Sárvannen

The Sárvannen is a group of elves that inhabits the great marshlands in the east of the Principality of Clifia.   As a marsh-dwelling people, the Sárvannen are known for their reedcraft, ability to navigate the swamps, and marsh-magic. To the humans of Clifia, the Sárvannen are considered no better than unwashed barbarians, an opinion that is not helped in the eyes of the Clifian nobles by the Sárvannen making their clothing from treated reeds, marsh-silk, and leather. They are often viewed as ragged by humans.    

Culture & Society

  They are unrivalled at navigating the marsh, travelling through it on reed-skiffs light enough to glide across shallow water, giving them an excellent option for getting away from pursuers but also a way to travel over waters that are too shallow for regular boats and too muddy to walk.   Sárvannen build their villages on stilts made out of old trees, where they have used reed to build platforms between the stilts, giving the Sárvannen a slightly bouncy walk when they walk on solid ground. In areas where the marsh is more open, the Sárvannen have built their homes on anchored islands made out of floating soil and marsh vegetation.   Music instruments are created by wood that has been raised from the marsh waters and then left to dry for years before being carved into instruments that are, by outsiders, described as making remarkably haunting tones. These tones are likewise probably the source of some of the legends told by people walking into the marshland and telling about hearing haunting sounds coming from the mist.   Despite the Sárvannen being looked down upon by the humans of Clifia, their most treasured trading product is the marsh-silk. Its production is a secret, but it's known that there are several different ways to make it, each different method coming from different clans and villages.   Most of their metal tools are created by using bog iron, which results in a poorer quality iron, but it's what most have access to. Some clans trade their marsh-silk for higher-quality iron, but the result is that this higher-quality iron is typically used to create more ceremonial weapons.  

Connections to the outside

They are generally looked down on by the humans in Clifian, one reason is their strange magic, often described as disturbing and dangerous. Likewise, due to the strange environment that is the marshland, where many human settlers have tried to settle only to fail, and the Sárvannens' ability to not only live there but also mostly triving, which has resulted in rumours of Sárvannens having cursed the lands, making it impossible for outsiders to settle.   Burials in the peat bogs have also led to disturbing stories that are often blown out of proportion by those who see them.