5E

RIOTMINDS
SEED OF VANIRS
6
SEED OF VANIRS
From that first misty dawn when the ancient trees rose up There is no truth when time has travelled so far from the
through the dirt and those first heavy drops of rain nourished root of it all that none who were there remain to tell the events,
the ground, the Elves have lived in Soj. It was here that they there is only memory handed down from one ear to another,
landed, blades of light spearing down in bright unbroken being reshaped and reimagined though the telling, though
beams alongside their gods, and seeded the first forests. common to most of these legends is the belief that the Elves
Slowly, over many years, a new world began to take shape descended from the cold darkness of space and like spears of
beneath their feet. starlight, they struck the bottom of the world and settled.
Then as now, Soj was an inhospitable and isolated place, What role they played within the universe before their
made up of islands surrounded by raging, storm-tossed seas descent, or why they chose this location, remains a mystery,
and towering cliff walls that rise hundreds of fathoms out even to the skalds amongst their number.
of the sea. The land is blanketed by forests so lush and so They did not make the Great Descent alone.
deep that even the ancient Darkwoods pale in comparison At their side, their creators, the Vanirs, fell.
to the enchanted forests of Soj. Save for Daalheim, which is The Vanirs were 900 in number.
inhabited by Stormlandic descendants, and a scattering of Elves were like children to these ancient ones, and
Thronelandic settlements in Edras, there are few Humans looked to them as gods, for there was nothing they could
who have willingly chosen to settle in Soj. Why would they? not accomplish.
The wilderness here is the most savage in all of Trudvang. In their honour the Elves built a city for each and every one.
The Elves by necessity lead a nomadic existence, moving They had the power to fashion existence out of
from place to place so as not to scar the landscape with nothingness. With the help of the Elves, they created and
the marks of their existence. They are the guardians of this discovered the limitless possibilities of their new world,
world, nurturing the land they have chosen to call home. shaping it to their needs and desires.
Their lives are dedicated to protecting this place. It is about Then, in those first long days, the Elves were immortal
keeping nature in balance. Anything that might cause an like the Vanirs themselves, but that would change with the
imbalance is a threat. cruelty and suffering of the Long Storm, the war against
Unsurprisingly, for a race as ancient and venerable the Dragons. For the first time in their existence the Elves
as these, Soj is not the only Elven home. The Seeds of endured pain and were forced to witness their brothers and
the Vanirs have dwelt in this world long before Humans. sisters die while the Vanirs seemed unconcerned by the
During countless millennia Elven groups have colonised dragon's dark fires and wild magic.
many of the forests across the continent, including the great But of course they were not unconcerned. They were
Darkwoods. Theirs is a tragic history, as more Elven tribes afraid, though they did not know what fear was. They
have been extinguished through the millennia-mostly by retreated to their cities and in silence they watched.
wurm fire-than are present today. But Elves are nothing if The Elves waged battle after battle, suffering unimaginable
not incredibly resilient. They are survivors who find shelter losses as they fought for the very soul of the world they had
in the most isolated and wildest of places, where most fear fashioned, and all the while the Vanirs remained silent and
to tread, including the Great Ice Plains. hidden in the shadows.
When the Long Storm finally abated the Elves stood
ABOUT ELVES victorious, though they had paid the highest price for their
victory.
The history of the Elves is both rich and fascinating, There was no joy in triumph, only more pain as the Vanirs
stretching far back beyond the hours when man first cried chose to leave Trudvang rather than remain.
out in the despair of birth to a time before, when there was The Elves that had settled in this new world had no
nothing. All species have their own myths and legends, and opportunity to follow and were abandoned by their gods.
as time marches on those myths spin in different ways, Whether it was the war itself or the loss of their gods,
offering different morals or mysteries. The long-lived Elves something changed and death found its way into Soj, with
are no exception. There are a great many tales recounting the Elves no longer immortal. Death was remorseless and
how they came to Trudvang and, more tantalisingly, why. The patient. It thinned the lifelines out generation by generation.
variations may be slight, but those differences can be telling. Where before these fair folks had lived for thousands and

7
thousands of years, they began to
age and wither, dying on the vine.
Only a score of Elves retained
any semblance of immortality,
and those were amongst the
kings and queens of old, albeit
long-lived none of those mighty
rulers truly had the gift, as even
the great Wellithelli finally died.
The number of immortal Elves
dwindled through the millennia
and, as pain and violent death were
experienced by Elven kind, the
birth of an immortal scion became
a rare event even among royal
bloodlines. In time Immortality
became almost unimaginable.
All but wiped out between the war
with the Dragons and the betrayal
of their own gods, the Elves fled
to the wilderness, turning feral in
ways that they had not been before.
They abandoned their cities to ruin,
preferring the safety of the deep
forests and the misty mountains
rather than risk being seen and
hunted again. During those dark
days the survivors separated into
two distinct branches, the dark,
Korpikalli and the bright, Illmalaini.
Humans took to calling them
"Dusk Elves" and "Mist Elves" or,
more commonly, "Dark Elves" and
"Star Elves", though as the ages past
and the creatures became more and
more elusive, many forgot they were
ever related, and more still doubted
they still dwelled in Trudvang, and
doubted they ever had.
The Dark Elves raised their
fists at the stars, vowing never to
summon the gods, and cursing
the ancestors who had chosen to
settle in this broken land. They
vowed never to bend the knee to
another, and harbour no loyalty to
any outside their clans, choosing to
steer clear of the petty squabbles of
mankind. They remain aloof to this
day, trusting no one.

8
 The Star Elves, however, never
ceased searching for their lost gods.
They believe that everything they
have suffered is nothing more than
a trial for them to pass, a travail that
must be endured, and despite no
longer being able to use the abilities
they acquired from the Vanirs
believe that there will come a time
when the children and their gods
are reunited, the trials finally over.
There is a third Elven lineage,
mostly ignored by both Humans
and Dwarves, these are the Frost
Elves, who retreated to the icy
north, far beyond the mountains.
They have been mostly forgotten
by Trudvang's inhabitants, but their
culture remains an integral part of
the Elven history of this world.
Only a few Elves survive from
the age when the Vanirs wandered
Trudvang, and of those few that
do, most have fallen into a peculiar
trance-like state and cannot be
reached or communicated with,
save through dreams and visions.
Even then, what passes for
communion between the dreamer
and the dream is fleeting and
unreliable at best. It is as though
their ancient minds are slowly
returning to the stuff of the stars
that made them, leaving the husk of
their earthly remains behind to rot.
Many tribes have taken homes
in the seclusion of the forests of
Trudvang, sheltering against the
rise of humanity all around them
and the constant changes of the
world they shaped from nothing,
but many more reside even now on
Soj. They cannot bring themselves
to leave this place; it was here they
landed on the Shores of Silion's
beaches that first morning, and
it was also here they waged the
fiercest battles against Dragons,
here where their brethren fell. How
could they ever leave?

9
10
ILLMALAINI The first children carry great wisdom and knowledge
within them, their roots reaching all the way back to the
Every race has their own enduring sagas. These tales are seeding of the first trees and beyond to a time where there
treasures that are passed down by word of mouth through was simply the land, and that was in need of shaping.
the generations, offering an insight into the world that was. They are a peaceful folk, shy of strangers and suspicious
For the Illmalaini, one of the most powerful stories revolves of the ways of men, which they view as destructive in the
around how they came to seek out the towering trees of the extreme. So much of what made their forefathers' work
Valtoris forest. enchanting and wondrous has been lost with the rise
Wellithelli, the first High King or Sojlakoita, lies at of mankind, tearing up the land to build their houses of
the heart of the myth. Ancient stories refer to him as stone. But that does not mean they are afraid. On the
“Vainemojna”, which may be an old title or archaic name that contrary, the Illmalaini are proud and haughty souls,
has come to lose its meaning nowadays, while "Wellithelli" convinced of their superiority over the other inhabitants
or "Wellithel" are the most common forms of the High of Trudvang.
King's name heard in the songs of both Elves and Humans. Humans have been known to call them "Star Elves"
Why the Elves started using the new name instead of the amongst other names, due in no little part to their extensive
ancient one is a mystery bound to remain unsolved as the knowledge of the celestial spheres. The Illmalaini are also
few who might know are long gone. It is not unreasonable referred to in some of the most ancient sagas of both the
thought, to assume that it has something to do with the Thronelanders and Ealdfolks as "Mist Elves", which draws
complicated relationship the Elves have with their past, upon their special relationship to the mists between the
and the conflicting desires of simultaneously forgetting and worlds. These poetic names are, of course, little more than
remembering the grace from where they fall. poor human variants of ancient Elven words, but they serve
So the story goes, with Wellithelli’s long life approaching to reflect how the existence of the Illmalaini is torn between
its last breath, he bade his children to bear him up to the this world and another, better, place which they lost.
highest branches of the greatest of all the trees of Trudvang Few enclaves of Illmalaini chose to settle in the deep
so that he might die gazing up at the stars he had once forests of Trudvang, while most of the Star Elves live in
called home. It is not uncommon for those who feel lost to Soj. Most of these Illmalaini live nomadic lifestyles, just
yearn to return home, so they carried him on their backs to like their Korpikalli and Talviakka brethren. Even so, the
the highest heights, and held him as his last breath froze on few remaining, permanent Elven settlements in Soj belong
his lips. Such was the emotion the old king felt confronted to the Illmalaini, although the only real city is Valkalainen,
by the enormity of what his people had sacrificed, he wept while all the others would be considered either villages or
into death, those final few tears flowing down his cheeks townships. Even northwards, in the forests of Trudvang
filled with more than just the old king's grief. where they live, like Vrosslan in Thoorkaal, the Havma
Three tears fell, two from his left eye, one from his right. Forest in Visenthia or the Bilefield in northern Westmark,
As the life left Wellithelli, those teardrops began to slowly they tend to build a few permanent, semi-permanent
crystallise, hardening until they became three precious or seasonal settlements, usually well-hidden within the
gemstones. Their multifaceted faces glistened with haunting treetops, in the spots where the starry skies can be better
beauty, seeming to ache with the emptiness of all that had been seen during night-time.
lost, which caused the children who gathered up those stones to The Illmalaini consider themselves to be the tradition
believe them to be filled with the essence of the old king. keepers and hold sacred the ancient wisdoms of the star
They radiated a fierce heat against the skin, echoing the children, preserving the old ways. Few of these Elves
enchantment that was bound to them. choose a life outside of the mighty forests where they feel
These Tears were treasures beyond compare. most connected to the land.
Few of the Illmalaini wanted to leave the place where Perhaps unsurprisingly, their society is driven by the
Wellithelli himself chose to die, and instead settled close search for the ultimate answer: they crave understanding.
to that treetop within the fabled forest Valtoris, with Why did the gods leave them after they shed their blood for
Valkalainen, the ancient stargate in its deepest heart. their struggle? Was it in punishment, as some believe, or a
Grátandiviður, the site of Wellithelli's death, has since trial as others think? Or is it something more sinister?
become a pilgrimage destination for young Elves seeking to Some of their number believe they have found remnants
know themselves, and is amongst the most sacred groves in of darker forces, the traces of ancient magic, that was used
all of the great forests. to banish the gods from Trudvang.

11
 The sadness is, no one knows the truth, and neither do they KORPIKALLI
know where to look for the answers, so perhaps it is natural
that they clutch at straws in the hope of understanding After the Long Storm, the displaced Korpikalli tribes
where there is none, clinging to their traditions, although searched desperately for shelter, falling back to the safety
their meanings are long gone. of the impenetrable forest of Ellikka, in that wild region
The Illmalaini honour the ancient pacts, guard forgotten which is nowadays known as the Darkwoods, east of the
temples and protect demonic knowledge from falling into Great Iron Tooth. They have remained within those ancient
the hands of those who would wish evil upon Trudvang, woodlands as their guardians to this day, though only a
thus upholding the traditions their gods bestowed upon fraction of the original Korpikalli clans remain in Eliikka,
them. But the fight and the search are difficult, and they and many of their settlements, including entire cities, have
struggle in the face of the most daunting foe of all, the been reclaimed by the forest and are overgrown with moss
enemy of memories and dreams: Time. and other choking vegetation. It is only a matter of time
Star Elves know this adversary well. before the mighty woods devour these abandoned cities
They see their civilisation crumbling day by long day as once and forever.
it succumbs to the ravages of time, and the new people The Korpikalli tribes have not disappeared.
and their kingdoms. It is natural, of course. Nothing The cities they founded after their northern migration
can live forever. Not once it yields its immortality. Death at the end of the Age of Dreams may be gone, but they
becomes the most natural enemy of all. But, for a race that themselves have adapted to a wilder, nomadic way of life.
was once undying, this creeping entropy is nothing shy of The Dark Elves now inhabit the whole range of the
a nightmare. Darkwoods, spanning the entire breadth of the continent,
Of Illmalaini and Korpikalli, the Star Elves have the while others of their number have migrated to southern
friendliest contacts with other people, occasionally trading woodlands, like the Copperwoods in the Stormlands, or
and sharing stories with Humans or, more rarely, with Orkhelm in Thoorkaal.
Dwarves. This interaction, as rare as it is, has shaped the The Korpikalli fiercely reject the sedentary life and, even
image of Elves in Trudvang. Even if friendly, these contacts if they claim specific woodlands as their domains, they move
remain rare occurrences, with the Star Elves doing all their encampments within those forests as the seasons
within their power to keep their communities hidden from pass, always respecting the natural cycles of the wildwoods
Human eyes, as they seek to protect their secrets and the they inhabit. They may have fixed cemeteries and holy sites,
precious relics of the old times from thieving hands. but they never build cities or permanent settlements near
Physically, the Illmalaini can more often than not be them.
distinguished from their kin by their long, white or blond They have learned the lessons of the past, but know
hair, their hauntingly pale complexions and smooth, often enough to grasp the fundamental truth: they have to find
expressionless, faces. They betray little in the way of their own way to fight Time, the eternal enemy of the Elves.
emotion, though someone gifted with the sight may see a Even if always shorter than Humans, Korpikalli are taller
flicker of the more intense ones reflected in their eyes. and more robust than their Illmalaini kin, as their bodies
Some few Illmalaini bear traces of the mythic Norim are shaped by a life in the wilderness.
Elves' black hair, but it is a most unusual mutation borne by Their physical appearance is different, too, as most of the
only a handful in every generation. clans have raven black hair, and impenetrably dark-almost
In terms of clothing most wear long, light jackets, coats black-eyes, that look like smouldering pits set against their
or cloaks, and adorn themselves with beautiful silver and pale white skin. The fires deep inside these elf kin burn
gold necklaces, and other intricately fashioned jewellery with hatred for the dark forces and every threat that vile
replete with motifs from either the starry sky or the tall magic represents. Around their eyes, they bear the deep cut
trees. Their hoods are sewn from a marvellous fabric wrinkles of lives hard lived. Their complexion is naturally
called "shimmerweave". It is claimed by some that the pale, though they seem to lack the unnatural radiance of the
material is woven from the silk of a silver butterfly's larva Star Elves, having darker hues to their skin tones.
and the strands of web harvested from the nests of giant They clothe themselves in the furs skinned from the
spiders. Only the Elves themselves know the truth to these beasts they hunt, protect themselves with ornate leather
claims, but there is no denying that their garments do armour, and often wear copper jewellery and talismans
indeed shimmer eerily in the light of the stars on a clear fashioned from the bones of powerful enemies they have
night. slain. When they hunt, their skin is smeared in complex

12
13
swirls and patterns meant to conjure the images of battle It is not an unreasonable belief when one considers the
from the black and grey ash used to daub them. essential truth that all of the Elven tribes were, so many
This dark aspect is reflected in how they choose to live millennia ago, indeed the same.
their lives, too. The Korpikalli fled the ancient high-borne Even after the Great Betrayal and the schism that sundered
settlements of their kin, preferring a life in the shadows, the tribes, their differences were more philosophical than
and to survive, learned the secrets of the wildlands and the any sort of physiognomic or physical ones. That might have
mysteries of the deep forests. Always moving, they soon, been true once, but time and the world have had their way
came to appreciate an unexpected benefit of their secluded with the Elves now. The Talviakka are creatures of their
lifestyle; the shelter of the wildwoods offered a hiding place harsh environment, with blackened bluish skin from the
from their enemies. These "Dark Elves", or "Dusk Elves", blistering cold and permanent frost burns that have turned
as they are known to some, are the deep forests' wild their hair a rime-silver. There are whispers of others who
guardians, and can often be found in Darkwoods, where have gone underground, and forsaken forever the sun and
they are embroiled in a never-ending battle with the Trolls, the sky. Any talk of those naturally leads to curious fact
Giants and Dragons' fury for the heart of Trudvang. that their skin tone has lost any pigment, leaving them
While the clans did not actively turn their backs on the looking freakish after so many generations beneath the ice.
traditions of their kin, they no longer care about when or Unsurprisingly, the Talviakka have developed a powerful
even whether the gods would return. Instead of looking resistance to the cold, which is far greater than anything
to the skies with yearning, they have learned to live in the their southern wildwood-dwelling kin possess.
present. Like other Elves, the Talviakka live close to nature
Unlike the Star Elves, Korpikalli have embraced nature's and exist in harmony with their surroundings, it is only
relentless efforts to replace the gods that left them. They that these surroundings bear little resemblance to the
derive their power from a tightly woven bond with forest wildwoods of Soj or the Darkwoods of the Korpikalli. But,
and her creatures. They are a humble race, though flint hard like the Korpikalli, the Talviakka are nomadic by nature,
and prone to ruthless aggression, making them markedly though to a much greater extent than their cousins, and
different from the Illmalaini. depend on their hunting skills to survive. The extreme
There is a notion that only good can banish evil, but that climes necessitate that they follow the migratory animals
is a simplistic view of the world that the Korpikalli no longer across the ice plains if they are to eat.
hold. Many moons ago they came to realise that expediency It is not unreasonable to believe that alongside the
is more powerful than some nebulous concept like 'good' dreaded hrimtursir, the Talviakka are likely the only
and even as they knew the perpetrators of evil had no place intelligent beings to have explored the great white expanses
in the world, there was nothing wrong with darker deeds of the ice plains and beyond. They are certainly every bit as
being done to achieve their banishment. To that end, they deadly as those scavengers.
unleashed the bestial hand, believing it the only way to Talviakka Elves hold the snow itself as sacred and as
defeat the dark forces, even though it means bringing their such have more than a thousand words for it - the sacred
servants to life, one by one. And as an enemy, these Dark nature of the snow comes from the fact it falls from the
Elves are amongst the most feared; in the deepest shadows sky and must therefore be a part of the stars visible in the
of the Darkwoods even the Giants creep with light steps firmament of the night, meaning that it has to be a part of
for fear of hearing the bellow of the Korpikalli battle horn the gods themselves.
echoing through the trees. Indeed, one of the fundamental reasons for heading so
far north was the clarity of the night sky and the seeming
TALVIAKKA nearness of the stars when viewed from the ice plains, so
while the Korpilkalli chose to turn their backs on the gods
The Talviakka, or Frost Elves, are both rare and reclusive who had turned their backs on them, and the Illmalaini opted
folk. They seldom venture south of the Jarngand mountains, to wait where they had been left, like a loyal pet awaiting the
preferring the solitude of the ice plains. Indeed, sightings are return of its master, the Talviakka took matters into their
so uncommon many simply refuse to believe the Talviakka own hands, travelling towards the peculiar burning skies
exist, at least not as some separate race, but rather argue of the northern lights, believing that the gods helped those
these Elves are nothing more remarkable than Korpikalli who helped themselves.
who have chosen to live in a harsh realm and shy away from Many say the Talviakka are as cold as the climes where they
encounters with living souls wherever possible. make their home, and where their kin might seek to sow new

14
15
seeds and see the world flourish, they are more interested The white smile hasn’t been seen since, until now, where it
in a return to what was. Indeed, this desire to return is best was witnessed by a Talviakka hunting party. It is considered
seen within the representation of the "kuolinnaamio", a the gravest of celestial omens by their seers, and cause of
hauntingly beautiful mask the nomadic folk carry with them great concern.
at all times, setting up a new shrine in each new encampment, The white smile lingered in the night sky for five days.
where they offer up their prayers not to the Vanirs in the sky Talviakka tribes met under smile on the fifth day to decide
but rather to the mask, which they remember as the face a course of action, with nobles, hunters, seers and more
of their gods, cast and given as a gift so that they might at odds as to what to do. A few of their number were so
never forget the face of their fathers. The kuolinnaamio is frightened by it they advocated an exodus, urging their
adorned with haunting motifs and ancient symbols that defy fellow Elves to abandon the ice once and for all, as they had
interpretation. The metal the mask is cast from is, perhaps, abandoned First Home all those years before. Emissaries
the most interesting thing about it, as it is not of this world. were sent to Soj and the Darkwoods, though the messengers
Indeed, the Talviakka believe it is fashioned from the ore of never returned so it is unknown if news of the white smile’s
a dead star, because, under the strange luminescence of the return ever made it to the other lineages.
northern lights, the face of the kuolinnaamio glows with its They fear we are entering a new Age. The Age of Sorrow.
own echoes of that weird celestial light.
One fundamental difference between the Talviakka and OTHER ELVEN LINEAGES
the Illmalaini is that the Frost Elves cannot abide the music Beyond the three established lineages, there are other
of the world and shy away from instruments that seek to groups of Elves mentioned in the ancient songs, though
replicate the great song or add to it. In music they believe their existence today is far from assured. Given how Elven
they hear the voices of the Vanirs who left them, the notes history has stretched so thin throughout the millennia, it is
indecipherable messages meant to lead them to the stars, not impossible that other bloodlines have sprung from the
so where the Illmalaini hear joy they hear only mocking same Elven root, only falter and fail, dying out long ago.
pain as they are deaf to the meanings hidden within those The most famous of these other lines are the Norim Elves,
enchanting songs. It can make them appear both austere descendants of the “Nor’Imalein” or “the First”, those Elves
and unforgiving as there is little in the way of joy around the who were closest to the Vanirs.
lives they chose to live out on the ice. They were both powerful and wise, and abandoned
It is not uncommon for the few folk who know them to the Vanirs even before Savenpaha, when the Gods left
mockingly call the Talviakka "sniles", after the Stormlandic Trudvang.
word for snow), though some resort to rhymes, given the The reasons behind this early secession remain unknown,
nature of their name. but one common thread runs though all of the surviving
Of course, one question that must be asked in all of this sagas that mention these Elves; their hearts were filled with
is why now? Why are they emerging after all these years of wanderlust and an immense curiosity that saw them explore
solitude? The fact that there is any talk of the Frost Elves Trudvang as they sought to sate their lust for knowledge.
is testimony to the fact that they have relinquished some of Since immortal blood ran stronger in their veins, Norim
that legendary isolation and begun to venture south, surely? Elves retained the millennia-long lifespans which was
Actually, the truth is they have been walking the forests denied to other bloodlines, as well as many of the godly
south of the Jarngand for centuries - ever since the Great powers, including an unparalleled talent for weaving Vitner.
Thaw threatened to flood the Ice Plains and drown their It is believed the Norim Elves were marked with raven-
homes - but it is only now that others are beginning to dark hair or, more rarely, a deep-red hair, coupled with deep
mark their presence, seeing signs of their passage where brown, magnetic, eyes. However, despite the similarities, they
before there had been none, stumbling across relics lost were quite unlike the dark Korpikalli, whose hard bodies are
or abandoned in their attempts at secrecy, and not least, shaped by the trials of their wild existence. Their pale skins
because more of them have made the journey than ever possess the same unnatural radiance of the Illmalaini.
before in the wake of the White Smile's return. The Norim Elves were considerably taller than any of the
When the peculiar white fire first burned in the winter Elvenkin found in Trudvang today, and if the sagas are to be
skies above the Great Ice Plains, a great white smile believed, possessed a harmony missing in their descendants
stretching from horizon to horizon, it presaged two that imbued the creatures with an almost magical aura. The
of the most traumatic events in Talviakka history; the Norim possessed both grace and a natural charisma far
abandonment of the First Home and the end of the Thaw. beyond the social awkwardness of today’s Elvenkin.

16
 It is believed the Norim migrated towards the most HALF-ELVES
northern parts of Trudvang where they founded the mythic
city of Palliolanta. Here they flourished, isolated from the There was a time when the mixed offspring of Humans and
rest of the world for aeons, but as with all things, the peace Elves was more common than it is today. Indeed, there was
and prosperity cannot hold. It is the natural of all life to a time it was considered to be of high lineage.
crumble. Their civilisation was doomed by the coming of The long lives of ancient Thronelander and Majnjordian
an evil known now as the Snow Queen, which was born kings, for example, derive from ancestral inter-breading,
into their royal bloodline. Their demise was not swift, nor with the humans having married immortal Elven brides.
was it clean, but in time their entire kingdom was destroyed In modern times, half-Elves still exist, though their status
and the vast majority of Norim Elves were murdered by depends very much on context-- where did they grow up,
wild Bastjurs, and those that survived were turned into a what is their parentage. Their racial background is no
perverted race of monstruous slaves—which, in the darkest guarantee of respect or even trust. . Dark-haired Barbrules
of the sagas, is nothing less than a fate worse than death. and pale Dyfirs stand out among Humans, not only because
Today it is impossible to know for sure what happened they tend to be shorter and slimmer, but because of their
to the Norim Elves, as it has been several centuries unnatural charisma and uncommon beauty, which is
since either Elf or Human encountered one of the kin. It exacerbated by the clearly Elven traits within their faces.
is commonly believed the once noble bloodline has been For the Elves themselves, they feel these half-breeds are
finally extinguished, leaving them a relic of antiquity. encumbered by their human heritage, not just in terms of
There are a handful of rare Elven communities, especially physique, but far more importantly to these guardians of the
among both Korpikalli and Illmalaini, which claim to have land, in terms of their connection with nature.
offered safe haven to Norim exiles when Palliolanta fell,
but that was almost three millennia ago, and itself ancient
history, even to these long-lived ones. It is the curse of
mortality. Generations are now quick to pass, doomed as
the Elves are by time and death, as all the other beings in
Trudvang.
The Norim blood, if it ever existed outside of the songs,
would have become more and more diluted as the
ancestral chain stretched out link by link. Whatever
the truth, nobody in the surviving communities
possess the mystic powers the sagas attribute to
the legendary Norim.
There is a melancholy to the stories of
the Norim told by their descendants.
These are the tragedies at the heart of
memory, and they are cherished by the
Elves, who find enduring wisdom within their
pain. They rarely share these sagas with Humans or
Dwarves. Most Elves themselves do not believe these
tales beyond being cautionary fables, their events
considered too fantastical to be true. A perfect
example of this would be the story of Jaarnkihl,
a secret city supposedly constructed by the
Jaarnkillia or Iron Elves somewhere in the northern
Darkwoods. Jaarnkihl was said to have an immense
iron tower at its heart that stretched as high into
the sky as the eyes could see, and then higher
still. The iron tower is so unlike anything
found within any Elven community that it has
to be a myth, doesn’t it?

17
 Whilst it is possible for a Half-Elf to become a Ihana, they identical fashion in Eika, Vrok and Rona, suggesting they are
must work doubly hard to do so, and even then it is a trial remnants of an age when Humans had closer relationships
to achieve that status, marking the half-breed Ihana as truly with the Seeds of the Vanirs.
special. There is no specific word in any of the tongues that
Today, most contact between Korpikalli and Humans adequately describes the mixed offspring of a Talviakka and
tends to be hostile. Because of this, a Barkbrule is more Humans.
often than not born out of violence, rather than of love. This curiosity may well be explained by the isolationism
Exceptions exist, of course, though they are increasingly which for millennia characterised the Frost Elves. Largely
rare. Korpikalli that fall in love with Humans are scorned thought to have perished, like the Norim, Iron Elves and
and exiled by their own tribes. others, there has been almost no recorded contact between
It is a rare Barkbrule child that is allowed to grow up among them and most peoples of Trudvang. But almost does not
the Korpikalli, and despite being adopted into the tribe, will be mean none. While their aspect may be unknown, it is possible
constantly tested by their companions, the Dark Elves never that for such a Half-Talviakka growing up away from the Great
completely trusting its human-tainted blood. Ice Plains, they may well appear similar to a Barkbrule albeit
On the other hand, the quality of life for a Barkbrule that with darker skin, but that is merely guesswork. It is not unlikely
grows up amongst Humans entirely depends on what kind that the stories of Frost Elves having silver-shimmering locks
of community they are lucky--or unlucky--enough to be born and darkly hued skins because of their environment are based
into. Lone rangers and hunters in Wildland, for example, upon false assumptions, and the influence is more genetic
can raise a Barkbrule child without second thought to its than environmental.
origin. Whereas Wildbrons, for example, fiercely hate the
Copperwood Korpikalli, who have always been their enemy. ELVEN LANGUAGES
A Barkbrule growing up among their number would likely not
reach adulthood, given how violent childhood there can be. Elves of antiquity spoke Forneika, the melodious root of
However, once the harsh rites of passage have been overcome, today's Eika. It was a beautiful, musical language used by all
all Wildbrons will recognise the Barkbrule as a brother, worthy of the Elven lineages before the schisms tore the bloodlines
to shed blood and sweat in the shield wall alongside them, all apart during the fateful days of the Long Storm.
previous dislike and distrust cast aside. Nowadays all Elves speak Eika, but there is an incredible
Dyfirs are more often a result of love. Songs are filled number of varieties of that tongue, each variant shaped
with countless tales of passion between Human heroes and according to the region and the specific Elven tribes. All
beautiful pale Elven maidens, of hearts lost and hearts won of these unique dialects of Eika are still understandable,
with courage and feats of daring. The reality is more often than even among the most disparate of the kin who have been
not less romantic. separated for millennia, like Talviakka and Illmalaini. This
Illmalaini generally have friendlier relationships with is testimony to the Elves deep rooted attached to tradition.
Humans when compared to their Korpikalli cousins. Wherever they grow up, whatever Elven culture they
Nonetheless, Illmalaini harbour a deep-set sense of superiority belong to, they observe the rites and rituals of the past.
to other species. It is not even conscious, but rather so deeply It is uncommon for Elves to learn other languages, or
buried within their psyche it can be said they are born with it. even feel the desire to, as they live isolated lives in nature,
For them, Humans can be hardly considered worthy life content in their solitude. Those who most often deal with
companions. Humans or Dwarves have learned the basics of either Rona,
Dyfirs therefore, like all Half-Elves, are rare. Most inhabitants Vrok or Futhark to help make themselves understood.
in Trudvang will never set eyes upon one, but if they were, it is
more likely they would be found in areas where the Illamalaini ELVEN NAMES
tribes have fostered closer relationships with neighbouring
Humans colonies. Somewhere like the Thronelandic Elves harbour disdain for the Human and Dwarven habit of
settlements on the island of Edras, perhaps, though in truth, bearing elaborate names that mark their lineage or tie them
even there, they represent such an insignificant percentage of to any given place. Surnames are virtually unheard off, and
the population one is unlikely to mark their presence. patronymics are only slightly more common, although they
These names, Dyfirs and Barkbrule, are ancient in remain rare.
origin, their roots buried far in the prejudices of the past. This is due in no small part because of the Great Enemy,
Linguistically, what is interesting is that they recur in almost Time.

18
 These long dynastic names are nothing short of reminders Korpikalli manufacture their girdles from branches and
of what once was and what has been lost. poles, whereas the Illmalaini weave theirs from more
It was easier for the Elves to stop believing in dynasties delicate fabrics, and happily adorn themselves with pearls
long ago, so along with the fall of Valaijina at the end of and ambers and the Talviakka from seal kin or bear pelt.
the Age of the Queen, the habit of family names was cast Indeed, because of the extreme cold of the north and
aside. This does not mean that the kin do not revere their the lack of vegetation to harvest, the Frost Elves clothe
ancestors, far from it in fact, they believe that everyone themselves in thick furs, again bear, or seal, or any other
must prove themselves before proclaiming their father's animal unfortunate enough to cross their path, and make
name like it confers honour. a greasy render out of the fat of the animals to waterproof
An elf is usually named by a single word, unique to the them, and to insulate their skin against the bitter cold.
identity of that one Elf within the tribe. A newborn will not The Star Elves have an affinity for pearls, believing they
be given the name of a living Elf, and since Elves live in symbolise the stars themselves--which are no less than the
small communities, they rarely need more than one word absent Vanirs hanging in the sky, waiting for the Elves to
to identify an individual. This is equally true of the few re-join them.
remaining Illmalaini stable villages in Soj. There is a uniquely Elven fabric known as
An Elf's name is unique, or it is at least unique amongst "shimmerweave", a special textile crafted by all three Elven
their tribe or clan. lineages, though it is more common among the Illmalaini
Should they ever need to be more specific about an of Soj, where the materials are readily at hand, unlike the
individual, perhaps between the meetings of different Darkwoods or the Great Ice Plains. This is an incredibly
tribes, Elves may add an adjective to a name as a clarifier. light, almost translucent fabric woven from selected silks
These may be sobriquets related to a quality, like "Kyllpihi and spider nets. Only the Elves know the secrets of its
the Brave", "Syllsinka the Fair" or "Vainelainen the weave and how to fashion variations of its properties from
Treacherous" or refer to a deed, be it famous or infamous, a different balance of constituents. The very best creations
like "Normajias the Wurm-slayer" or "Pojhaka the Human- are so exquisitely done that the wearer's silhouette cannot
lover". be distinguished during night-time, rendering them all
Most common in those situations though, the Elf would but invisible, while another form of the beautiful weave is
be called after the place they were born, like "Valiolvi of the crafted with the intention of making it shine under starlight.
Great River" or to their specific lineage, like "Jeppiua of the Silk is common in Soj, with the Elves here the only tribes
Sjrpamoina's Sons". to know the secrets of its manufacture. Elves in the north
There are no fixed rules when it comes to referring to needs must use other fabrics for their attire.
Elven tribes and clans. Some bear names which have The Korpikalli in the Darkwoods have devised techniques
lost all meaning through the centuries, while other are for obtaining vegetable extracts that can be used in the
labelled after famous ancestors or heroes. Many other weaving of textiles from a variety of plants, but animal skins
tribes and clans get their names from a totemic animal and furs are by far the most commonly used materials. This
or tree, like the "Susiapunaisia", the "Red Wolves", or the is even more true for the Talviakka, who have been forced
"Tammikaatupojas", the "Sons of the Fallen Oak ". to make do and mend by the harsh landscape where they
reside. Vegetation is almost non-existent on the Great Ice
ATTIRE AND ORNAMENTS Plains, and what little does somehow manage to survive
and flourish on the permafrost is too brittle to be of use in
Each Elven tribe has its own long-standing traditions when those traditional weaves, hence the culling of seals that has
it comes to their dress. become something of a survival rite for the young males of
In that bygone age the Elvenkin were almost flamboyant the tribes, who venture out at the start of the season to find
when it came to the decorative fashions they clad themselves skins for their people.
in, and even more so the intricate jewellery they wore. But Elves often carry with them the Saomanta. This is a form
time is no friend, and as they have become increasingly of hat and cloak woven together from wicker and reeds.
feral with their distancing from the civilised world, so too The Saomanta is an effective forest camouflage, but serves
has their appearance. Now, only a few of the old relics of a second purpose, providing protection from inclement
the old ways survive. weather. Some, indeed, are so large and well-constructed
Notably, these include the girdle or thick belts the tribes that the only thing needed to make it work as a shelter is
tend to wear, still. a crude stick to function as a tentpole, allowing them to

19
range far and wide throughout the expanses of the great All manner of Elves prefer a peculiar type of short
wildwoods. sword or long knife known as a "Veitsi", and its otherwise
A great many Elves carry with them a small parcel of straight blade that is curved at the point. A Veitsi is often
seeds, carefully wrapped in a moist cloth with serves double-edged, although some clans prefer to sharpen only
to preserve them. The seeds embody what the Elves the concave side. Elves use the Veitsi as weapon for close
themselves see as their very reason for being, ensuring that combat, as well as a tool to forge pathways through the
nature endures. As guardians of the wildwoods, they often choking vegetation of the ancient forests. In this sense,
seek out various rare seeds, which they carry with them to the Veitsi is not unlike human billhooks, albeit crafted with
plant in territories where the flora is suffering, helping to considerably more refinement.
ensure that the forests thrive and nature remains in balance. Elves seldom wear armour, preferring to travel as light as
Another item commonly carried by Elfkin is their possible and not wanting to be encumbered when fighting.
Miekka. This is a weapon that serves as both a sword There are legends about the great armours from the Age
for close combat and a javelin for ranged attacks. The of Dreams, which were worn by Elven heroes when locked
Miekka are forged in a variety of sizes based upon the in mortal combat with the dreaded wurms, that was said to
preference of the wielder. Sometimes the weapon is large be crafted from the skins of the Dragons themselves.
and unwieldy for a human hand, whereas other times it Nowadays Elves disdain the heavy protection worn by
is a smaller, quicker weapon. They come in a range of both Dwarf and Humankind, but when need arises, will don
materials, too. Some Miekka are carved entirely of the exceptionally light armour, crafted from furs, silk, textile or
ancient iron woods of the trees the Elves call home or, in rare circumstances, hide and leather. This lightweight
better, wood from the precious Alfark, while others have battle armour is invariably ornate and beautifully decorated
handles fashioned from mother of pearl and a blade that with knots, beads, and carvings. Some tribes may even craft
is made from folded sheets of iron that are worked into an exquisite armour from the precious Alfark wood, fashioning
almost ripple-like surface capable of slicing through flesh the jacket from scales of the Alfark tree's trunk or from the
and bone with equal ease. wicker of its intertwined branches, that might be worn by their
Those that do not know them believe that Elves are chieftains and heroes. These objects as rare, and incredibly
ignorant when it comes to how to properly forge a metal precious, and likely worn during grave wars rather than petty
blade, given the large amount of wood, horn and bone they skirmishes. These scaled Alfark armours are generally worn
utilize in their tools and weapons. This is untrue. Elves among the elite of the Illmalaini of Soj, as the precious tree
practice iron smithing, albeit only in small quantities and rarely grows anywhere else on the continent.
for small objects, like knives and spearheads, for which
the usage of metal improves the quality of the item. Their THE TRADITION
furnaces are rarely more than temporary structures,
mostly dug out from the soil, which are abandoned In the time before, the Elves wandered with their gods. It
after they serve their purpose, as their nomadic lifestyle was an age of bliss. They were content, connected with the
requires. There was a time, during the Age of Dreams, world and their gods. They were bestowed with abilities
when Elven smiths were renowned and great, marvellous nothing short of divine, including the gift of undying, and it
metal objects were crafted for the cities inhabited by the was wonderful.
Vanirs. Most of the prodigious metalworking tradition is Alas, in those dark days following the Vanirs abandonment,
lost, along with the Iron Elves who practiced it, as the gods these divine powers faded one after another until they
left the Elves and their culture was forced to change lest were bereft, essentially mortal, and forced to rely upon
they would not survive. the knowledge they had gathered and the skills they had
The Miekka is the most traditional Elven weapon, but mastered, making their traditions all the more important.
Elves are also known to wield other instruments of death, For Elvenkind there are four predominant traditions
especially those which can be useful when hunting. Spears that guide their every action, helping them making sense
and knives, as well as bows and arrows. These objects of the world: Nature, Gifts/Debts, Joikks and Vitner. All
are often intricately decorated with beautiful carvings and kinds of Elves, from each of the three great Elven lineages,
thin laces knotted in elaborate patterns. These objects are honour and respect these traditions. While other traditions
crafted as much as possible with the best hard wood, horn exist, including but not limited to the arts of Sattaloijka,
and bones available to Elves, with metal reserved only to Totemträd and Wildtracing, the Elves consider these to be
blades. of lesser importance than the main four ones.

