The wood-elves hold a distinction of being a long-lived and reclusive mortal race, shoring up in the western valley of the Middle World sometime during the Second Age, before the migration of the Celestials. The kingdom's name comes from the Majirahan people, who took a long time to explore west and found the verdant forests and jungles on the other side of the Sacanno Mountains mesmerizing. Tahirah means "The Jeweled Land."
Because the areas west of the mountains receive abundant rainfall, the region is dense with vegetation and herbs. The wood-elves are the only elven people in the Middle Kingdom, since the legendary High Elven peoples left the world at the close of the second age, taking with them great knowledge of magic and history when the old kingdoms dissolved into the smaller regions of the modern age.
GEOGRAPHY
Getting to Tahirah from the western lands geenrally means crossing the Sacanno Mountains through the Rigun Pass, a great tunnel hewn by the dwarves of Garm 700 years ago. One could travel via the north, a treacherous route that involves navigating the wild northlands and coming south through the Gurigashon Marsh, infested by Bheka raiders, and is dangerously close to the dangerous Lost Khandar, where the Naga kingdom was pushed back at the close of the second age.
Cairona is the gateway city between the kingdoms of Majirah and Tahirah, a trading hub, and a defense point against monstrous invaders, notably the frog-like Bheka and the Sirrusha, cunning lizardfolk. The city is protected by a militia of Majirahan and Tahirahan mercenaries, but it's come under the command of Captain Nakamoto Genpachi, who was sent by the eastern Empire of Taishan to bolster defenses and deal with threats from a rising group called the Haritacondra.
From Cairona a road goes south to Mushun, the last cosmopolitan hub, which sits at the junction of the Shingalah Forest and the Erieth Wetlands. This marsh is tended by Majirahan priests, who turn the elven Al'shams herb into cooling-salve, a protective lotion from the desert heat. Deep in the wetlands is the old shrine of Althea, which once housed the Priestesses of Jujara, the Old Nature God, but fell two hundred years ago. Visiting it is taboo.
The main road continues westward through edge of the Shingalah Forest, which contains the ruins of cities that have fallen to the Sirrusha in the last decades. It is also home to wild beasts which most mundane travelers cannot face. The road joins Mushun with Kali. Kali serves as an introduction to the elven cities, with its tree-house quarters, fisheries, and livestocks. The elves are fond of raising fowl (chickens, peacocks, and ducks), and small herbivores (goats).
A road travels north to the town of Elora, notable for woodcrafts and fisheries, and producing elven guardsmen. Elora is on the border of the lands lost to Sirrusha invaders, and so is usually in a state of martial law. Further north is the once great city of Belathia, which the elves abandoned fifty years ago when the Sirrusha lizard people invaded from Lost Khandar.
Within the Fey al'In Woods, the capital, Tahirah, called by the elves Alandia, is a wonder of forest craftsmanship and ancient magic. The wood elves have lived here close to 900 years, and the city is a pinnacle of their love of nature and architecture. In older parts of the city, buildings are still carved with the visages of woodland Spirits and nature gods, and newer parts are often bolstered by magic to give the city an ethereal, wondrous feel.
Traveling south through the woods leads to Lake Alaris and the Feypool, an old magical shrine that connects the elven community to the Spirit (Fey) lands. The shrine is the main temple to the goddess Ishtar.
CLOTHING AND CULTURE
The wood elves wear high decorative kimono, tied back when they travel over long distances. They favor bright colors in city life--blues, reds, and golds, and their travel clothes are often green or grey. White is reserved for religious sects. They often wear their hair in Asian-style knots or up-dos, to avoid it getting caught in branches and the like. While most townsfolk will cut their hair, spiritual mendicants see it as a transgression against Nature, and often sport long hair and beards, which they will bind for travel.
They highly value music in the form of string instruments and woodwinds, feeling these mimic most the aerial spirits that first nurtured the elves when they were born in the Middleworld. Their ceremonies involve great costumes and colorful masks, often praising the Natural Order and stories of the Nature Spirits rather than those of Celestials.
Consider the cultures of Korea and rural China for imagery of the wood-elf people.
RELIGION
The elves claim to be the children of Ishtar, the Star Maiden. Ishtar is one of the seven daughters of the Jade Emperor of the Celestial Court, and she fell in love and married the hero Shen after his battle with Tiamat. Jealous of Shen's bride and accomplishments, the God of the Underworld, Shisano, took Ishtar to the Underworld.
Shen began a long quest to find his missing wife, and eventually faced off with Shisano in a great duel. However, Shen could not defeat a god who was the embodiment of death, and was slain by Shisano, who claimed the power to take the immortal life-force of the Celestials. Ishtar, upon seeing her husband die, began weeping in sorrow. This funereal sorrow drove Shisano to the brink of compassion, and he lifted Ishtar to the starry heavens, where her tears fell upon the earth. Her tears became the first elves, born from the sorrow of the Celestials, which gave them a long lifespan.
The elven religion views Ishtar as the matriarch of its beliefs, their spiritual mother, and see their Kings and Queens as descendents of her bloodline. Festivals revolve around when Ishtar's constellation (The Weeping Bride) can be seen in the sky, as well as lunar cycles. These celebrations often involve elaborate costumes and magical displays.
Other embodiments of their religion are the nature Spirits of the Fey al'In woods, who first helped elves harness magic and taught them the joys of the wild land. Many of these spirits could still be found in pockets of the wild lands, and so the elves produced the first Josetsu, the Druids who became stewards of the nature Spirits, the land, and the people of the Middle World.
In some circles, Shisano is revered, for his actions led to the birth of the elves, and priests who follow him pay him homage for their long lifespan.
POLITICS
The wood-elves are governed by a monarch who can trace his or her lineage back to the first elves born of Ishtar. The kingdom is currently ruled by the beautiful queen Shahrzad, called the Mahd-e Ola, the Divine Mother, or literally “Sublime Cradle of Life.”
Shahrzad came into power upon the death of her husband, the disliked King Aldamir, who was seen as overly patriotic and self-serving. Legend has it that twenty years ago Shahrzad wooed him with stories and magically forced him to abdicate the throne to her. While some in the kingdom see the Mahd-e Ola as an usurper of the throne, she is liked by most of the people, who feel a strong connection to the queen and their homeland.
The Tahirahan army is composed of highly-trained soldiers called the Jeweled Guard (Tahijura), and is known for being rather ruthless and cunning, and loyal to the Mahd-e Ola to a fault. The elven army is often dispatched north to quell uprisings by lizardfolk and other monsters of Lost Khandar, the wildlands to the north.
ECONOMY
Tahirahan Elves are notable for woodcrafts such as fine archery supplies, staves, and rods, and they are the only region capable of producing (and recharging) magical staves and wands. The wood-elves are not too fond of heavy armor, however, but rely on the dwarves of Garm for metals necessary to produce their elven blades.
Tahirah is rich with herbs and medicines, having top-notch healing houses and clerical services. The Fey al’In Woods and areas around Lake Alaris are the only source of the Al’shams herb, which is processed to make cooling salves and lotions for the desert climates west of the Saccanos. Because of this, the kingdom of Majirah tries to maintain the best of terms with Tahirah and considers the elves a true—albeit distant—ally.
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