The Elverground is the large
open area of grassland plain to be found south of
New-Santhala. Windswept, featureless, and suffering from a semi-arid
climate, the Elverground is sparley populated, yet here three major races live
in proximity to each other - the elves, the
humans and the the
halflings all have settlements here. Much
of the plain is at some considerable altitude, and while elevations vary, the
plains are at their highest altitude where they border the southern mountains
of the Rimmerins Ring. The area south of Vezash is of a much kinder climate and
altitude, and was once covered by the larger
Zeiphyrian Forests.
The Name of the Elverground itself is rather lost in the mists of time. Some
scholars say that the name refers to the fact that it is one of the few places
in Santharia where the
elves have left their forest homes and live in the open. Others, who
maintain that the elves probably haven't dwelt
on the Elverground very long, say that Elver may come from a word from the
Eyelian tribe of men, meaning
"high" or literally "over" ground. Others say that the name is from a
Styrásh word - perhaps derving
from "hevil" (hevil)
meaning "yellow", though this seems to have little direct relation to the area.
The existance of the shire of Elenveran suggests that the root "Elver" may as
well be derived from this hobbit name,
though assessing whether the plain or the shire got it's name first is proving
to be a virtually impossible task!
The Liguist Monty Reandor, a human researcher
currently working in Voldar, whose research interests
include the connections between convetnional
Styrásh and
Ylffer, says that the name
may have come from a complex chain of events as words were passed between the
Quaelhoirhim and the
Ylfferhim and then onto other
races:
"My current favourite theory is
that the name [Elverground] may have derived from the
Styrásh word Dáth'Evér (Dáth'Evér)
[meaning] a blank or featureless place. The
Ylfferhim, both in the old and
modern form of their tounge have the word Dá'elver meaning a blank canvas,
obviously coming from the Styrásh
that the tribe originally spoke and still uses. This
Ylffer word has then been
passed back to the Quaelhoirhim
and been adopted into conventional and common
Styrásh used as an expression to
denote a barren landscape, a place or a person with unused potential. While
human liguistics are certainly not my
specialty, it would not be too hard to imagine that incoming
human migrants would have heard
Quaelhoirhim merchants refering
to the area as the "Dá'elver" and assumed it to be the areas name... with time
becoming rounded and placed with the Tharian suffix "ground". This event was
probably far later, one suspects sometime after the Second Sarvonian War when
the Tharian language became more widely spoken in the midland and southern
continent."
-- From the paper: "Styrásh-Ylffer Connections- How two tribes have shaped
modern Styrásh development" (1620), published in the Santharian Journal of
Linguistics issue 50, page 21.
|
Image description: Impressions of the mostly
barren and featureless landscape.
Pic drawn by
Wren. |
Description. The
open plains of the Elverground stand at altitude begining in the southern range
of the Rimmerins Ring and stretching for some considerable distance in all
directions. Much of the plain is at some considerable altitude, and while
elevations vary, the plains are at their highest altitude where they boarder
the southern mountains of Rimmerin's Ring and generally decline toward sea
level as one moves further south toward the
Zeiphyrian Forests, west toward the Auturian
Woods. As one moves east, altitude is also lost, but much of the
Elverground's height has been eroded by the
Thaehelvil River as it cuts its way through the land toward the sea. As a
result, where the Elverground meets the Yellow River, south of Vezash, the
river is bordered by rather dramatic cliffs and a steep sided valley.
The climate predisposed the area to be mainly grassland, as rain fall is low
and erratic, meaning few trees grow on the Elverground - espcially where there
are areas of greater elvation. As a result, the Elverground forms a wind tunnel
between the sheltered valleys of Rimmerins ring and the high canopy of the
Zeiphyrian Forests. Most of year the wind
is only slightly higher than in the surrounding areas, but whenever a due east
or west wind blows across Santharia the effect, it
seems, is multiplied considerably and the winds howl across the Elverground,
often at gale force as they squeeze down this wind alley. This added wind is
often pleasantly refreshing, especially in the heat of midsummer when
temperatures in both New-Santhala and the
Zeiphyr are scorching, and quite beautiful
as it disturbs the long grasslands.
Few paths wind the way across the Elverground. The area is for the most part
barren and featureless. One can walk for days and see nothing but rolling
grasslands as far as the eye can see. As such, without a map and a familiarity
with the lay of the land, it would be all too easy to wonder off the badly worn
roads and get lost. One road runs north from Elving, to the shire of Elenveran,
nestled between the southern peaks of Rimmerins Ring, and on to
New-Santhala, and walked only by the
elves and the
hobbits. Few other roads cross the Elverground, with the
Quaelhoirhim elves prefering to
travel through the forests where posible, and the main
human routes passing either side of the
Elverground.
The Elverground is littered however with the remains of an era when more
humans dwelt on the Elverground, old deserted
paths lead to and from the
Sophronian capital, Sophronia, that now lies in ruins on the eastern edge
of the Elverground. Many other small human
villages also lie empty as their residents left either because of war or the
atrractions of first Vezash, as the
Eyelian Eagle clan capital, and then by the lure of jobs in
New-Santhala as capital of the newly united
kingdom. A few isolated farmsteads still remain, though in modern
Santharia the majority are now
elven rather than
human. Many of the ancient paths that link
these deserted villages and farmsteads are in disrepair and often end abruptly
for no apparent reason. Certain routes used by farmers are not marked at all
other than by the wear in the grass caused by generations of passing feet and
carts.
Farmsteads on the Elverground come in three types that more or less corespond
to the three races who farm it. The humans
build rustic looking stone houses or further from Vezash, timber housing -
though both of these materials must be imported. The
Quaelhoirhim elves have stolen
the idea of constructing Ophra from the
Aellenrhim, farming in enclosures,
as the traditional Aellenrhim
Seán'feárn can be built with mud and dried grasses, materials easily found on
the Elverground. The Seán'feárn are also particularly well adapted to coping
with high winds, as their round shape means they maintain less damage than
square buildings. The Elverground is the only place outside the
Bolder Forest, far to the north, where such
Ophra can be seen. The idea was probably brought to the
Quaelhoirhim by a travelling
scholar of the Aellenrhim,
possibly as early as before the First Sarvonian War.
Hobbit farmers living on the extreme south
of the shire. They live in underground houses, though their raised ceilings of
the main living quaters are recogonizable from the surface as barrel shaped
mounds in an attempt to discourage "big people" wandering over their homes. To
walk on a hobbit's roof is considered very
poor manners indeed!