20
NATURE, THE BALANCE
Not all the gifts the Vanirs bestowed
were magical. The greatest of all was
something far more down to earth; they
taught the Elves the nature of balance that
must prevail in all things living and dying,
including the land Itself.
Theoretical knowledge is all well
and good, but is no match for practical
application, so the Elves were encouraged
to create aspects of this new world, seeing
the true importance of harmony and
equilibrium.
It is essential that we learn to live with,
not from, nature and this is a core value that
pervades the whole Elven society today.
Perhaps the single fundamental
difference in the mindset of the Elves
versus the way Humans and Dwarves
see the world is that they view nature as
a separate entity that requires care to
flourish, whereas Humans and Dwarves
tend to view it as a resource that can be
tapped into and exploited.
Once, the Elves possessed the ability
to converse with the trees, to sing the
harmonies of the flowers and see the
wonders of the world through the eyes
of the birds, as though Elves and nature
were one and the same being. That loss,
when the gods disappeared, was one of the
hardest of all for them to bear. They lost so
many of these gifts in those dark days, but
even robbed of the ability to commune with
their world their belief that nature was to
be nourished rather than mined persisted.
They would do anything for this gift of
communion to be returned to them. zealots when it comes to following this duty, taking the
Of all nature's beings, flora and fauna, only contact with charge so much to heart that they will not allow another
the Yggdras remains unbroken, though it is considerably living soul to enter a forest where an Yggdriis resides.
weaker than it was back in that earlier age. Nevertheless, it
is a link that nurtures both understanding and wisdom and GIFTS AND DEBT
has caused the Elves to see the Yggdras as a species that The Elves were granted a great many gifts from the
needs protection from the evils of other breeds, and they do Vanirs, but those gifts came with a price. They received
so with a zeal and willingness to sacrifice that borders on an imperative that could never be denied. The Vanirs
the fanatical. understood that there were certain gifts they would never
The Elves will often assign guards with special skills- be able to reclaim, given their children were often more
amongst the most deadly of the race- to remain with than a match for them physically. That imperative was an
Yggdras and serve as bodyguards, protecting them from the order for Elvenkind to share their knowledge and wisdom
base instincts and assaults of Humans. Some will become with beings that were ready to receive it.

21
 The Vanirs often spoke in terms of a gift
being a debt.
Receiving something is akin to taking on
a debt that can only be repaid by passing
the gift on.
Initially, the Elves were more than
willing to share their gifts. The sagas
hold that it was the Elves who taught
mankind to weave the vitner, shared with
the Giants the knowledge of the forge
fires, and schooled the Trolls in the ways
of hunting and gathering food, whilst the
birds looked to them for the gift of flight
and fish to spawn.
Over time, however, the Elves became
increasingly disturbed by the ways so
many of their gifts were abused and even
turned against them.
Humans began to dip into the dark vitner,
drawing it into weaves that tapped into
death rather than life, while Trolls hunted
Elves, and Giants forged weapons they
used to slaughter those same Elves who
had taught them to master the forge flame.
As the ages progressed, timing
turning, the gifts they were prepared to
grant became fewer and fewer, leaving
Elvenkind with a debt so vast they could
never hope to repay it.
The Elves still hoard this vast wealth
of knowledge. Entrusted to their care
is wisdom that runs through most
disciplines, although sadly it is slowly and
surely fading, more and more of it lost
with the Elves' new mortality.
This debt weighs heavily upon their
shoulders. Though they do not speak
openly of it, many of their kin are keen to
get finally be rid of it and will go as far as to argue that There are growing factions within both the Dark Elves
the Vanirs are not coming back until the Elves have repaid and the Frost Elves who doubt the Vanirs will ever return,
every last burden of debt, meaning that each of their kind and as such any debt owed to them has been written off by
is beholden to share their knowledge so that they may their betrayal.
all return to a state of grace. Others argue vociferously
against this perspective. These are dangerous times. None VITNER
of the beings that share Trudvang with them today have Perhaps the greatest of the traditions came in the form
proven they have the strength of character to cope with the of the gift of the vitner, which once taught could never be
knowledge they curate. To do so would not help them, but taken away. Elvenkind learned how to master Trudvang's
rather would place a curse upon their shoulders. The yoke energies, understanding the nature of the weave and how
however sits heavily on their minds and they are constantly the stuff of life might be shaped to the will of the weaver.
looking for signs to be able to share these gifts they nurture. This mastery came slowly, but during those days of study

22
 Elven Vitner Weavers are known as
"Sampokkas" or "weavers" and they often
prefer weaving spells using the Galding
technque, singing and sometimes even
playing instruments. There is a group
among them known as "Raoumma" or
"they who caw". Such weavers tend to
attract animals to their side and treat them
as their brothers. All Raoumma are aligned
with Hwitalja, the White Magic.
While Humans turn to their gods in
times of desperation, Dwarves look to
the deep heart of the cold Mountain,
and Trolls prostrate themselves before
the dark throne of their horrid divinities
as they seek answers, Elves know for
sure that their gods abandoned them,
and therefore answers cannot be easily
sought. Of course, the Toikalokke
tradition has a role for Elves, especially
for the Illmalaini, but many children of
the Vanirs have begun to give themselves
to the vitner, understanding that it is the
source of all things. Their bond with the
vitner is older than the first tree, and runs
deeper than any of these summer children of
Trudvang could ever hope to fathom.
One needs to understand that the Elves
don't see magic as a weapon to be wielded,
or a tool to shape the world, but merely
a way to protect the balance. Should the
equilibrium be lost so too will all else, and that
can never be allowed to happen. To this end, their
greatest fear remains the threat of the Dragons, banished
once in the Long Storm, will once again rise, for without the
power of magic, they would have nothing to stem the tide in
a battle that would surely see the end of all things.
It was the Vanirs who taught the first Elves how to weave
they had nothing but time, and therefore came to tap into vitner, and through the millennia the Seeds of the Vanirs
the vitner with both greater frequency and a greater draw have forgotten more secrets than all of the other races
upon that mystical energy, mastering it fully where others together could ever hope to learn.
may have barely scratched the surface of possibility as far Beyond that, though, the Elves of antiquity have also
as the vitner was concerned. learned mysteries from the first Yggdras, the most powerful
Their conjurers learned the secrets of the light and the of all, and exchanged knowledge with the fabled Fjol Trolls,
dark, surrendering themselves to the essence of the world quite possibly the creatures nearest to the Serguronts that
until they were capable of weaving in a manner that no shaped Trudvang at the beginning.
others have achieved either before or since. This deep During the Age of the Queen Elves shared the gift of
well of knowledge and tradition is nurtured amongst the vitner weaving with the Humans of Throneland, and from
tribes today, and survives in the wisdom of the elders, to be there the knowledge spread. This is the reason why Elves
handed down generation to generation. are often inextricably linked with vitner weaving in the

23
commoners' minds, and why some fanatic Gavlians remain feelings and tap the emotions deep in the heart of even the
hostile toward the Elves, who they consider to be corrupt as roughest of the Wildfolk. This is even more true when the
all the other vitner weavers. enchanting Elven voices are used for wordless tunes, with the
harmony of Elven instruments echoing in the forests. Those
JOIKKS AND THE MUSICAL who master these instruments are known as "Kjolltalinja"
TRADITION or "Rings of the Stars" and such artists are highly valued
"Joikks" - pronounced "yoyks" - is the collective noun that amongst the Elven tribes. Their gatherings, sometimes called
serves to encapsulate the songs the Elves learned from the Khalei, can last for hours or even days at a time, and leave
gods. whole forests ensorcelled, such are the singer's arts.
These Joikks told of how the world would be built and
how it would stand against the ravages of time and entropy. SATTALOIJKA
There was much wisdom for the Elves to nourish and There is a long-standing tradition of craft work amongst
nurture from these songs. the tribes. With incredible manual dexterity and fine motor-
Joikks were passed down from generation to generation. control, the Elves are particularly skilled with their hands,
These are the sacred songs of the heart, and as such creating objects of incredible beauty from the most natural
much is made of them being learned by heart. The greatest raw materials of the world.
fear is that memory fades and with death stealing into the Forging, wicker braiding, and elaborate wood carvings
everyday life of these long-lived tribes, that knowledge will are common, but there is one art that is venerated above
one day be lost. all others.
Elves can often be heard speaking to each other through The Elves call it "sattaloijka".
song, for there is magic within the melodies and harmonics, Translated from the ancient tongue it means 'eternal
including the songs of creation, and the songs of unmaking, construction'.
that bind all things together. Often, as these verses flutter But what does that actually mean?
off their lips, shaped by the past but confronting the bitter Elves have always been close to nature, as guardians of
truth of now, the Elves are pooling the knowledge that is flora and fauna and wardens of the wildwoods and forests.
enshrined within the songs, and they draw upon it to decide The symbiotic relationship between Elves and their forests
what actions to take, weighing up what is right or might be is such that it isn't a stretch to imagine that they are one and
considered wrong in any given situation. the same, inseparable. Life, especially with the pernicious
Joikks themselves have an enchanting quality and many influence of time wreaking havoc upon it, is all connected in
who listen will fall into a comfortable sleep, lulled by the one unending ecosystem that binds every living thing, and
ancient magics woven into those melodies. They tell of understanding that and learning to harness it, is an art the
times that were, are and are yet to come. They speak of the Elves call sattaloijka.
smallest things and things large beyond simple measure The secret is to shape nature to serve their purpose,
and understanding. without perpetrating violence or destroying the unique and
Since many Elves gather together to sing Joikks, innate wonder and magic of nature in the process. Trees
sometimes flat drums, known as "Rumpo", are used. The are entwined to create nesting areas, shrubs are braided to
best of these Rumpo drums are fashioned from dragon skin, facilitate the collection of rainfall, mosses and flowers are
and are only used when singing sagas of The Long Storm. nurtured to create a place of rest.
Normal Rumpo are made from leaves or feathers. Elves This organic construction may look wild and unkempt,
are skilled with all manner of string instruments and flutes. but it is anything but. The Elves work to an exacting plan,
They are crafted with natural materials like bones, horns, thinking how nature should exist in full symbiosis with the
wood and even the hairs of the Elves themselves, which creatures that rely upon it for their lives. There is incredible
are used for strings. Elven artisans, especially among the beauty in sattaloijka. Indeed, there are countless examples
Korpikalli of the Darkwoods, know that the wood of every of these magnificent formations, but one stands above all
tree can be used for flutes producing different sounds, and others in both scope and imagination behind its weaving:
they mostly wander the forest examining the different fallen the Anuppha tower in the Western Darkwoods.
branches for the perfect harmonics. Since time immemorial the Elves have developed a
Elven music has enchanted the peoples of Trudvang for age complicated relationship with sattaloijka, and the kind
upon age, as a single word in the ancient Forneika language, of craftsmanship that comes from joining so utterly with
melodiously sung by an inspired Illmalaini, can provoke nature itself to shape rather than create. Although the

24
tradition lives on, few have truly mastered the art and those ignorant Humans have started to call "Log Trolls". Only
who have are considered gifted beyond compare. Now, the spiritually Illuminated Ihana, using ancient and
there is always a lingering fear that someone will take mysterious toikalokke rituals, can create such guardians.
advantage of what they create and suck the soul out of any These enormous creatures are born from seeds, wood,
place where true sattaloijka is found. stones, animal bones and leaves, and may even occasionally
The tradition of sattaloijka lives on within the Korpikalli, contain metal objects like weapons, nails and chains. Their
within the deep forests of the north. It is far less common appearances vary, but most Volokkia have oddly humanoid
within the wildwoods of Soj where the Illmalaini dwell, and silhouettes. Stories tell of how they skilfully use roots and
unheard of on the ice plains where the Talviakka reside. branches as if they were hands, or even tentacles, to grab,
immobilize and kill enemies of the Elven race. Unlike the
TOTEMTRÄD AND VOLOKKIA Totem Trees, they can move and have a minimal kind of
Items crafted with the refined art of sattalojika are usually sentience, able to obey the wishes of their creator. Volokkia
intended to satisfy a specific need of their creators. One are usually guardians of Elven settlements, as well as
such need is undeniably a craving for a sense of belonging, powerful allies when the Elves march to war.
in no small part because of the Vanirs' abandonment. This is
especially so for the Korpikalli. It goes beyond any sense of
family or tribalism, although there can be no doubting just
how important an understanding of heritage and tradition
does go a long way to defining their cultural identity.
One might argue that if all living things are part of
a single organism, this knowledge is fundamental in
regards of showing where on the body of all things
the Elves reside; if it were a tree it would be akin to
identifying which branch they belong to, and which
budding leaf they call home. The Elves themselves
see it much in this manner and to that end labour
long years to produce the "Totemträd".
These Totemträd, or "Totem Trees", are still-
living trees that they shape into the likenesses of
various animals and creatures, each felt to be close
to the tribes. The trees are formed when they are
small, and lovingly tended so that as they grow
larger, maintaining their shape, they become more
powerful totem animals. Some of the more venerable
totem trees, moulded from copper oaks, have lived to
be several thousand years old already, and may live for
thousands more.
A traveller might encounter several of these totem
trees acting as a kind of border demarking the
homelands of different tribes.
They can also serve as a warning against trespass.
The totem trees act as a lesson, teaching the visitor
the Elven history and culture long before they ever
meet. Wise hunters and expert Wildfolk have long since
learned how to avoid an area defined by Totem Trees,
knowing well that the Elves who dwell there are not
friendly to trespassers.
Sometimes sattalojika is used to create border
markers which are way more effective than
normal Totem Trees: the "Volokkia", which

25
WILDTRACING The Elves see life as an entity that belongs together in an
Totem trees are parts of the natural landscape in which infinity. There is no past. There is no future. There is only
Elves have learned how to express themselves. In the same now. And everything is connected to now. Just as every elf
way, it is believed by some that it was the Elves who first was immortal before the gods left them, the Great Life falls
taught men to use wildtracing, the art of leaving signs in the outside of time and is bigger than everything, and death
wilderness. turns that life into an echo.
They began laying out rocks, branches and shaping things A life can be broken in its simplicity, but it does not end, it
in nature within the Long Storm. The signs they created goes on, echoing through the links in the chain of the lives it
functioned as warnings to other Elves who stumbled upon touches and the lives it creates all the way through eternity.
these same places and the threats they contained. Today, a The Elves see this new immortality as a cycle in which
wily wilderness man can, by reading nature, discern where one life gives birth to another and another and another, that
the Elves have made their homes, and read a lot from the single spark of life lingering throughout the enemy of time.
area's flora and fauna, helping them understand the hazards Many of the Illmalaini believe that spark echoes all the way
present and how to best provide food, how to locate water, back to the gods themselves and that they carry the Vanirs
and other vital survival demands. within them still.
The Elves maintain these wilderness signs diligently, as However, many Korpikalli have come to believe that life is
more often than not their lives depend upon the relationship a series of linear events with a starting point (birth) and an
they have forged with their environment. end point (death) and that it is little more than a punishment
created by the gods to remind the Elves of the transience of
BELIEFS AND WORLDVIEW all things and their place within that. They hold to the notion
that in an eternal dawn world, no life is needed, because life
As much as they might try, Humans cannot properly also means death, so life itself is nothing more than torture
understand how the Elves see the world. When they first and in that way far from precious.
emerged from the mists in the Age of the Iron Wurm, the The dichotomy is that it is also part of themselves, and as
Seeds of the Vanirs had already been living in Trudvang such should be cherished just as the life of a single flower
for countless millennia. All of the defining events of their or the life of a hummingbird or a bee or any other creature
civilisation, from the moment they fell from the skies with down to the smallest insect that grubs in the dirt of Trudvang
the Vanirs to the tragic betrayal of their creators, had should be cherished for it is all part of the great life.
already happened. There is a singular exception to this, an aspect of life the
Their tragic history has seen the Elves develop a view of Elves call “Rausitta”, (the Dark Counterforce). Rausitta is life
both immortality and death which no Human can hope to created for no other purpose than to destroy other life. These
match. On the other hand, while the Dwarves are a race accursed lives include all creatures carrying evil within them
as ancient as Elves, they passed the entire Age of Dreams (be they the ancient foes of the Long Storm, the Dragons, the
beneath the surface of Trudvang, and only emerged from twisted souls of the Trollkin, or of the worst Wildfolk). But
Muspelheim at the end of it, and thus never shared the despite their enmity, the Elves do not believe the Rausitta are
experiences the Elves suffered above them. evil for the sake of evil, rather, they believe these creatures have
The Elves' view of life, death, nature and time are unique been infected by the dark forces of Time. That does not make
to them, meaning it is important to try and see how the them innocent of their evil, though. To kill such a creature is to
Seeds of the Vanirs feel about these things, even if proper purify the cycle of great life from darkness and evil.
understanding is beyond us.
IKUINEN, DALLAKAI AND THE OLD
THE GREAT LIFE IMMORTALS
As an underpinning for all the belief systems of the Elves There was a time when Elves lived in eternity and when
lies the “Great Life”. Elves do not believe in spirits in the Time did not exist.
sense that soul and body can be separated from each other, All Elves were born into this state of being, immortal like
nor that an individual being is unique, but rather part of a their masters, but in the days since their abandonment the
larger whole. tribes have lost the gift of eternity and are now cursed with
This larger whole is known as “Iaha”, the “Great Life”. a form of mortality.
Iaha is a manifestation of all living things and their It is true that even in this new age, there are a precious
connectedness. few of the kin who are born with the gift of eternal life still

26
within them, in that they cannot die of age, even as entropy Many Elven scholars believe that none has been born since
and time steal in to do their dark bidding. But even those the end of the Age of the Queen. They were mostly high nobles
‘eternals’ still suffer the debilitating effects of age. These and kings, and their blood mixed with those of the Human
Elves are called “Ikuinen” and they are considered blessed kings of Throneland and Majnjord, before it was diluted after
even amongst their own tribes. Such an elf is born no more generations of Human marriages into those bloodlines and
than once every hundred years, and they are almost always finally lost. The same is true for the royal bloodlines amongst
female. Given their theoretical eternity, the Ikuinen become the Elven tribes, to the extent that none of those who are
the backbone on which tribes evolve and pass through the elevated as “king” or “queen” today is truly immortal.
centuries. The Ikuinen are the only ones who remain and Nobody can say with any certainty that an ancient, still-
truly remember the old ways and traditions, even if their living Immortal Elf survives today.
bodies insist on aging to the point they become immobile But if one of their kind were still living and breathing
and death might actually become a mercy. The myths we today, then they are well hidden from the rest of the
hold to our hearts today of wise old women in the wildwoods world, possibly in some kind of deep sleep or melancholic
almost always derive from memories of these Ikuinen. hibernation, dreaming of the tragedies their kindred have
More common, but still exceptionally rare, are Elves born suffered during the past fifteen millennia.
to a long life.
The Elves call these long-lived ones “Dallakai”, which THE NATURE OF TIME
in the more common parlance could be taken to mean the Time is a linear event that has a single purpose; to distance
“Persistent”. Such long-lived ones can reach ages of up to the Elves from their creators and from the age when they
400 years old. Their bodies do not age as the Ikuinen, but experienced eternity as it was meant to be experienced.
their lives are nonetheless marked by a limited time period. Beyond argument, to Elvenkin, Time is the embodiment of
When their time comes, death steals in fast, and they simply evil. They relate to it in the same manner that they would
give up living, or they disappear in the mists. It does not any enemy.
matter that their bodies remained perfect for centuries on Beyond time is eternity. The point at which time does not
the outside, on the inside time diminished them just the exist.
same. Time is an endless cycle of repetition, of seasons, of
Since a birth also serves to mark the passage of time events, of experiences that all strive for a future that is
beyond the time when they dwelled here with the gods, the always further and further away from the moment when the
Elves do not celebrate a newborn in the same way Humans gods left their children.
do. In a way, they see a birth not as something beneficial, A new generation of Elves is, rather than something to
not a blessing, but rather a bitter reminder of the Great be embraced and cherished, a bitter reminder of how far
Betrayal. However, Ikuinen and Dallakai are the exception they are travelling from eternity. This dichotomy creates an
to this, and are new lives to be celebrated. When they are inherent conflict between the tribes and their belief systems.
born, it serves as a gentle reminder of eternity, each new The Illmalaini believe that this suffering can only be stopped
Ikuinen and Dallakai birth therefore important to the tribes by the Elves returning to the embrace of their gods again,
as in some ways they “prolong” time, stretching it out until who will elevate them so that they once more exist outside
it becomes so thin it ceases to exist in relation to the life of time, whereas the Korpikalli believe that there can be no
cycle of an ordinary Elf. resolution to their suffering, and therefore no salvation.
Even if blessed by a lesser form of immortality, neither the For the Korpikalli, there is only one truth, that the gods
Ikuinen, nor the Dallakai are really immortal in the same, left the Elves.
perfect way as was the life of those who lived in the perfection Nothing else matters.
of the Timaal, the Age of Dreams before the Falekala. For this reason the Korpikalli have chosen to reject the
However, it is also true that not all Elves born in that mythic gods.
age lost the gift of perfect immortality after the Falekala. They dedicate themselves instead to nature, to the flora
A few, unexpectedly and for no known reason, did not begin and fauna of the land, which, it could be argued, are the last
to suffer aging like other Elves, and remained invulnerable lingering traces of the gods that remain.
to natural death, so long as it was not delivered by violent The Talviakka believe that only by developing an awareness
means. Their number dwindled in later ages, as the birth of a of Time and its unbreakable bond with the world in which
truly immortal Elf became an increasingly rare event. These they live can their kind bear the knowledge that they were left
rare few are known amidst the kin as the Dauðalaus. behind and look to move on with their lives. This may well be

27
true, but the loathing of Time and the refusal
to turn away from the stars could well be the
reason why the Illmalaini have stronger ties
to the divine abilities, though it is undeniable
that in turning their backs on what was, the
Korpikalli have developed strong ties to nature
and to her magic, while little is known of the
Talviakka magics, they are believed to stem
from beneath the ice, rather than the stars,
and give them more in common with their
darker brothers than the Star Children.

TIME AND THE STARS

Time is the sworn enemy of Elvenkind.
Every day that passes is a day further away
from the gods and their nurturing embrace.
It is painful to remember the time before.
Every memory is tinged with the melancholy
and infinite sadness of what was lost. And
yet so many of the tribes hold tight to those
precious memories, cherishing the sagas
that remember what they once had with the
Vanirs, so even as the world turns through
the sky and time takes them further and
further away, they look to the heavenly
firmament where the bright stars shine and
know that the Vanirs are still out there.
But for how long?
Will they too disappear one day?
For that reason they dread nothing more
than the permanence of change. They
crave that enduring and unchanging world,
holding entropy at bay in their great forests
where as one tree rots and dies another
rises strong and proud in its image. It
is not simply about keeping everything
the same because they fear even those
subtle changes, it is the risk that even a fraction of the unsurprising then, that they harbour a constant fear that
ancient knowledge they curate might be lost along with it, the stars will one day fail to shine, having burned out to
transformed into something unrecognisable. make their isolation complete.
For the Elves there is no more evil force than Time. With their Hopakka, or star harps, the Ihana, the few
As the black night sky deepens the shining ones come to initiated Elves with spiritual power, can foretell the shape
life in that darkness. of destiny as it is written in the stars, seeking out any sign
The stars are all that remains of the Vanirs who left that the Vanirs might be moving closer, or fading once
Trudvang so long ago, and refusing to relinquish that and forever. These instruments possess a magic of their
connection, the Elves dedicate much of their lives to own, and when the Illmalaini Elves play their strings, the
studying both individual stars and the constellations heavens flame with a burning magical light that ripples
they form, looking to the cosmology of the heavens of from horizon to horizon in waves of shimmering elflight.
guidance just as their gods had once guided them. They This heavenly wonder is strongest in winter when the
seek to interpret the characters they see in the sky. It is skies are crisp and clear.

28
VILLIPUUNKAIKU - THE VOICE OF fed upon in that place, just as every tree in Valtoris, or on
THE WILDWOOD Orkhelm, or Pohanta, deep within the Bjarnwoods or even
The Elves—both Illmalaini and Korpikalli, but especially Wildheart itself, are unique voices that owe their sounds
the Korpikalli, who venerate nature--believe we can learn and harmonics to their place in the world and sound the
a great deal from listening to our surroundings, especially way they do because of their ties to that particular dirt,
from the songs of the wildwood. In this, they aren’t nourished by sweet rains or tormented by draught, it
talking about the hum of birds wings or the rustle of the doesn’t matter, it only serves to add to the song. So, when a
undergrowth, but rather the voices of the trees themselves, skald picks out the notes of a tune on their instrument the
which speak if only you have the ears to listen. music they play is enriched by the voice of the wildwood
The wildwoods are filled with all manner of sounds, still harboured within them and aches with the memories
of movement and growth so slow the voices are hidden of those trees and their unique nature.
from mortal hearing, as the short-lived ones just do not Wildheart remembers, the Bjarnwoods remember, but it is
possess the patience to truly listen. And yet, those voices only when the Elves rest their hands against the bark of the
are ever-present, sending out vibrations through the roots ancient trees and really listen that their stories are heard.
and leaves that echo through the land and air, much like There is a rite attached to the voice of the wildwood,
Elves, Dwarves and Humans might with their vocal chords, though it is one of solitude and reflection: the Villipuunkaiku.
communicating with the land and air. In the days after losing kin, the bereaved may often retreat
It is their believe that this voice is raised in the great song into the wildwood to commune with the trees, moving
of all things, that binds Trudvang together, and just as all from trunk to trunk, pressing their palms against the rough
birdsong is unique, and the calls of every Elf, Dwarf, Giant, bark, feeling the vibrations hum through their own flesh
Troll and Human from grunts to sophisticated languages that as they tell the stories of the fallen so that they might be
tap into the primal need to communicate, in the exact same remembered by the wildwood long after the dead have
way the voice of the wildwood is always communicating returned to dust. This period of mourning can take days
with us. The sounds of drought and distress can be heard or seasons depending upon the weight of their grief. The
cracking within the pulp of root and branch, just as an Elf rite offers both solitude and the opportunity to savour their
might cry out as a bone shatters. But there are all manner of connectedness with all things. The Elves believe that those
other sounds within the song of the wildwood, ranging from stories will find their way throughout all of Trudvang, from
the tick tick tick of the roots absorbing rainwater from the root to root, leaf to leaf, carried in vibrations in the ground,
ground to the crackling of wood contracting and expanding on rustles through the air, and those tick tick ticks that
to the influence of the weather. To the Elves, the rhythms of resonate through the bodies of the trees themselves, never
those sounds are no different from the rhythms of their own to be forgotten, because the wildwoods are eternal.
blood being pumped through their bodies. In that way the voice of the wildwood remembers
The wildwoods are in constant communication with everything and everyone.
the flora and fauna around them, but it is not one way, it And the Elves triumph in some small way against the
is a dialogue, with the birds and insects answering the Great Enemy, Time.
symphonies of life as the trees hum with stories. Each tree That is Villipuunkaiku.
has its own voice, thicker more mature boughs humming
with deeper, more resonant voices, whereas the young RELIGION: TOIKALOKKE
saplings are higher pitched, and whip within the air.
These trees are connected with everything and
everywhere throughout Trudvang, with their roots sinking TOIKALOKKE AND THE ROLE OF
deep into the ground, earthing them. IHANA
The Elves believe that everyone and everything in Toikalokke is the name for the divine practice learned by
Trudvang is connected through the trees. The wildwoods Elven stargazers and priests - although the Elves refer to
are the nexus of all life, and from seed to rot collect all lives them as the High Gifts and the High Gods. Those who
and remember. master these gifts are called Ihana. The Ihana decipher
And they do remember, and those memories are given the riddles and portents of the stars, reading the deeper
voice in the music of the tribes. Every instrument fashioned meanings left by their departed gods within the starry
from the wood of a tree felled within the Darkwoods has its blackness of the sky. They have a mastery of the great
own sound, shaped by the memories and experiences it has songs, having descended into the earth itself to hear the

29
last reverberations of the greatest of all of them, and with
their star harps, seek out the echoes of those melodies and
use them in their attempts to make contact with the Vanirs.
It is through this communion they seek to learn the ways
of the divine where once they might have been able to
remember them, such is the sorrow of Time. And if they
can’t make contact, then at least they can try to understand
the trials and challenges the Vanirs placed upon their First
Children, and how they might follow their steps into the
great bright starlight, returning to their side once more.
There are many aspects of Toikalokke and the tablets
of power, but the most common among the Seeds of the
Vanirs can be broken into three, the animal mind, the lynx
power and master of the elements.
The animal mind might allow the Ihana, through this high
gift, to forge a unique bond with the animals of the forest.
This bond is in many ways spiritual, and the Ihana can,
for instance communicate with the creatures of Trudvang
(though they may be quite simplistic in terms of their minds
and more instinctive in how desires and needs drive them),
and even take on the reflection of their spirit animal.
Where the animal mind is a mental joining, the lynx
power is more physical in its nature, allowing the Ihana to
move through the woods with the prowess of that majestic
hunter, heightening reflexes and senses, and allowing
stealth of movement that would otherwise be beyond even
the most agile of Elves.
The rarest of the disciplines of the Ihana come in the form
of mastery of the four elements, allowing them to purify
water, command fire and cause the earth itself to quake and
the storm winds to rage.
These three gifts are not the only ones which Toikalokke
can bestow. The Ihana of specific tribes, regions or cultural
traditions may occasionally manifest other powers. However,
the Elves of today have forgotten so much of the knowledge
that was known to their ancestors that these three holy tablets
remain the most common ones among all the elven tribes.

