Zilvra

Hidden deep beneath the earth, the Zilvrans are an elvish people who dwell in vast underground cities carved into stalagmites and stalactites, their spires connected by shimmering canals and echoing stone bridges. Once god-fearing mystics, the Zilvrans were among the most zealous participants in the Banishment, their Elder Houses casting down divine avatars with an elegance born of centuries of discipline and subtlety. In the aftermath, they turned their reverence toward nature itself—especially the Silken Tree, a vast and ancient organism now seen as protector and living symbol of the Underdark.   Zilvran society is steeped in hierarchy and tradition. At the top are the Elder Houses, fifteen great families—six of them founding lines—who claim the right to rule by blood and ancient deed. The Tessai, chosen from among them, must first undergo Nicusha, a spiritual exile in the surface world, to gain wisdom before ruling. Beneath them are scholars, artisans, and merchants who strive for favor, while most Zilvrans live in tightly organized communal dwellings, growing food through aquaponics and fungi farming or laboring in the mines and forges of their sprawling cities. Social mobility is rare, reserved for exceptional service, political marriages, or scandalous intrigue.   Their capital, Gordivas, is a place of mythic beauty and political decay—its spires etched with glowing glasswork and its courts shrouded in ritual, secrets, and silence. It is here that the Elder Houses make and break the future of Zilvra. To the north, the bustling metropolis of Dolanas stands as a rare exception to Zilvran exclusivity: a shared city where Zilvran elves and underdark dwarves—longtime rivals and occasional allies—coexist in uneasy cooperation. Dolanas thrives as a hub of trade, innovation, and cultural exchange, where subterranean traditions are reshaped by proximity and necessity.   Zilvrans value discretion, beauty, and power in equal measure. Music, oration, and the art of political theater dominate their leisure and public life. Bioluminescent pigments adorn faces and textiles, turning bodies and garments into glowing testaments of rank, mood, and mood. Their architecture mirrors their values—both delicate and grandiose, weaving organic forms and glowing glass into a shadowy elegance few surface dwellers could imagine.   While technically self-sufficient, Zilvra trades gems, rare alchemical goods, spidersilk, and shimmering arcane glass with surface nations like Tamynia and Menestia. In exchange, they import grains, textiles, and materials difficult to cultivate underground. Their most esoteric exports, however, are intellectual—arcane theories and alchemical methods cultivated in the secrecy of the Underdark.   Still, beneath the surface grandeur, there are fractures. Some whisper of a slow decay, magical or natural, spreading unseen through their world. Others murmur of unrest among the lowborn, or of corrupted Night Bloom distilling strange mutations. But Zilvrans endure—as they always have—with a poised smile, a concealed blade, and silken chains hidden in every word.