Location. The
Elverground falls in the Santharian province of
Sanguia and is due south of New-Santhala and due
north of the Zeiphyrian Forests. The
Elverground is commonly said to be bordered east and west by two rivers, the
Thaehelvil and the Mashdai, commonly thought
to mark the end of the Elverground.

Map
description. Location of the Elverground grasslands in the Santharian
province of Sanguia, south of New-Santhala and north of the
Zeiphyrian Woods.
Map drawn by Artimidor. |
People. The Elverground
is one of those places where deer,
sheep and birds, each quite easily outnumber
the humans who live on the open elverground.
Vezash is the only major town on the Elverground with a population of about 600
indviduals. Other than this there are, In total, no more than nine villages and
homesteads on the Elverground, containing perhaps at most 200 individuals. Those
who do live here, however, make up one of the most multi-racial rural
communities in Santharia. The far east and west of
the area are dominated by humans. Vezash on
the far eastern fringe of the Elverground represents the old capital of the
Eagle clan of the Eyelians, an
ancient human ribe. The people who live, both
in Vezash itself and in villages around it on the eastern Elverground tend to be
from this ethnic background. The area was originally settled and belonged to
Ealgor. We know his lands encompassed all of the Elverground, what we know now
as the Vale of the Brownies and the southern foothills of the Rimmerins Ring.
The western Elverground is also populated by
humans, and their roots may well lie in the
Sophronian kingdom that once
stood here, though the western Elverground has changed hands more often and seen
more migration than any other part of the plain.
The windblown central area is probably the hardest to work and live in. This
central region belongs to the
Quaelhoirhim elves and in the north to the
hobbits of Elvenveran. Elenveran lies on the very northern edge of the
Elverground verging on the foothills of the Rimmerins Ring range. While the
shire has well defined borders just south of the Rimmerins ring, there are few
clear boundaries as to where the elven
farmlands begin, and hobbit farmlands end.
Indeed several hobbit farmers have made
their homes so far south it has become far easier to trade with the
Quaelhoirhim than their home
shire. The Quaelhoirhim have
quite an affection for the local hobbits
and would happily give the shirefolk free run of their forest, if only they were
not so prone to being eaten by wolves or
lesser drakes, or to getting lost!
As a result, hobbit parties must report to
the guardpost on the Elving road, and will be accompanied from the Elverground
into the forest.
As has been implied, most folk who live on the Elverground are farmers of one
sort or another. The grasslands are ideal grazing for large herds of
sawis sheep,
cattle, deer
and domestic goats. There are few
other resources in the area other than the rich black soil that gives a crop
yield that farmers of other areas only dream about. The region has its downsides
though. Farmers here must be of the hardy sort, all too often crops may be
flattened by the perpetual high winds,or fail because there is too little water.
Local drought is common, and local areas of the Elverground often suffer
droughts. Droughts on large scale are less common, but have occured on three
notable occasions. Elven records say that the whole Elverground suffered a three
year drought starting in 505 b.S., the next occured for a six month period
affecting only the western half of the Elverground in 50.b.S. The last and the
most well documented was the two and a half year drought in 60 a.S. The crops
failed, the grassland died, so that animal herds collapsed, fires on the dry
dying grass became common place, engulfing several villages and farmhouses. The
wind picked up soil exposed by fires and carried it long distances, creating
great duststorms on the Elverground. Dust was even found in small quantities as
far away as Elsreth up north near the Ancythrian Sea. The whole Elverground
began to resemble the Rath-Dath desert. As a result the drought is often refered
to by locals as "The Sandstorm". Starvation in isolated areas was common.
Happily the rains returned in time for the 63 a.S. harvest to be healthy and the
grassland began to repropagate.
The only other profession on the Elverground except farming is perpetuated by as
small community of elves. Living in the Shadow
of the Rimmerins Ring these elves are so called
Wind Singers, Clerics to Grothar, the
Weather God. They take advantage of the mountain heights to the north and the
Elvergrounds nature to listen to the secrets the wind holds in stock for them,
carrying the spirit of the elven High Goddess
Avá the Beautiful sung in the windy voice of
Grothar.