Cosmology
The cosmology of Trudvang is as immense and confounding
as the land herself. With nine hundred stars that shine
brighter than the millions of others up there, the Ihana have
come to reason that these are none other than the gods
themselves, burning bright so that they might understand
their last lesson. But how can they hope to understand
without something to guide them towards reason? It makes
sense, of course, that those stars would be the lost gods,
after all, when the Elves first arrived in this place they
fell down from the heavens in brilliant bright streaks of
starlight, lighting the entire firmament. They were the stuff

30
of the stars, and together they made so many beautiful And in this way, working their fingers along the frame of
things in this place, from the deep forests and the roaring the harp, counting off the wisdom of the stars, the Ihana
rapids of the rivers to the effervescent joy of the birdsong. can hope in some way to plot a path through the five
They want nothing more than to do so again, and to achieve hundred life paths for the quester so that they may best
that they must somehow find a way to reach the void where reach the answers they seek. Everything is, of course, open
the gods wander lost and alone, drifting. to interpretation, and individual Ihana will interpret the
The clues are there to be read, they have to be, and with stars and their star harps in different ways, lending more of
their star harps and their patient studies of the skies the themselves into the starry wisdom.
Ihana can know if the gods are coming closer or receding, For certain readings, the Ihana may well look at the
and with that knowledge perhaps they can finally grasp refracted starlight captured by the prisms that hang from
their intent? the frame of their Star Harp, and in the harmonies of that
It would seem a simple thing, to know the minds of the broken light seek to make contact with the Prime Vanir
gods, but with 900 anchor points in the heavens, arranged governing the ascendent constellation.
in a dizzying array of patterns, known as constellations, the These communions with the starry skies are the
sheer number of combinations and arrangements that can wellspring from which an Ihana draws and nourishes
be perceived defies reason. The Ihana of the Illmalaini hold themselves, gaining strength from their absent gods.
that of the 900 stars, there are only 33 true constellations,
each anchored by what they call a Prime Vanir, or one of The Korpikalli Aufhivuth
the gods amongst even the gods. These 33 bear the names There are no Ihana amongst the Korpikalli tribes, who have
of the Prime Vanir, and may have anything from as few abandoned the gods and think nothing of the stars, but that
as fifteen stars that fall under their influence, although in does not mean they do not have their own diviners. They
a few cases there as many as 76 are needed to create the have their own more shamanic readers of the world who
full symbol, and only then during certain seasons across are called Aufhiyuth, who interpret signs left by nature,
certain years as the stars themselves align. reading the soil and the stones, reading cracks in the bark
The Ihana have come to assign meaning and value to of trees, and in the tracks left behind by the wildlife of any
these and believe that they can be interpreted to offer over given terrain. Curiously, the Aufhiyuth utilize a similar
five hundred possible life paths that could be followed by cycle of life in their readings. The Aufhiyuth will often sit
the kin, the skill is in knowing which offers the best hope amid the very nature they seek to read, and meditate upon
of harmony. What this means, in reality is that the 33 their answer, allowing nature herself to steal into their
constellations have become something of a key for the disassociated minds and offer visions. Sometimes this
deciphering of these messages, with a coda being handed practice of meditation is enhanced by the use of certain
down through the generations of Ihana linking the wisdom herbs that grow wild in the Darkwoods, including the
of the stars to the knots on the frame of their fabled star narcotic Hoddweed that is known to induce hallucinations.
harps. One might pose a question of the gods, with one It is during these long meditations that the Aufhiyuth
constellation burning brighter than any other that night, often turn to the forest spirits themselves for wisdom and
which influences any answer the star harp might offer. will seek to commune with the being known as Sàmalikka,
In answer, the Ihana counts off the knots and deformities and his lesser brethren who are guardians of the ancient
within the Alfark on the instrument’s frame, cycling through wildwoods.
a series of nine outcomes that can be seen as basic and
broad-sweeping pattern of life itself in many ways: The Talviakka Ihana
Distanced for so long from their kin, the Talviakka have
✦ Love cherished the notion of the Ihana, but as with all things, time
✦ Growth has changed it. Where the Illmalaini look solely to the stars
✦ Continuance and the Korpikalli draw their wisdom from earthly sources,
✦ Consummation the Frost Elves look to both the heavens and earth. The
✦ Creation Ihana of the Talviakka read the ice for its secrets, looking
✦ Magic for wisdom in the sediment and strata, and seeking to match
✦ Regression what is in the earth with what is reflected in the sky. It is
✦ Misfortune a curious amalgamation of both cultures and wisdoms, but
✦ Destruction in all things there is balance, and it is a rare concatenation

31
that sees the marks in the ice mirrored in the stars, making She made it her life’s mission to find this tree, which she
the portents all the more powerful. When such parallels came to call Alfark, and knew that it fell to her to become
occur, the messages are strong and the meaning behind one with the nature of this world in a way that none before
them stronger - they cannot be ignored. The Frost Elves her had managed, becoming Ihana, a disciple of the
must act upon them, for only when the ice and the stars are wildwood. She dedicated her every breath to the flora and
in agreement will the Vanirs truly believe that their First fauna of Trudvang, seeking to learn everything, but more
Children are ready for them to return to their lives. than that, to understand, in her quest to find the peculiar
Alfark. Where others of her lineage despaired at her naiveté
The Relationship of Time Immacolada did not care and slowly but surely began to
Rather than reckon by dawns and the rising of the sun, they first understand then master the elements, grasping the
found themselves counting out Time with the coming of true nature of Trudvang in a way none since her creators,
darkness, so they talked of three nights ‘til, and four nights the lost gods, had.
‘til, rather than three days or four days. It may not seem She came to understand the nature of blossoms, the
significant, but for the Illmalaini it made all the difference vagaries of scent, and how one might grow in one place
in the world as rather than separating the days, the hours of and wither in another, as though chance itself was the
darkness were the first part of the new day and that offered architect of this beautiful land she walked. She came to
a glimpse into the mindset of these long lived ones: it was grasp the fleeting nature of life as it flourished and failed
in the hours of darkness that they saw their creators in the in every petal and leaf. She felt the infinite sadness of each
sky, it was in the hours of darkness that they felt closest to and every death, and the joy at each new bud and bloom,
them, and during the day when they were reminded how far as somehow life sprung from death. There was a beauty in
away they had come. the face of that enemy that she wrestled with, where others
Sunlight was the loneliest time, whereas the darkness fled or bemoaned this new mortality that had been inflicted
was a time to remember. upon them Immacolada was the first of her kin to embrace
death as something more than a punishment, and rather
Tähtilaulu - The Notes of Eternity part of the cycle of life that nourished all the living things
Tähtilaulu is one of the fabled star harps of the first Elven of this world.
priests, Immacolada, who scoured the lands for one of the Her travels made her a strange one, unlike any of her kin.
rare Alfark trees to carve it. During her long walk she encountered several more
Immacolada gave her life to the tribes. A coming of age Yggdras and shared with them the image of the Alfark
rite saw her make the pilgrimage to Laulukivet, the Singing tree with its strange wicker branches denuded of leaves,
Stones beneath the Poyotta Mountains so that she might and from each learned fragments that steered her quest,
experience the undying song, Vainkappale. That journey finally leading to Oskla and one of the harshest landscapes
forever changed her life. The song touched her in such a imaginable. She crossed the vast stone-filled highlands,
way that she could not escape it, nor unhear it, and yet felt wandering for days in her quest, without water. It was in
the ache of its absence in her every waking moment. When this place, known as Ashilaini that she found one of the
her father took her to the great Yggdras to pay her respects Alfark trees, somehow clinging stubbornly to life despite
to the ancestors, Immacolada had only one question for the the harshness of the landscape.
noble warden: how might she recapture the notes of the The peculiar wicker tree was a thing of wretched beauty,
great song? In that moment the Yggdras offered up a vision that looked to be dying, with the ground around it dried out
of a great harp capable of such sweet music it possessed and shot through with deep cracks and crevices where the
the entirety of creation in its sweeps and crescendos and in land was parched.
that vision she recognized everything that had been lost in If she had not spent so many years in preparation for this
the time since she’d last heard the Vainkappale. She knew moment it is unlikely Immacolada would have been able to
what she must do. It fell to her to craft the enchanting star tend the tree and nourish it to the point it offered up seeds
harp, and capture the notes of eternity. she might take back with her to more hospitable climes.
But where? In that moment she was granted an image But as the seasons turned, the Alfark suffered, and,
the most peculiar tree. A wicker tree without leaves. She beneath the starry sky, she had a vision of the dead tree
knew not the name, nor had she ever seen such a tree, and and the music of eternity falling silent, and understood
when she asked others, trying to describe what she had what must be done, though it went against everything she
seen none could answer her questions. had come to believe. Felling the wicker tree in what was its

32
last living day, she used the tools she had brought with her This bond was never stronger than between Immacolada
into this hellscape and worked the wood through the night, and Tähtilaulu. Indeed, there is a myth spun by the skalds
following the natural lines and grain of the Alfark until she that whispers a truth to the bond few know, that if the Ihana
had fashioned the perfect frame for her instrument—a harp falls, then the living wood of their harps will wither and die,
that followed the bow of the ancient tree’s trunk. losing its harmonics, until it is left sounding flat and lifeless.
Immacolada crossed the Ashilaini, cherishing the seeds of This story holds its roots in the passing of Immacolada, the
the wicker tree, and spent the next few seasons travelling the first Ihana, who is buried with her harp where their journey
land in search of places to plant those seeds that the tree together began, beside the dead stump of the Alfark tree in
might somehow live on and even flourish. The dying tree Ashilaini. The two Ihana who interred her flesh told their
had offered up only a dozen seeds, but from those dozen brethren a miraculous story of how, within moments of her
seeds twelve new Alfark grew, their own seeds picked up and passing, Tähtilaulu itself died, the wood twisting and warping
carried by birds, digested and deposited great distances from as they wept, for that enchanted instrument would know no
the first. Even so, there are precious few of these rare and more songs. And that loss was heartbreaking beyond compare.
peculiar trees. It has become a totem tree of the Elves, and Now, when an Ihana is approaching the final days of their
because of Immacolada’s vision, a fundamental part of the dedication to nature and embarking upon their service to
Ihana’s faith. Each new priest seeks one of the Alfark looking the land, they set out on their own pilgrimage that takes
to fashion their own instrument so that they may continue to seasons to complete as they visit each of the sacred groves
feed the great song, deciphering the stars and, through their across Trudvang where Immacolada sowed the seeds for
devotions, striving to make contact with the gods. the new Alfark trees. They follow her pathway to their own
Of course, every star harp is very different in its nature, enlightenment and along the way form a bond with the
and uniquely personal to the Ihana who crafted them, but trees. The essence of each grove is slightly different, as the
it is more than just a case of whim or design that causes soil and the environment the roots are connected to feed
the Elf to fashion such a variety of instruments. The Ihana into the peculiar wicker trees, and those differences call to
are bonded in ways that most cannot understand with the different souls. There is a tree for each Ihana, and those
specific Alfark that offered up its wood to craft the harp. trees offer up a part of themselves for the new Ihana to
The wicker tree offers up the instrument best fitted to craft into their own star harp, fulfilling their own destiny to
carrying the notes of eternity as they fill the Ihana’s heart, be become a part of the music of eternity.
that a great harp that can barely be carried, or the smallest
of finger-harps that can be plucked by finger and thumb to THE HORNED SPIRIT
conjure the music of the stars. Sàmalikka, the Warder of the Primordial Woods, is older
An Ihana will sit beneath the open sky, and with their than time itself.
harp join in with the great song in the hopes of communing Sàmalikka was here before the Vanirs descended, and
with the lost gods, finding the silences between the notes will be here long after the Elves are gone.
where they might dwell, and weaving the most haunting Sàmalikka is eternal.
and enchanting of songs in the hopes that they might listen. Sàmalikka will abide on Trudvang as long as there is
In many ways, these harps embody the hopes and fears of a single tree rooted down into the earth that needs his
the Elves, each note vibrating with a tension that resonates protection.
through every living thing, causing their deep harmonics to The horned spirit is as much a part of Trudvang as
ripple out forever, higher and higher into the night sky until Trudvang is a fundamental part of him. He moves throughout
they might finally be heard by the stars. Some have even the Darkwoods, ghosting from tree to tree soundlessly,
come to weave prayers and entreaties into their music in rarely so much as casting a shadow. He is the prime entity
the hopes it might be heard. venerated by the Korpikalli beyond nature itself.
So unique are these instruments, an Ihana cannot play But what is he if he isn’t a Vanir?
another’s instrument without preparation, even if theirs Can there be gods that predate the Elven gods?
is lost, for the heartsong is wrong, and the missing notes Sàmalikka is neither good nor evil, such definitions are
are not within them to be brought forth by the Alfark wood meaningless to him. All that matters are the wildwoods.
and the tune that is played is merely a hollow echo of what If they flourish, and you venerate them, he is your guiding
might have been. light and best friend, but if you bring harm into his territory
The Ihana must undergo long rituals to craft a new harp, then he is the worst enemy a traveller might face within the
otherwise they cannot exploit their Toikalokke powers. confines of the woodland he protects.

33
 The Korpikalli will hang ornaments of twig and vine from to ice, frost and hrim. It is the same fiery rage that burns
the trees in honour of Sàmalikka, the horned spirit of the within the veins of the Wurms, the fire of destruction, the
wildwood, and treat the elk they find within the forests logi.
as sacred animals for their crown of antlers which grow, Sàmalikka is the oldest living thing on all of Trudvang. He
mirroring the crown of Sàmalikka. is a fragment of this other place, a splinter of a soul older than
Neither Sàmalikka, nor his kin, can be harmed by metal time itself. He is the stuff of fire and ice. He is the grains of
weapons, their hide is immune to a sword’s bite, and many dirt that form the land, with the rivers of life flowing through
believe they share characteristics with the faerie folk, with his veins. He is, more than anything else, Trudvang, wild,
the weapons passing through them as though their bodies untamed, unfettered. He is the essence of the Othiwhaalio.
have no form. His is life and death. He is chaos. He is eternal. All things.
For the Korpikalli, the horned spirit represents a bond He has taken the shape of the horned forest god to please the
to this place that goes beyond the treachery of the Vanirs, Korpikalli who worship him, but he could just as easily have
for he is older, and of the land in ways that the Vanirs could chosen to show himself as a million ants marching through
never be. Sàmalikka is the essence of Trudvang. His body the cracked dirt of the forest floor, or a thousand bees burning
is the dirt, his skin is the bark of her trees, and his blood is in a hive of fire bright enough to banish the darkness forever.
the water that nourishes every life form. And like the land He is Sàmalikka, no more, no less.
and the elements that it is made up of, Sàmalikka is capable He is, truly, what it means to be a god.
of incredible wrath. He is both monstrous and beautiful, The Korpikalli believe it was Sàmalikka who showed the
brutal and majestic. He is, in so many aspects, Trudvang. Vanirs the treachery of their hearts, exposing them for the
The Warder of the Primordial Woods has no known kin, cowards they were, and from him they fled. Some believe it
though it is believed by some that there are more of its kind, was Sàmalikka who fashioned the stars themselves, and in
unknown to the Korpikalli, who walk the other wildwoods doing so created the Vanirs, so ancient is he, so powerful,
of Trudvang, seeking retribution on behalf of the trees. and when they displeased him, he broke them, just as he
It is believed by some, including the Korpikalli Aufhiyuth broke their world, unleashing the Long Storm and driving
who commune with them, that Sàmalikka is a creature of them away.
the Othiwhaalio, whilst his ‘kin’ are spiritual images that And while the Elves do not share these legends with
the Horned One has fashioned has fashioned from the raw Humans, there is a curiosity in the Mittlander’s Othwa,
chaos of that place, their nature darker and more savage which is almost certainly a corruption of Sàmalikka’s
than any Vanirs could ever be. Othiwahaalio, with their tongue less able to wrap
themselves around the more complex syllables. And as
Othiwhaalio with the change in its name, so too came the changes to
There are places within the wildwoods where the barrier its essence, making both markedly different 'places' and
between worlds in thin, where the mists are thick and time thus the Othiwahaalio was reshaped into something their
and space lose all meaning. Sàmalikka is a creature of this smaller minds can cope with. It is not some afterlife or
place, but what is it? The Elves describe it as chaos, though other world, but rather the raw essence of chaos and life. It
it is more than that. It is a wild place, of furious elements is, quite simply, Othiwahaalio.
where the storm winds howl and the torrents rage, where
the fires burn hotter than flesh can bear and the ice burns The Old Gods
more. It is a place without shape because its landscape is Precious little is known about the ancient gods of the Elves,
always in flux, changing, tormenting itself and those that are the rulers and creators who left them alone and without the
trapped within its mists, sightless. It is the same wildness answers they would need to fight evil and the dark powers.
that gripped Trudvang before the Vanirs brought harmony Even the Elves have trouble remembering the gods, and the
to it with the Great Song of Creation, and out of that music names of the 900 Vanirs are vague for most of them, having
created Order. It is a primitive place in the most basic lost any connection to make them real. Once they might have
meaning of the word, but within that wildness everything been a litany of names, akin to a prayer, but today they are little
that is needed to bring life to the world can be found. more than sounds, most of them so tormented by time that
The Elves call this place the Othiwhaalio. It is unshaped, they bear little resemblance to the names they once were.
raw. It is the stuff of life. But it is so much more than that. The only thing all Elves agree on is that the sun and stars
It is chaotic, elemental. It is the same cold anger that flows shone brighter when they walked Trudvang's earth and was
within the blood of the Jotuns and Thursirs, binding them diminished and dimmed after they disappeared.

34
 However, the light of the stars remains and so too does Kesinen
the hope of their return, amongst the Illmalaini at least. Kesinen was Summer. He was warmth, passion and life. He
Others, like many Korpikalli, see divinity in nature was the heatwave, the thumping dew, the cooling shadow,
itself or, as some Dwarves maliciously claim, they have the thorn and the verdant glade. Kesinen took the form of a
found powers in ancient, evil entities living between the deer or of a well-built Elf male with a bare torso and huge
depths of the Darkwoods and the peaks of the Great Iron antlered crown. He was courage, mercy and generosity, but
Mountains. also fiery passion, pride and abundance.
What the Elves do remember, or at least some of their
most venerable, the Vanirs were not all equal, but rather Syksylla
possessed a hierarchy of power and specific gift. Regardless Syksylla was Autumn. She was foreshadowing,
of this, the Elves worshipped them equally, gifting their responsibility and aging. She was the coloured leaves, the
gods with an Elven city dedicated to each Vanir. 900 cities moist air, the increasing darkness and the incoming cold.
in total, spread out across the land. Syksylla was often see as an owl and could take the shape of
The vast majority of Vanirs belonged to a lower strata or an old, emaciated, Elf female, with hair that stretched as far
sphere; they were the gods most closely associated with the as the eye could see. She was patient, wise and sorrowful,
many aspects of nature and life in Trudvang. These lesser but she also represents cynicism, chastity and indifference.
gods were capable of assuming a variety of forms, be they
rivers, rocks, or mountains, winds, trees, and even beasts Talvi
of the field. Most often, though, they wore the same shape Talvi was Winter. He was cold and the death. He was the
as the Elves. icy wind, the falling snowflake, the rippling water beneath
There are even those who suggest that Whote, the the ice and the icicle hanging from the branch. Talvi often
old Thronelandic god worshipped by the Ealdfolk, was took the form of a white-shining wolf or of a dark-haired Elf
originally a Vanir, albeit a young and vigorous one, who left boy, appearing under the ice in the frozen lakes and rivers
the other gods to explore the world. He is the creator of the of the forest. He was hospitality, longing and purity, but also
Yggdhraasil and the ancestor of mankind. Elves themselves cruelty, stinginess and stubbornness.
tend not to mention him, which has led some scholars to
suggest the identification of Whote as a Vanir may have CELEBRATIONS AND RITUALS
occurred for the Thronelanders to feel closer to their Elven
allies. As with other races, there are a huge variety of
No Elf doubts that some of the Vanirs were considered ceremonies, feasts and holy times that are celebrated
to be “High Gods” amongst their own, but today, so many by the Elves, though these vary from tribe to tribe.
millennia after the Savenpaha, there is no agreement upon Primarily, though, there are four feasts observed by each
on the number. However, there are four Vanirs who most of the three main Elven lineages, no matter how far they
frequently appear to be considered elevated by all Elves: have wandered from that first home and the one tree
the Gods of the Seasons. As they came to Trudvang from that took root to give birth to the great forests: Hautja,
the stars, their presence gave order to the primitive world, Njarka Falekala, Verippi and Naokka. In addition to those
giving it natural cycles, which persisted in Trudvang long four celebrations each Elven tribe has developed its own
after the Vanirs left this world. rituals and feasts.
The Gods of Seasons were the source of all wisdom and
the closest to the ancient and mysterious Misturelves. HAUTJA (FUNERARY PRACTICES)
When one of the godless Korpikalli leaves the mortal realm
Kivatta they believe its essence returns to the Othiwaalio. It is not
Kivatta was Spring. She was birth, fertility and sprouting. so very different from the beliefs held by the Illmalaini of
She was seen as the melting snow, the snowdrop, the Soj or the Talviakka of the frozen north. In each lineage,
smell of the moist soil and the newborn meadow of everything stops to honour the loss.
flowers. Kivatta most often took the form of a chirping The Othiwaalio is not a heaven, neither is it a resting
lark or of a young Elf woman covered in a veil of thinnest place, but the source where all energies become one and all
shimmerweave, naked and pale, with flowers growing over existences are fused into a single harmony.
her hands and feet. She was joy, curiosity and love, but also Death is one of the few great tragedies for the Elves, as,
irresponsibility, restlessness and extravagance. for many thousands of years their kin were immortal, and

35
 According to Elven sagas, in those
days long gone, a single hookaipana
tree once grew so high it reached the
stars themselves. Now, they hope by
nourishing and nurturing this new
generation of silver floral trees, one might
do so again, allowing the body entombed
within it to be carried up to the stars
where it will be seen by the Vanirs so
that they might bring the departed
back to life and that they might show
them the way back to Trudvang once
more.
Believing it might make a difference
to the gods, the grieving Illmalaini will
often lay grave gifts in with the dead,
so that they may offer them to the
Vanirs when they once again meet.
Korpikalli, of course, want nothing
from these gods and their damned
stars, so practice much more
mundane burial rights, offering their
corpses so that they might nourish
and sustain the land, and Talviakka
face the difficulties of dwelling in
barren lands where little vegetation
grows, either to be nourished with the
rotting flesh or raised up to the stars, so have
come to develop their own unique funerary rites.
Elven funerals are a complicated and highly
formalized affair, where the entire community meets
to pay homage to the dead. While chosen relatives or
friends braid the fallen, other tribe members sing the
Njarka songs in honour of the deceased.
The ritual of the Villipuunkaiku is performed a few
days after the funeral. Visitors put their palms on nearby
trees to feel the Voice of the Wildwood, while stories are
even now, with the world turned so far from the betrayal of told about the dead so that the trees might remember them.
the Vanirs, a great many still cannot accept mortality. It is a loving part of the ceremony, intended to preserve the
Some have never gotten over the shock, where others essence of the departed, for as long as the trees grow they
remain bitterly angry at the great betrayal. will remember them, the stories of their lives carried from
But there are a few who go further and curse the gods. root to branch throughout the length and breadth of the
When an Elf dies from the most natural of causes, age, it is a land.
reminder of what was lost. Their kin return the body to nature, Later, during the following seasons, the nomadic tribes
braiding the mortal remains into a hookaipana, a rare silver will often pass through the areas where the silver floral
floral tree, during the ancient ritual known as the "Hautja". trees grow in order to pay homage to the fallen. Such
Some silver floral trees have become the burial sites for trees can rise to towering heights, effectively becoming
entire generations of Elves, whereas others carry only single landmarks for the Elven travellers.
body close to their heart. These graveyards are known as Elves have special cemeteries for the noblest of their
fjöldaskothýsi amongst the Elvenkin, and are hallowed places. number, the immortal and the long-lived, like the Ikuinen

36
and the Dallakai. When they pass, they have the honour of Five Spears. With so many dead it was simply not possible
being buried on a tree where Ygddras dwell, as is done in to return to the Darkwoods with their bodies. The fallen
Gylolanta in Samia. were instead interred in a huge burial mound that served as
The hookaipana grow only in Soj, which means that Elves a mass grave, much like their Human and Dwarven allies
who dwell in other regions of Trudvang took to using the treated their dead. But even then, the surviving Korpikalli
same rituals, but utilising other species and genus of trees, planted a golden willow, to maintain the bond between the
like the great old oaks and immense pines of many tracts dead and nature.
of the Darkwoods where Korpikalli live. For the Korpikalli, Rarer still is the situation the Elves who reside by the
the ritual itself has an entirely different meaning, with the sea find themselves in. Torn between two elements of
dedication turned inward, into the land, and the heart of the nature, the roiling seas and the indomitable earth, they
ancient forests. In death they seek to give back to nature follow a rite that straddles both, braiding their dead onto
all that they took during life, offering their mortal remains fallen tree trunks that are then pushed out to float away
up so that they might in some small way return to the land. into the ocean. Mourners from those Elven communities
Given the extremes of the landscape, the Hautja ritual will later visit the same shores for years to pay homage to
is a more complicated matter for the Talviakka. They have their dead, though their mortal remains have long since
therefore developed other funerary rituals, some including been carried away.
braiding the corpses into fissures of underground rock or
sealing the deceased within perennial ice floes where they NJARKA FALEKALA
might be preserved for eternity. Another ritual involves Njarka Falekala is a solemn occasion.
cutting down through the ice to reach the hidden waters It is the most reverential and melancholy of all the
beneath, where the dead are wrapped in seal skins and great feasts, where the Elves come together to weep for
submerged, where it is hoped their bodies will become their dead who fell before the rushing of the Long Storm.
nourishment for the creatures of the frozen depths, and The war with the Dragons was bitter and brutal beyond
in each small piece of flesh consumed and bone stripped measure, the losses beyond number. The once great tribes
of meat those memories of their lives now ended will be were slaughtered, huge forests laid to waste, the scorched
absorbed by the fish that feed upon them. earth turned barren. In the years after the Long Storm
It is worth remembering how, during their millennia-long finally abated, the survivors began to gather at a number of
history, given all the migrations and warfare, the Elves have sacred sites to honour the fallen with death songs, known
been forced time and again to find other solutions for burial. in the Elven tongue as "Njarkas".
For instance, it may be that a tribe is currently dwelling in These melodies are both haunting and melancholic, and
a region of forest land where the trees are too small, or capable of evincing great sorrow from the listener as the
perhaps bush-like, and therefore not suitable for interring grief of an entire race is imbued within every long note.
an Elven corpse in their trunk. Alternatively, it could be that There is a level of enchantment to the songs, which are
the local flora, even if large enough, is not remotely like the capable of restoring the heart and the resolve of those left
hookaipana trees of Soj, with no natural fissures that might behind, a final gift from the departed.
be used practice the Hautja. The feast of Njarka Falekala has no beginning and no
In these places the Elven communities have begun end.
burying their dead beneath mounds, akin to the manner It simply is, for as long as it needs to be for the mourning
the Humans utilised for their heroes. These dead are never songs to be properly observed.
cremated, as Elves abhor the destruction of fire and the Those who gather first at the shrines and holy sites, lift
ravages it inflicts upon nature, but always inhumed. These up their voices and begin to sing, and others join in with
Elven mounds are commonly marked by a young tree that the great song as they arrive, picking up the harrowing
is planted upon them, so that a lost life will feed the new harmonies and weeping openly as they surrender to the
one, and in that way bringing the dead Elves into the never- great grief of their people. And, just as the songs begin
ending life cycle. Whenever possible, Elves plant "elf-trees" with a single voice, so to do they end with a single voice,
on these mounds, as they believe those miraculous plants to as one by one the mourners leave the holy sites to return
protect the dead from the dark influences of Dimhall. to their lives. Some of the Njarka Falekala mourning
Sometimes though, death has been so great that such songs may be sung for weeks, and even in rare cases,
ritual is impossible rather than impractical, for instance in months, such is the depth of grief the Elves harbour even
the wake of the Korpikalli slaughter during the Battle of the now.

37
 It is said that Atto Njarka Falekala, the long song,
lasted almost a century, with the voices of the Elves
never faltering, sons replacing fathers in the echoes
of that great song, daughters replacing mothers as
the mourning was observed.
Those blessed to witness the full heart-breaking
glory of a Njarka Falekala tell of a tearful experience
that forever changed them, for the song is both so
beautiful and so desperately sad, they will carry
sorrow in their hearts forever.

VERIPPI
The Elven brethren who choose to dedicate their
lives to serving as guards for Yggdras undergo a
rite involving their entire tribal community. This
rite doesn't happen on any given day of the year,
or with any understandable pattern of continuity.
Any elf may, at any time, choose to undergo its
verippi, and after the completion of the ritual thus
be raised up as a guardian.
A huge celebration is held in their honour, with
much singing and dancing, as the chosen one is
prepared for the final test where they will be judged
worthy or unworthy of the ancient and sacred duty.
During this feast, at least ten more of their kin
must pledge an oath, swearing that the elf is worthy
and they, in turn, assure the tribes that the chosen
one will not fail and break their oath.
Such an oath is never sworn lightly.
Thereafter, a number of trials are taken. These
include, among other things, the killing of a giant
spider singlehandedly, swimming the rapids of
an onrushing stream for several hours even as the great
currents pull them down, and eventually kneel to sacrifice
precious Elven blood to the tribe by hanging upside down
in leg hooks and being bled.
This final trial takes the life of many of those who would
serve as guardians.
When all of the Verippi trials have been overcome the
surviving Elves are finally declared "Puvartija" or Protectors.
From that time onwards they will spend their lives in the NAOKKA
wilderness, far from their kin, always protecting the Yggdras. Elves carry within them a rare and precious gift, the ability
Even when their nomadic tribe travels away, they will remain to influence the natural world and nurture all living things.
in the area, possibly meeting them again the next season, or This blessing is the basis of a powerful fascination with all
equally possibly never seeing them again if their sojourns take things that grow and germinate that some of the children of
them far from the Yggdras. Puvartija work mostly in pairs, the stars develop. By no means all of them become obsessed
patrolling huge tracts of woodlands all around the area where with the natural world, but for those who do, much of their
the Yggdras grow. They are masters of stealth and survival, life is given over to better understanding how these life
and very few creatures in Trudvang can hope to enter the cycles prosper, with a fascination for how these lives might
sacred groves of the Yggdras unnoticed by their guards. best be nourished and tended.

38
 There is an old truism, what an elf plants grows faster and head is one of the greatest that can be bestowed upon one
survives longer than anything else. There is an element of truth of the tribes.
behind the claim, as there are with most such old wives' tales. Of course, as with any ritual, there is a fear now that should
It is more doubtful when the superstitious folks making such the Hylkääminen beacon fires fail, the Vanirs will never
claims stretch the truth to say what is planted by Elven hands return, and the fault will fall upon the Elves themselves.
becomes magical, but that is the nature of whispers, they take This ritual is also performed by the Talviakka in the north,
on a life of their own that takes them further and further from usually around the burning spring of Vesikärpäse. For the
the truth. But, perhaps there is an element of truth behind the Frost Elves this is also a "coming of an age" ritual, with the
fancy? In some glades the seedlings may in fact become nodes young initiates drinking the burning vitner water from the
for vitner, imbued with something 'more' as the superstitious sacred spring during the ceremony to awaken the life spark
believe, but some is far from many, and nowhere near all. within them that will carry them into adulthood.
In the first blushes of spring, the Elves celebrate a glorious
feast in their demesne known as Naokka. They dedicate KAAMOS AND KANTOHANKI
themselves to one of the landscapes where they dwell, (Talviakka)
cultivating it to ensure the natural balance is favourable. Kaamos, or the “Endless Night”, when the lands north
This is the time when they plant their seeds, often gathered of the Great Iron Mountains fall beneath the yoke of the
from the corners of the world, including places unknown endless night, is a strange one, for the sun never truly rises,
on distant shores. The more adventurous of their kin but rather edges the horizon, transforming the land with
return to their tribe with these exotic species and genus of eerie blue light, meaning that it is never truly dark all day
flora and find ways to blend them into their existing lands, and all night, but rather that for hours in the mornings the
contributing to the diversity of the flora and fauna. land is lost beneath an eerie ghostlight.
In rare cases, the tribal elders may yet possess seeds from In the last days, as the sun begins to fail, the Talviakka
the Age of Dreams. When these are finally sown into the rich tribes undertake a rite meant to ensure that the sunlight
soil of their homeland, the celebrations that ensue are filled does not leave this place forever. The ritual is rooted in the
with rapture and great joy, and are without doubt some of the fear of abandonment that comes with the fact that the gods
most precious and beloved of all the rites the Elves observe. left this place, and them, and involves ritual sacrifice drawn
from amongst the youngest and most precious of the tribe,
HYLKÄÄMINEN - LEAVING NIGHT who are chosen by lottery and staked out on the ice and
(Illmalaini, Talviakka) opened up as food for the animals that might otherwise
On Soj, during the night of Hylkääminen, the Leaving starve through the long months of darkness.
Night ritual that begins the period of great mourning, A similar offering, Kantohanki, is made as the ice begins
beacon fires are lit within the huge head of the stone giant to weaken and the darkness recedes, with the sacrifice
Jättiläinenvalvoja, who stands on the highest peak of the being drawn from amongst oldest and the most venerated
wild landscape. of the tribe being offered in thanks to the gods for watching
Illmalaini gather to sing the Song of Leaving, one of the over them through the darkness. Again, they are chosen by
great laments, and to remember, reciting the names of the lottery, and staked out on the ice, though this time, with the
900 Vanirs to keep their memories alive. The whispering thaw coming, the ice cannot hold, and breaks beneath their
of the names cements the bond between those left behind weight, dragging them under the water where they drown
and the ones who left, with many of the Illmalaini choosing if they have not died from exposure in the process. If the
to believe that the gods can somehow hear them, even if it sacrifice is already deceased before they go under the ice
is only the one word that carries all the way through the the portents are believed to be good for the coming year,
heavens to wherever they are now. with their spirit rising up to the stars, whereas if their last
The purpose of the Leaving Night flames are to light a breathes come after they sink beneath the surface it is taken
fire so bright it shines the way back to Trudvang in case the as a sign that their abandonment will go on.
Vanirs have become lost and need a light to shine the way Whilst it is a great honour to be chosen as one of the
home. Even now, they cannot believe the gods will willingly Kaamos or Kantohanki sacrifices, it is not an honour most
abandon them, and there must be some other reason for Elves would willingly volunteer for, though once chosen
their failure to return. none would refuse, even if it meant turning over a newborn.
The honour of putting the burning torch to the piles of The selection of the sacrifices is one of the most holy
kindling set within the crown atop the Jättiläinenvalvoja’s rites of the Talviakka, which takes place over the course

39
of three nights beneath the Revontulet, when the sky itself and coils, like blood spilled into a bubbling brook only to
appears to burn, and involves the drawing of the Uhriluita— swirl away with the riverflow, the blood becoming spirals
the sacrifice bones—from a pit of ashes after the burning that then form endless new shapes on the surface before
of the kotipuu, a sapling planted during the previous year’s they are finally swept away. Revontulet is a time of great
ritual by the sacrifice as their last mortal act. The kotipuu is reflection for the Talviakka, who believe they are witnessing
nurtured from seeds the Talviakka brought with them from the death of the gods, the blood of the Vanirs filling the
Valtoris, and is one last link to their homeland. heavens before their lives are finally extinguished. There
are those amongst the tribes who seek to divine some sort
KUKINTA of wisdom or comfort from the patterns with the fire in the
(Korpikalli) sky, seeking out one final message from their gods that may
The coming of age for young Dark Elves is marked by a or may not be there.
ritual that involves the whole community. The “Flowering”
or Kukinta as it is called is held on every summer solstice, RUSKA - THE REDDENING
lasting a whole day, from one sunrise to the next, with the (Illmalaini and Korpikalli)
entire tribe remaining in vigil, waiting for all the candidates Ruska, where the leaves turn golden before the fall, is a
for adulthood to return with a worthy prey. breathtaking season ushered in with a mournful ritual where
The Korpikalli consider themselves the apex predators the Elves gather around the oldest of the trees in their forest
of the forest, and therefore judge the possible position and score deep clefts into the land for the dead leaves to fall
of young adults within the tribe based upon the animal and be absorbed back into the earth, nourishing it in their
they bring back. Collaboration between multiple youths is death. It is part of the cycle of life, in death the trees nurture
allowed as it strengthens the social bonds within the tribe. the soil that in turn helps them live through the bleakest of
Later in life, many adult Dark Elves will consider other winters. The Reddening is a soulful time, tinged with sadness
Kukintaveljet, or “Kukinta Brothers”, as closer than their as it is a reminder of the great enemy, Time. There are those
blood kin. On the other hand, bringing back an impressive amongst the tribes who believe that this season echoes their
prey, such a Warg Beast or a Frostboar, single-handedly own life cycle, and that, as with the fallen leaves, when they
defeated, will confers considerable prestige upon a young die they too nourish the land that in turn allows those left
adult. behind to survive the coming years without them. There is
Many young Korpikalli never survive the Kukinta, as something beautiful about this belief, and the ceremony that
they dare hunt lethal prey, while more common prey like accompanies it is both mournful and yet infused with hope of
rabbits, small birds and even fish like trout and pike are what might yet grow out of death.
spurned. There is no shame in failing such a rite once, as
it can be repeated the following year, but failing twice will CHIEFTAINS AND LEADERSHIP
lead to mockery, and a third failure demands exile, as the
young Elf has shown themselves to be unworthy. The High King of Valkalainen, the "Sojlakoita", is the
This rite is toughest within the bounds of the Ellikka nominal ruler of the fabled Valtoris and along with it, the
Forest, as no youngster will be allowed to undertake entire island of Samia, and, at least in theory, he is the
the Kukinta if they are not able to demonstrate flawless rightful heir of Wellithelli, Valki and Valaijna.
knowledge of the whole Turvaikalla, the epic song From the Age of Dreams every Sojlakoita has belonged to
describing the history of Korpikalli. the Illmalaini lineage.
The current ruler is Kallikka, who wears Kivirengas, the
REVONTULET same wooden ring that has been worn by the Valkalainen
(Talviakka) kings and queens since the coming of the Vanirs. Sadly,
Revontulet, or the “Fire in the Sky”, is amongst the despite the links of kinship, these High Kings and Queens
strangest phenomena of Trudvang, and only occurs in the have lost any real power over the Elves of Trudvang and are
most northern reaches, in Nhoordland and beyond, in reduced now to being little more than moral authorities and
Arkland and the Great Iron Mountains. Fire is a misnomer. keepers of the ancient wisdom and traditions.
It is more like the night itself is torn asunder, and the soul of Neither Talviakka or Korpikalli have obeyed any High
the universe spills in through the rent. The firmament takes King or Queen in Valkalainen since the Age of Dreams. And
on hundreds if not thousands of subtle shades of green and even the Illmalaini themselves have turned their backs to
blue that fold in on themselves and ripple out in eddies them since the closing of the Age of the Queen.

