Post by Head Moderator on Jan 28, 2012 4:31:52 GMT -5
The Major Types of Elves
*Rumor has it that there are other races of elves tucked away in these lands. Ones not common and near forgotten; The Moon Elves otherwise known as Silver Elves, as well as Snow Elves.
Aquatic (Sea Elves) - Dwells beneath the waters.
Avariel (Winged Elves) - Prefers the higher elevations.
Gray - Very serious, noble and reclusive.
High - Most commonly seen in other areas.
Wood - Wild, temperamental and can be quite savage.
Drow - Subterranean elves.
"Words are like arrows, once they leave your lips they never come back." - Elvish Saying
ITURI FOREST
The Ituri Forest covers most of Kir'viir, and is broken up into smaller woods and areas.
The Singing Wood
This area of forest is different; bits of half-heard melodies float enticingly through the air as you wander through. The sound of a babbling brook has a distinct musical quality about it. This wooded areas is as beautiful to the ears as some places are to the eyes – a tapestry of sound that weaves in and out of hearing, pulsing with a life of its own. No one knows how this place came to be; perhaps the fey god of music makes his home here beneath the woodchime trees.
The following are a mere sampling of the enchanting flora, fauna and locales that a lucky traveler might encounter within the Singing Wood. Traveler beware; there is danger here as well as beauty, and discordant sounds may attract unwanted attention.
"Humming" Birds: Like normal humming birds, but with a peacock-like tail. These tiny beauties flit around the forest, attracted to anything unusual, especially outsiders. One alone will hum a charming ditty; two will harmonize and three or more will form an impromptu chorale. Like the finest sopranos, their soft, agile voices weave together in the upper registers, and are capable of extending melodies past the hearing range of humans.
Drumbirds: Woodpecker-like birds that have no natural call. Instead, the males drum on old, hollow trees to attract prospective mates from far and wide. The more intricate the drum beat, the more attractive the male is to female drummer birds.
Pipe Reeds: Hollow reeds that grow at the fringes of ponds and other bodies of calm water. When the wind passes over them, it will produce a gentle piping sound, much like a pan flute. Tend to grow in harmonic clusters.
Tinkling Streams: These appear to be an ordinary forest stream, except that it produces a distinct, tinkling melody that loops over several seconds. The melody heard will vary depending on which part of the stream you are near. Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that every rock, pebble and stone in the stream bed is arranged just so. If a stone is removed and cast back into the water, the stream will sweep it along until it comes to rest in a perfect spot, subtly changing the tune thereafter.
Woodchimes: Hardwood trees with an unusual growth pattern. Small, tubular branches are suspended from the main limbs with thin vines, clustered around the heavy seed pods. These seed pods grow in pairs on the same vine; the male pod is wider and flatter, and grows at the bottom of the vine in order to catch passing breezes. The female pod is denser and hard to crack. It must be struck against the wooden chime-branches many times before it cracks, releasing the seed.
Fiddlebugs: A type of beetle, the females resemble violins. Males woo the females by using their legs to play a melody upon the back of the female's "strings". These melodies are hauntingly beautiful.
GLANDUR
Glandur is a unique city, where the harbor, the walls, the houses and all the buildings are made of very softly glowing rock. Ships have no trouble finding it in the worst of weathers, and with no darkness to be found anywhere in the streets crime by night is reduced. It still exists of course but is no higher then the amount of crime by day. Shutters keep out the light when one wishes to sleep.
WYRDUSK
VERYAN
Elandyr's Tear
KIVESSIN
AL DOREI
SAEL
Deep within the Ituri Forest, Sael is a long lane of well-spaced cottages. The road is dotted with watchposts - small wooden archers' towers outfitted with road-blocking equipment that are usually left unmanned. Only a few cross-streets lead between these cottages to other cottages in the woods and those paths are more trails than alleys.
Toward the center of Sael, the great walled courtyard of Battle Court leads to the only part of the town that city folk think of as a town, a grouping of fifty or so residences, taverns, shops, a temple, and one official building.
MAER
TAEM
TRAYLOR
DANYD
NEVENWOOD
CAANA
THYLA
RIMION
With the destruction of Arhylle with the creation of the Scarred Lands, Rimion became the capital and largest city in Kir'viir. It is a seacoast elven tree-city.
Autumnwood
Near Rimion, within Ituri Forest, is the Autumnwood, a forest that has many colors save for green. Reds, golds, silvers, whites, and other colors abound, even the rare black leafed tree can be found if an explorer looks long enough. Taking seeds and cones from this forest and planting them elsewhere produces only the normal types of trees, as it is simply something magical about the area that does this to the trees. Bringing in other seeds into the Autumnwood produces a normal tree, but any offspring of that tree changes into something magnificently different than it's parent tree.
To prevent it being massively exploited and chopped down to make furniture and axe handles, the hint of elven and fey magic in the very wood has some mild magic effects. Axes dull twice as fast, cut trees grow back quickly, paths twist and turn without notice, and the rest of a magical forest’s bag of non-lethal tricks. There are elven druids and rangers, and a few treants as well that protect the forest.
Silver Needle PineA majestic and noble tree, the Silver needle Pine has needles that have a glossy, almost metallic silver color. The wood is similarly pale. Silver pine wood is valued for making wooden handles for tools, eating ware, and small carvings.
Redleaf Elm
The color of blood in cool weather, the flash of fire at sunset, the blush of a lover’s cheeks, all of these colors can be found on a Redleaf Elm. Like a traditional elm, the wood is of middling quality and it produces no edible fruit. However, the leaves can be pulped and soaked in a certain solutions to produce a valuable red dye.
Gold Oak
A lord of the trees, golden oaks grow to great size and have leaves that range from bright yellow to metallic gold. There is no actual gold in the leaves, merely the color. The golden acorns have a bright metallic sheen, as does any bread made from acorn flour.
Black Poplar
Rare among trees, the black poplar unfurls leaves the color of bruises and midnight. The wood is similarly dark and is often known as shadeoak, nightbeam, and other colorful names. The tree follows the movement of the moon, rather than the sun.
White Ash
These trees have stark white leaves, and pale white trunks.
Royal Hickory
The Royal Hickory's leaves are a deep purple, and the hickory nuts that fall from them are pale purple, the nut inside is that same royal purple as the leaves. It is extremely useful to make a beautiful purple dye.