Coat of Arms/Sign.
Unusually for an area inside a province and not claimed by any particular ethnic
group, the Elverground, while it does not have a Coat of Arms as such, is
represented on many buildings by its most famous resident. The mythical
Tarkkin is often depicted on buildings and
gates on the Elverground. As the patron of farmers, the prescence of
Jeyriall's pet is thought to promise
fertile soils and a good growing season. Farmers not only honour
Tarkkin, but many try to attract his
presence by leaving small offerings out on winter nights - such as a saucer of
milk, a bail of hay, occasionally more extravagant gifts are left. (One cousin
of mine once told me that he had seen a great gift wrapped stone carving of
Tarkkin outside the home of one farmer. It was certainly gone in the morning,
but who claimed it is anyone's guess!)
Tarkkin is also depicted on the great stone
gates of Elving as one comes down from the Elverground into the forest along the
Elving road.
Other than Tarkkin, the Elverground is
paradise to anyone with enough spare time to coat of arms spot.
Elven enclosures fly the
Quaelhoirhim coats of arms,
suprisingly there seem to be no
Tethinrhim homesteads on the Elverground. It may be that the
Quaelhoirhim consider the plains
to belong to them, though they would probably never declare it openly. Perhaps
the Tethinrhim simply have no need
of it, or have no will to farm among the humans
who occupy the Western end of the Elverground - certainly it is difficult to
imagine any tribe of elves except the confident
and open Quaelhoirhim wanting to
farm among other races, and with their greater populous they certainly need the
reasources that the Elverground can provide. There are rumours that Elving has
an agreement with the neighbouring tribe, that the
Quaelhoirhim will supply any
goods that the Tethinrhim may want
in return for the warrior tribes' continued alliance.
Human homesteads fly coats of arms from many
origins. Some fly the colours of the
Eyelians, stating their historical roots, some display the arms of Vezash,
or Elsreth, some the Santharian colours, some
villages show all three. In the ruins the coat of arms of
Sophronia are seen, and in the
west it may still be displayed by families who can trace their families to this
people. Some larger human settlements also
have their own village coat of arms of which they are exceedingly proud -
derviving from those who first settled there or from those of some wealthy
patron perhaps.
As for the hobbits - well they aren't the
sort of folk to go flying coats of arms about. They are who they are, and
everybody knows it. There's no need for every farmer on the Elvenground to go
delcaring it now is there? But wonder into Elenveran itself, and in the town
hall is that coat of arms of the shire. Each of the smaller settlements have
their coat of arms, but all are variations on the Elvenveran shield.

