Eastern Elven Territories

The Eastern Elven Territories are a large nation in the east of Tilen, ruled and inhabited mainly by local elves. It grew out of the remains of the Darhemian Empire, and thanks to its surviving technology has become a magical centre of the continent.   History   Having been oppressed by the Darhemian Empire for centuries, the desert elves - ever a patient people - assisted the Western Alliance during the Darhemian War with great vigour, putting into action plans that had been in place for decades. The sabotaging of major command centres and loss of industrial workforce significantly hampered the Darhemians' ability to coordinate and reinforce their armies, rendering it unable to launch an offensive. After the war, to prevent the rise of another similar power should another nation take control of the desert, it was decided that the desert elves, the only ones who truly knew the horrors of such technology, would be given control of the majority of the Great Eastern Desert. The far north and south of the region were left unclaimed due to the dangerous wildlife, though the former would eventually be claimed by the Empire of Hin-Sung.   A group of settlers from the Southern Elves, primarily high elves, were invited to Esidell, the new capital chosen for its surviving technology, to aid in the establishment of a new government. As a result, the government of the Eastern Elves became decentralised, similar to the Southern Elves'. Lacking such a civil-minded population, however, this resulted in the formation of large slums in Esidell and elsewhere due to a refugee crisis, most notably an area under Esidell's floating island known as 'the Shadows', as well the bustling black market and near-autonomy of Tae Dendei.   During the Second Arcane War, the Eastern Elves allied with the Baronies of Everflame, though with their only other borders being with the neutral Empire of Hin-Sung, they were never directly invaded, though major cities' teleportation circles were deactivated as a precautionary measure. When Runecraft was rediscovered, the nation's arcanists proved crucial in putting it into use while Candlekeep was incapacitated by a Litherian invasion. The Eastern Elves, unlike most nations, received an early warning of the Armageddon Ritual from the Baronies of Everflame, and were able to marshal a magical defence that mitigated most of its effects. Its delayed arrival to the east has led many to speculate that the Ritual was performed or at least targeted somewhere towards the west coast of Tilen, though it is impossible to tell for certain.   Surviving the Ritual has allowed the nation to flourish in the aftermath of the war, as demand for magic-users and recovered technology increases. Esidell is quickly growing to surpass even the Great University as the magical capital of the world, and strides continue to be made in the reverse-engineering of Darhemian technology, though some controversy has arisen in its study since a Darhemian arcanotech-based device was used to destroy Old Daneska.   Very recently, the Eastern Elven city of Tae Dendei was taken over by a major crime syndicate, Hulon d'Grezze. Order was restored when one of the city's old council, Derri, along with a kalashtar named Euan Draegard overthrew the syndicate's boss, Cenne d'Grezze, Draegard taking his position and Derri resuming civilian governance. There are concerns, however, that Draegard may have undue influence over Derri, and that she has an agenda of her own. The Eastern Elven government has not yet made a pronouncement on the current state of affairs, though they condemned Cenne d'Grezze during his brief stint in power. The future of the city, whether part of the nation or not, remains uncertain.   Culture   The desert elves, much like other elves, have a deep respect for nature, and are a reserved and secretive people. Due to their environment, however, they are more practical than their southern cousins, displaying little of their haughtiness towards other races. They also share an affinity for magic, including and especially arcanotechnology, and a revulsion to authority caused in large part by their experiences under the Darhemian Empire. Their government is decentralised and their people are largely left to rule themselves, a strategy that has worked well with elven populations but left the nation unable to handle crises and crime in more diverse areas.   Population   The nation is primarily inhabited by desert elves, along with a significant portion of high and drow elves. Tae Dendei, a trade hub, contains members of almost every species, and colonies of humans and kalashtar can be found in the desert. A few reclusive Darhemian humans remained in the ruins of their cities after the war, but have largely died out in the centuries since. The desert elves claim not to know how their people came to the desert, or their history under the Darhemians, and a taboo exists around such subjects, though it has not kept researchers from wild speculation.   Economy   The Eastern Elven economy, initially supported almost entirely by export of scavenged Darhemian technology, has now diversified into more mundane magical goods as well as rare minerals and animal products. Being in a desert, it imports large quantities of food, though efforts have been made to divert rivers into barren areas and enable self-sufficient agriculture. A thriving black market, enabled thanks to the nation's lax government, has sprung up in Tae Dendei and to a lesser degree Silversands, trafficking magical and luxury goods as well as food and water during the Second Arcane War   Climate and Geography   With the exception of Esidell, kept temperate thanks to Darhemian technology, the nation's territory is all desert, experiencing hot days and freezing nights. Rainfall is rare, though wizards are employed to artificially bolster it when needed. Several large cave networks, inhabited by sentient or semisentient species, run under the desert, and there are few mountains or rivers. Cities are often built from stone due to the lack of trees and cost of importing wood.