Elven Realms

Elves have continuously occupied the continent of Casiphon since time immemorial (perhaps even before Casiphon was created in the great sundering).  Their realms are usually located in a wide valley with a river, woodlands and rolling hills.  Elven realms often seem timeless, because elves do not change their environment by exploiting natural resources; instead, elves have a deep and meaningful connection with the country of their realm and live in harmony with the natural world.  Unusual birds and beasts are found in elven realms, which often have a more mild climate than the surrounding environs.  It is said that to an individual entering an elven realm, time seems to slow and all senses are heightened; when leaving, the outside world seems drab, dull and lifeless.  All those who live for a time in the realms will yearn to return.   An elven realm usually has a few central locations where there is a meeting-place and where there grow the unique Tryphaetha-trees.  These trees, which the elves shape and graft through a semi-supernatural process known as shaping, produce all sorts of food as well as their trunks forming enormous communal dwellings and other sorts of structures through gradual guided growth.  Tryphaetha-trees that grow outside of these specific places are stunted and unimpressive things.  Apart from these central locations, the inhabitants of elven realms wander and live among the numerous dells, groves, grottoes and hillscapes, each filled with new wonders.   At the outer limits of the realm there are usually trackless hills, inhospitable forests or impenetrable swamps, filled with deadly obstacles and fierce creatures, though there are secret and carefully hidden safe passages.  Elves often conduct hunts to exterminate foreign creatures that enter deeper into the realm, and do not allow outsiders to settle in their territory except in the most exceptional circumstances.   Elves rarely feel the need to construct buildings out of stone, timber or artificial substances, and do not defend their land with fortifications or castles.  In most circumstances, the Tryphaetha-trees provide bountiful food and the mild climate rarely requires more shelter than nature provides.