens are primarily devoted to the metallurgical arts, crafting the bulk of Elothnin's weapons and other metallic goods. The province's capital, Tresleneer, reflects this focus on all things stone and iron, with a skyline dominated by stark, impressive buildings made from the riches of Shabarcht's rocky soil. The dwarvish occupants of the mountains are rarely known to visit their Elothninian neighbors, but relations between the two peoples are generally peaceful.

Elothnin’s History
Elothnin's history is long and colorful. Although records on the subject of the country's origins are somewhat scant, scholars generally believe that Elothnin was founded approximately a millenium ago by the King Otellian. Otellian established a dynasty which remains unbroken to this day, with Queen Lilhelndine a direct descendant.

The early period of Elothninian history (1000-750 years ago) was based primarily in Helletiern. These early Elothninians led humble lives, subsisting mainly on farming and fishing in the land sea. Otellian unified the area under his rule, and used his unparalleled leadership and military abilities to expand his control beyond the shores of the Great Land Sea.

The middle period of Elothnin's history (750-500 years ago) saw expansion into Ostrassa, where both ports and the nation's first institutions of higher learning were created. Elothnin developed its first truly major cities during these years, including Neerhemhind and Opleneer, both of which continue to play a key role in the empire.

During the late period of Elothninian history (500-200 years ago) the nation took on many of the characteristics we associate with it today, including a vibrant spectrum of artistic and cultural expression. Under King Gimmelthorpe (Lilhelndine's immediate successor and uncle), Elothnin expanded its control westward into what is now Perejin. Gimmelthorpe inaugurated what has also been referred to the imperial age of Elothnin, greatly expanding the country's size.

Modern Elothninian history (200 years ago-present), commonly referred to as the Lilheldinian era after its only ruler, has seen continued conflict on the northern reaches of the empire. Early in Lilhelndine's rule, a group of hardscrabble farmers under the leadership of one Prabil Worthis helped to bring the Fethil under the control of the Elothninian Empire.

Elothnin’s Culture and Society
Elothninian society has a sharp divide between 'haves' and 'have-nots,' which are perhaps best demonstrated in the strict adherence to the nation's ancient traditions of etiquette by wealthy socialites and members of the court. These elaborate rituals, which represent the accumulated manners of hundreds of years, are often both arcane and contradictory making it difficult for all but the relatively narrow section of the populace that can afford to send their offspring to the most prestigious of academies to adhere to their strange prescriptions.

In terms of religion, the people of Elothnin have a predominantly monotheistic outlook, though there is room theologically for minor spirits and deities. The focus of Elothninian spirituality is on a single creator god, who is believed to have first populated the world with magickal beings. However, the creator quickly became dissatisfied with the arrogant behavior of his new magickal subjects, and, after reevaluating what he desired from his sentient products, he created the mundayne. Thus, Elothninians have always looked down upon magickal beings, as untrustworthy and disloyal subjects to their god. In addition, there exists a certain amount of regional tension between more agrarian areas like the Fethil and Perejin, and the more highly developed, metropolitan regions like Helletiern. This is due to the latter's tendency towards secularism and a belief in humanity's own divine intelligence, while the former maintains that they have remained closer to the creator's original intent.

Technologically speaking, Elothnin has moved leaps and bounds from its humble, rustic beginnings. Major cities like Neerhemhind, Tresleneer, and Dandleneer are hotbeds of innovation and development, where new methods of production and inventions are continually being generated. Tresleneer, and, indeed, the entirety of Shabarcht is known for its proliferation of the metallurgical arts: new ways of producing stronger, more effective weapons, tools, and other goods are constantly emerging here. In the provinces of Helletiern and Ostrassa the philosophical arts have reached their highest achievements. Cities in these regions are known for their vast libraries and universities, where scholars and students toil away to uncover the mysterious workings of the world, both magickal and mundayne.

Elothnin has a rich artistic tradition, that ranges from silothil to music and drama. Silothil, of course, is the country's quintessential art form, representatives of which can be found in almost any city in the land. Most large towns and all cities are home to a theatre with its own company of players, that perform the popular works of the day. In addition, itinerant bards and performers, often satyrs and troupes of elves, wander from town to town peddling their productions of a few stock plays and songs, telling stories and fortunes. As a general rule, literature in Elothnin centers around almanacs, national and world histories, though there is also a decent trade in novels and other works of fiction (many well-to-do Elothninians consider fiction to be a waste of otherwise useful mental faculties: the Worthis clan being a notable exception to this trend).

See also:
Culture of Elothnin
Imperial Army
Rebel Army
Jarthen Furblog
Bertronius Worthis