Climate. The climate
predisposed the area to be mainly grassland, as rain fall is low and erratic,
and small localised droughts are common, meaning few trees grow on the
Elverground - especially where there are areas of greater elevation. As a
result, the Elverground forms a wind tunnel between the sheltered valleys of the
Rimmerins ring and the high canopy of the
Zeiphyrian Forests. The effects of this wind tunneling are felt most in the
midpart of the Elverground, more or less exactly due north of Elving, where the
wind is being pushed through the Elverground's narrowest point. It is escaping
to the north of this mid point however, into the
hobbit shire of Elvenveran and the wind
drops, perhaps because of greater altitude, or perhaps because the towering
Rimmerins Ring to the north gives some shelter.

Flora. Though the
Elverground is often refered to as barren, this belies the true biodiversity of
the plains. While they are vastly featureless, and dry, a vast quantity of
different plants and animals make a highly successful living on the Elverground.
Vegetation forms the very basis of this ecosystem, and the plains are unique in
Santharia, very different from the steppelands of
the more northerly part of the country, and from the
Narfost Plain.
The vegetation is domintated by the grasses; predominantly the
alth'ho grass and
wean grass, which do very well in the
windy plains, even when the rains are poor.
Loriv is rare but can be found on the Elverground, as can
Quepurs' love,
yahrle, and at higher elevation the
skyweed. At certain times of the year,
especially at earliest spring and late summer, the Elverground blooms into a
carpet of colour as plants like Erissa's
tears, wild roses as well as their
domestic cousins grow over large areas. The
injèrá'yránía or
sun rose is common on the
Elverground, thriving in the sun and not minding the wind much, though it avoids
the higher altitude of the northern ground.
However, farmers in places have cleared this natural fauna to grow crops. All
the traditional crops and vegetables are grown here, but the Elverground is most
famous, certainly in human circles for
producing large quantities of kaouje which
can be shipped to Saloh or New-Santhala for further processing. It is a
profitable crop for farmers as it does well on the Elverground naturally, and
can be sold easily for a relatively high price. Grazing of animals has also
taken its toll on the flora of the Elverground. Where elk graze the tips of
grasses, sheep herds chew right to the soil.
While the damage is in no way permenent, grazing grounds can be easily
identified.

Fauna. In these modern
times, it is domestic animals you are most likely to see:
sheep,
goats and
cattle are the normal sight. Though the
occasional capricus can be seen, these
have never dwelt on the Elverground in any great numbers. The main residents of
the plain were until recent times mainly elk and steppe
deer.
Top of the food chain is represented by the
shingar, whose number have increased in recent years. While the
shingar could not tackle a full grown elk
or capricus, they easily take
sheep, and young calves. However, they are
very shy of humans and tend not to make too
much of a nuicanse of themselves.

Resources. The
region is fairly isolated and open. Resources are limited. The open grasslands
are superb pasture, and the climate permitting, the deep black soils are very
fertile agricultural land for crops. The wind is also being harnessed. Two
windmills exist on the Elverground. One near the
hobbit shire and the other about a days
ride south west. The power generated as the wind is tunneled through the
Elverground is perfect to turn all kinds of machinery, though here, for the time
being at least the mills are only used for turning millstones.