40
 There is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a curious parallel Even so, the old Elven monarchy and its stately structure
between the history of Elves and Dwarves. Both of these somehow survived through the Age of the Iron Wurm and
peoples at beginning obeyed one single ruler during the Age the Age of the Queen for about eleven millennia, until the
of Dreams, the Elven Sojkaloita of Valtoris and the dwarven death of the immortal Queen Valaijina. It was during those
Storthune of Tvologoya, but the command of both declined painful days of mourning that the role of the Sojlakoita of
during time. Valtoris lost meaning even for the Star Elves.
However, there is one important difference. Only occasionally, during the long millennia after the Age
Dwarves retained some level of complexity in their social of Dreams, some Elven tribes and clans have been united
structure and civilisation, reorganizing themselves into under the banner of a charismatic or powerful leader who
separate kingdoms and realms, each one ruled by its own self-proclaimed themselves "King" or "Queen". In both the
Thune. While the Elves preferred to return to a simpler current Eika and the old Forneika languages, the word
social system that was more natural for them: small, for these leaders has always been "Lokoiti", which is a
isolated groups, mostly united by bloodlines, akin to clans neutral word, used to mean both king and queen without
and tribes. There was no space for Kings and Queens in the delineation of sex or gender.
their new, savage world. During the Age of Dreams, these Lokoiti, were nominal
The Talviakka and the Korpikalli were the first to vassals of the first Sojlakoita, the High King Wellithelli,
experience this transition, from a more stately entity ruling lands far from the Soj archipelago, like the legendary
dividing into smaller tribes, and sometimes splintering Valkohana, queen of the lost Utakimajlo, in what is today's
further still into even smaller clans within the tribes, like Dragon Forest.
families. This diaspora had already begun by the end of the Sometimes Wellithelli allowed powerful subjects, even in
Age of Dreams, as they migrated northwards. Soj, to bear this title, like the wise King Salivehen, the ruler

41
of Turvanaika, where later the Korpikalli cursed the gods, and tribe can be ruled by a diarchy of leaders, sometimes
the first to tame the wild skjulds. composed of brothers, rivals or even on occasion, husband
Very few Elven leaders have succeeded in becoming and wife.
recognised as kings or Lokoiti during the later ages, and those In some tribes a council of elders, led by the eldest, govern
that have did so by uniting all the many tribes and clans of a over everyday life, while they give all the power to a chosen one
specific region. In truth, this happens far more often among during specific times of crisis, such as a war chief, who may be
the warlike Korpikalli of the Darkwoods, than it does in either elected during times of war, or an exceptional hunter during
of the other lineages. These petty kings of the Dark Elves never times of famine. An expert Ihana can rule the tribe during
swear allegiance to the Illmalaini High King of Valkalainen. certain sacred times, following the Toikalokke tradition, and a
They remain fiercely independent, local rulers, and the same famous Vitner Weaver may be elected if the Elves are facing a
has sometimes happened not just among the Talviakka, but supernatural threat.
even among a few of the Illamalaini's largest communities. Not all Elven tribes are so democratic, and a dictatorship of
These local royal dynasties never endure among the Elves, one-elf rule may exist, verging on authoritarianism.
and their bloodlines rarely manage to maintain their hold on The rituals concerning the transfer of power can be also quite
power for more than a few generations, if that. Elves are quite elaborate, and often confusing to those not well versed in the
different from Humans in that regard. They are attuned to the peculiarities of the tribes. Many Korpikalli tribes choose their
nature of balance and when they feel weaknesses or fissures leader only after ritual hunts in the deepest forest, for instance,
opening up within the tribes, are quick to revert to their small, or after successful raids against enemies--most frequently,
independent tribes and clans rather than follow one they know Trolls--while at times of peace, violent duels may be used to
to be wrong or weak. decide who is destined to lead the tribe. This kind of challenge
Perhaps unsurprisingly, today Elven culture seems to shy is most common amongst the Korpikalli, with the powerful
away from the formation of large, complex societies. Most younger warrior often seeing and loathing the weakness in the
Elves abide in small, wandering clans of between 20 and 50 older ruler. Age is weakness. Weakness is death.
individuals, united by blood ties, though sometimes they will In many of the Talviakka and Illmalaini clans the leader is
congregate in larger tribes which rarely consist of more than chosen only if several Ihana agree that the signs from the stars
50 to 100 individuals. point towards the same individual.
Oddly enough the word "clan" can be used within elven Leadership is occasionally inherited from father to son but,
society to not only describe small tribes or families within since survival is more important to nomadic Elves than empty
the same tribe, but also as a means to identify groups that traditions, strength and skill are seriously considered when
are larger than a single tribe. In fact, some tribes, especially selecting a leader. A chieftain's daughter or son will more often
among the Illmalaini of Samia and Edras, feel bonded by than not be largely ignored if a better candidate is to be found
common ancestors and pacts made in antiquity, where others within the tribe.
are bound by similar ideologies. These great, multi-tribal clans Wisdom, charisma and knowledge are key factors when it
are rarely real confederations—as Elves avoid forming large comes to choosing leaders amongst the Illmalaini and Talviakka,
political alliances and entities—but are more akin to unions while the Korpikalli are more concerned with physical attributes
linked by religion, customs, and tradition. over mental ones. They look for hunting skills, leadership traits
The tribes are often led by chieftains or, in the larger tribes, and prowess in battle. In theory any elf which is still blessed by
by councils of elders. The Elven word for these chieftains is the gift of immortality--like the Ikuinen, or even just of long life
"Oikaloita", although it is not uncommon for it to be used for like the Dallakai--would be naturally seen as a leader by others.
the eldest member of a clan, or all of the elders, as a term of These individuals are so scarce nowadays there are Elves who
respect. do not believe they exist anymore.
Given the incredibly long history of the Elves, and how
diverse and stretched their three main Elven lineages are, SOCIAL STRUCTURE
all manner of governance systems have been tried, used
and rejected over the centuries, with marked differences Social structure within the typical nomadic tribes and clans
between even the same bloodlines in the same regions as is usually simple.
they seek the fairest form of leadership. Sometimes among Elder Ihana or the more valorous of the war leaders have a
the larger tribes, where inner conflicts are more common, role, when needed, within the communities. Equally, it is not
the leadership is passed among different families with the unknown for ruling bloodlines and elite families to be found
passing of the current leader, while at other times a single within their number. However, the reality is that there tend to

42
be more similarities than differences between the disparate ELVEN JUSTICE
Elven societies, and it is seldom a simple matter of seeing Those caught damaging the tribe for their own, personal
clear-cut social classes within them. gain are punished.
In all of the small nomadic tribes, every Elf has their chore Talviakka and, especially, the Korpikalli are known for
or duty they are expected to perform, most often than not their gruesome punishments, which go so far as to include
as an everyday occurrence. These chores are fundamental wounding, maiming and scarring.
to the day-to-day life of the tribe. Off course there are those The Talviakka must exert such punishment, given that
who have more specialised duties and talents, including the they live in the harsh frozen environment of the north
likes of healers, bards and Ihana, but every Elf is expected to which is more than merely unforgiving, it is lethal. It is
gather food, hunt and fight when needed. different for the Korpikalli. They appear to revel in their
There is no room for idle nobles amongst the Elves. role as apex predators in their forests and make those who
Social structure is slightly more defined within the few still- betray them suffer purely for the suffering itself.
surviving Elven permanent villages (which are mostly to be Unwitting mistakes and errors of judgment are punished,
found on Soj), but this is unsurprising given how the needs of not just crimes, especially if they led to forest fires or draw
large settlements are magnified and more demanding than enemies like Trolls and Wildfolk to the Elves.
the needs of a nomadic tribe. These places need yet more The most common punishment in this case among all
specialized skills, and often see the formation of ruling elites of the lineages of Elvenkin, is exile. These rogue Elves
without whom those settlements might not survive. are called "Kallivojka" (the "Tribeless") or "Mustavaris"
Even so, given the nature of Elven villages, and the (the "Lost"), as they are stripped of any social or familiar
inescapable fact that each and every one of them develops connection with their kin, and cast out. Ending up isolated
within the bounds of Trudvang's forests--most usually within in harsh environments, many of these rogues are forced to
the canopies of the tree-tops where they are in close contact steal food from their own relatives, until they are caught
with natural life--their societies are still relatively simple in and punished again in a vicious cycle of pain and suffering.
terms of stratification. There are tales where whole groups of these tribeless
Slavery is unheard of amongst the Elves, unlike the Human individuals act as bandits and raiders. They are not happy
cities and Dwarven realms, where the exploitation of others stories, and usually end with the tribeless ones killed by
is rife. their kinfolk.
Elven societies tend to be more equalitarian also in terms Many Kallivoijka end up seeking out Human settlements,
of gender. becoming adventurers or selling their skills as scouts and
Of course, there can sometimes occur within the smaller hunters as a way to survive.
nomadic tribes that specific gender roles are adopted for
surviving the wilderness. This is most often down to the need SECRET SOCIETIES & LODGES
of the system to work as a single whole organic whole rather An oft-forgotten topic, when it comes to
than a case of sexism. For example, if mothers carry small conversations about the Elven tribes, is how despite their
children who need to be breast-fed, others within the tribe simple social structures they can hide deep complexities,
will protect and feed them. invisible to others. For example, among the larger tribes,
It is fair to say that, in general terms, everyone within the there may well exist hidden and prestigious "societies",
tribe is treated the same in terms of hierarchy and the ability "lodges" or "brotherhoods" where individuals are accepted
to advance in it. This is true for both the many small clans into their number by invitation only, and even those invited
and the few surviving Elven permanent settlements. But it is must survive the initiations.
worth remembering that of the three most renown immortal These groups exist to preserve the ancient and venerable
monarchs of Valkalainen (Wellithelli, Aino/Valki and traditions and as a means of handing down the oral heritage
Valaijina) the last two were queens, not kings. Furthermore, to the new generations of Elves.
even amongst their successors of later centuries, the number Each society has its own specific rituals and beliefs, and
of queens was almost equal with the number of kings. That each lodge may be dedicated to a specific facet of Elven
is not to say that Elven societies are perfect, even if many culture.
scholars would have you believe so. Evil and low passions, There are as many warrior societies as there are lodges
including envy and hatred, are present in the Elven heart, for healers, reindeer herders, hunters, vitner weavers and
just as they are in Dwarf and Human heart. And those base Ihana. There are also societies dedicated not to a specific
emotions can cause tragedy and suffering. profession, but rather to social roles, like fathers and

43
mothers, or to the honour of protecting specific natural steal the knowledge to the death. Their riddles are passed
sites, perhaps a waterfall where the Vanirs once bathed or from mother to daughter, secrets carried down through
the battlefield where an Elven hero slew a logiwurm during the centuries. To the Elves they are a friend, more than
the Falekala. that, they are bonded, and share immense respect for one
On occasion, the hierarchy within the secret lodges may another. An Elf would never harm a skjuld.
work quite differently from the everyday hierarchy of the
tribe. A clan chieftain may hold a lower status within the YGGDRAS
ranks of a secret society, obliged to bow his head in front of The forests of Truvang are home to many a miraculous
others who would normally be beneath him. creature, but none more so that the mighty Yggdras. These
Amongst the smaller clans it isn't uncommon for them strange creatures are perhaps the oldest of all on Trudvang,
being too small to host a society, but rather those clansfolk though the Korpikalli would save that honour for the forest
join with others from small clans within their territory, spirit, Sàmalikka. The first memories the Elves have of the
with the secret societies acting as multi-tribal groups. It Yggdras have their roots in the days they walked the world
isn't uncommon for the bonds formed here to be pivotal in with their gods, before the Long Storm and the black fire
the diplomacy between the different tribes and clans of a that purged the landscape.
region, with the secret societies in effect acting as councils It is said they were joined, one creature, root to root, all
that tackle common problems and solve disputes. aspects of the Yggdras connected to the soul of nature itself.
Equally, competition among societies is not unheard of, What is perhaps not understood is the nature of the
and different lodges may fight against each other to gain Yggdras, or what makes it an Yggdras. The misconception
prominence within a single forest. is that it is some venerable kind of tree, but it is not. Or
During the past sixteen millennia the Darkwoods have
seen many such "lodge wars" which Humans remain
ignorant to. Elves have spilled Elven blood for the sole
purpose of dominance within a forest.

CREATURES OF TRUDVANG
There are a number of creatures of Trudvang that bear
special mention for their importance to the Elves, these
include, but are not limited to:

✦ Skjulds
✦ Yggdas
✦ Gian Spiders

SKJULDS
Clad in wings, with the legs of a cat and the body of a
troll, Skjulds have long, sharply pointed ears and tusks
like a warthog. Their thick hair is raven black and grows
like a mane down their back. They are exceptionally rare
creatures, loyal to the Elves and their traditions since their
taming by Salivehen in Turvanaika, the city where the gods
were cursed by the Korpikalli. The king bound them to
the place, knowing their gift for riddles, bade them watch
over the repositories of knowledge given to the Elves by
the Vanirs. They live in the shadows, and use camouflage
skills to remain hidden. They are dangerous creatures
who take their pledge to Salivehen seriously, even now.
It is a sacred duty. They will not fail him. They will guard
the repositories with their lives, fighting any who come to

44
least it is not only that. The Elves contend that it is not as a barrier against their incursions, not unlike the way the
the wood of the creature that makes it Yggdras, but rather Dwarves carved out Stonefylgis and Stonehinje to help
the essence of the creature that hid within the trees that is push back the chaos of emptiness from the tunnels of their
Yggdras, and that it could easily take refuge in any animal mountain home.
of the forest, in any shrub or flower. They call this soul When the last Yggdras withers and finally dies, there will
creature a ‘drajol’. The drajols live in perfect harmony with be nothing to hold the chaos of the Othiwaalio back, and
the nature of the world, and in that way are its protectors. the harmony that the Vanirs instilled upon the world will be
The Yggdras is not unlike Sàmalikka, who is a creature lost forever, with Trudvang returned to that wild time before
of the Othiwaalio, the very stuff that is the essence of the Great Song.
Truvang that was shaped into the world, in much the way The Yggdras possess unfathomable knowledge, such is
that the drajols soul is of the Othiwaalio. It is true that their wisdom that the Elves believe that anything they do
the Elves believe it was the Yggdras that first mastered not know is lost to time itself. The truth may well be that
the hidden magic and crafted the gift that is vitner, and they remember everything, but consider some truths too
the Vanirs had a role in the process of teaching it to the much for the Elves to handle?
Elves, together with the divine-infused arts. Indeed, this
similarity would make sense of the Korpikalli’s ability GIANT SPIDERS
to work their Aufhiyuth to work the Toikalokke, much Intelligent and highly dangerous, these arachnids are
as the Ihana would, because they draw their link to the amongst the deadliest of foes. Their enmity with the Elves
Othiwaalio through the primordial creatures that are predates their loathing of the wurms, and indeed predate
Sàmalikka and his kin. the coming of the Vanirs, with spiders being the oldest
There is a curiosity here, in this similarity, as the Yggdras predator in Trudvang. These are not common spiders of
are mentally connected, living in symbiosis with their trees, today, but huge creatures that wove unbreakable webs to
a single being shared out across several bodies, as though snare their food, and feasted upon the First Children.
it is the stuff of creation that gives them life. Now, compare They are relics of a time when Trudvang was nothing but
that to Sàmalikka and his kin. Can the same be said for chaos-ridden world, before harmony was instilled by the
these forest spirits? Are they part of a great collective songs of the Elven gods.
knowledge as old as time itself, in touch with everything These spiders wove vitner as well as they spun webs,
that is the world, and bound to it root and branch in the and were the natural enemy of the first Elves, having
same way as the Yggdras? been on the land from long before the descent of the
Then what of the Talviakka on the ice, where no trees Vanirs. These arachnids made their homes within the
grow? If both of their kin draw their magics from the spirits dark places of the forest, turning huge tracts of land into
of the forest and their shared links to the Othiwaalio, what a web-clotted maze with the sole purpose of catching
then of the Frost Elves? Are there no Ihana or Aufhiyuth unsuspecting Elves as they sought to sow fresh seeds
amongst them? Have the drajols souls not made it across and help the forest grow. But their fierce intelligence may
the Jarngands and no Yggdras have found a home their? owe more to the demon spirits the Elves believe infused
There is still much we don’t know about the Frost them, using the giant spider as a host. The Elves believe
Elves, but there is an ancient song that perhaps offers a it is the multifaceted eyes of the spider that allow them
clue to the nature of the Yggdras in the north, which talks to be entered so easily by these demon souls, but what
of faces in ‘bark’ of a strange formation of frozen trees of the demonic entities themselves? Akin to Sàmalikka
formed during the volcanic outbreak that so destabilised and the Yggdras, the Elves have come to believe that they
the land. These trees of ice tower above the landscape, are somehow elements of chaos that have escaped the
formed by huge geysers that erupted only to freeze and Othiwaalio, part of the untamed world that existed before
remain forever caught between that heartbeat of creation the Vanirs brought harmony to the world.
and collapse before the water could come splashing back One of the most dreaded animals in Soj, these giant spiders
down. Perhaps it is true? Perhaps there truly are faces in still dwell in the deepest woods of the Soj archipelago,
those ice trees? though thankfully only in the smallest of numbers, though to
The presence of the Ygdrass within Trudvang’s forests happen upon a spider with the gift of vitner weaving today is
serves a secondary purpose, as these ancient guardians extremely rare, and most unfortunate to say the very least.
have taken up position near weaknesses in the world where In those ancient days Elven hunters tracked and slew
threats from the Othiwaalio might steal through, and stand the spiders to avoid becoming their prey, knowing the

45
survival of their tribes depended upon eradicating the WARFARE PRACTICES
threat. Nowadays, the spiders are hunted for their cobwebs,
which are used to fashion beautiful fabrics, crossbow bolts, During the first two ages of Trudvang it was possible to
arrows and incredibly strong ropes. witness immense Elven armies facing off against the threat
Mittlander traders and sailors tell stories about how of wurms and the never-ending hordes of the Bastjurs. At
Elves craft the unnatural shimmerweave fabric from the the time of the "Old Alliance" Queen Valki was not against
web of the largest spiders. This is a simplification, as dispatching whole armoured infantry units northwards
shimmerweave is made by combining different silks and to fight side-by-side with her dwarven friends against the
webs, but it clearly suggests the role of the dreaded spiders Jarnwurms. Sagas about the Long Storm speak about
for the Elven culture. cavalry units of Elves riding the great horses of the plains of
what has become Mittland bareback,
charging the Bastjur vassals of the
Logiwurms. There are even songs
about great vitner weavers of the
past, masters of now-lost secrets,
changing the face of battlefields
with their world-shaking arts,
coordinating the mayhem they
caused with the refined strategies
of the best generals of antiquity.
But the world turns.
Those great Elven armies are no
more.
After the Long Storm and
sufferings of the War of Tears,
Elven society fragmented into
a web of isolated, increasingly
smaller clans, often distrusting
of their own kin. Now they found
themselves living in a world where
the Elven realms of old were wiped
out by wurm fire and the power
of the high kings and queens of
Valtoris has dwindled through the
millennia.
Elven warfare has evolved into
an art, seemingly best suited for
small warbands, whose tactics are
almost identical to the hunting
practices the Seeds of the Vanirs
have known since the world was
young.
Elves of all kinds, whether
they are Korpikalli, Illmalaini or
Talviakka, consider war not as
some huge destructive conflict but
rather as a series of skirmishes
and smaller battles.
If Dwarves at war focus on the
stalwart defence of key strategic

46
points and a bone-deep stubborn resistance in the face of find themselves at a loss forced to fight on most of the
overwhelming forces, Elves adopt a mentality of mobility prairies of Mittland. The same can be said for both Dark
and stealth. They know the value of ambushes as well as Elves and Star Elves, who are used to fighting and hunting
how and when to retreat, and use that retreat as cover only within the dense forests.
to later hit the enemy from the flanks, before they withdraw In effect, the participation of the Korpikalli in the Battle
again, like an angry wasp harrying at their foe in an endless of the Five Spears in the year 1146 of the Age of Stars was
series of hit-and-run tactics. nothing short of exceptional. They went to war, knowing
An Elven warband can hit a larger force without being their weaknesses on the Plains of Bohain, but somehow
noticed. Quickness is their strength, and the desire to avoid found a way to be effective, acting as archers, scouts, and
any sort of encumbrance is why they seldom wear armour, skirmishers, in support of their Human and Dwarven allies.
and when they do it is never more
than light leather and fur, rather
than metal armours.
An Elven attack will rarely last
more than a few minutes.
Volleys of arrows come from
nowhere and rapid attacks with
miekka and spears might light
work of their enemies before the
Elves disappear once more.
Whether they live on the shores
of Samia, in the depths of the
Darkwoods or on the Great Ice
Plains, the Elves are masters in
exploiting the natural landscapes.
They know where to hide, as well
as they know how to turn nature
into an ally against enemy armies
who often lack the necessary
survive skills demanded by the
terrain. Vitner weavers and Ihana
are integral to this strategy, using
their subtle powers to enhance
their companions' skirmish tactics.
If they have the luxury of time,
Elves will often hinder invading
armies with the same manner of
traps they would use for hunting
large animals--hidden pits and
falling trunks.
Today's Elves are at loss in
open warfare, and avoid as much
as possible the large expanses
favoured by Human armies.
Only the Talviakka know how to
properly fight on flat landscapes
without trees and bushes to aid
them. Instead, they tend to exploit
the glacial and storm-ravaged
nature of their lands, and would

47
 Elves are not well versed in the art of siege warfare. This Many Elven clans tend herds. These are most commonly
is perhaps understandable, not only because they lack the composed of reindeer. The herds move with the animals,
resources and organisation to lay a siege, but fundamentally always looking for pastures new in never-ending cycles
because they have no interest in conquering cities and of find-settle-move which repeat throughout the seasons.
fortresses. The idea of being bound to a place like that is Elves take meat, skin and milk from their animals, but
anathema to them. treat them with respect, never impoverishing the herds or
Unlike their ancestors, Elves of today do not utilise causing unnecessary pain or fear. These herding Elves are
cavalry tactics. They treat horses as friends and, at least in frequently found amongst the southern Talviakka and the
theory, could still use them as bareback mounts, but today Korpikalli, while Illmalaini of Soj prefer to keep reindeers
horses have no role in Elven warfare. Those mounts are wild and savage in the Haumma hunting grounds.
ineffectual in the depths of the forests or, for the Talviakka,
weak and vulnerable on the Great Ice Plains. NOMADISM AND SETTLEMENTS
ELVEN DIET It is vital to underscore one thing--their nomadic existence
doesn't in any way imply a lack of connection with the land,
Elves are by nature a nomadic people, even if a few deep- or specific lands. Elven tribes, like the animals they tend,
rooted or semi-permanent settlements, exist among the are content to wander and migrate in cycles, travelling
Illmalaini in Soj. As with their brethren, the Elves of Soj live through roughly the same regions they have always travelled
off the stuff of the land: nuts, roots, various edible flowers through, dating back to the times of the ancestors.
and fungi. On occasion they will hunt for meat but this is far And this is true everywhere nomadic Elves can be found,
from a regular thing, and for the Illmalaini, incredibly rare. be it Soj or the Darkwoods or on the Great Ice Plains.
While by nature Elvenkind are omnivorous, by choice There are patterns to the migrations, too. The nomadic
they are more often than not herbivores, especially among Elves have landmarks they return to as the seasons change.
the Star Elves, preferring to draw sustenance from the land These sites are more often than not marked by a Totem
rather than its creatures. Tree, though they also include sacred sites, holy trees, and
There is a lesson in this, that it is better to live beside even cemeteries. There are centuries-old oaks which are so
another species, in harmony, than it is to look upon them well-known by generations of migrating Elves that each has
as a source of nourishment. Or, at least, that is what many its own name, and is the subject of a song or a saga.
Illmalaini believe. These lands are not exclusive to one clan or other;
Again, it is about the balance of nature. indeed, sometimes different clans may share the same
Elves call their hunters "toumi" which translates roughly territories and resources during different seasons. When
to "keepers of balance", but the exact nature of this balance this happens, their accords are generally marked into the
changes according to each Elven culture. While many Elves bark of the totem trees so that none may mistake their
believe that the eco-system of Trudvang is dependent upon right to be there. At other times, nomadic Elven clans
all living things finding a way to co-exist, there are those may even clash against each other, fighting for the scant
among the Korpikalli who view things more in terms resources to be had. These kinds of clashes happen within
of a hierarchy of life, arguing that there are a number of the confines of the forests, and whispers of which never
species which are natural predators, and others that are leak out, hence the misapprehension that Elven society is
natural prey and their role in the cycle of life is to provide perfect.
nourishment for the apex predators that roam the lands. Not all Elves are nomads, though, and perhaps
Harvested wild crops make up a huge part of the diets surprisingly, those more sedentary souls do not all reside
of all the Elven lineages, but hunting and fishing are in the same few permanent villages in Soj. The truth is that
fundamental to the existence of the Talviakka and Korpikalli. some few Elves, called "Koivhas" amongst their people, fall
For the Frost Elves, hunting is paramount. They live in this in love with a specific area and spend their all existence
hostile, glacial, environment where any sort of nourishing there, dedicating themselves to the land, and tending to
vegetation is beyond rare, whereas the Dark Elves' notion it. They are not farmers, though. The notion of farming
of hunting, with Korpikalli the apex predators within their is anathema to Elvekin. Rather, these Koivhas serve as
demesne, has been shaped by their nomadic life and the guardians, tending to a specific tract of woodland. This
demands the ecosystem of the wild Darkwoods places upon dedication is more common among the Illmalaini than it is
them and their chances of survival. among the other Elven lineages.

48
 No matter the lineage, Elves tend to live in small tribes These ancient Elven homes are often constructed high
and clans, rarely gathering in numbers greater than 20 to up within the treetops, with walkways spanning branches
50 individuals. Whilst they live isolated lives, different tribes over dizzying heights and homesteads fashioned out of the
belonging to the same lineage, Illmalaini, Korpikalli or stuff of the forest itself. Intricately woven branches form
Talviakka, may gather to exchange news, share experiences, the foundations the villages are built upon, with plants
and observe the feast days together. and other living material acting in many cases as the ties
It is different, of course, in the few permanent settlements that bind them together. Not all of these settlements float
that the Elves hold. within the treetops, though. Some have been built on the
The population of these villages is considerably more. forest floor, though even in those instances the buildings

49
are not rooted straight into the earth but stand on platforms ancient forests. They are beyond any mere ruin, and hold
constructed from branches, reeds and other plantlife. a sacred place in the heart of the Elvenkin, for they are
These few remaining Elven permanent villages are found where the ancients walked.
in Soj, and belong to Illmalaini Elves. Those same ancient Elves didn't limit their arts to
Larger Korpikalli and Talviakka settlements in the north woodcraft. They even raised huge stone megaliths, especially
have been known, though they reside in Trudvang's past, within the boundaries of their sacred sites, and even dug
and rarely lasted more than one or two generations before elaborate tunnel systems and networks underground. None
they crumbled and were abandoned. of these seem to have survived, though there could well be
For an intruder in the forest it is almost impossible to find a few honeycomb tunnels beneath Soj.
an Elven town, even if they were to stumble into the very What cannot be denied is that ancient Elven ruins seem
heart of it, such is the artfulness of its construction. With incredibly alien to our eyes today.
live plants and trees intertwining with the buildings it is
difficult to tell one from the other, meaning vast settlements ELVEN HISTORY
can be shaped out of the forest and remain virtually invisible
to those who don't know they are there. The relationship between the Seeds of the Vanirs and
Being nomadic by nature, the Elves have become adept at history is a complicated one.
building temporary shelters within the trees. The simplest Elves are aware of passing days, seasons and years in the
method of construction involves braiding supple branches way that they separate them further from the blissful time
together to form walls. It takes them (relatively speaking) no when they lived with their gods. On the other hand, no other
time to fashion a village in this manner, and once they move people have such a vast and deep knowledge, encompassing
on leaving the settlements for the forests to reclaim, nature all of the ages since Trudvang was young.
very quickly ensures that only the echo of these abandoned Elves fear Time, but beyond that core fear they also
places lingers, and those eventually fade to nothing. record and preserve events of worth through the oral
There is not a single, established manner for constructing and written tradition, and so much of what the people of
Elvish dwellings. Their buildings may take multiple shapes. Trudvang remember today is because the Elves took them
Elves, in fact, tend to adapt their architecture to the forms to heart and immortalised them in verse. Without that, so
of the trees and other natural features of the land, including much would simply be gone. That is not to say that the
rock formations and waterfalls. Elven houses in the few Dwarves were absent, but they were deep below ground
remaining Elven settlements are mostly fashioned out of in the world of Muspelheim by the Age of Dreams, and as
wood, though other materials including rarer spider silks, a result were mostly ignorant or wilfully ignored all that
bones and horns of large animals can be utilised. These was happening on the surface of Trudvang. Humans are
materials are, in theory, perishable. This is the primary too young a race to know even the scope of all the things
reason why there are precious few lingering marks of the they don't know about their world. Only Elves truly know
ancient cities of the Age of Dreams on the world. Elven the beginning, and they have not shared their truths with
cities return to nature, as the wood rots and new vegetation other races.
covers everything. It is worth remembering at this point that the sheer
The ancient cities provide one of the few anchors we have scope of Trudvang's history makes it nigh on impossible
in terms of the Elven civilisation, and most of these have for other races to even hope to grasp the entirety of what
long since returned to the land they were raised from. has gone before. It is just simply too much. Elves have a
A few of the most revered holy sites remain. Those that unique perspective on this, which is utterly unfathomable
do include places like the ancient battlefields of Falekala, for Humans. Consider this, Elves do not count years like
and the sacred groves where the Yggdras grow. Humans, but rather seasons. This anomaly has led some
Again, it is incredibly important to stress how the Elves naïve human scholars to believe Elves think about time like
of the Age of Dreams were masters of the sattaloijka animals and Wildfolk , with never-ending natural cycles.
arts--achieving a level of mastery unmatched by their The Elven view of history is far more complicated, as it is
descendants of today. With that in mind, it is surprising more spiral-like. They know that Spring will always come
how little remains of the wooden structures from the Age after Winter, but they also realize how this Spring is not the
of the Dreams, even if they would be more than sixteen same as the last, and every passing season put the Elves
millennia old. There are those few that do survive, and further from their lost gods, the spiral taking them down,
they can be found, preserved, in the hearts of the most down, deeper even as their gods drift away.