Myth/Lore. There are
few myths about how the Elverground came to be. In fact,
humans will tell you that the Elverground is
unchanging and has remained unchanged since the creation of the world. They find
it difficult to imagine that the Elverground was ever any other way, though they
do know that the Zeiphyr was once far
larger than it is now, and covered the far southeastern part ot the Elverground
and beyond.
Among elves, however, there is a tale that the
plain was once a meadow, a garden made by the Gods for peoples of all races to
live in. The dwarves are said to have refused
it, prefering the great mountains far to the west that
Urtengor had provided, but
men, elves
and halflings dwelt happily withing its
boundaries. But then came the War of
the Chosen, the elves left for their
forests, and who knows what became of the men!
When the war was over a new breed of men had arrived, the Beastmasters. They, so
the elves say, angered
Grothar, by worshipping the Sky as father and the Land as
mother, when it was Grothar who directed the elements.
Grothar, though not a
cruel God, is changeable and must be constantly entertained. So he sent drought,
but the Windsingers appealed to Grothar, and he relented on the condition that
the Windsingers would approach the Eyelians, and he sent a constant wind to
remind people that he must be worshipped. While much of this story is disagreed
with by the humans in these parts, many now believe in
Grothar, if not the rest
of the twelve. There is a simple reason for this: the climate is so
unpredictable, that the fertility of the land is an obsession! Any God or
creature that could maintain the harvest and thus the stability of the areas
economy is considered worth worshipping. Thus, you will find many worship
Grothar,
Jeyriall,
Tarkkin, though some worship the land, and the sky and the sun as
well - just to be safe!
There are a myriad of minor 'gods', if such a word can be used, to be found on
the Elverground. Predominantly among humans, who believe they can be appealed to
through magical incantations and such. There is much talk of Weather Fairies,
benevolant, but sometimes restless spirits, who can be attracted by scattering
rose petals over freshly ploughed earth. This will ensure the Weather Faires are
kind to the earth during the year. There is also much talk of Bes - a strange
shadowy figure, not quite a god - more like Tarkkin in that he is a mythical
figure of no particular origin. There are no specific stories about him, he is
simply known as a being who is resposible for the fertility for those who dwell
on the eEverground. Where exactly he comes from is something of a mystery. Bss
himself is a Grotsque Monkey like figure, often with his tounge out. Small
figurines are often made of pebbles, or ocassionally grass or straw, which are
thought to ensure fertility if kept in the home of those who work the lands.
By far the most common ritual on the Elverground is the practice of making
prayers to Grothar by writing requests on light-coloured strips of fabric,
then tying them on the branches of willows. The
willows must be specially
planted and well cared for, as the Elverground is far from their natural
habitat. As the rain and wind washes out the ink, the sun bleaches the colours,
and the wind ripples and snaps at the streamers, the petitions are brought to
Grothar’s attention. Farmers also often carve runes for
"só avásh" (wind) on
their gateposts on their land, and the festivals of
Grothar are well obseved in
this part of the Land.
Jeyriall and
Tarkkin are also very well thought of and worshipped on the
Elverground by people of all races. Deep sided goblets are often kept in houses
to honour the Goddess, and her festivals are well observed.
Tarkkin is often offered
small gifts and such, though many elves say the best gift that can be offered to
Tarkkin is to stay off the Elverground at night and allow him to do his work.

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|
ca. 10000 b.S. |
Settlement of the
Eyelians
from Nybelmar on the
Santharian coast
Eaglor leads his clan, the Eagle clan, to live in a territory that includes
the Elverground. His capital, if that is what you would call it, since it
was most likely a large hardened mud hut, is named Zash. This is rumoured to
have become the current Santharian town of
Vezash. |
ca. 11000
-10875 b.S. |
Gaia's Journey
to King's Hollow
Gaia, leader of the Sophronian tribe, leads
the tribe to the plains of Truoor. Her youngest daughter,
Elsreth, leaves the tribe.
Tired of moving and fighting she and those of the tribe who share her feelings head east and found a small
village with Elsreth's name.
Gaia and her tribe fight with Saban II and his dark
elves as they pass the Paelelon forest. Gaia is wounded mortally during one of those battles and
her daughter Aiclia, the "Ethereal One",
takes the rest of the tribe to the valley "King's
Hollow". Here at last the
Sophronians think that they found a place for them,
but after decades of living there alas they are again
despised and rejected by the human
tribes who settle there and so the Sophronians move
again. Aiclia dies young but her daughter Xylonia, "Woman of the Forest", though
young herself - but very wise - leads the tribe to the
Elverground. |
10665 b.S. |
Splitting of the
Sophronian
tribe
Some of the women find acceptance with the
Eyelians. |
10540 b.S. |
Eldon's Founding of
Sophronia
Eldon, the empire builder, starts to build Sophronia. He dies, not realizing
his dream but he does form the Sophronian Guard. The Elverground trade route
is established between Sophronia and the
Quaelhoirhim elves. |
10220 b.S. |
The Fortification of
Sophronia
Etain's son Ames continues on building relations and also builds the first
walls and fortifications for the village. He also explores and founds a
small village called Tarannoar on the Gulf of
Mayara, which should once develop to an important central base for
human sea operations during SW II. Ames
has no son but a daughter. |
|
806 b.S.
-804 b.S. |
Enlargement of the
Elverground
Large parts of the Zeiphyr are
destroyed first by war and flames, then by flooding. This eventually leads
to the seperation of the Quallian and the
extension of the forest south and west. Elverground is a main base for
human and
Quaelhoirhim troops. While
the war is mobile elswhere it remains very much a war of attrition in the
Elverground. Deep trenches and scars can be found on the southern fringes of
the Elverground. |
? b.S. |
Fall of the City of Sophronia |
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Information
provided by
Wren
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