50
 It was the Elves who first started recording history, creatures, be they Misturelves or Serguronts or any other
by dividing it into Ages, and recognising the coming of a invisible deity are nothing more than a hollow fairy tale.
New Age when great events coupled with complicated ✦ It is the age of the spiders, the most fearsome foe to have
alignments in the starry skies. yet woken on the land—unlike any of the arachnids of
Later Thronelanders and Majnjordian scholars learned today, these spiders wove vitner as well as they spun webs,
how to record history using these Ages from the Elves, and were the natural enemy of the first Elves having been
though they took to registering events and re-organized on the land from long before the descent of the Vanirs.
the old knowledge in more comprehensible year-by-year ✦ The Arrival and the Timaal: The Elves, led by Wellithelli
chronologies. (also called Vainemojna), arrived in Trudvang from the
What follows is a sequence of the main events recorded in starry sky with their gods, the 900 Vanirs, who fell. They
the histories of the Elven lineages. Most dates are not given built cities and served the Vanirs, helping them shape the
with any specificity, but rather in general terms, positioning savage world anew, creating better forms from the raw
those core events within the Ages. Since so much has been materials of the land and sea. The great songs of the Vanirs
forgotten in terms of antiquity, it is often simpler to view encouraged the growth of forests and woodlands until they
things more as a broad sequence of events, which can offer covered huge tracts of Trudvang, and in doing so created a
a clearer perspective of how things impact upon one and landscape of lush beauty and tranquillity that led to a sense
other. of harmony everywhere. High King Wellithelli, weaving
the arts of his gods, crafted several vitner wellsprings that
THE AGE OF DREAMS still offer nourishment to the vitner weaver today. It was a
(An Infinite Number of Years Since) time of bliss, when neither death nor sorrow existed. In
later ages Elves have come to call it the “Timaal”, or the
✦ Alku (The Beginning of Everything): No one knows Age of Dreams, which has come to encompass all of these
the moment when Trudvang was born, only that existed early millennia, including the tragedies which brought the
before the descent of the Vanirs from the firmament. It is dream to such a harrowing end.
said that it was a wild, chaotic, and savage world, where ✦ Falekala (The Long Storm): Ancient, dreaded
primeval, elemental forces dominated the landscapes. logiwurms, hibernating deep within the underground
Trudvang was all storms, ice, fire, earthquakes and world from long before the arrival of the Vanirs, arose
roaring waves. Mighty wurms and terrible giants already from out of the darkest pits of the land to wage war upon
wandered this world of hostile extremes that longed for the Elves. The greatest of those monsters were the albino
the harmony to come. Illjjnaika, ancient dragons whose equal have never been
✦ Even among the Elves there is discord concerning how seen since on Trudvang. It is said that Trolls and Jotuns
“Alku”, the beginning, truly happened. Humans, who later allied with them, but this is merely supposition. The
learned of it from the Seeds of the Vanirs, developed Elven world was shaken to its foundations, almost all
their own theories, looking for answers in the world of their cities razed by dragon fire. Great forest realms
itself. Some scholars believe that a mighty oak, called the such as Parkashajlo in Östheim, and Tusillevalta in
Yggdhraasil, appeared in in the mists between the worlds what today's is Mittland and Perlenne in the West, were
and everything changed after that. Others murmur of all destroyed. Some sagas recount tales of the earliest
mystic beings they call “Serguronts” (or sometimes battles of Falekala, when Vanirs fought side-by-side
Misturelves) who created the world, the stars and the with the Elves. But there are other stories, darker ones,
Vanirs themselves, by using the great songs of making which suggest that the Vanirs, unscathed by wurm fire,
whose powers have long since been forgotten. But as with retreated to the few surviving cities, leaving the Elves to
all legends, there is so much confusion and fabrication fight alone, before their ultimate abandonment.
within the Elven sagas when it comes to these mystical ✦ Savenpaha (the Great Betrayal): Again there are
beings. Some, especially among the Illmalaini, believe conflicting accounts of events, but so distant is the truth
the Serguronts could not have come before, but rather in it will likely never be confirmed one way or another. It
the wake of the Vanirs, created as everything else was, by is believed that during the war itself (or perhaps in the
the Elven gods themselves. This is a profound theological wake of it) the Vanirs disappeared, returning to their
difference between the lineages, with the Korpikalli starry skies, while their seeds, the Elves, could not
believing vehemently that Trudvang has always existed follow their masters and were left on Trudvang to suffer
in some wild, primitive fashion, and these shapers and the indignities of Time. Whilst the Illmalaini hold that

51
 it was after the last battle, in the moments as the pain itself, in front of the magnificent stargate, Queen Aino
truly settled in, the Korpikalli hew to a different version proclaimed the victory, changing her own name to “Valki”,
of events, with the Vanirs fleeing during the worst of the as to mark the end of the Long Storm. Today, Logiwurms
fighting and leaving their children to face it alone. would seem to have disappeared from Trudvang, extinct or
✦ The Coming of Death: It was during the war itself that retreated in the depths of Muspelheim in defeat. But their
Elves first began to experience the treachery of Time, victory came at such a cost. The Elves saved only five of
aging, death and sorrow. Precious few of their number their 900 cities, and four of these were fated to disappear in
remained immortal. the following millennia. Their world was forever changed.
✦ The Passing of Wellithellli: As the first High King, the ✦ Kyynelten Sota (the War of the Tears) and Suurityhjyys
great Vainemojna, felt death stealing in, he commanded (the Great Emptiness): The Korpikalli Veikko Kirottu
his kin take him to the highest treetops where he stole the three tears from Valtoris, seeking refuge in
breathed his last. There, he passed away, shedding the Ellikka, in the Darkwoods, marking the definitive end of
Surevatkivet, the Three Tears, which were kept within old Elven culture and breaking Elven unity once and for
Esiisienpaikka, a sacred grove in Valtoris. all time. The tribes which were united by Aino to face the
✦ The Schism: The ancestors of the Korpikalli gathered wurms remembered their divisions. Suspicion, anger, and
in the now-lost city of Turvanaika and cursed the gods hatred resurfaced. Desperation was dominant in a period
themselves. There was much pain and grief felt at the which was later defined as the “Great Emptiness”. Elves
betrayal of their gods. Other Elves, who later came to be quarrelled and fought again among themselves. The details
called Illmalaini, were enraged by such a lack of faith and of these conflicts are mostly lost from today’s memories,
patience, believing that their kindred were failing a test as Elves prefer not to speak about such tragedies. Even so,
which their gods had set them. Others, known in time some of their most ancient songs and sagas often make
as Talviakka, sought the solace of activity, proposing to references to elven blood spilled by elven spears.
search for the lost gods, leaving everything behind. The ✦ The fall of Jättiläinenvalvoja: When the Observatory
gods help those who help themselves was very much a was burned down the Great Emptiness was ended, but
core tenet of their fledgling faith. The great sadness of the three Elven lineages were definitively separated, with
the Elvenkin lay in the fact at this time of testing they two of the three peoples choosing to leave Soj forever. The
were unable to face the tragedies of this age united. Illmalaini raised a force to hunt the thief of the Tears. The
They fell to arguing amongst themselves, and arguments Talviakka went northwards searching for the lost gods,
turned to distrust, distrust to anger, and eventually the and the Korpikalli retreated to Ellikka, in the Darkwoods,
schism, which planted the seeds of the three future Elven eventually finding the thief, Veikko Kirottu, whose mind
lineages that have survived into today. has been shattered by the Tears. The three Elven people
✦ The rise of Aino: A wise, immortal, Elven woman, Aino, meet again to divide the Tears, one per lineage, and to
from the small island of Toukka, managed to gather punish the thief.
the best warriors and scholars of the Elves to her side ✦ The First Talviakka Home: Somewhere in the north,
and support her in becoming the heir to Wellithelli. She on the Great Iron Mountains, the Talviakka founded the
gathered incredible powers though mighty rituals and underground realm of Ensimmäinenkoti, their real First
she was able to summon the heart of Trudvang itself, the Home, where they likely remained for less than three
nature of this world aligning itself with the Elves against centuries.
the logiwurms. In the days that followed, the Elves put ✦ The Long Mourning and the Metsärutto: Elves passed
aside their differences—for a while—and under the the last centuries of the age mourning what they have lost,
leadership of Aino, faced the dragons united. seeking peace and struggling to cope with how their culture
✦ The Nine Blades: The legendary Elven smith, and world changed. The Illmalaini of Soj sought refuge,
Raudansydä, forged nine great swords from the ore of taking care of their archipelago’s forests but here, instead of
Vanirskallio, a meteorite which fell to Trudvang with solace, they found the Metsärutto, a blood fever caused by
the Vanirs themselves. The swords were given to Elven forgotten remnants of the Long Storm. The plague lasted
heroes and these weapons were essential in changing for centuries, until the Illmalaini developed an immunity.
the course of the war. ✦ The White Smile and Abandoning First Home: In the
✦ The Sad Victory: Elves won the war when the Elven hero wake of the Long Mourning and the Great Emptiness,
Jepua Jokipihi slew Grymskjafte, the last great logiwurm, the night sky was lit by a sight unseen before, a white
at the gates of Valtoris. In the City of Dreams, Valkalainen borealis that stretched out like a madman’s smile across

52
 the firmament. It lasted for five long nights before it finally Queen Valki gave the ancient Pjontikka spear to the hero
faded. The elves of the Talviakka took it as a sign that Annilas bidding him kill the wurm. It took many years for
they had lived below ground too long and their gods were Annilas to hunt and kill the dragon. Alas, he lost his life in
urging them to rise and live beneath the stars, so they that final fight, though he did slay the wurm.
abandoned the warren of tunnels beneath the Jarngand ✦ Circa Year 402, The Old Alliance: For the first centuries
that they had hollowed out to create, Ensimmäinenkoti Elves and Dwarves fought their own separate wars, until
- The First Home – and took to roaming the Ice Plains Queen Valki of Soj and the Storthune of the Blood of
in a nomadic existence. This came at no little personal Vurfim in Trilheim coordinated an alliance. For the next
cost to the Frost Elves, who would never again know 150 years Illmalaini and Dwarves fought side-by-side
the permanent roots of a true city for a home. The white against the threat of the Jarnwurms, travelling between
smile would not be seen again for millennia. Trudvang and the archipelago to wage war, united.
✦ A new meeting: At the end of the age, Dwarves left the ✦ The Failed Reconciliation: Around this time. With old
depths of Muspelheim for the first time. As they came alliances in the air, Queen Valki of Soj dispatched a
into the light of the sun they meet the Elves. Korpikalli trusted envoy to the Elves of the Darkwood and the Elves
were most likely the first to see these ‘new’ inhabitants of of the Ice Plains with a message of reconciliation. Much
their world as the Dwarves emerged from caverns near had been lost in the schism, with the sundering of the
the Great Iron Tooth. News of this meeting reached the lineages, and the grief of that loss weighed on the Queen.
Illmalaini in Soj. Nobody knew how to treat the Dwarves, With the reconciliation of Elves and Dwarves she believed
as they did not understand their role in the great scheme there was hope for her own people to finally find peace
of nature. They started calling Dwarves the inhabitants and contentment together once more, and proposed the
of “Yukkalinka” or the “Snake Kingdom”. Gathering of the Tears as a summit to set aside their
differences of the past and find some sort of common
THE AGE OF THE IRON WURM future they could all believe in. Ending in bloodshed, it
(19,890 Elven seasons or 4,972 years) was the last such attempt at reconciliation.
✦ Circa Year 565, Broken Vows: Dwarves, led by Fudorov
✦ Year 1: A new breed of dragons, the Jarnwurms, rise Skiljov, come to the sacred grove of Dunjokk in Oskla to
from the depths of Muspelheim. It is not impossible that hunt down a Jarnwurm. Elves kill the Dwarves for defiling
this new threat was awakened by the Dwarves, whose the site. The Old Alliance is broken. In the wake of this,
kingdom is devastated. The dragons slumbered deep Elves stop sending armies northwards and the Dwarves of
within the Mountain’s roots, where they had slept since Trilheim are besieged in their own underground kingdom
the days before the Vanirs came to Trudvang. Terrified, by raging Jarnwurms and Bastjurs for the next 60 years.
the Elves declare that a new age of this world has begun. While the Dwarves emerge victorious by the end of the
✦ The Reconstruction of the Jättiläinenvalvoja: During conflict, a millennia-long grudge between Dwarves and
the early years of the Age, the Illmalaini in Soj re-built Elves has begun and will not be easily set aside.
the Observatory which was burned down during the ✦ Circa Year 590-650, The Great Thaw: Beyond the
previous age, making it a beacon of hope. mountains of Jarngand the elements are never less than
✦ The War of the Singing Strings: The Jarnwurms, hostile, with a permafrost that is thick beyond piercing. And
followed by Bastjurs (Trolls and Giants), devastated the yet, for a span of seasons the Thaw bit hard and the landscape
underground Dwarven kingdoms, before they moved beneath the Frost Elves feet began the shift, reshaping itself
on to invade the forests longing for the taste of Elven and removing any stability from their homes. Countless lives
flesh. The Korpikalli in the Darkwoods were the first were lost to the Thaw, with the nomadic Elves trapped and
Elves to face the menace, but soon dragons started to fly, often drowned by the treacherous ice. The greatest fear
they raids even reaching as far as Soj. Only the isolated during these long seasons was that there would be no end
Talviakka, far away on the ice plains of the north, escaped to it, and that the Thaw would continue until it drowned the
the majority of the massacres unscathed—though they world. This led to the development of a new kind of Talviakka
had their own threats to face from beneath the ice. seer, known amongst the tribes as a dómssjáður, or Doom
✦ The Great Wurm: A huge Jarnwurm, called Yttamari by Dreamer, who touched the darkest of futures in their dreams
the Elves and Glaupkelp by Dwarves, came to the island and brought them back to the waking world. There are sagas
today known as “Daalheim”. From there it spread terror still sung today amongst the Talviakka that recount these
and mayhem on the Elves of the archipelago. The immortal dark dreams brought to life in the form of fetches woken

53
 from the detritus of the Thaw, the exposed bones of long married Savilloha, making her the first Elf to become a
buried dead, the rotted roots of vegetation robbed of life and queen of a Human kingdom. When Whotgall died, she
more, not unlike the Dark Dwellers in nature, though in the retreated to Valtoris, leaving the throne to their son, and
most terrifying of the songs the only way to end the threat of thus the family line was assured.
the fetch was to slay the dómssjáður and put an end to its ✦ The blessed alliance: The presence of Savilloha at
dreaming. Some of the old songs tell of the sighting of a white the court of Queen Valaijina strengthened the ties
smile across the horizons, lasting five full nights, signified the between the Illmalaini of Soj and the Thronelanders.
end of the Thaw. The white borealis is the rarest of celestial Elven masters often came to Ard Kampu, sharing their
portents, only seen once before. knowledge and culture with the Humans. Some of these
✦ The Rise of Men: Humans appear from the mists at some lessons included precious arts as rare and profound
point in the second half of this Age. Later legends speak as vitner weaving. Thronelander colonies were also
of them as wandering heroes, while Elves remember established in Samia and Edras. Large parts of later
those early Humans as more primitive, akin to animals Ealdfolk and Mittlander cultures have their roots in this
invading lands abandoned by Dwarves and Elves, after age of friendship with the Elves.
the wars with the Jarnwurms. A fine example of this is ✦ The Rise of the Hrimwurms: News of a new species of
Östheim: when the wild humans came the few remaining “Frost Dragons” in the far north set fear into the hearts and
Illmalaini retreated, but the Copperwood Korpikalli minds of Elves and Dwarves, as memories of the old wars
started millennia-long hostilities, which are to this day surfaced. Where the Age of Dreams had witnessed the rise
reflected in their modern fights against the Wildbrons. of Logiwurms and the threat of the Long Storm, and the Age
✦ End of an Age: After almost five millennia the number of the Iron Wurm had seen Jarwurms rain terror down upon
of Jarnwurm attacks diminishes, as most of the beasts the land, this was different. The Talviakka, in what had been
retreat once more below ground to hibernate. Elven the relative safety of Great Ice Plains, suffered the most from
seers begin to notice signs of great events to come in the the waking of the Frost Dragons, although almost nothing
skies. of their wars is known in the southern lands. It was a
fundamental time in the shaping of their society, much as the
THE AGE OF THE QUEEN Long Storm had shaped the tribes of the South in ages past.
(24,001 Elven seasons or 6,000 years) Where the dragons had wrought such destruction in the
lands of Soj and elsewhere, the coming of the Hrirmwurms
✦ Year 1, a new hope: The immortal Valki, for the first threatened to do the same in the North. It was a fundamental
time in millennia, gives birth to a daughter who clearly moment for the Talviakka, already a nomadic people, as
displays the gift of immortality. Dreams and hopes of many began to look southwards, seeking an escape. This
a renewal of their world fill the Elves’ hearts, and they was contrary to the vows of their ancestors who had made
named the child “Valaijna”, which means “Queen”. With the long walk north, and in many ways felt like a humbling
her birth, a new Age has begun. defeat. It led to a sundering of ways, with those who choose
✦ Year 30, a change of rulership: With Valaijina reaching to stand and fight and those who saw no honour in dying
maturity, the legendary Valki abdicated in favour of her standing on either side of the great divide. So, while some
daughter, ending her millennia-long reign. Nobody knows marched south, fleeing the threat, others remained on the
what happened to her after this moment in time. Some icy plains to face the fell beasts. What was the right choice? It
bards have woven tales of Valki retreating to her beloved is hard to say, but the harsh reality of it is that those Talviakka
island of Toukka and living as she used to in the days when who came south did not fare any better than their kin, and
she was just “Aino”, while others whisper tales of deep died out within time as they could not bear the warmer
portent where she disappeared in the mists between the lands and the very different challenges they presented. What
worlds, and dare not speculate what happened to her there. is undeniable, however, is that this was the moment the
✦ The Foundation of Throneland: Hutiger Bearsoul and Talviakka, after more than ten millennia, remembered that
his eight companions saved Jylikki and Puslinna, two life still thrived south of the Jarngand, and that they wanted
of the last immortal Illmalaini on the continent, from no part of it. Their existence has remained a forgotten
the rage of the Wildfolk (or, according to some sources, secret as far as most people in Trudvang are concerned.
Trolls). The nine heroes founded Throneland. Each Isolationism, for them, became a matter of survival. Better
of them married an immortal elf, establishing familial to be forgotten than to be remembered. Better to be thought
lineages of long-living nobles. Their first king, Whotgall, of as a legend than to be hunted as a people.

54
✦ The Death of Valaijina: At roughly the same time as Siro ✦ Year 140, The Old Elven Pact: In what the Elves consider
Werte was afflicted with his visions (which were bound the 562nd Season of the Age, a previously unknown number
to change the world), the immortal Elven queen Valaijina of Giants charged down from the Trollridge Mountains,
died quite unexpectedly in Soj. Disease, poison, or curse: with the sole aim of conquering the entire peninsula
the exact cause of her demise is unknown. What is which would later become Ejdland. Unexpectedly—for
known is that in the days that followed her few immortal the first and only time in history—the wild Korpikalli of
sons and heirs disappeared, though no one knows the Copperwood made an alliance with the Wildbrons to
whether they were killed or spirited away for their own fight for the land. It was an uneasy alliance, and after their
protection. The grieving Elves understood that the world victory over the Jotuns, the Elves were quick to withdraw
was irreversibly changed. This loss bought about the end back into the woods, considering their pact discharged,
of what had been an Age of Hope, the Age of the Queen. and refusing further contact with Humans.
✦ The Return of the Logiwurms: Some twelve millennia
THE AGE OF THE PROPHETS since the Logiwurms were first sighted, they were
(12,678 Elven seasons or 3,169 years) seen again on Trudvang, the great beasts awakening
The source of this name, The Age of Prophets, is unknown: It from their long sleep and emerging from the depths of
is possible that it is the first age not named by Elves but later, Muspelheim. The horror was unmatched, as the Elves
by Thronelander and Majnjordian historians. As the world came to understand that their ancient nemesis was not
changed among them, with the words of Siro Werte spreading extinct. Worse, by far, Bloodfang the Illjjnaika, the albino
like wildfire through the West, the Illmalaini of Soj retreated to wingless she-Wurm instigated a reign of terror across
their archipelago. They remained friendly with Thronelanders, the land known today as Bydland. She remembered still
but came to realise the lie that the bliss of the previous age had the taste of Elven blood and hungered for it. The few
been. It was nothing more than a cruel illusion. remaining Illmalaini dwelling within those territories
of southern Trudvang fled, knowing they no longer had
✦ The decadence of the Valkalainen High Kings: After the power to face this threat as they once had during the
Valaijina, the role of the monarchy of Valtoris diminished, Age of Dreams. They abandoned the Humans to face
their powers humbled even among the Illmalaini. If, Bloodfang alone.
during the previous Ages Valkalainen knew only three ✦ The Kulhjan Ascendance: As the royal power in
rulers (Wellithelli, Aino/Valki and Valaijina), from this Throneland passed from the Whotgall clan to the Kulhjan
Age onwards it saw a great many High Kings and Queens clan, the immortal Savilloha decided to return from Soj,
passed the fabled Kivirengas — the Foundation Ring—as, marrying King Vidaris Kuhljan, and enriching the immortal
sadly for the Elves, they lacked the gift of immortality in Elven blood in their veins. She remained in Throneland to
their blood. The legitimacy of some of these nobles was guard the kingdom.
questionable, most often their authority was based upon ✦ Year 927, Halawén’s Exile: As the son of Vidaris left
lineage, like the mythic Puolustajansydän, reputedly Throneland with ten thousand followers to begin his self-
the last descendant of Wellithelli himself, while others imposed exile after the murder of Iohéin Tagilfarí, the five-
ascended to claim the ring due to some personal talent. generations-long Kuhljan reign ended, with the rulership
Turmoil and dynastic conflicts, previously unknown passing once more to the last remaining descendants of the
in Elven society, plagued the succession of Illmalaini Whotgall lineage. Savilloha was this as the end of her time
rulers. While the Sojlakoita, the High Kings and Queens in Throneland, and chose to leave, her duties failed. It is
of Valtoris had not held dominion over the Talviakka unknown where she retreated to, but thought that perhaps
and Korpikalli since the Age of Dreams, from this Age she finally returned to Soj.
onwards, they were reduced to mere symbolic authorities ✦ Year 1394, The Big Quake: The aftershocks of a huge
even amongst the Star Elves themselves. earthquake were felt throughout Trudvang. There are
✦ Years 92-99, the Vitnerbane: Hupard, the sixth Ovus, legends which connect this tremendous upheaval with
banished Vitner Weavers from Westmark, considering the birth of an Elven, immortal Queen somewhere in the
all of them potentially aligned with Simag and dark far North. This remains a core aspect of the sagas of the
forces. During these few short seasons many Viranns mythical “Norim Elves”. Sadly the more precise details of
began to eye the Elves with suspicion, as the Seeds of this saga have slipped from memory and are lost, though a
the Vanirs were inextricably linked with vitner weaving few recall the theme if not the contents of it, hence our thin
arts in their minds. understanding today.

55
✦ Years 1427-1727, The Fall of Palliolanta: Elven songs succession. The assassins, if indeed there were more than
tell of how, at some point during this period, the mythic one, were never identified, though the killings ended around
Norim kingdom of Palliolanta, in the north, fell, destroyed the same time as the passing of Mahlojahn, a mythspinner
by hordes of Bastjurs and the power of an unknown evil who used to sojourn with different tribes, season to season,
entity. There are certain verses, long since unsung, that sharing the sagas he held dear. It is possible that a guardian
hint at a great betrayal during these dark days, and how of the old knowledge was also the most famous murderer
one of their number was turned, putting the enemy within within the Elven folk?
the sanctuary of Palliolanta, like a cancer at the heart of the
fabled kingdom, working to destroy it from within. But it is THE AGE OF STARS
only a song, isn’t it? Surely no Elf could be so disgruntled (6,634 Elven seasons or 1,558 years until present day)
as to work to destroy his own people?
✦ Year 1606, the Ealdfolk in Majnjord: Malhewen ✦ Year 1, the new skies: Elven stargazers trembled in a swirl of
Trollseeker, king of the Ealdfolk and descendant of emotions, wonder and no little fear as one night two brilliant
Halawén, founded the city of Majnjord, which is destined bright shining stars were seen in the skies that had never been
to become the greatest kingdom in Trudvang. The Kulhjan seen in all of the Ages before. The stars were called “Talka”
dynasty thrives, and over time succeeds in reviving the old and “Hrinnu”. It was posited by Illmalaini scholars that they
Thronelandic links with the Illmalaini of Soj. This was were a clear sign from the gods that they were returning to
not some overnight happening, but rather took seasons of Trudvang. A new age of hope and expectancy was declared.
tireless diplomacy and sacrifice on the part of the Humans, It would be the Age of Stars. In the same year, in what felt
to earn back the trust of the Elves. Malhewen’s son, Malw like a miracle after so many millennia of conflict and unrest
Malhewens, even travelled to Valtoris, where he took a fair between Dwarves and Elves, peace was finally forged when
Elven bride, Korillasja, said by every saga of the Age to have the Great Thune of Trilheim sent a mighty rune-carved
been the most beautiful woman the world had ever seen. mitraka gate for the defence of Valkalainen as an offering of
The Kulhjan crown, “Perkaloka,” was gifted as wedding reconciliation to put an end to the ages of spite. The Elven
present by the Queen of the Elves of Soj. The truth is that queen of the time accepted the gift. Surely, this new age was
the power of the Elven monarchy was diminishing by then, off to the most auspicious of starts?
but far from lost, and over the coming times old Elven lore, ✦ Year 1135 onward, the rise of the Cloakmaster: A
even if slowly modified, changed, and mixed with local powerful Vitner Weaver secretly gathered power to
human cultures, played a significant role in shaping the himself, coming to command Bastjurs, Wildfolk and even
Eald Tradition. Wurms. Legends claim that the Cloakmaster succeeded
✦ The Death of Bloodfang: At some point in the second in the mastery of “Tunnorsgam”, the Black Song, which
half of the age the ancient enemy of the Elves, Bloodfang, in the ancient ages gave birth to demons. Some of the
the albino logiwurm, was slain in mortal combat by wisest and most learned of the Elven scholars believed
the Bydlander hero, Jowjahims. As the Mittlander hero this song to be a perverted version of the Songs of
accomplished something unheard since the Age of Dreams, Creation, including the Great Song, used by the Vanirs
the news spread, and his deeds were remembered even in when Trudvang was young. The Dwarves in Muspelheim
the songs of the elven bards in Soj. were the first victims of the Cloakmaster’s evil, with the
✦ The Night of the Assassins: Ruling dynasties were never war beginning below ground.
the norm for the quarrelsome Korpikalli of the Darkwoods, ✦ Year 1139-1146, the Greatest War of the Age:
but during this age a number of warlord families managed Cloakmaster’s never-ending hordes devastated everything
to conquer and hold power over the main tribes for a few from Westmark to Mittland, bringing mayhem to both
generations. This situation ended with the Night of the dark forests and the underground world. Neither Dwarf
Assassins, though night itself is a misnomer as events played not Korpikalli were safe from his evil. Through countless
out over a number of seasons. It is remembered as ‘the minor victories and punishing defeats, the peoples of
night’ more for the fact that the assassins struck under cover Trudvang suffered. There seemed to be no limit to the
of darkness. Across these nights some thirteen noble elves number of Bastjurs and Wildfolk that came streaming up
and leaders of the main Darkwoods tribes lost their lives out from the depths of the mountains every season. Surely
to the assassin’s poisons, causing the line of succession to there had to come an end to them? That was the last grim
pass between a number of families and giving credence to a hope of Korpikalli, Dwarf and Human. Surely one day it
return to the old, more democratic notion of non-hereditary had to end?

56
✦ Year 1146, the Battle of the Five Spears: A desperate alliance THE RETURN OF SORROW
was formed, and old grudges forgotten for facing the common Today belongs to the Age of Stars, much as yesterday and
enemy. The five united armies included the Viranns, led by the the day before, but Elven scholars, like the wisemen and
Ovus himself, the Ealdfolk of Majnjord, the Thronelanders sages of other races, have begun to suffer visions of a darker
from the West, the Dwarves from Trilheim, and the Korpikalli future.
Elves from the Darkwoods. Despite being traditional allies of No one knows for sure what the next age will bring, or
both Thronelanders and Majnjordians, the Illmalaini of Soj, what name it will earn, only that the Age of the Stars is
did not dispatch any warriors to aid in the fight. Their kings drawing to an end. Perhaps not tomorrow, nor tomorrow nor
had lost the authority to summon their armies and send them tomorrow, but soon. The Elves have two main hypotheses
to war. On the other hand, the Korpikalli of the Darkwoods— about the meaning behind these visions, one driven by the
who would in any other age have sought to kill Humans on Illmalaini, the other by the Korpikalli.
sight—were united beneath the leadership of a great hero, For the Illmalaini, they feel the name of the next age will
Aniota Starborn. It is unknown if word was ever sent north be the “Withdrawal of Sorrow”, a time when the Star Elves
to the Frost Elves beyond Jarngand, or if any of their number will finally solve the answer to the greatest riddle of all,
answered if it was. All that is remembered is death. So many coming to understand the abandonment of the gods and
lives were lost in that battle, called by some the War to End All gain true understanding of their ordeal. This time will lead
Wars, Human, Elf, Dwarf falling beside Bastjurs, Wildfolk and the Elves back to the side of the Vanirs. It will be a time
Wurm. The hordes were stopped on the Plains of Bohain in when the Elves finally leave Trudvang behind them, to travel
Runewiik, shedding more blood than had been spilled since once more beside their gods, or a time when the gods will
the days of Falekala. Aniota and his own bride, Salviperka, finally return from their long journey, to stand beside their
died fighting side-by-side with Humans and Dwarves, but children once more. They understand that it promises to be
it was their heroism and sacrifice that was fundamental in a time when grief will retreat and finally give way to the next
destroying Cloakmaster’s powers. golden Age of the Elves.
✦ Year 1550, the White Smile Returns: A peculiar celestial For the Korpikalli the Return of Sorrow will not be a
phenomenon was marked in the winter skies above the new age, merely an end of the Age of the Stars. For them,
Great Ice Plain, where the sky was split by what appeared to it promises to be little more than another dark time, when
be a great white smile that stretched across the horizon. This grief once again comes to Trudvang. A new storm of dark
portent, whatever it should mean, is an echo of a skywide forces will pound on the drums of war, seeking to darken
smile made by a white borealis that was supposedly seen Trudvang's surface and destroy everything that is of
millennia ago, and presaged the abandonment of the First goodness. They fear that it will finally be the time when the
Home and the end of the Thaw, two massively traumatic ancient wurms rise again, and mark it as the greatest threat
times in Talviakka history. The white smile hasn’t been seen to existence of all the races of Trudvang.
since, until now, where it was witnessed by Talviakka who It is obvious that the Talviakka have their own vision
were on the hunt. It is considered the gravest of celestial about the Return of Sorrow, though their seers refuse to
omens by their seers, and is a cause of great concern. The share their fears. This can only cause one to extrapolate
white smile lingered in the night sky for five days. Talviakka a fate worse than death, though what that can be, they are
tribes met under smile on the fifth day to decide a course not saying.
of action, with nobles, hunters, seers and more at odds.
A few of their number were so frightened by the celestial
phenomenon that they advocated an exodus, urging their
fellow Elves to abandon the ice once and for all, as they
had abandoned First Home all those years before. Others
believed it was a final reward for their search and that their
gods were smiling down on them at last and that the long
hunt was finally coming to an end. News was sent to Soj
and the Darkwoods, though the messengers never returned
so it is unknown if news of the white smile’s return ever
made it to the other lineages.
✦ Year 1558, the present day: Kallikka is the Sojlakoita, the
Illmalaini High King of Valtoris.

57
ELVEN STORIES AND MYTHS How many wurms were present in Trudvang in those times is
difficult to say, but it is known, for instance, that dragons do not
The previous pages have shown something of a schematic occur within the chronicles of the Timaal, the blessed seasons
chronology of what must be considered the main events of where Vanirs shaped Trudvang together with the Elves.
Elven history. The truth of the matter though, is that over the Some scholars say that dragons were precious few in number,
millennia, the Seeds of the Vanirs have experienced tragedy, amongst the rarest of creatures of the young world, and reticent
hope, horror and triumph beyond counting, too many by far in nature, keeping to themselves on the fringes of the world,
to ever be contained within the covers of a single book, and and avoiding contact with the other species who had begun to
even more that have slipped into the haze of saga and song breed, finding hidden places within the ecologies of the world.
and lost the shape of truth they once had. The oral traditions It is not an unreasonable supposition. Other loremasters claim
of Trudvang are strong, there is no denying that, but likewise, that countless wurms had been hibernating in the darkest
sing a song often enough and the mistakes filter in and are depths of the underground world of Muspelheim since the
handed down from singer to singer, until eventually they bear creation of the world. One might reasonably assume that there
little resemblance to the truth. What follows is a selection of is more than a grain of truth to both versions, given what the
some (but by no means all) of the main sagas Elven bards sagas remember. Perhaps, then, the reason it felt as though they
love to sing, many of which date to the Age of Dreams, which were both precious few and yet all there, eternal, is that waves
remains the single most defining period for Elven culture. of wurms belonging to the differing breeds woke on different
There are, of course, many new sagas being composed even cycles and rose from Muspelheim during the different Ages?
now, as history finds itself being written by a new generation Indeed, if one listens to the ancient Elven sagas, the dragons
of mythspinners and skalds. of the Age of Dreams seem to belong exclusively to the
Logiwurm lineage, although they were definitively larger, more
FALEKALA powerful and with more varied powers than the Logiwurms of
– The Long Storm later millennia.
There was a time before war, then there was a time after Whatever the truth of these dragons was during these first
war, but in the middle there was the Long Storm, and it days, everything changed when Vanirs brought harmony upon
was brutal. the wild, primitive shape of Trudvang. Watching the wildfire-
Such violence raged that it threatened to tear the world spread of the other races, it became increasingly obvious to
apart, leaving nothing but scorched earth and twisted trees the Dragons that they faced the threat of being overwhelmed,
and ash in its wake. despite their might, and driven out of their sanctuaries,
The memory of that conflict is burned so deep into the perhaps to the point of extinction, if they did not fight for their
psyche of the Illmalaini tribes that they vowed a sacred oath, place in the world. They had never sought war, only solitude
the “Rauhan’sana”, binding them to peace evermore rather and a right to live, like any other living being on Trudvang. The
than face the prospect of life being wiped from the face of the sad truth of the matter is that this existential threat caused
world, which was the only alternative should there ever be resentment to fester amongst the wurms, and the cost of that
another conflict like the Long Storm. The Korpikalli swore threat was almost more than the young world could bear.
no such vow, but rather, amidst themselves pledged to fight As the seasons turned, these ancient creatures became
to their dying breath for the land should the need ever arise. ever-more hateful of the intruders, until they began to crawl
Reduced to the most simplistic terms, the Long Storm out of their dark, dank burrows, emerging long enough to taste
was a war that ragged between the Dragons and the Elven the lush rich air and the heady fertility of the pains and deep
tribes, though at the onset of the storm the Elves did forests down below. And they wanted them.
not stand alone, but rather fought side by side with their Venturing further and further afield from their burrows, driven
creators, the Vanirs. by some invisible, unknowable force, to rage against the lands of
Much of this history is anything but that, existing rather in the Elves, it was as though the great beasts were thrown into a
the form of sagas and tales passed down through the ages by wild frenzy by the scent of something growing there. Something
word of mouth, and no matter how close the mythspinner has they had to have. To consume. There are those who would have
tried to hold true to the stories as they learned them there will you believe that scent was the Elves themselves.
always be deviations, embellishments and outright falsehoods But rebellion does not stir on its own, no matter how
for the sake of a better tale. Still, with that caveat in mind, some strong the feelings of resentment. Every fire needs a spark
truths are evident. For one, there have always been Wurms on to catch. Something stirred these ancient wurms up, driving
Trudvang, existing here since before the gods fell. them to war.

58
59
 Some songs tell of the darkest days, with the horrific ancient For over four hundred seasons, the war raged on, night
dragon Kurtzong spearheading the slaughter, other tales and day and every season new Dragons were born in those
recount the horrors of Nifelfang’s black rage and tell of how dark burrows, emerging to join the fight. New horrors with
he sowed the seed of rebellion in his kin. There was the black never seen before powers. New horrors with never felt before
dragon, Nianfjall, who tore through the kingdoms of the north, rage. And although these new hatchlings were far from the
razing the forests in a righteous fury, his anger turning half raw strength of the primordial Dragons, that mattered not,
the world to ash, and souring the southern coast of Dranvelt as they were born with new gifts, becoming more and more
so utterly even now the land is barren. There were others too, dangerous with each new generation of hatchings.
ancient beasts like Mustaraivo, Tulenkynsi and Näkymätsuri So bloody and brutal—and futile—did this war become that
who were among a thunder of Dragons that swept down for every dragon the Elves brought down, there were half a
from beyond the Great Iron Mountains to lead the first savage dozen new ones being born into the conflict.
assault on the wildwoods, and in doing so caused their kin to But rather than bend or break, the Elves stood tall,
wake up and feel their rage at the repression and torment they’d unbroken, unbowed, and threw themselves into the fight that
suffered at the hands of these ephemeral foes and strike back. would shape the future of the world. They fought for every
The truth is lost to the mists of time and whispers, another leaf, every seedling, every blossom, and ultimately, every life.
thing claimed by the Great Enemy, Time. Now, what passes Because that was what was being threatened by the scorching
for truth is what the survivors and their descendants want to fires of the Dragons breath. Left unchecked, the world they
believe, or need to cling to. There are as many tales as there had nourished would be reduced to ash. Never in their long
are skalds, and as many variants of those tales as there are lives had the Elves fought with such heroism or determination,
stars in the sky. What is true, what is a lie, it does not matter and never have so many fallen, but then never has the cause
anymore. All that remains are the aftereffects, the devastation been so desperate.
in the wake of the Long Storm, and the ecological catastrophe
that great war wrought upon the face of Trudvang. SAVENPAHA: ABANDONMENT
There can be no denying that the Dragons struck with – The Great Betrayal
collective force against the Elves, nor that it was not long There is no vault in the heart of Soj that contains all that is
before entire kingdoms were ablaze. known of all that was, all that is and all that will be. There are
Trudvang was a world on fire. only the memories woven into the sagas and great songs, and
It was as though thousands of years of pent-up anger were the echoes they hold of what really happened in those dark
unleashed in that storm of death and devastation, and long days.
before the killing was done it became something else. The most potent of the tales, those with the lasting power
Evil. to affect a listener and bring out stirrings of empathy and
The Long Storm swept across Trudvang, the Dragons understanding have one thing in common: they all claim the
destroying hundreds of cities, homes to both Elves and their gods abandoned the Elves during the worst possible hours.
gods, until the great woods and more had been burned by How these events are painted varies between the tellers, those
unholy dark fire. The presence of those ancient Logiwurms recounting the sadness of the Illmalaini for instance may offer
was akin to a curse, not only due to the devastation that their a more melancholic tale while the Korpikalli’s verses of the
fire brought, but also since the blood of the largest specimens great song swell with rage at the betrayal while the Talviakka
was filled with so much unholy and dark vitner with the power verses hew to a more determined quest, neither prepared
to taint lands and sour them for future millennia. It was in that to mourn nor to rage against what has been lost, but rather
time that the once heavenly Wildheart became corrupted, and determined to find it once more. Music plays a fundamental
the island of Oskla became a forbidden, cursed place. role in all of the histories, and in evincing emotion from the
Settlements all across Soj and the lands which in the future listener. It can stir the heart and fire the blood, echoing the
will be called Visenthia, Whistergalp, Bydland, Majnjord, rage of Dragons, or slow, taking on the deep bass profundo
Dranvelt and further north, scouring the spine of the Great rumble of doom, making the threat feel far more elemental,
Iron Mountains and the Darkwoods, burned until, across great or just as easily lift up in joy, swooping and swelling like a tide
swathes of the land, nothing remained. come to sweep the listener away.
It was a loss from which the Elves would never recover. To listen to the tales of the Illmalaini, the Long Storm
The tragedy of the Long Storm is so deeply rooted within was nothing short of genocide, and facing the full force of
their histories that even today the Elves whisper if they ever the ancient Dragons and the new breeds, there was every
give voice to these horrors. likelihood that an entire generation of Elves would be wiped

60
out, and with it any hope of the species surviving what was What the Vanirs knew and why this secret was kept in the
to come. It was slaughter. Entire cities burned. The stink of dark is cause for as many wild theories as there are souls to
melted flesh filled the air. It was an ever-present, the most theorize. Many Illmalaini saw such a secret as a prize to be
common odour of the forests—the perfume of death. They won, and believe that it can still be won, as the gods sought to
even came to give it a name that encapsulated the hopeless test them, and this greatest test of all was to see if they could
of that aroma, “mätähaju”, and like the perfume of death, that live in Trudvang without their creators. There is an element of
name still lingers today when the Elves enter a grove that has logic as well as wishful thinking about it, of course. If the Elves
spoiled and is filled with the stench of rot and decay. could somehow nurture the world created for them, and see it
Every one of the sagas begins with the gods standing side- flourish under their care, then why wouldn’t the gods see that
by-side with their children, fighting for the world they had it was safe to return and walk once more at their sides? The
nurtured and nourished, and while the abandonment comes Korpikalli laugh at such naiveté. They blame the Vanirs for
in many forms, there can be no denying that the Vanirs left their cowardice and treacherousness and seek to hold them
Trudvang and its inhabitants to their own fate. accountable. Any such secret, surely, is contained within the
The tales of the Korpikalli are bleaker in their outlook than land itself, carried on the voices of the trees. The Talviakka
those of the Illmalaini or Talviakka, and tell of the Vanirs’ believe in the secret, though unlike their brethren, do not
cowardice, and how believing the war lost, these so-called gods believe the test is simply to wait, lingering, aging and hurting.
fled Trudvang rather than go down in the flames of destruction They see the true test as one of self-help, the gods are there to
with their creation. Stories speak about the ancestors of be found, every secret there to be learned. The world will offer
the Korpikalli meeting in their city of Turvanaika, on Soj, up its secrets to those who seek the answers. There are, though,
to solemnly curse the gods themselves. Today, like so many some few gathering within their number that are disaffected,
Elven cities, Turvanaika has long since been purged from and believe all of the old gods are not gone, but rather dead,
the landscape of Trudvang, but the Korpikalli who migrated beneath the ice. This death cult calls itself Frosnuandlitin, after
northwards remember it still as the place where their culture the ripples they see in the ice beneath their feet. They seek
was founded, fundamental to what they became as it was definitive proof in the form of a mass grave somewhere beneath
there, in this city they decided to turn their backs on their past. the ice plains, which they believe will answer the question of
Elves had long millennia to meditate upon the dramatic their abandonment once and forever.
events of the Savenpaha and search for the truth. Even if The Dwarves have no doubts as to what caused the
most stories tended to lean towards either the Korpikalli abandonment, and their own sagas are full of the failure of
or Illmalaini ideas, thousands of other explanations and the Elves, unworthy of walking shoulder-to-shoulder with their
myths were developed by the Elven tribes that became the creators. How could the Vanirs abide the constant reminders
foundations of countless sagas and ballads, some of which of their children’s weakness and disappointment? How could
survive today. they be expected to stay in the face of their failure? They were
Some have argued convincingly that the Elves wanted not worthy of their gods, so the gods left in search of a new
nothing less than to take the place of the gods, and that from world to shape, a world where their second creations make
their position of superiority, they began to look down on the right the mistakes they had made with their first children.
gods who had actually created them. It is not an uncommon Amongst the Elven tribes themselves, there could be a
thing for the student to reach a point where they believe thousand answers to the pain of abandonment, and a thousand
themselves to have outgrown their master, after all. Others more imagined with no little trouble. What is inescapable is
contend that the Elves didn’t cherish the greatest gift — life the fact that it was an ordeal beyond bearing and came at a
— in a way that pleased the gods and such negligence made time when they needed their gods the most.
them mortal. In fragments of poems that have survived from It wasn’t as though the Vanirs sat their children down and
the Age of Dreams, one can read accounts of a legendary elf offered a reason for leaving, but then what reason could there
called "Nojdala" who, in anger, tried to slay one of the Vanirs be for such a betrayal?
but, if this ‘Deuscide’ was in some way related to Savenpaha, Today, the sagas tell of the night of the burning sky, the
it is impossible to say. only indication that the Vanirs had fled coming in the form of
However, even now—or perhaps especially now—many spears of light streaking across the night sky. Those spears
believe that the immortal gods carried a secret within them were the wake of the burning vapour trails left behind as the
that was too great to be revealed to the Elves after they had Vanirs disappeared forever into the darkness of the heavens.
been reduced to mere mortals and lost the primeval bliss of The emptiness that fell upon the Elves drove them to their
their old existence. knees.

61
 How could they hope to stand as even now the Dragons It is a sweeping generalization to claim there were only
mobilized for the final battle? three different mindsets that caused the rifts between the
The despair mounted as the beat of wings filled the Elves. There were hundreds. Thousands. Grief is a complex
firmament. thing, and the children of the gods were being forced to cope
They had lost everything to the skies; their gods and their with it even as they were being murdered by a foe greater than
great enemies both sweeping and streaking across the any they had ever faced. Worse came though when the first
heavens. The reign of fire promised to end all that they had of them died for no reason they could discern. No wound, no
given their lives to seed and nurture. The ground itself would weapon, no trace of poison. It was as though the body had
die beneath the onslaught. How could any rise up to fight simply lost the will to live and they had succumbed to death. It
in the face of this relentless enemy now? Alone, they were was their first taste of the curse of mortality their abandonment
nothing. The slough of despond fell heavily over the Elves, had left them with, and it struck deep to the heart of everything
who collapsed beneath the weight of it. They had lost so many they were and believed. It was the one death they would never
kin, and now their creators were gone. They were alone in this recover from. It was the one wound that would never heal,
gods-forsaken place, left to die. The only mercy was it would because there was nothing to heal. There was no cut to be
not be long until everything was unmade in fire. Locked in staunched. No sickness to be sweated through. It was hardly
paralysis, it was all they could do to watch as the Dragons surprising that faced with this new reality, their relationship
swooped down, their breath scorching the land and turning with eternity had been fundamentally changed.
life to cinder and ash. With each tribe holding beliefs starkly divided from their
More of their kin fell, bodies burned beyond recognition, kin, they were never going to be able to withstand the sense
robbed even of the final rite of nourishing the land so that fresh of worthlessness that came with being left behind. A sort of
life might rise from their sacrifice. mad obsession took root, with the Elves desperate to find
How could they have been so deceived by their creators? an answer to why they had been left behind, that had them
They had lived their lives by the principle of kindness and accusing each other, looking for traitors in their own kin.
generosity, giving of themselves to nourish this world, to feed During these dark days when Illmalaini, Korpikalli and
it so their creators might be proud of what their children had Talviakka turned on each other, they were blind to the
achieved, and see their glory reflected in every leaf and vine. devastation the Dragons wrought. It was as though on some
What could they have done to deserve such betrayal? existential level, they no longer cared about this world they
These questions had no answers, but it did not take long had created, and paid little mind to it as it burned, despite the
for those left behind to being levelling fingers and accusations fact that the forests smouldered with dragonfire, despite the
at each other, for surely some great ill had forced the gods to fact the ground was ash and would be barren for generations
leave them to die in this place. to come, despite the fact that great cities lay in ruin, despite the
fact that ancient Yggdras cried out in pain as the trees around
THE SCHISM them succumbed to the torture of the fires. None of that
– The Separation of the Heart, The Division of the Lineages mattered, because it was no longer the enemy, it was merely
It was during the aftermath of this great betrayal that the Elves pain. In those moments Time became the enemy, taking them
fell to war within themselves, even as their kingdoms burned, further and further from their gods and from their place within
unable—or unwilling—to grasp the consequences of the Vanirs eternity. Theirs was a grief that could not be contained. Theirs
betrayal. The Long Storm was nothing short of a purge, and they was a sorrow that eclipsed their world burning.
were facing extinction. Some were prepared to fight to the end, It was during this fateful hour that the Elf Queen, Aino, the
others broken to the point of bowing their heads and waiting for successor of Wellithelli, came into her own. Without her, it is
the fire to burn them. The truth was, doubts and differences had safe to assume there would be no Elves in Trudvang today, and
been festering for an Age, but with the abandonment everything that it would be a very different world.
was hot-housed, stress and grief and fear bringing out those Aino—who would be later come to be known by the name
differences and grievances, and with them, the deep-seated Valki—sought wisdom in the ancient traditions, retreating
hatreds and suspicions that went back through generations. It to nature to receive the counsel of the Yggdras, she climbed
was an aspect of the storm no sword could parry, no arrow or the highest peaks to commune with the mountains and ran
bolt could punch through, and no funeral shroud could silence. the deepest forests, listening to every leaf and tree as they
As with every tree and flower they had nurtured, the seeds echoed the pains of their burning brethren across the world.
were sown by their own hands. There was a bleak irony in that, Better than any, she understood that in the wake of their
though the tribes were too close to see it. abandonment every life on Trudvang was connected now in a

62
way that it hadn’t been before—it was susceptible to Time, and nurtured into bloom to create the endless variety of Trudvang’s
that made every life an ally in this endless war. ecology would never bloom or blossom again, but the Long
When the storms raged at their worst, the Elf Queen of Storm was over. The Dragons were dead. The Elves needed
the distant western isle, Toukka, gathered her advisors and to believe that seeds could be found and with tender love,
warriors to her, to share all that she had learned from the land, nurtured, until the land was finally restored. For the Illmalaini,
and together they wove a grand plan for how Trudvang herself that became the meaning for their lives and they dedicated
would fight back against the Dragons, with the Elvenkin themselves to restoring the soul of Trudvang.
calling to nature as their ally in the fight against this burning In the wake of the endless fighting, the survivors looked to
evil. Together, the grass, the trees, the earth and all things the night sky again, trying to reach out to their gods. All they
living therein would fight against the evil that had taken root. saw up there were the glittering, shimmering spots of light.
This was no longer a war in which the Elves were alone. It had The stars.
gone beyond that. Now, with the world on fire, it had reached In the eyes of the Illmalaini, they saw their gods looking
the point where it threatened the very existence of Trudvang. down in all their glory. Approving. And took comfort from
Aino summoned the heart of Trudvang to go to war with knowing that last gift had been well used, and now it fell to
her, and there are those amongst the tribes who even now them to restore the world for their creator’s eventual return.
believe this was the true gift of the gods to them, and why they Through the eyes of the Korpikalli, they saw their gods
had to leave for it to happen. In that, it was no betrayal but fleeing further and further from them, their lights receding, but
rather the great salvation. They argue that had the gods never it did not matter, they had won this world without them, and its
left, Trudvang wouldn’t have survived the destructive fire of soil and soul was theirs now in a way it had never been before.
Dragons, and the whole world would have been reduced to But for the Talviakka, they saw only the distance between
ash. the light of the stars and the soul of Trudvang, and vowed to
It took something extraordinary to save the world. close it.
It needed the soul of the Trudvang herself to stand against
the devastation, the essence of all creation to oppose the KYYNELTEN SOTA
violence the Dragons committed against Trudvang, because – The War of the Tears
no weapons, no power, not vitner or any other gift, not even the The War of the Tears is one of the most tragic moments in
magics of the gods could resist. the history of the Seeds of the Vanirs. Elven Bards will most
What began with a barely breathed whisper from Aino to the often sing about this story, focussing on two main moments:
oldest Yggdras took root and spread quickly across the land, the Creation of the Tears and the Great Emptiness.
and soon that call for aid had reached the ear of every living
organism not allied with the Dragons, and they understood SUREVATKIVET
the need in her cry for help. – The Tears
Wherever the Dragons landed, seeking refuge and rest, Wellithelli, the first High King, lies at the heart of the legend of
shelter to recover their strength and replenish the fires in Surevatkivet, or The Tears, as they are known in the common
their bellies, they were met with rebellion, harried and denied tongue. As the treasures of Trudvang go, there are none more
rest. There would be no respite. They had started this war, precious than the Tears, though more for what they represent
but Trudvang herself would end it. Nature conspired with the than any magical essence they may contain.
Elves, ensuring they knew all they needed to know, when they The legend of Surevatkivet is rooted in the last days of
needed to know it. One by one, the Dragons were chased down the first High King. Wellithelli, with his incredibly long life
and slaughtered, though it was no easy victory, and those final approaching its last breath, felt lost, adrift from the stars and
deaths took a mighty toll on all the species left behind, but with the Vanirs who had brought him to this place. Desperate
the prize so great, the price was one all were willing to pay, for one final feeling of connection, of belonging, he bade his
even at the cost of so many brave souls who fell beneath the children to bear him up to the highest branches of the greatest
slash of claw and talon, and the searing flame before the final of all the trees of Trudvang so that he might die gazing up at
dragon was dead in the dirt, food for the land it had tried to the stars they had once called home.
destroy. The Illmalaini clambered up to those highest boughs and
Treasures and relics beyond imagining were lost to the held the dying king tightly as his last breath froze on his lips.
dragon’s fire, most irreplaceable. So much wisdom burned Such was the weight of grief Wellithelli felt facing all that his
up in the settlements and cities that had been razed, while so people had lost, he wept into death. Three tears fell, two from
many species and genus of flora that had been so painstakingly his left eye, one from his right.

63
 The legend of Surevatkivet holds that those final three tears Särkymätönsydän - The Unbreakable Heart - hope is the
were filled with more than just the old king's grief. last thing to die, even in the face of insurmountable proof. In
As the life left Wellithelli, the teardrops crystallized into those last moments, looking up at the 900 points of light in
beautiful multifaceted gemstones, each glistening with the night sky and yearning to return home, Wellithelli knew
haunting beauty and seeming to ache with the emptiness of all that he would never again gaze upon the faces of his fathers,
that had been lost by the First Children. the gods that gave him life and in abandoning them all forced
That overwhelming feeling of grief caused the Illmalaini death upon him and all of his kin. And yet, despite the crushing
who gathered up those gemstones to believe them to be filled grief of that realization, even as this, the first tear fell, the hope
with the essence of the old king himself, as though he had that in death, the curse of time, he might somehow find peace,
cried his wisdom, his sadness and his hope into them. returning to the dust of the stars and come once more into the
Unsurprisingly, the Surevatkivet were considered treasures sphere of the Vanirs was born. In that single faltering heartbeat
beyond compare—a link to the past, a reflection of their the idea of more, of something beyond this life, stole his breath
sacrifice after the abandonment of the gods, and, above all away. There was wisdom in such a thought. Made from the dust
else, the last lingering pieces of their first High King, making of the stars, with the rivers of time flowing through his blood,
them irreplaceable. Wellithelli was everything the Vanirs had made him, but he
The Surevatkivet are, in many ways, not of this world. was so much more than that. He was everything Trudvang had
Wellithelli descended with the Vanirs, long before the Long turned him into. The burden of Särkymätönsydän is a heavy
Storm changed the face of Trudvang forever to come. In that, one. No matter the sadness that comes with the knowledge
his wisdom, hopes and sadness all existed in some form before things are forever changed, the hope that they might return to
the Illmalaini fell, and before the Tears were crystallized. what they were still lingers, refusing to die.
The three Tears each possessed their own unique traits. For years after Wellithelli’s passing, the Surevatkivet were
Kielienkirous - The Whispering Stone - infused with kept within Esiisienpaikka, a sacred grove deep within the
Wellithelli’s sadness, is said to stir feelings of ache and loss heart of the great forest, Valtoris. Even after the Long Storm,
within the bearer’s heart as the old high king’s grief worms and the brutality of the Dragons, the stones survived, and
its way into their mind. It sings the sadness of the Elvenkin were cherished as the greatest treasure of the Illmalaini, and
deep into the bones of the bearer, and is more than many became a fundamental part of the rite of passage that was the
can withstand. While Kielienkirous holds within it all of the pilgrimage to that sacred place, where the young Illmalaini
sadness of the left behind, the argument can be made that would press their foreheads to the stones one at a time in
without that sadness it is impossible for the Elves to truly the hopes of absorbing the wisdom, grief and hope of their
understand the beauty of their new home because it serves to ancestors and carrying it with them into the future.
underscore the true beauty of everything the Vanirs achieved But that changed with their theft by the Korpikalli known as
here, and the wondrous nature of every seedling that ever Veikko Kirottu.
sprouted, bringing new life into the world. In sadness there is By nature, the Elves of Trudvang have always been nomadic,
both beauty and hope. moving from forest to forest across the seasons both to avoid
Korjaavatitkeä - The Healing Tear - there is considerable the harshest months of the winter and so as not to drain
wisdom to be found within the second of the Tears, and the vitality out of the ground and cause such damage with
to come into its possession is to be renewed and made their presence that their footprints are left indelibly on the
whole. The old king was amongst the wisest of all the Elves landscape. To that end, these holier sites—places worthy of
who ever walked the land, and so much of the knowledge pilgrimage—like the grove within Valtoris where the Tears
accrued during his long life has been forgotten by his people. were stored, are some of the few anchors that they return to
Korjaavatitkeä is the memory of the land, of all that has been no matter where their travels have taken them. For the most
lost. Korjaavatitkeä is the lifeblood of the people, every shared part though, the treasures were left either untended or only
experience. Korjaavatitkeä is every seed that was planted to lightly guarded. Perhaps it is naiveté on behalf of the Elves, but
bring new life to this place. Without it nothing could flourish for generations there was a stubborn disbelief that one of their
and this world would be dust. While wisdom gives meaning to own kind could ever steal from the tribes.
existence, the hope of experience is tinged with the sadness Why Veikko Kirottu stole the Tears is open to conjecture.
of mortality forced upon them after the abandonment of the Some believe he was tempted into the theft by darker factions
Vanirs. The weight of Korjaavatitkeä is to remember what within the Korpikalli who sought to undermine the unity of
might have been, whilst being wise enough to know what will the kin, dissatisfied with the leadership of the Illmalaini, who
never come to pass. mourned their separation from the Vanirs and refused to let go

64
of that relationship of servitude to gods who had left them to die Divisions took on more and more practical ramifications, with
down here, whilst these others were more pragmatic in their rites being openly mocked, prayers and vigils being criticized.
thinking and had already given up any hope of the supposed Violence spread among the once-united brothers, with Elves
gods ever returning. They viewed the Tears as a lodestone as spilling elven blood, although the Seeds of the Vanirs shy away
opposed to anything wondrous or precious, the worst of them from talk of it nowadays. The situation worsened every day, until
being the third stone, Särkymätönsydän, imbued with the old finally the sacred promontory rock, the Observatory, where the
king’s hope. elders would lie on their backs and gaze up at the Vanirs in
By stealing the Tears, it could be argued that Veikko Kirottu the night sky, watching their sacred dance as the stars burned
was guilty of nothing more than trying to save his kin from an brighter and faded away, was defiled, the ground burned.
abusive relationship with their so-called gods, and while that The desecration of the Observatory marked the end of the
might be true to a degree, it is not the only truth, nor is it in any Great Emptiness.
way an excuse for the suffering that followed the theft. Come dawn, the Talviakka and Korpikalli struck out, looking
But that is the nature of war, even without bloodshed. for their own place in the world.
Its purpose is never singular, nor is it simple. And one aspect Despite their grief and anger at the theft, the Illmalaini
of war is to cause suffering. That is just the way of things. But raised a force to hunt for the thief, each Elf within that troop
suffering is manifold. And just as there are more ways than prepared to tear the world apart to find what had been stolen
killing that the Elves could suffer, so too were there more ways and return it to Valtoris.
than simply killing that they could go to war, and they cut every It was the first and last time in their histories that the
bit as deeply. lineages raised armies against each other, and although steel
never clashed against steel, the damage was done. Faith was
SUURITYHJYYS broken.
– The Great Emptiness The Talviakka went north in search of “Palavia Tähtiä”,
With the Tears gone, there was no way things could ever go what they called the “Night of the Burning Stars”, which they
back to the way they had been, all three of the lineages knew believed would mark the return of the Vanirs, with their lights
that, but knowledge and living with that knowledge were very falling out of the sky one by one until there was only darkness
different things. There was an age, as the stars moved through up there. Palavia Tähtiä is linked inextricably with “Revontulet”,
countless skies, where none of their number were prepared the Fire in the Sky, and with each season that those northern
to believe that one of their own could have betrayed them by lights blaze across the heavens the Frost Elves become more
taking the precious stones, and during that denial the thief, and more sure that the day of the return draws nearer.
Veikko Kirottu, made good his escape, fleeing deep into the The Korpikalli followed, but as they saw the peaks of those
heart of the impenetrable forest, Ellikka, somewhere in what grim mountains, turned to the east, entering the Darkwoods
today is known as the Darkwoods. that would become their home. Unwittingly, they followed the
This age became known as “Suurityhjyys” - The Great tracks left by the thief, Veikko Kirottu, and would eventually
Emptiness - and led eventually to the sundering of the lineages, catch up with him in Ellikka, though the Elf would be
with the Talviakka retreating to the icy expanses of the far north unrecognizable when they finally found him, so changed had
where they lived on the ice, or in the case of Hulluusvuori, the be become during his years bearing the Surevatkivet.
city buried beneath the Great Ice Plains beyond the Great Those stones broke him.
Iron Mountains, the Korpikalli scattering before they found How could they not?
their new home within the ancient wildwoods of Ellikka, in At first, it was the hope of the old high king, Wellithelli, that
the Darkwoods, which reminded them of the home they had threatened to drive him out of his mind, as all he could do as
left behind, while the Illmalaini remained within Valtoris, in day gave way to night was climb to the highest vantage point
the lands of Soj. anywhere around, and gaze up at the firmament, counting each
This diaspora remains the great tragedy of the Elves. and every last one of the stars, trying to decide which of the
Whilst it began in sadness, with the Illmalaini clinging to the brightest might be the Vanirs, for surely not all of them could
belief that the Vanirs would return and the Korpikalli knowing be. Only 900 had left, and there were one hundred thousand
that the past was exactly that, and the Vanirs were gone for points of light up there, and more, on any given night. Then
good, it turned into something else entirely as bitterness and he began to notice that they moved, seemingly drifting further
discord took hold. The truth is a simple one, once opened, and further away from him as days became weeks and weeks
the fault lines between the kin and their belief systems could became months and months became seasons still he ran with
never be healed, but rather were only ever going to grow wider. the precious stones. It became a compulsion. In time the need

65
66
to stare at the stars ran so deep it was all he could do, and he that choice. Why, after all, should the Illmalaini possess
would go days without food or water, fearful that he might miss that which was the greatest treasure of all the Elves? The
the moment when the Vanirs made their return. decision to share them amongst the three lineages, giving
Eventually, that compulsive need to hope gave way beneath each their own identity, was made.
the influence of the old king’s wisdom and the knowledge that The problem was that it proved impossible to pry two of the
the stars were merely that, stars, not the lost gods, a truth three stones out of the thief’s grasp, so the only blood of the
that should have been obvious to all Elvenkin the moment war was spilled, with Hiljaisuus, the leader of the conclave,
they looked up at the sky and saw the hundreds of thousands using his own blade to cut clean through the thief’s wrists and
of sparkling lights, far more than any 900 Vanirs. They might sever his hands whilst a Talviakka elf held one hand and an
just as well have been grains of sand or dust, caught on the Illmalaini the other, the thief bowed over a huge rock in the
wind and blown away. There was more chance of those tiny middle of the conclave while the others looked on.
fires in the sky being either of those than there was of them The Whispering Stone, Kielienkirous, was dispatched
being the souls of the lost gods, and that was the grim truth beyond the Great Iron Mountains, where it was given over
the Korjaavatitkeä drove home. It was a burden of knowledge to the Talviakka for protection in the underground realm of
no mortal should have been forced to bear, and with the Ensimmäinenkoti, along with the thief’s severed hand, his
certainty of that, the old king’s grief was overwhelming, fingers still clasped around the precious stone.
sadness drowning Veikko Kirottu. The Unbreakable Heart, Särkymätönsydän was returned
He lost the will to go on, only wanting to fall down and die to Valtoris, in the sacred grove of Esiisienpaikka, where the
as the greatest sadness of all overwhelmed him. There was Illmalaini cherish it still, again, still clutched in Veikko Kirottu’s
only Kielienkirous, the stone whispering inside his mind severed hand.
incessantly, its message inescapable: there was no point to their The Healing Stone, Korjaavatitkeä, which had fallen
existence. They would all die in this place, so far from home, free of the thief’s grasp, stayed with the Korpikalli as it was
alone, unloved, abandoned. But the Elf also felt the calling of decided the stone had made its choice to remain, and became
Korjaavatitkeä, which awakened all the regrets in his heart, as fundamental to the construction of their home within the
well as the endlessness of Särkymätönsydän’s influence, and it ancient wildwood, Ellikka. They keep it not far from where
was too powerful for the mind of a lone elf to bear. the thief’s hands were taken, though the exact location of this
When finally the thief was found by his people he lay on place has been kept secret for millennia.
the ground, his body wretched, muscle shrunk to nothing so The site of the conclave became a sacred place for the
his skin hung on his bones as though the corpse had been Korpikalli, as it was the site of their breaking from the Illmalaini
mummified. Knowing that something was wrong, as there and gaining their own independence. In time they came to call
wasn’t a single mark on it or wound to suggest how Veikko the rock where the thief lost his hands “Vapaudenkivi”, or the
Kirottu had died, they treated his body with fear. Freedom Stone, and consider it the foundation of their tribe.
It was only as they laid hands upon him and the thief gasped The body of the thief, Veikko Kirottu, is said to be buried
that they realized he was not dead at all, but rather clinging to beneath it, his final resting place the site of the only blood
life just as his wizened hands clung to those three stones. spilled during the long war for hearts and minds of Elvenkin.
Try as they might, none of his kin could tear his fingers away
from the Surevatkivet stones. Fragments of words spilled THE METSÄRUTTO
through the thief’s lips, coming out in a voice as dry as dust Long after the curse of Falekala, the Long Storm, there was
and grating like rocks being ground together. The words made an age of sorrow and peace, where the Elves mourned the
no sense, but there was no denying the despair in them. lost and the land, still struggling to come to grips with the
They were looking at the sole victim of the War of the Tears, idea that their gods had betrayed them.
though in truth all of Elvenkind were the losers. When the first of their kin returned from the depths of the
Understanding that the Surevatkivet were too dangerous wildwood in delirium, their initial fear was not that a blood
to remain in their possession, the leader of the Korpikalli plague had entered his flesh, but rather that grief had taken
tribe convened a conclave of the three Elven lineages where his mind. But it did not take long for others of the settlement
the fate of the stones was discussed. Representatives from to develop similar symptoms of delirium, and before long the
the Illmalaini were in attendance and argued that the stones Metsärutto had swept through the tribe, savaging the Elves.
should be returned to Esiisienpaikka, the sacred grove deep The virulent strands of sickness threatened the lives of the
within the heart of the great forest, Valtoris, as that was Illmalaini as they wrestled with this strange blood fever that
where they belonged, but other voices were raised against attacked the nerves just beneath the skin and caused terrible

67
pain. Unable to rest, and denied sleep, the greatest threat These are often referred to by the skalds as the "Matter
this sickness posed was not the fevers but rather self-harm of Elvenkin".
as the infected slowly went out of their mind with pain, and These are not common items that might turn up under
deprived of sleep began to hallucinate. a rock or some dank forest cave, but are, rather, the
The deeper the depths of the delirium, the more harrowing foundations of great heroic tales that underpin the trials
the hallucinations, and the greater the risk they posed. of the tribes. They are truly the stuff of legend, treasured
What the Elves didn’t understand at first was the cause— beyond price. Some are gone, lost forever, while others
and in the time it took them to understand the nature of this remain as little more than rumour or superstition, but all
new plague, and how the contagion was communicated from were, at one time or another, the heart of the lineages and
first contact, the Metsärutto had ravaged the forests of Soj. represented hope as the Elves battled for survival against
The plague passed, horrifically, through contact with the the evil of the Dragons or wrestled with the great betrayal
trees themselves. It was the worst imaginable punishment of their gods abandoning them.
for a race who had always lived a symbiotic existence with the
forests, denying them the comfort of nature. The Illmalaini THE NINE BLADES OF RUADANSYDÄ
gradually came to realize that the seeds of the sickness were Nine blades were forged by the legendary Illmalaini smith,
carried by a resin that oozed from tainted trees that had been Raudansydä from the ore drawn from the core of the
wounded during the Long Storm. The only preventative Vanirsinkallio, the meteorite that fell to Trudvang with the
measure they could imagine was to fell the diseased trees, Vanirs themselves. Not of this world, it is claimed that the
rooting them out, as well as many of the others surrounding metals bonded from out of that ore possess miraculous
them to make a ‘break’ within the wildwood in the hopes of properties. Certainly they are unlike any weapon forged
containing the sickness before it spread through root and before or since.
branch to every last tree in Valtoris and threatened to finish These nine blades are unique in their nature, as the
the work of the Dragons once and forever. Elves weapon of choice was always and will always be the
The bodies of those who succumbed to the Metsärutto all versatile Miekka, crafted from the ancient ironwoods, which
bore a stunning mesh of wounds across their skin, with the could serve as both spear and javelin in close combat. But
subcutaneous nerve network seared into the skin like the by utilizing the ore from the meteor in these nine blades,
silvered veins of a dying leaf. Raudansydä believed he was creating weapons that brought
The Metsärutto ran its course, lasting season after season his people closer to their lost gods. These nine swords were
until it finally died out, with the Illmalaini developing a natural the only metal swords they wielded during the Long Storm,
resistance to the sickness, but not before it had claimed the and when that great war had run its course, the greatest of
lives of hundreds. the warriors returned to the Miekka, with the nine becoming
The Illmalaini have long memories. To this day, there more ceremonial artefacts than weapons of war.
remains a lingering fear within the Illmalaini that as long The exact location of these swords is unknow today, with
as the Metsärutto lies dormant in the deep woods it is an the blades lost during the tumultuous millennia that followed
epidemic waiting to stir once again and ravage their kin. the Age of Dreams. None of these powerful weapons has
been wielded or seen during the last four ages of Trudvang,
THE MATTER OF ELVENKIN but one truth is undeniable, their reappearance would bring
chaos and turmoil among the Elves of the three bloodlines.
For a species so long-lived it is hardly surprising that they
have come to dominate certain sagas and legends, especially Leskentekijä
those surrounding devastating times like Falekala, The - The Widowmaker’s Knife
Long Storm, the Tears of the Schism and the devastation Leskentekijä was the legendary Illmalaini smith,
of the Metsärutto. They fire the imagination and lend Raudansydä’s masterpiece. A blade unlike any other. With a
themselves to wondrous stories, the truth of which can be blade ten fists in length, and a hand and a half grip, leather-
hard to discern through the depths of the great enemy, time. wrapped, with a gryphon’s talons adding barbs along the
But the truth is such that the stories themselves are more length of the blade that bit when dragged through flesh,
worthy of believing than not, as they add to the culture of opening wounds so wide they are invariably fatal.
Trudvang. To be struck by Leskentekijä is to receive a death sentence.
Wrapped up within these fantastic sagas are mentions of Leskentekijä has taken more lives than any one sword
treasures like no other. ought to, with some claiming as many as four hundred

68
and twenty souls having been claimed. Legends say that it There is, perhaps, an irony surrounding a blade being
was this sword that killed the first wurm during the Long associated with peace, given that its nature is to kill, but
Storm: Verenlapsi, a dreaded winged wurm terrorizing the Pelkurinterä was a thing of beauty on the field of war; it is
northern parts of Trudvang. The blade was carried through said to burn with a holy vitner flame behind each stroke,
Falekala, the Long Storm, where it ended the lives of six and several accounts remembered by the sagas tell tale of
of the great beasts, including the ancient wurms, Mitasdeg a blade that seemed to cast a rainbow of fire trailing in its
and Nithhogr, and their kin, Missalor, whose heart was cut wake as its wielder carried it into battle.
out with the sword and then cooked over a bare flame so That image, of the warrior in battle, with the sky full of
that the swordsmaster might feast on the strength of the vibrant colour, was always enough to forge the link between
dragon and claim it for his own. It was wielded in anger peace and war, but the truth remains, Pelkurinterä serves a
through the conflicts the Great Emptiness, and with its single purpose, to take lives, and Raudansydä was a master.
bloody past has earned the right to be forever known as the
Widowmaker’s Knife, given how much elven blood it drank, Suruterä
even when wielded by other elves. - The Hungering Blade
Each slaughtered dragon left its mark on Leskentekijä in Suruterä is another of the nine blades forged by the smith
the form of scars where their acidic blood etched into the Raudansydä. During its creation, Raudansydä had no idea
blade as it spilled. Six scars for six Dragons. that the process had become corrupted and that he was
in fact forging a duplicitous blade, though once the truth
Myrskyvartija became known to him, the smith named the blade Mourn
- The Heart of the Storm Blade for the grief it wrought.
Shattered by the great wurm, Nianfjall, during the last days Suruterä is a gatherer of souls, a hoarder of blood
of the Long Storm, Myrskyvartija was possibly the last of and bone, and in battle emits an eerie emerald fire that
the nine blades forged by the smith Raudansydä. During its intensifies as it is fed. The untrustworthiness of the sword
creation, Raudansydä had been sure it would be the blade comes in the fact that, should the stories around it be true,
to end the storm, and during the forging fed the steel with suggest that every warrior who has ever carried Suruterä
the vitner drawn from the wind, lending the strength of the into battle has, in the end, fallen to it.
elements to the weapon, hence the name he gave it. But, in Certainly that is true of Koukunnenä and Reikkisielu,
truth, as beautiful as it looked, the blade was flawed in its who both carried the cursed blade during the Long Storm,
forging, and could not hope to contain the elemental power and both, in turn, felt its bite to put them in the ground. One
trapped within it. Even as its first strike was delivered, of the oldest and most enduring myths around the sword
it shattered against the scales of Nianfjall, dooming is that, once drawn, it must taste blood, and to deny it is to
Tuomitturitari, second son of Wellithelli, who carried it into incite its wrath. If the fates of Koukunnenä and Reikkisielu
battle. are anything to go by, there may be some truth to that…
The grief at the loss of the heir was great, as many
considered him the greatest of them all, the bravest and Tuomionantaja - The Fated Blade
most true, embodying the spirit of his father, but in truth Tuomionantaja was the sword of Oikeusantanut, one of
he was as flawed as the blade in his hand as is so often the the first sons of Valkalainen, the Celestial Gate and City of
case. The stories gather around the dead turning them into Dreams, who dedicated most of his life to the establishment
something larger than they ever were in life. Such was the of that fantastic place and after the great betrayal of the
fate of Tuomitturitari. Vanirs, became obsessed with the hunt for the traitors
The fragments of the blade were recovered from the field of within their number who must surely have been behind the
battle, and are embedded now in the trunk of a dead Yggdras gods departure.
in the heart of Valtoris as a reminder of what was lost and So single-minded of purpose did Oikeusantanut become
how even the best and wisest of us all can fail the worst. that both he and Tuomionantaja became a scourge upon his
own people, delivering their doom in the form of a terrible,
Pelkurinterä swift sword. There was a time, the Great Emptiness that
- The Peace Blade followed Falekala, the Long Storm, that the pair were the
Pelkurinterä is a glorious blade. The legends spun around the most famous and feared of the Elvenkin as the sought to
weapon have their root in Falekala, The Long Storm, where weed out the traitors from the tribes.
it is said Taivaantiku, a legendary young warrior, carried it.

69
Valkoinenkahva Surunjoki
- White-Hilt the blade of Emilenio - The Grieving Blade
Valkoinenkahva gets its name from the curious white hilt One of the last weapons crafted by the legendary
that is carved from one of the talon bones of Mustasydän, Raudansydä, Surunjoki was crafted from the heartwood
the first dragon to suffer any sort of wound during the Long of a rare silver floral tree deep in the heart of the Valtoris.
Storm. The great beast did not die for years to come, slain Surunjoki is the rarest of weapons, with a warm glow deep
eventually by the bite of its own talon bone. That death within the grain of its ancient wooden blade that shines
came at a price. The warrior, Emilenio, one of the greatest during the days of peace, lighting the way. It is said that
of his tribe, fell beside the dragon, sacrificing himself to take the tree itself climbed all the way to the stars, bonding the
it down and save huge swathes of the Valtoris that would elves with their lost gods even after the Great Betrayal, and
otherwise have burned. In death, the bones of his sword was gathered when the first mortal elf was carried up to
hand fused around the hilt to become a horrific kind of through the boughs so that they might be returned to the
guard, charred black by intense heat of the dragon’s breath. gods during the nightmare that was Falekala, The Endless
Valkoinenkahva stayed in Emilenio’s line, wielded by his Storm.
heirs all through the Long Storm. Under threat, Surunjoki burns with a red fire, drawing
The last known elf to carry White-Hilt was Vaarakauneus, out the runes of protection the smith crafted into its length.
a fearsome female warrior who was lost in Wildheart The elves call Surunjoki the Grieving Blade because of
centuries ago. the silver floral tree’s ties to death in their minds.

Viimeinenauringonnousu Voittamatonkuutamo
- The Sword of the Last Sunrise - The Sword of Midnight
Many stories consider this sword the greatest of nine blades Another of the nine blades forged by the smith Raudansydä.
forged by the Illmalaini smith, Raudansydä. The other eight Unlike the others, Voittamatonkuutamo was forged by
are said to be linked to the Sword of the Last Sunrise by the moonlight, in a forge open to the stars. The smith believed
sap of a Yggdras the smith mixed into the ore he drew forth that in doing so he was offering it a better chance of forging
from the meteorite, Vanirsinkallio. a link with the departed Vanirs. This, in itself, makes dating
There are many stories surrounding these ancient weapons, the blade a contentious matter, since this sword was the
though several common threads run through all of them, the last to be crafted, it would seem that it had to be forged at
most prevalent being the notion that these nine blades may the end of the Long Storm, unless it is true that the Vanirs
only be wielded by the worthy, and should one fall into the fled before the storm was over, abandoning their children in
hands of a darker soul, the blade itself will seek to bring them the midst of the fight of their lives. Further confusion rises
down. How that can be is the stuff of dark skald’s tales. from a contradictory saga which claims that another blade,
Viimeinenauringonnousu was the smith’s crowning Myrskyvartija, was the last to be crafted, but nowadays no
achievement, the blade to end all blades, as it brought one can confirm or disprove this, so, possibly, the Heart of
together all the elements of nature in its forging, and Storm has been confused with the Sword of Midnight.
created something so much more powerful than its parts. An impurity found its way into the ore from the meteor,
It is believed that of all the blades the smith forged, this is the Vanirsinkallio, that turned the blade to black, echoing the
one that will be wielded in the end of days, a weapon fit for the midnight sky with silver flecks of imperfection like stars
gods should they ever return. To that end, there are legends along the length of the ebon blade. Voittamatonkuutamo is
of Viimeinenauringonnousu which give it another name, and a thing of deadly beauty.
call it the Sword of the Elements, intimating that it possesses During the long hours of its forging, Raudansydä had
some strange power to exert influence over the wind and rain. fed the steel with vitner drawn from the forge fire, lending
There is a single saga, told by Nuadasona, one of the the tempered metal the strength of the flame, and in the
earliest, and perhaps the greatest of the Elven skalds, in process creating one of the most lethal blades ever forged.
which the nine blades brought together each possesses a
different elemental gift, be it fire taming, earthquake rending, TERÄVÄIKUISUUS
raising walls of dirt or other gifts, though since the day of - Eternity’s Edge
their forging all nine blades have never been carried together The mythic swords of Raudansydä are nine, but elven
into battle so Nuadasona’s saga remains a tale for vivid bards usually include tell of a tenth, prodigious, object:
imaginations. But should nine come together to march? Teräväikuisuus.

70
 Every blade loses its edge. It is the nature of metal to dull High King, Wellithelli as he died atop the highest boughs
over time. But the great smith, Raudansydä, was not prepared of Valtoris.
to give in so easily to the great enemy. He travelled the length Kielienkirous is said to grant the gift of understanding,
and breadth of Soj seeking the perfect stone to sharpen his so that no words may be spoken that may not be known.
creations, finding Teräväikuisuus. Neither sandstone nor It gifts the wearer with an understanding of the ancient
gritstone, Teräväikuisuus was unlike anything he had ever languages of Trudvang, many of which haven't been spoken
laid his eyes upon. Indeed, the smith quickly understood that since the dawn of time itself. On the other hand, the stone
the qualities of the whetstone went beyond any mineral he is filled with Wellithelli’s sadness, and therefore it whispers
had seen thus far during his long life on Trudvang. the depths of the old king’s despair into the ears of all those
It is said that an edge sharpened on Teräväikuisuus would who are nearby.
cut through anything. After the schism that resulted in the separation of
But that was not the foundation for the legend of the lineages, the Whispering Stone was dispatched to
Teräväikuisuus—that lay in the belief that if a warrior with the Jarngand Mountains, where it was given over to the
good in their hearts were to sharpen their blade upon the Talviakka for protection, along with the thief’s severed
whetstone then, if in combat he drew blood with the sword hand, his fingers still clasped around the precious stone.
his foe would die, whereas if a warrior had darkness in his The thief had died with Kielienkirous whispering inside
heart when he sharpened his blade with Teräväikuisuus no his mind incessantly, its message inescapable: There was
matter how fiercely he struck, blow after blow, the edge would no point to their existence. They would all die in this place,
not draw blood and his enemy would suffer no ill-effects. so far from home, alone, unloved, abandoned.
As with all legends, it is hard to distinguish truth from And that same message was whispered into the minds of
myth with many of these ancient relics. Some would have the Frost Elves who found a way to break Veikko Kirottu’s hold
you believe that the only magic Teräväikuisuus possessed on the stone and set Wellithelli’s Tear in Ensimmäinenkoti,
was that it could restore a blade that had been blunted the First Home of the Talviakka. But it would not be silenced.
and dulled to the point of being useless, even when other It whispered into the minds of the Frost Elves who took
whetstones of sandstone and gritstone failed. refuge beneath the mountain and those insidious whispers
filled the dark tunnels with a kind of inescapable madness,
THE THREE TEARS OF THE because to know and understand everything is a gift beyond
SUREVATKIVET bearing for mortal creatures, and soon those whispers
The three Tears are the greatest and most powerful of turned so dark and twisted the only escape was to flee before
the elven treasures, but these objects are without doubt they turned Elf upon Elf and the prophecy of the stones was
incredibly dangerous and should be treated as such. Every fulfilled with them all dying so far from home, alone, unloved,
Tear can perform miracles, but the potency of these tears abandoned—at each other’s hand.
is so great that many believe their presence brings with The Whispering Stone lies down there still, in the deepest
it a darker aspect, drawing out the worst of the fears and darkness, in a chamber turned into a sealed shrine, with
sadness’s trapped inside our souls and rendering the bearer vitner-sealed sigils binding the door lest the madness of
a wretched wreck if the exposure is prolonged. The truth of Kielienkirous be released into the world again.
this is hard to prove, but there is no denying the fate of the
thief, Veikko Kirottu was an ugly one, so perhaps they are Korjaavatitkeä
right and this stuff shouldn’t be meddled with? - The Healing Tear (the Korpikalli Stone)
Because of those fears, the tears were shared out Korjaavatitkeä is the second of the ‘Tears’ (the Surevatkivet)
between the tribes. Each elven bloodline has been tasked shed by the ancient Elf High King, Wellithelli as he died
with the protection of one of the Tears, which are hidden atop the highest boughs of Valtoris.
in safe locations, guarded by the Uhriritari, dedicated For years it was kept along with the other Tears within
warriors who have sacrificed a part of themselves to protect Esiisienpaikka, a sacred grove deep within the heart of the
the future of their whole race. great forest of Valtoris before it was stolen by the Korpikalli
thief, Veikko Kirottu.
Kielienkirous Korjaavatitkeä is believed to be infused with potent
- The Whispering Stone (the Talviakka Stone) curative properties, so great, indeed, it is believed that the
The Whispering Stone, Kielienkirous, is the first of the wielder has the power to bring the soul of the departed
Surevatkivet—the three ‘Tears’ spilled by the ancient Elf back from the afterlife and return it to its flesh, though

71
the question must always be: at what cost? Because of what do to with the Korpikalli thief, Veikko Kirottu was
of these gifts, Korjaavatitkeä is often referred to as the front and centre of much of the arguments. There were
Healing Stone, or the Healing Tear. It is a stone filled with plenty in attendance who wanted the thief punished for his
Wellithelli’s regret about everything which has been lost sins, but others begged for mercy on his behalf as he was
and the constant awareness of mortality, a dark influence utterly broken, a wreck of an Elf, his body withered and
which is cast upon all those who are too close to the stone. emaciated, his mind gone, and through it all his grip on the
Korjaavatitkeä remained in the possession of the gemstone tears could not be broken.
Korpikalli and became the foundation stone for the The unforgiving Illmalaini sought a symbolic justice for
construction of a new home within the ancient wildwood, the theft of the Tears, and the loss of life that came with
Ellikka. The Dark Elves have hidden it in a place unknown their recovery while the Dragons wreaked their mayhem
to the uninitiated, although there are stories which suggest and devastation.
it can be found close to Vapaundekivi, the Freedom Stone. But the Talviakka argued for mercy, as the Elf had paid
the ultimate price, and while the pain of the loss had been
Särkymätönsydän great, the joy at the recovery of the tears was greater still,
- The Unbreakable Heart (the Illmalaini Stone) and surely if the clans were to fracture it was the time for
Särkymätönsydän is the third of the ‘Tears’ (the Surevatkivet) peace and old arguments to be settled.
shed by the ancient Elf High King, Wellithelli as he died The final decision fell to the Korpikalli, as the thief was
atop the highest boughs of Valtoris. one of their own.
For years it was kept along with the other Tears within The crime could not go unpunished, but in a gesture of
Esiisienpaikka, a sacred grove deep within the heart of peace, they decided that the nature of his crime deserved a
the great forest before it was stolen by the Korpikalli thief, suitable punishment, take what he would take with so that
Veikko Kirottu. he might never take again. They knelt the wretched thief
Särkymätönsydän is sometimes called the “Tear of Hope”, over a stone in the middle of the conclave, members of all
or the “Unbreakable Heart” as it is believed to be infused the clans gathered around, and took his hands with two
with courage and hope for the future of the Illmalaini that swift cuts. As the lifeblood pulsed out of Veikko Kirottu,
Wellithelli harboured, even to the very end. they dragged him to a firepit where they seared the stumps
Hope can, of course, be the most crushing of emotions, until the bleeding stopped.
leaving the hoper bereft, which is so much worse than Survival was a greater punishment than death. Without
having never hoped at all. Those who are exposed to the his hands, the thief was dependent upon the kindness of his
Unbreakable Heart for too long will become spiritually kin for survival.
exhausted as well as increasingly alienated from reality, as Veikko Kirottu’s severed hand, still clutching the
the power of the Tear is too heavy for mortal hearts to carry. whispering tear, Kielienkirous, the second of the
The Unbreakable Heart was returned to Valtoris, where Surevatkivet, was given by the Korpikalli to the Talviakka
the Illmalaini cherish it even now in the sacred grove of representative who had begged for mercy for the thief.
Esiisienpaikka, where once also the other Tears were kept. The stone that was used in the amputation was stained
The gemstone is still clutched within the grip of the thief with a blend of vitner, an aspect from Veikko Kirottu’s
Veikko Kirottu’s severed mummified hand. lifeforce, another from Wellithelli’s gemstone tear, while
the last being the vitner that seeped up out of the ground
LEGENDARY ARTEFACTS where the thief fell. The blending of those natural magics
along with the intense emotion of the moment, being the
Apinajumalankynsi last when the three lineages still stood as one, created an
- Fists of Stone artefact like no other, Apinajumalankynsi, or as some came
The saga of Veikko Kirottu is a sad one, but beyond the to call it somewhat ironically, the “Fists of Stone”.
melancholic nature of the Elf who stole the tears of the Sagas tell of strange occurrences around the stone,
dead king lies a tale of kindness and mercy in the face of ascribing an oracle’s gift to it. Several tales speak of Elves
his madness. who make a pilgrimage to Apinajumalankynsi to lay hands
During the conclave where the tribes came to the bitter upon it, and glimpse a moment into the future. The visions
realization that they could not go on the way they had been are never clear, and often foretell pain and suffering as its gift
living, which led to the sundering of Illmalaini, Korpikalli was born from both. Because of this, the stone is considered
and Talviakka and the diaspora that followed, the matter by many to be cursed and only the most desperate of the

72
Elvenkin would risk laying their hands upon the stone for with everything that was, and everything that was lost, they
fear of what might be shown to them. instill resolve in the archer, steeling them in the coming
The Apinajumalankynsi was once held within a specially fight. There is courage and hope in the arrows of the sun.
constructed wooden structure on the Vapaudenkivi, the But that is not how they earned their name.
Freedom Stone in Ellikka, where many Elven pilgrims have Loosed from the bowstring, the Auringontuli streak
visited it throughout the millennia, although to do so causes through the sky to their mark, trailing a tail like a comet,
much suffering and despair through the visions bestowed and burn with an all-consuming vitner fire where they hit.
upon them. During the late Age of the Iron Wurm the That vitner fire burns through the victim without damaging
Korpikalli decided to bury it in front of the Vapaudenkivi, either the Yggdras shaft or the arrowhead, meaning the
and there the artifact lies still. The Dark Elves would kill on Auringontuli can be retrieved and used again and again,
sight anybody who would try to unearth it. though the potency of that vitner flame will wane and
eventually burn out as there a limits to the enchantment.
Auringontuli The Auringontuli have taken on a near-mythic quality,
- Arrows of the Sun like the nine swords of the smith, Raudansydä. They are
The arrows of the sun were fletched during the darkest an artefact of another age, or would be, if anyone had seen
days of Falekala, the Long Storm, when hope was at its them since the Great Emptiness. All any know of the twelve
most wan and the Elves were sure their time on this world arrows of the sun now comes from a verse in a ballad sung
was done. by the skalds which suggests the Talviakka took them, along
With their cities and the wildwoods being scorched and with the bow Jousimies fashioned to loose them, north,
burned, they sought a weapon that might be used to fight back to the ice plains. Without venturing on a quest to those
against the evil of the Dragons, but the truth was little could inhospitable regions, there is no way of knowing if there
stand against the great wurms such was the threat they posed. is truth to this or merely the fancy of some mythspinner.
But that did not deter Jousimies, one of the younger Perhaps the truth is far more mundane and the arrows of
generation who had been born into the war. Having never the sun long since burned up as they buried deep between
known a day of peace, and possessing no understanding of the scales of the dread Dragons and scorched their meat?
what the world had been like before, Jousimies bent his mind
to the task of creating a new kind of weapon, something that Kirkasterä
might strike fear into the heart of the Dragons. It was no mean - The Dawn Spear
feat, but watching his kin stand their ground as the great wurms In the darkest days, when it seemed the sun would never
swept down from the heavens to burn the world and them rise again upon Trudvang, the Elves forged a weapon that
with it, he knew that simply walking out to face the Dragons embodied their all of their hopes, and named this weapon
was suicide, sword or no sword. They needed a weapon that Kirkasterä, or the “Dawn Spear”.
threatened the sky as much as the dragon’s fire threatened the The spear claimed the life of the final dragon to fall in the
land, and thus, the arrows of the sun were born. Long Storm.
The elf fashioned twelve arrows, each slightly different to the After a brutal night with dragon fire lighting up the skies
last, with those imperfections ensuring they flew differently, and torching great swathes of their homeland, the Elves,
pierced the hide and tore into the meat with different punch, led by Gabalabur, marched forth, knowing that it was their
but it was the fact that the shaft of each was worked from the fate to die now or bring an end to the Long Storm that night.
wood of an ancient Yggdras and imbued with the vitner of the One or the other. The battle raged fiercely, blood staining
great tree’s life that made the Auringontuli the potent threat the old battlegrounds as they ranged between corpses,
that they were on the battlefield. harrying the great dragon as they attempted to bring it
The arrows are more than merely weapons, as they are down, but their arrows did little against its ancient scales,
touched with the memory of the ancient Yggdras and the and their blades were no match for the flames as the elder
laments for all that had been lost in the great tumult of the beast streaked across the black of the sky.
Long Storm, so each arrow is tipped with sadness and It was in this moment of desperation that Gabalabur
grief, but more, they are infused with all of the hopes of the stepped forward, challenging the beast to feed on him, even as
Vanirs and the Elvenkin when they first set about sowing he brandished the Dawn Spear in his fist, shaking it at the sky.
the forests and cultivating the harsh landscape making it Until this moment, Kirkasterä had never been thrown in
so much more than a tool for killing. They are extensions battle, but as the dragon banked and swooped low, burning
of the living tree, and because they are in some ways filled up another huge tract of land, the Elven warrior hurled the

73
spear. As the silver tip streaked through the sky, it seemed to They were dug up—while some claim they were found
trail a shower of stars in its wake as dozens of the brightest by adventurers drawn to the ice with nefarious intentions
appeared to blaze and burn up and out, and together with in their hearts, others hope the truth was more banal and
the flight of the spear offered up the perfect illusion: to those that animals dug them up, drawn to the rot long before they
below, it looked as though their gods followed the dawn became rock, and that the threat posed by them is gone
spear, helping drive it home in the thick hide of the elder from the realm, passed through the stomach acids and
dragon, finding the one weakness that would bring it down. intestines of some hungry scavenger.
Those stars were an echo of the night, and a denial of it. The optimists are fools.
In the moment the tip sunk deep and the dragon shrieked Those bones have a geas upon them still, forever stained
out its pain, the sun burst across the horizon and dawn’s from the potent magics of the tears.
early light promised a new day in more ways than one. No good can ever come from possessing the Kivunkäsi.
The dragon fell, and the Long Storm was finally silenced.
Kuolematonsävelmä
Kivirengas - The Immortal Instruments
- The Foundation Ring The ethereal beauty of Kuolematonsävelmä was brought
One of the more peculiar, and therefore more treasured out of the deepest sadness the Illmalaini had suffered. With
artefacts of the Illmalaini, the Kivirengas, a simple wooden the death of the first Yggdras, the grieving Elves desperately
ring today worn by the Elven High King Kallikka where sought some way that they might remain connected with it
he presides over Samia and safeguards the traditions of and, recalling the echo of the great song, Vainkappale, that
his people. The ring was cut from the wood of the ancient resonated throughout the ranks of the singing stones beneath
Mother Tree that stands at the heart of Valkalainen, and the Poyotta mountains. If music had been there at the point
serves to link the line of the kings all the way back to the of creation, surely music was the thread that would bind all
beginning of their time here on Trudvang. creations, even after their time on the mortal realm was over.
Kallikka is bound by traditions, none more sacrosanct than With that in mind, and with great tenderness, an Elven
that of preserving the Voice of the Wildwood, Villipuunkaiku. craftsman of considerable skill salvaged six branches from
With the foundation ring being the first relic of the Illmalaini, it the Yggdras and from them crafted the Kuolematonsävelmä
is inextricably linked with the voices of the forest and the echoes - known to some as the “Immortal Instruments”, a flute, a
of their kin all the way back through time to the beginning, lute, a vielle, a citole, a tabor and a timbrel.
when time had no meaning. The ring itself represents this in Together, these six instruments are some of the greatest
the most basic way, as it has no beginning and no end, but treasures known to the tribes, and handed down through
simply wraps around the ring finger for eternity, unbroken. the generations from skald to skald, gifts earned by the gifts
of the musician as opposed to the blood flowing through
Kivunkäsi their veins. In the hands of a true musician—one who
- The Bones of Dominion understands the music of chance and of creation, the music
The Kivunkäsi is little more than a nub of bone that has of hope and harmony—the melodies that they can produce
petrified to stone. are exquisite. They reach into the soul of the listener to
It is claimed that it is one of the knuckle bones of the evoke emotions so strong it is not uncommon for the tears
thief, Veikko Kirottu, who stole the ‘Tears’ and thus with to flow as they spin the old myths of those days before the
that second great betrayal began Kyynelten Sota—the War Long Storm, and every time they sing the sadness of that
of the Tears—that ultimately resulted in the schism that great war the power is such it is claimed to render the
sundered the lineages. listener mute with grief remembered.
The Kivunkäsi is a peculiar artifact, believed to offer the
gift of sight in even the darkest of places, and promises that Luonnonviitta
no door is locked to the wielder. There are several fake relics - Cloak of the Wildwood
purportedly linked to the bones of the thief out there, most of Said to be worn by an ancient guardian of the oldest
which are so fresh the victim is still bleeding from their loss. wildwood, Valtoris, Luonnonviitta is a mantle of leaves and
The true bones of the thief’s left hand went beyond the lichen that renders the wearer invisible to the naked eye
Great Iron Mountains with the ‘whispering tear’ where they as the guardian prowls through the undergrowth, unseen
were ultimately buried beneath the ice and, over an age, and unheard by even the most skittish of the creatures that
petrified, becoming stone. dwell within that place.

74
 Whenever it is mentioned in the sagas a quite literal you with courage and inner strength, sometimes the power
interpretation of invisibility is often used, but the illusion is more of a relic lies not in any magics but rather the magic of the
a trick of the mind than any deep-seated magic or lingering stories woven around it.
vitner that blinds the watcher, with the layers of leaf and lichen Lluunsarvi is one such relic.
and other moss blending so perfectly with the surrounds that To hear its call is to lend its strength in the face of even
the naked eye cannot detect the wearer so long as they remain the darkest days.
utterly still. The magic, if there is any, lies in the fact that those
prey animals who rely upon their heightened senses to sniff out Madonhammas
threats don’t bolt at the presence of the guardian. - Wurm’s Teeth
There have been persistent tales of that woodland figure Few blades fashioned from the teeth of the great wurms
for centuries now, with glimpses caught by travellers from the slain during the hideous Dragon War have survived to
corner of their eye and always describing them in much the this day, but those that have are amongst the most prized
same way, with some sort of headdress of horns or antlers and treasures of the Elvenkin for what they represent, survival.
clad in forest greens and wrapped in the cloak of leaves. The These dragon tooth blades are not swords, but rather a
commonality of the description from age to age, brings many variant of the Miekka, their chosen weapon.
Elves to suspect that the guardian is in fact one of the longest Perhaps through some lingering contaminant from the
lived of their kind, who somehow avoids the ravages of time. dead wurm, some sort of deep-rooted venom within the
The guardian has many names, but most commonly is fang, these blades are lethal for the tainted wounds they
called Metsästäjä, the huntress. deliver.
A victim of the Madonhammas will often see the cut, no
Luunsarvi matter how shallow, turn black as the venom takes hold
- The Bone Horn and slowly but surely an incurable rot sets in. Some of the
During the darkest days of Falekala, the Long Storm, when tribes, notably members of the Illmalaini, hold that these
hope was itself forlorn, the elf, Palobáne, stood upon the Madonhammas are dishonourable weapons for the taint
Shores of Silion and sounded the bone horn, Lluunsarvi, to they carry, but members of the Korpikalli have no such
sound the first notes of the Song of Tähtitaivas, the call of qualms and happily wield them.
the Elves to their lost gods. With the waves crashing along No one is sure quite how many of these Madonhammas
the shoreline, lending it a harsh beauty, those long notes there are, but they are undoubtably amongst the rarest
filled the air as a rallying cry to the left behind as much as artefacts of the Long Storm, with most having been lost or
they did a farewell to those who had gone. blunted and destroyed by the ravages of time.
The Elves, drawn to Palobáne’s call, gathered their arms There is a whisper though, that Änetön Kuolema is in
and marched out to face the certain death of a new wave possession of a Miekka fashioned from one of the great
of Dragons followed in with the tide. It was as though the wurm’s teeth, and it is his chosen tool of his deadly trade,
call fortified their resolve and gave them the courage and though none dare voice that whisper too loudly for fear it
strength to face the inevitability of what was to befall them draw the attention of the assassin himself.
as the Dragons swept ashore.
Every last one of them died on that shore, the bone horn Muistikivet
lost amid the other charred bones of the dead, and eventually - The Memory Stones
washed out to sea or sunk beneath the heavy wet sands. The muistikivet are truly rare items, and yet some of the
When the skalds tell their tales of that fateful slaughter, most natural and mundane of any of the Treasures of
they all tell the same story, how the cry of Lluunsarvi inspired Elvenkin. To all appearances, they are little more than
courage in the face of insurmountable odds and gave those il- rocks, though they range in size from the smallest pebbles
fated Elves the strength to face the Dragons of death as they to palm-size stones, all the way to huge dolmen that tower
came sweeping down from out of the storm clouds. over Man and Elf. These dolmen are often intricately carved,
Carved out of the horn of a legendary beast called “hyrm with the surface of the stone covered in an indecipherable
bull”, an immense beast believed to possess magical text. Some believe the muistikivet hold memories of the
abilities that protected it from harm. Lluunsarvi is not time before the great betrayal, going back to the days before
inherently magical or blessed with any vitner-infused Falekala, the Long Storm, while others might capture the
powers itself, but in keeping with the legends where it’s fever dreams of the Metsärutto. It is only when touched that
claimed that consuming the fabled creature’s heart will fill the magic of the muistikivet can be understood.

75
 In that moment of contact a vivid vision unlocks some It is, of course, an impossible tale, for all that she was
long-held memory stored deep within the stone. one of the greatest riders of her Age, and that her mount
These memories range from the preserved wisdom of bit down on the bridle, Orinsuitsia every step of the way,
the long departed to the most dire warnings of the threats such was the distance from the ancient wildwood to the
to come, including horrifying images from the Long Storm Illmalaini’s ancient city that it would have been the longest
itself. ride of any rider before or since, and by some considerable
The art of making these memory stones is all but lost, distance. But it is a grand story, as so many of the great
as are the stones themselves. Though every now and sagas are, and yet the stories persist that it was Sumukoira
then someone might stumble upon one waiting to be who gathered the three tears from Wellithelli’s face as he
‘remembered’. There was a time though, in the earliest died, and brought the gemstones down from the heights
days of mortality, where the Elves would seek to weave a of the ancient trees. Was it a single ride, or a week riding
memory of theirs into one of these small pebbles so that by night, or more? Who is to tell now, but perhaps the
their loved ones might carry them with them long after they most fascinating aspect of Sumukoira’s ballad is not the
were gone. impossible ride, but rather the cost that comes with the
Vanirs gift, for many such gifts are double-edged. The magic
Orinsuitsia Puunsydän wove around the relic, and the creatures she
- The Wind Rider used to craft it, mean that the mount can only be ridden at
Frost Elves nowadays cannot herd horses in their icy lands, night, lest the bridle burn up and kill the helpless animal.
but that does not mean that these majestic animals did not
play a fundamental a role in their history. Pjontikka
During their wanderings northwards after the War of – The Legendary Spear
Tears, the Talviakka developed something of a kindred A gift from the Elf Queen of Valkalainen to the great hero
with the Urrikaani, a breed of wild horses that once ranged Anillas, Pjontikka was a spear that no armour could deflect,
across the plains of the lands today known as “Runewiik”. either manmade or natural, including the tough scales of
The animals were among the fastest of their kind, and with the iron dragon. It was with that enchanged spear Anillas
formidable endurance they were capable of covering nearly slew the iron dragon Yttamari in their fourth battle, though
twice as much ground as a normal horse before tiring. Anillas himself fell in that epic struggle. Both the dragon’s
The Frost Elves came to master the Urrikaani, taming skeletal remains and the spear are in the forest of Duuplya
even the wildest of them. still.
While most of the kin ride the animals bareback, deep
within the verses of the oldest sagas there is talk of a bridle Puolustajansydän
called Orinsuitsia by the Vanir who crafted it. Puunsydän was - The Defender’s Heart
particularly gifted at working the skins of animals to create Puolustajansydän is a shield of bone, fashioned from the
wonders and in this case, she worked her magics on a hide skeleton of one of the great Illjjnaika albino wurms and
bridle she named Wind Rider in the old tongue, knowing bound together with black iron bands and golden ash struts
the effect it would have upon the mount. The noseband, and supports to brace it, drawing together all aspects of life
throat lash and bit of Wind Rider were of exceptional quality, and nature into a single protective shield.
formed out of the hide and bones of a braskelwurm. Puolustajansydän is simple to look at, without any
With the bridle’s bit—made out of petrified braskelwurm unnecessary decorative flourishes or ostentation to its
bone—between its teeth, a mount can run forever under construction. It is a thing of necessity, serving a single
the brightness of the moon, covering incredible distances purpose: to protect its wielder. And it does that well.
without tiring, gathering strength from the moonlight to With the perfect coming together of nature and the life
simply run and run, stretching its powerful legs to gallop of Trudvang, bone, metal and wood, all of the things that
across the endless plains. form the foundations of life in the land, Puolustajansydän
The Ballad of Sumukoira is an old, old tale that skalds has been wielded by the tribes during the bitterest
have been singing for as long as there have been campfires conflicts through the ages, handed down through the
to sing around. In it, the Elf, Sumukoira, rides her mount, line of Wellithelli until it was lost with the death of
Mustabess, from Wildheart to Valkalainan in a single night Hämähäkkitaika, the last of the ancient Elf High King’s
in a desperate race to return to the great forest to be at her bloodline who lived in the Age of the Prophets, when
father’s side for his passing. Valtoris’ monarchy was in decadence.

76
 None know there whereabouts of Hämähäkkitaika’s It was carved from the ancient ironwoods, making it a
grave, nor the location of the defender’s heart, though many weapon beyond compare. It is shorter than a traditional
have sought it in the long years since its disappearance. longbow, reaching from the ground to the elf’s throat tip-
to-tip, for better use in difficult environments, including
Sankaritpata with the forests of Trudvang, with recurved tips that make it
- The Hero’s Cauldron easier to use in haste and with greater power behind each
The cauldron of heroes is said to discriminate between the thundering arrow as its loosed.
brave and the cowardly, refusing to boil meat or bone broth Such an accomplished hunter was Jousimies, his bow
for a coward whereas it would prepare a feast fit for a king took on legendary status amongst the Elves as they battled
in the hands of a true hero. for their lives with the Dragons, with many claiming that
The truth of this most likely goes back to the story of arrows fired from Tulitaivaalla could not be evaded; they
Aurinko and his betrothed Kuunpimennys, in the wake of would always find their mark. Of course, part of the legend
the Long Storm, when the natural bounty of Trudvang was was inspired by the Auringontuli, the arrows of the sun
at its most spare, with vast tracts of land burned and soured themselves, which elevated this early bow to a weapon
so that even the smallest offshoots failed to grow, the capable of lightning up the sky with its blazing fire as each
wedding of these two Illmalaini became a beacon of hope of those burning arrows streaked towards its mark.
for the survivors. From all around food was brought for the As with the arrows, the longbow is considered lost
great feast, which would fit with the saga of Sankaritpata somewhere beyond the ice.
and how in a time of great hunger there was food for all.
But as with all things, the stories pass down through Variskuninkaanjuhla
the generations and before long Aurinko’s cauldron is - The Bounty of the Crow King
a bounty brought back from Othiwaalio, and as such is a Starvation is an ever-present threat in the wildwoods
relic of incredible potency, but to eat from it is to eat the for those who lack the nature craft and foraging skills
food of the dead and be forever changed in ways you cannot necessary to prepare a feast from her bounty, but the Elves
understand. of Soj weave tales of a legendary artefact possessed by one
they call the Crow King, a brigand who made his home in
Taivaanvaunut Himmgrim, the Dead Forest in Oskla, despite—or perhaps
- Chariot of the Heavens because—of the horrors of that place.
Perhaps the strangest of all the relics from that time before With flora and fauna dead all around, there was no
the Vanirs left, the Taivaanvaunut, is little more than a sustenance to be found from the land, only the promise of a
twisted husk of molten rock that has melded with Trudvang slow and painful death.
where it fell. There is a collective memory within the tribes And yet the Crow King and his band of thieves did not
of blazing streaks of light through the sky as the gods both curl up and die, starved by the Dead Forest.
descended and ascended, and these memories are echoed But why? How?
in every shooting star they chase to where it falls, having In some of the older tales, the Crow King was an outcast
burned up as it streaked through the atmosphere. Korpikalli Elf, driven out by his own kin and forced to live in
The malleable ruin of this molten rock, clear as glass as it exile. He earned his name through the cloak of black feathers
cools and hardens, is known as Taivaanvaunut by the Elves, he wore as protection from the elements and as a mark of his
and has been mined and used to craft the powerful ocular exile, as one of the Lost, or Kallivojka, the tribeless. Forced
lenses that are turned forever to the skies now in search of to scavenge to survive his exile, the Crow King didn’t just
any lingering trace of the gods up there in the night sky. survive, he thrived. Word spread of the incredible bounty of
Taivaanvaunut are incredibly rare, with perhaps one this renegade’s table, and rumours gathered apace that he
fragment in every generation falling to Trudvang that is in was in possession of an incredible artefact, a cauldron that
any way clear enough to be polished and shaped to serve overflowed with endless broth, rich with meat and chunky
as a lens. vegetables, capable of feeding a small army.
It has been an age since anyone is thought to have supped
Tulitaivaalla from a ladle dipped into Variskuninkaanjuhla, but with
- The Bow of Jousimies sightings of a strange, feather-cloaked figure within the
The Tulitaivaalla, a longbow, was carved by the elf hunter, wastelands of Himmgrim whispers have begun again about
Jousimies, during the darkest days of the Long Storm. the Crow King and his fabled bounty.

77
 SAMIA
AS
R
ED

ALTHEA
SISS LANDS
I

78
ALTHI
 OSKLA
OS K LAT
-
YTTÄRET

O IT
A K
IK
UJ
IS SEA 79
THE SOJ ARCHIPELAGO
This southern archipelago is the most populous region of milder, the winds tamed. This tends to happen during
Trudvang in terms of Elvenkin, so unsurprisingly, it is also the summer months, when the inland realm of Soj is
the site of many of the most important events in Elven protected from the worst of the elements, and even so,
history. it is not unheard of for the more severe storms to prevail
It consists of four main islands: Oskla, Samia, Edras and even during these summer months. So fierce are these
the eastern island which Humans have called Daalheim, storms that even the most venerable trees in the forests
but was known as "Ujikakoit" amongst the Elves. cannot resist their battering and fall, roots torn up from
Ujikakoit was abandoned by Elves long ago, and is the dirt.
nowadays considered part of the Stormlands, after its most
recent colonists. While Elves are still the main inhabitants LANDSCAPE AND NATURE
of Samia, the heart of Elven culture, they have allowed
some Thronelandic colonies to settle on Edras, though they The animals and trees of the barren and windswept islands
have always prohibited access to the sacred Oskla. of the stormy Althis Ocean bear marked similarity to the
Soj is home to most of the significant sites of ancient flora and fauna found within the Stormlands, although
Elven culture, most commonly in and around the forest of everything in the archipelago grows stronger and wilder.
Valtoris. Along the coastline the soil is incredibly rich and fertile,
Almost all Elves in these islands share the Illmalaini offering nourishment for vegetation, whereas the mountains
heritage. They are the keepers of the old lore and still are inaccessible and cruel. Of the flora that reigns here,
venerate the Sojlakoita—the High King of Valkalainen— the most common is known as ghost moss, though other
even if they only see it as a moral authority today, lacking prevalent vegetation includes red fire heather and the
the mighty power that the position held during antiquity. gnarled dwarf pines. Inland, however, is a different matter
Both Talviakka and Korpikalli migrated northwards at altogether. Here, the deep forests are lush and verdant,
the end of the Age of Dreams, turning their back on their thriving on the hilly terrain. A traveller might believe that
past. Even so, a few rare Dark Elves still wander Soj, as the near-impassable coastline protects the islands' inner
odd individuals who have chosen a philosophy not shared life so that it can flourish.
by others in the archipelago. Where there is no forest, lush meadows bloom with a
rainbow of colourful flowers.
CLIMATE By the coast, birds including the noble Sea Eagle and
the Yellow Fish Jay live in large numbers. The Yellow Fish
The climate of Soj has much in common with the Jay's eggs are considered a delicacy. While inland, visitors
Stormlands, though the summers are considerably warmer. are treated to some of the most spectacular vegetation and
The stormy seas of East and West crash together, with their animal life that Trudvang has to offer. Countless insect and
currents merging in a line of harsh breakers off the coasts, arachnid types thrive here, including the largest butterflies,
forming some of the most dangerous waters in all the world. the most elegant moths, the most skilful spiders weaving the
Drifts from the Eastern streams channel icy waters from most enchanting webs and even the mysterious silkworms.
the Stormlands, bringing with them the harshest elements Elves know ways to collect the products of all these small
of the climate, not least of which being the fearsome storms animals without hurting them, creating fabled textiles like
and harsh blizzards. Rainfall, however, is sparse, though it the mysterious silk whose origin is unknown to anybody in
matters little as the winds are so fierce, their bite is worse Trudvang, except the Elves of Soj.
than any lashing of rain could ever be.
Soj's coastline is perpetually battered by those fierce THE TREES OF SOJ
winds. Forests are the most widespread and common elements
There is a common saying amongst Elvenkin that loosely of the archipelago’s landscape, with countless forms,
translates to "A storm in Stormlands is a mere breeze in belonging to unnumerable genus and species growing
Soj." here.
Sometimes, however, the westerly currents undercut The Vanirs have blessed the islands with all manner
the savagery of the East and the climate turns considerably of flora, which has only been enhanced by the sheer

80
volume and variety of seeds planted by the Elves during large fissures within it which the Elves use to practice
the following millennia. It is not unlikely that any species the "Hautja", their traditional funerary ritual. Hautja is
of tree that grows somewhere on Trudvang has at least a the practice of braiding a dead Elf into the trunk so that,
single specimen growing somewhere on Soj. given time, the dead become part of the tree itself and
Some of these trees hold some special significance live on through nature. The largest of these plants, which
for the Elves, perhaps because they are the only ones of can grow to become several metres tall, often become the
their kind growing in the archipelago, while others hold resting place for generations of Elves.
important symbolic roles in their society and culture. The tree’s name derives from its silver flowers, which
The "Tontuupaaka" or "Elf-Tree" is a gracious and noble blossom several times throughout the year. This is unique
tree, with a thin trunk and an always-lush, crown of tear- to the climate and rich soil of Soj. The flowers themselves
drop leaves, not unlike those of a weeping willow. Its are small but they grow in immense quantities, their
resin and flowers release a pleasant aroma through the silvery colours so intense that Elven bards often describe
forests, which may well be why Human sailors sometimes them as stars fallen from the night skies.
refer to the archipelago as the "Kingdom of the Spices". The "Nuolitahti" or "Star Arrow" is almost certainly
The Elf-tree is a deciduous plant, but it never completely the tallest tree growing on Soj. It is a mighty conifer,
loses all its leaves, as the last brown ones fall only when with a trunk which may be so broad that a Firdtursir
the spring's white flowers and the new leaves bloom. It embracing one cannot hope to touch its fingers, tip to
is as intensely green during the summer months as it is tip. The vast majority of Elven villages in Soj have been
deeply golden brown during winter. For this reason Elves built within the tops of trees like these, with their boughs
consider it a symbol of life and the adaptation to natural reaching heights unmatched by any other plant. For this
cycles. reason they have come to be known colloquially as "Star
Its elongated leaves are used by the Seeds of the Vanirs Arrows", as these trees undoubtedly where Elves can
to make powerful healing droughts. be nearest to their gods in the night skies. Star Arrows
Elves believe these venerable plants also possess are incredibly long-lived, most surviving somewhere
exorcistic powers, blocking curses and contacts with between five and nine centuries, but a special few are
Dimhall. virtually immortal. Some of their kind, found in and
Many elf-trees were planted on tombs and other places around the dreaming city of Valkalainen, are reputedly
which risk infestation by undead and demons, like in the sixteen to twenty millennia old. The great sadness of the
Aukalikka highlands of Samia. Star Arrows is that the Vanirs planted them in all of their
Elf-trees can live for centuries, reaching incredible cities across Trudvang, but today they are virtually extinct
sizes, and those which roots stretch back for millennia on the continent.
are believed to impart prodigious gifts to selected beings, The most famous tree in all of Soj is undoubtedly
as happens with the Memory Tree of Evajaka, which is the "Alfark", a species of wicker tree which can reach
found in Samia. The name of this tree is derived from an towering heights. The tree has no real leaves, while bark
old legend, which promises that the Vanirs created an and wicker branches display the same golden-brown
Elf-Tree for each of their children who descended with hue of the wood inside the trunk. This plant can live for
them from the skies. centuries and there are stories about millennia old Alfark
Those early Elf-Trees prospered and spread their trees growing upon the backs of sleeping Vidrjotuns.
blessed seeds before the Falekala, but the vast majority This beautiful, rare tree grows in a few, isolated spots
of their descendants on the continent have been burned of the southern parts of Trudvang, but its main habitat is
to ash by dragon fire, so long ago. in the Soj archipelago, where the Alfark is considerably
Soj is quite possibly the last place in Trudvang where more majestic, with trunks that dwarf its cousin on the
these beautiful trees thrive, though there is a single, continent and branches that are twice and thrice as thick.
impossibly old Tontuupaaka tree in Silverport which The beautiful golden-brown wood of the Alfark tree is
is believed to be the only living testimony of the lost one of the most precious on Trudvang.
Perlenne. The Alfark is an unbelievably hard wood to work, not
The "Hookaipana" or "Silver Floral Tree" is a huge least because it is resistant to weathering and decay,
evergreen plant whose long branches often knit together but it is also surprisingly light. Only Elves know how
to form intricate shapes. Its trunk is never smooth, but to properly craft items, including blades, from it, which
it is always gnarled and twisted, with numerous natural become as hard as any metal. The gigantic trunks are

81
the main source of the crafting material, while the long Elven fleet. The Seeds of the Vanirs only dare cross the
wicker-like branches can be intertwined, forming wattle storm-tossed Althis in canoa-like ships. These are small
and daub-like barriers which are light but also incredibly vessels, akin to long boats. All of these vessels have a
resistant. Elves occasionally use them for their temporary light, beautiful silhouette and their keels and masts are
dwellings and structures, as well as for occasionally embellished with elegant carvings. The best of them
crafting a few Alfark armour for their leaders. have white sails of shimmerweave that float in the wind
Human warlords and wealthy merchants from distant as elegant as any bird. It is more common though for the
harbours, including Storhavn and Silverport, dream of shipwrights to use vegetal fabrics and animal skins.
furniture and beautiful objects carved from Alfark, but These vessels are rarely constructed with sattalojka
the Elves trade very few of their products with Humans— arts, which are nowadays more commonly practiced by
even those they consent to trade with. the Korpikalli of the Darkwoods than by the Illmalaini of
The best miekka are all crafted from this wood, which, Soj.
interestingly, is also the traditional material for the Elves know how to choose which tree is ready to be
Ihana’s star harps. felled, and will always plant two new ones in its place to
There are whispers of some Alfark thriving in the most restore the balance within the forest.
mysterious of Trudvang's forests, though very few, if Furthermore, after the wild storms come crashing in
any, grow in the Darkwoods. The Korpikalli there have from the Althis ocean and break over the forests of Samia
perfected the sattaloijka arts to make their miekkas from and Edras, the Illmalaini like to wander the woodlands
selected oaks, though they are pale imitations of the in search of fallen trees or "Myrskypuuta" as they call
legendary wood their ancestors crafted in Soj. them. Expert Stormlander shipwrights would avoid such
broken trees for fear that the integrity of the wood itself
THE ELVES OF SOJ AND THE SEA is compromised, but Elves know that the Sea itself chose
which wood was worthy of crossing the waters, and only
When thinking about Elves, most will mistakenly consider the mysrkypuuta can be used for crafting their very best
them as inhabitants of forests and woodlands while ships.
forgetting one of the fundamental and most obvious facts In Soj there are some Elven tribes which cyclically
that lie at the heart of Elven culture, Soj is an archipelago, migrate between the forests of Edras and Samia, and all
meaning the sea is an essential aspect of Elven civilisation. the small islands in between, using small fleets of these
And by essential, this means every bit as much as the tiny vessels.
mists-covered woodlands. Elves treat the Althis Ocean as Indeed, there are Elves who live most of their lives on
an element that connects the various parts of Soj, not as the ships, collecting food from the oceans, and moving in
barriers separating the islands. never-ending cycles, landing upon occasion on specific
Elven sailors first began exploring the oceans with the secret shores that they consider sacred sites.
Vanirs, back when Trudvang was a young world. When Unlike the Illmalaini of the hinterlands, the diet of those
the early Humans emerged from the mists in the Age of residing along these coasts relies almost entirely on seafood
the Iron Wurm, with no concept of swimming or sailing, as opposed to the usual, almost-completely vegetarian
Queen Valki was already considered to be mistress of all Illmalaini diet. Nevertheless, all food harvesting from the
the oceans. sea is bound up in ancient rituals, formulas to be recounted
Elven bards speak of how Wellithelli and his sons used and thanking songs to be sung. Without these, the balance
to cross the sea in mighty vessels their ancestors made, cannot be kept, and the Illmalaini believe above things, the
fashioning them from the trees using now-forgotten nature of the balance must be maintained. They remember
secrets, including some of the most exquisite of the well, even now, how once there was an entire group of
sattaloijka arts. Vanirs who loved the waters so much those chose to dwell
Proof that Elven naval arts were still unparalleled during in the sea, breathing life into all of its creatures, from the
the Age of the Queen can be found within Thronelandic monstrous wulterfish and bloodthirsty shark to the elegant
songs which weave tales of the majestic white-shining dolphin and the light flying fish. They cherish all of them,
Illmalaini ship that brought the mourning Savilloha to knowing that they are constituent parts of the same ecology,
Samia after the death of her beloved Whotgall. and that the reflection of the old Vanirs still lingers in them.
Nowadays, with no real kingdom to speak of, the Elves The oceans themselves have a deep spiritual meaning
find themselves living in small tribal groups, with no royal for the Elves-. The waters, after all, are inextricably linked

82
with the skies. Elves know how the sea level and tidal flows The sea is, of course, fundamental for trading, as the
are influenced by the moon, and they are always amazed cities of Trudvang, from Redborg to Silverport, crave the
by how perfectly the ocean's waters reflect starlight—so rare and exquisite produce of Soj, its exotic woods, its
much so it is commonly thought that those reflections spices and, when the opportunity presents itself, the rarest
must surely carry traces of the Vanirs themselves. There of Elven artifacts. Elven ships, though, do not trade in such
are Ihana who have dedicated themselves to the ebb and goods. They have no interest in Human coins. Rather,
flow of these nightly reflections on the waters and found the vast majority of this trade is conducted through the
ways to adopt them into in their stargazing calculations. few remaining Thronelander colonies in Edras and the
This is especially true during the few calm nights of the exceedingly rare Mittlander merchant who is allowed
summer season, when the usually storm ravaged Althis by Elven chieftains to bargain on some islets—as these
Ocean is eerily still. Illmalaini have learned to treasure traders cannot set foot on the Shores of Silion.
such moments, and when they venture out onto the waters There was a time when Human merchants could freely
during those nights, either by canoe or swimming, they lift land on Samia, but that was an age long since gone.
up their voices in song, and practice melancholy rituals Nowadays, no Elven king has the authority to command
that honour their lost gods, enraptured by those reflections their people not to attack merchants, who are more often
burning brightly on both sky and sea. than not perceived as invaders.

83
OSKLA

Since the heart of the Age of Dreams, the Elves have been are finally smashed up against the cliff walls. There isn't a
prohibited from entering the realm of Oskla. The reasons single natural harbour anywhere along the long coastline.
behind such a prohibition are unknown to most, though Anyone wishing to enter the island must navigate these
there are those who connect it with a curse that may daunting cliffs, while powerful currents and brutal waves
have fallen upon the island during the Long Storm, only do everything in their power to take both ship and crew to
exacerbated by the corruption the great Logiwurms of the bottom of the sea.
antiquity brought here. It is thought that the high cliffs of Oskla were formed as
However, it is likely that the reality of the prohibition is the result of cataclysmic upheaval that saw the two realms of
more complicated, and less fanciful. Oskla has always been Daalheim and Oskla torn apart by an immense tectonic force
considered sacred rather than cursed but the geography that left those sheer cliffs in its wake. The forces necessary
of the island itself attests to the fact that some horrendous for such a severe reshaping of the landscape are beyond the
tragedy befell this place. One need only set foot within the comprehension of many, causing them to consider this idea
dreaded Himmgrim forest to witness the truth of that. little more than a myth, embellished over time, but the scars
Whatever the cause of this tragedy, the Elves have always of it are carried still within the rocks, which are hard to deny.
fiercely denied access to this island, and with good reason. The Highlands of Oskla are defined by Himmgrim, the
The huge island's sheer cliffs rise up out of the sea like Dead Forest and their rock-filled, infertile soil. Nothing
the walls of infinity. These vertical granite cliffs have caused grows here now. Nothing can survive in this hostile clime.
the wreckage of countless ships; first they run aground on Oskla is grim. During what are laughingly called the
the breakers lurking just beneath the surface, then they summer months the island is enveloped in a thick and deep
are torn apart by the battering of the elements, before they fog that does not lift for the entire season and longer.

84
ASHILAINI DUNJOKK
The plains lying towards the southern reaches of Oskla’s There is a grove surrounded by the withered and twisted
landmass are known as Ashilaini. They are vast stone-filled skeletons of dead trees whose roots were from offshoots of
highlands where a wanderer can walk for days without Himmgrim, and within that once sacred place lie the ruins
finding life or water. In dim and distant days, Humans of a once great temple built by the Elves.
from Daalheim tried to build houses here, but life on these Within the heart of those ruins what can best be called a
highland plains was too harsh and after years of suffering 'stellar instrument' grows still; it was planted by the Elves
they died out, leaving behind the ruins of their stone houses themselves, and to gaze through its natural lens allows the
scattered across the plains like funeral markers. viewer to see the stars burning both brighter and closer
Those who did not perish due to natural hazards were than with the naked eye. It is whispered by some that by
harassed by enraged Illmalaini, who could not abide the using the instrument the Elves have found a way to make
sacrilege of Human settlement on the highlands of Oskla. contact with their lost gods. Even today, two Skjulds guard
The colonists became isolated from their homeland, this ruin.
as Daalheimer ships continuously suffered night-time During the Age of the Iron Wurm it is believed that a
ambushes by war canoes dispatched from Samia. Left Jarnwurm settled in Dunjokk's groves. It was a huge beast
without supplies and precious little in the way of natural from the Great Iron Mountain's deepest caverns. The beast
resources, the colonists faced hunger and thirst. It is a fool had slain one of Fudorov Skiljov's brothers, and for this
who ventures out across Ashilaini unprepared. If ever a was hunted all the way down to Soj by the Dwarves, where
landscape could kill, this is the one… Fudorov slew the beast, losing his life soon after to the Elves

85
who watched on from the dead trees ringing Dunjokk's into the sheer rock cliffs. That staircase has been frayed
grove. The Elves slaughtered all of the dwarven brothers by time, battered and worn down by the elements, making
that dark day, and for that crime the Dwarves swore revenge it treacherous to walk now, but remnants of it remain to be
upon the Elves of Soj. From a Dwarven perspective, they climbed at no little peril. Those who try and fail face a fall
had helped the Elves end the torment of the iron dragon, hundreds of times their own height all the way down to the
but in the eyes of the Elves those brothers had done the jagged rocks and the storm-tossed sea. That stair, called
unforgiveable and trespassed in one of Elvenkin’s most Thugga by those who carved it, lies so well-hidden that if
sacred places, the penalty for which was death. It was as an adventurer does not know of its existence it is almost
simple and immutable as that. The greater tragedy was that impossible to detect.
more dwarven deaths have been caused as a consequence
of the act than by the act itself, as it led to the end of the "Old TAIVAAN LUOLAT
Alliance", the pact which saw the Elves and Dwarves fight
the Jarnwurms side by side. On the coastline of Oskla lies a natural phenomenon known
amongst the Elves as Taivaan Luolat, a warren of caves cut
HIMMGRIM, THE DEAD FOREST into the coastline where the ceilings of the caves shine blue
with the ripples coral-infused light.
Himmgrim, known to most as the Dead Forest, has It is a curious thing indeed, with the caves of Taivaan Luolat
become a mythical place, spoken of in the legends of the being a central part of the war with the Dragons. It is believed
Elvenkin. Here, all the trees and plants are dead, their by some that when Tulisydän, one of the great Dragons, fell
limbs contorted, twisted and charred. They say that the here, its body left to rot in the shallow waters of the sea, its
heat of the forest was once an Yggdras who fell to the blood soaked into the coral and made it glow beneath the
scourge of dragon fire. The Yggdras may have perished, moon. So potent with vitner was the dragon’s blood that even
but its spirit remained, trapped in the half-life of ghoul in now the coral and lichen still shimmer beneath the moonlight,
forest guise. Few souls who have stumbled into the forest lighting the cave of sky.
ever return. With every step deeper into the Dead Forest The caves are close to the hidden stone stair, Thugga,
the macabre undergrowth thickens, until eventually it with it climbing between them.
is so dense it would take hours to fight through even a To look at the water spilling into the cave mouths it is possible
hundred strides. to believe that they have been untouched by any living presence
What lies at the heart of the Dead Forest now? If you for years, but that tranquility is deceptive as the caves have been
believe one faction of Elvenkin, there is a source of pure used in piracy and other nocturnal pursuits for an age. The
water that possesses incredible healing powers, whereas shimmering false sky of the cave’s ceiling proves most helpful
another believes that there is no pool, only the calcified for those with nefarious purposes in their hearts, especially
skeleton of the giant dragon Ukkalinka. at night, when the seas that lap up into the caves mouths and
the coral reflects the moonlight up into the vaults of the ceiling
THUGGA making it as bright as day deep inside the caves.
Not only do the caves possess the clearest blue ceilings, but
According to the oldest Elven traditions, there was a major another quirk of the place comes in the form of the acoustics,
battle between Dragons and Elves on the island of Oskla which are peculiar, too, with a whisper from one corner
during the Age of Dreams. To reach the highland plains of carrying deep within the labyrinthine hollow and somehow
the island proper, the Elves carved a steep staircase deep sounding as loud as a shout when it reaches the depths.

86
SAMIA
Samia is Soj's largest landmass by far. The island is The ruins of a few ancient, abandoned Thronelander
colossal, and by far the most populous region of Elven colonies can be found on this island, but today neither
civilisation. They have two names for the island, "Samia", Human nor Dwarf is permitted to set foot on Samia's soil.
which is how it is referred to in everyday conversation, and While Trolls have, on occasion, found a stronghold within
the more poetic "Shores of Silion", which is how the island the Poyotta Mountains, they live a more peaceful life here
is more often referred to in the sagas. Poyotta, a towering than their kin on the mainland. There are a number of Elven
mountain range, splits the country clean in two. legends that tell of the last Trolls of the mountains. It has
North of the mountains lie the endless plains, while to been many a long year since even the Elves have seen signs
the south what is undoubtedly Trudvang's most beautiful of these Trolls in within the Poyotta, though the sagas speak
forest, Valtoris, with the great city Valkalainen deep within of King Trolls dwelling there, even now. If there is any truth
its evergreen heart. Valkalainen is unique in both its beauty to these tales, it is undeniable that these creatures are both
and in the fact that it is the only surviving city that dates all wiser and more peaceful than other King Trolls.
the way back to the Age of Dreams. The only common branch of trollkin who have never been
It was here that the Elves first descended, hand-in-hand sighted on Samia are the hated Grey Trolls.
with the gods.
It was here that they fought both the first and last desperate LEADERSHIP IN SAMIA
battle with the Dragons in Falekala, the Long Storm.
Once, so long ago, there were several Elven cities like The Elves of Samia live free from the rule of even kings and
Valkalainen, some as majestic, others haunting with their queens. They do not listen to jarls or other leaders and bow the
beauty, seeming to live just as the trees and plants around knee to no-one. They guide their own decisions with tradition
them thrived, but these are gone now, lost to the landscape and wisdom gleaned from their long lives and possess more
as that most patient of enemies, Time, has worn them down knowledge than even their kin scattered across Trudvang. Their
to nothing, allowing the ever-voracious nature to devour them. wisdom and advice is treasured. There is no greater betrayal
Now, rather than cities, Samia is home to settlements, less than breaking with tradition, however, which warrants exile
grand perhaps, but vital to the living and breathing balance of from Valtoris. For the Elves of Samia, this is one of the most
the land, with so many scattered tribes and divergent cultures painful punishments imaginable. Death is preferable.
to be found across the length and breadth of Samia. The Sojlakoita, the Elven High King, Kallikka presides
over Samia's traditions, spinning his web of wisdom. But
THE INHABITANTS OF SAMIA despite his elevated position, he lacks the power to command
his people’s lives. He is the keeper of old lore. In theory he is
The Elves are by nature a nomadic species. This is true heir of the great monarchs of old, like Wellithelli and Valki,
even of the more settled Illmalaini. but in practice his sole purpose is to lead important rituals
After the Vanirs left, setting down roots has never been and ceremonies in Valkalainen, and on occasion at one of a
part of the Elven way of life. Of course, the Illmalaini have few other sacred sites. Unlike a Human monarch it is not in
raised a number of small, though permanent, villages on his remit to summon Elven armies or send them to war, as
this island but they have not built a real city since the Age his ancestors did millennia ago. In the face of a crises, his
of Dreams. Many Star Elves chose instead to build the one option is to call of an Assembly of Chieftains, which are
occasional semi-permanent settlements and instead roam not in any way obligated to follow his wisdom once shared.
like the creatures of the land, migrating from hostile climes The Sojlakoita is venerated by those of the Illmalaini
during the brutal seasons, going in search of knowledge star watchers who look for patterns within the cosmos
and seedlings, helping to cultivate the landscape even as and meaning within those patterns. They frequently turn
they discover Trudvang. But no matter how far they roam, to him to ratify their interpretations of the stars, looking
Valkalainen always remains their spiritual home. As the for confirmation in the old lore, believing that the stars can
only surviving city from the Age of Dreams, this is the one guide them still. Whilst they do not believe he can in any way
place in all the world they return to when they need to draw commune with the lost Vanirs, in some ways they see him
strength and power from the wellsprings fashioned by the as a conduit to the older days when they were not alone, as
first Elf high king, Wellithelli. though the lore he cherishes is a living thing.

87
88
THE NATURE IN SAMIA terrain slows many of the worst storms, causing them to blow
themselves out before they can savage Valkalainen.
Wellithelli crafted a number of sacred sites and wellsprings Samia's western coastal belt runs from Lakka's southern tip,
of power from which the Elves could draw strength as the the southernmost rocks on the island, to the wight-infested hills
need arose. These springs are scattered across Samia. They of Aukalikka in her northern reaches. It consists mainly of steep
come in many forms, including refreshing waterfalls, flower cliffs and treacherous rock formations that run the length of the
meadows and groves of yggdras. pebbled beaches. These beaches aren't sand, but rather consist
In many respects, Samia is akin to a dream world within of hand-sized white stones. Sea Birds known as Red Sea Spurs
Trudvang; a kingdom rooted in history, its beauty is unmatched live within the hollow rocks, laying their eggs in 10 year cycles.
by any other place in the world. These eggs are both large and nutritious, making them a prize
On Samia trees tower taller, the flowers bloom more for predators. When the Sea Spurs are nesting, the Elves gather
vibrantly, their scents are headier, the grass is more verdant, along the coastline to steal away the eggs. This is a quest that
and the water more invigorating, while the soil itself is more can be both hazardous to undergo and to witness. Fearless
fertile than anywhere else. It is as though nature has honed young Elves often delight in proving their courage by climbing
itself to perfection on these shores. the sheer rocks and negotiating the narrowest of sea-spray-slick
After the descent from the heavens, the Elves populated chimneys to make their way to the heights of the nests where
Samia's southern reaches, allowing the northern territory of they can retrieve the eggs. As they need their hands free to pull
Haumma to remain untouched. Today, those northern lands off this theft, special baskets are strapped to their foreheads
make for excellent hunting grounds, with herds of wild elk which are used to cradle the delicate eggs as they descend.
and enormous white moose, with crowns at upwards of 30 Unlike many other regions of Trudvang, Samia has a rich
points, roaming free. Of all the creatures, the Elves believe the flora whatever the season, and is home to so many incredible
presence of the white moose to be a blessing, bringing with genus and species of flora and fauna, including the fabled elf-
it luck and health. Because of this, many choose to co-exist tree, the star arrow, iron and silver oaks and more. During
with the majestic animals, running with them for many weeks the warmer months of the year, the landscape shifts between
as they roam the plains, mountain slopes and woodlands, and rich greens and yellows, with explosions of brilliant colour
sharing the bounty of the landscape with them, rather than flowering everywhere the eye can see, but even in the harsher
hunting and slaughtering these kings of the wild. winter months there are countless flowers and trees that
There are those who would hunt the white moose as come into full bloom. The White Eye Ravens are renowned
they are by far the most revered game, though were it to for their beauty, spreading across Samia when winter is at its
happen, any such hunt would be a solemn and cherished worst and it seems like the cold will never break, while the
affair, imbued with the weight of tradition and ancient rites Moon Cat's blue flowers only bloom beneath the first kiss of
around the actual kill and dressing of the meat, which are snows. The Elves brew a tisane from the leaves of the Moon
shrouded in mystery and known only to the loremasters and Cat that is both warming and refreshing. The Elves also brew
the Sojlakoita. a tea from heather and bark. There is another, rarer draught,
The Samian coast is often shrouded in thick fog, and deep- that is made from the dried leaves of the elf-tree, which is
lying mists that make it near-impossible to come ashore on sacred to the Elves of Samia. Those few people gifted with
the rocky coastline. Countless ships have been wrecked on such tea speak of a beverage infused with both magical effects
the southern shore where wild sea storms hurl the ships and powerful healing properties, so potent is the brew.
onto the cliffs. Sandy beaches are common around the wide
delta of the Vaal river, on the eastern coast, but sailors avoid AUKALIKKA
this area, as the terrain is mainly swampland and seas here There was a time when Thronelanders and Elves might have
are treacherous. Only the Elves know the few, secret places, been considered kin; like sisters and brothers. Thronelanders
where a vessel can put ashore safely, and some of these are admired the Elves, considering them older and wiser family.
fleeting in nature, as their safe natural harbours can only be They learned the old ways from them, including the lessons
found during specific seasons or hours. of life in Trudvang before mankind awakened. To grow closer
The seasonal changes of the year in the region are both fast to the Elves, a small group of Thronelanders built three small
and merciless, especially along the coastal reaches. While settlements along Samia's northern coast. The hills there
summer is warm and pleasant, the winters are full of howling reminded them of their homeland. The towns fell into ruin
winds and fierce blizzards. The great forest, Valtoris, offers and finally disappeared from the land during the Age of the
shelter from the harshest winds, while the sharply undulating Prophets, in which they were ravaged by Bults from Sylvan.

89
 The surviving Thronelanders were taken up into the mound that over the generations has slowly risen as the roots
hills where they buried their kings, and forced to reveal the of the ancient tree twisted and burrowed deeper and deeper
secrets of the barrows. When the graves were looted, the into the earth, until they reached the bedrock, and from there,
dead rose up against the violation of their eternal sleep and unable to worm a way through, have created a huge rise that
walked again, going to war with the invading Bults. It was is nothing more than the tangled roots of Ensimmäinenpuu.
a brutal battle, where even the dead died again. Eventually The seedling that grew into Ensimmäinenpuu was sown
the Elves drove the Bults from their lands, but by then the by Wellithelli, and nurtured day after day, season after season,
Thronelanders were little more than a feast for the carrion until it grew into its full majesty.
crows. Ensimmäinenpuu died centuries ago but did not rot. Instead,
In memory of the fallen, the Elves planted scared elf-trees as the seasons turned, it slowly petrified, and stands as tall and
over their graves to appease the Barrow Wights and Draugrs strong now as it ever did in life, a towering stone tree in the
that had been brought to life by the desecration of the Bults. heart of Soj’s ancient wildwood.
Today, only ruins remain of the three cities along the The stone tree is dwarfed now by many of the great trees that
coastline, though there are still traces of the Thronelandic have followed from its seeds, its seedlings scattered across the
burial mounds up in the highlands of Aukalikka. world by bird and by wind, sprouting in every wildwood across
the world of Trudvang.
ESIISIENPAIKKA - THE GROVE OF Nobody can name for sure the original species of the First
THE ANCIENTS Tree, as its petrified shape seems to display characteristics
Deep within the heart of the mighty Valtoris forest lies the typical of many different genus of tree, like the oak and the
"Grove of the Ancients", Esiisienpaikka, a ring of trees all beech, as well as the elf-tree and the star arrow. Elven bards
grown from the first seeds planted by the Vanirs. In time, explain this mystery by singing of the Ensimmäinenpuu as
the trees of Esiisienpaikka grew to become all of the trees the ancestor of all the forests in Trudvang, sharing many traits
of all the mighty woodlands of Trudvang. with its unnumerable and disparate descendants.
Esiisienpaikka remains one of the most holy of sites on The Illmalaini believe that every word ever whispered in
Soj, a pilgrimage place to the Illmalaini, who each, once in the presence of the First Tree is remembered by its roots, and
their lifetimes, make a journey to the grove so they may sit spread by its seeds, so that the teachings of Wellithelli and
at the foot of the trees they call the ancestors and commune those Elves who have long since left this place are remembered
with the roots of the first trees. by Ensimmäinenpuu. Because of this, the Elves will often
The petrified Ensimmäinenpuu, the fFrst Tree, stands make pilgrimages to the stone tree to honour the ancestors,
tall within the grove. Now, more of the ancient trees in the believing that through the transmutation from wood to stone—
grove have begun the process of petrification and before the from the living stuff of the world into the eternal foundation of
next generation are born to Trudvang will be stone. There is it—there is the promise that they too might find a way to leave
a fear amongst the Illmalaini as to what this transformation this transitory existence and once again know eternity.
might foreshadow.
There are those amongst the tribes who hold that the Kynneltenkoti - The House of Tears
solitude of the grove is the only place on all the lands (within Esiisienpaikka)
where they can still feel the presence of the gods, with the Once, before the Kyyneltensota—The War of the Tears—
collective memories of those old trees going back to a time Esiisienpaikka was home to the Surevatkivet, the three
before time stole in and brought ruin to the world. gemstone tears wept by the first high king, Wellithelli, before
Two of the greatest monuments of Elven history are inside they were stolen by the faithless Korpikalli thief Veikko Kirottu,
this forest: Ensimmäinenpuu and Kynneltenkoti, which are cursed be his name, who fled with them to the safety of the
better treated below. great forest on the continent, Ellikka only for the curse of the
lost king to break the thief, body and soul, and leave him as a
Ensimmäinenpuu - The First Tree (within victim of the conflict that resulted, ultimately, in the sundering
Esiisienpaikka) of the tribes.
Deep in the heart of Soj lies the First Tree, Ensimmäinenpuu, Esiisienpaikka now hosts only one Tear, Särkymätönsydän,
from which all other trees grow. the Unbreakable Heart which was given into the Illmalaini’s
Aside from the mighty Yggdras, Ensimmäinenpuu is the protection. The Tear is now kept in the depths of Kynneltenkoti,
most sacred of the trees within the limits of the mighty Valtoris. the ancient complex which once hosted all three Tears during
It stands alone in what was once a lush area of the forest, on a the Age of Dreams.

90
 Kynneltenkoti is an immense labyrinth crafted by the power GYLOLANTA
of now forgotten sattaloijka arts, by shaping and bending There is a place deep within the boundaries of Valtoris
thousands and thousands of trees, bushes and hedges. Nobody that is mythical in nature and sacred to the Elves:
really knows how large this maze is, as it hosts multiple Gylolanta, the immortal Elves' cemetery. Since the dying
levels, raising not just above ground, but also deep through days of the Age of Dreams it has been customary for the
the forest’s roots. No living Elf can hope to replicate such a ‘immortal’ who dies first to be brought here for their
feat today, such is its majesty, as its construction was based flesh to nourish and intertwine with the mighty yggdras,
on secrets and mysteries of the Age of Dreams, forgotten now Lojitta, to become another of its enchanted branches. No
even by the Korpikalli masters in the Darkwoods. Most of these living soul knows the true number of immortal Elves who
plants are now petrified, although there are rumours amongst have been buried within the tree, and only a handful of
the Illmalaini of a section of Kynneltenkoti which is still alive, Elves are allowed to dwell within the presence of Lojitta.
growing and expanding, as its vitality has been fueled by It is believed that if a pilgrim talks to the Yggdras it is
millennia of exposure to the power of the Unbreakable Heart. possible they might make contact with the immortal Elves
The maze is filled with natural traps and perils, like ancient that have become one with it and share in their wisdom,
Volokkias larger than any other, anywhere else in Trudvang, though few can ever get close enough to commune with
since they have been mutated by the power of the Tear. the ancient trees to test the veracity of that claim.
Särkymätönsydän, in fact, lies at the centre of the complex,
and only the Uhriritari, the dedicated elven warriors, know GRÁTANDIVIÐUR
which is the proper way to reach it. The only being in known There is an area inside Valtoris, not far from the city of
history who succeeded in penetrating this labyrinth is the Valkalainen, where the forest is comprised only of majestic
mythic Veikko Kirottu, the thief, and many elven scholars have Star Arrows. No Elf has built a city here, as they believe this
come to believe that he only succeeded in doing so with the place to be sacred.
help of some obscure, dark spirit. Grátandiviður is the site where the dying Wellithelli was
brought, and his companions led him to the tallest trees,
EVAJAKA where he passed from this life and shed the three tears.
At the end of the Age of Dreams, when The Long Storm raged The trees where the mythic king died are long gone, but all
at its fiercest, the Elven Queen, Aino (later named Valki), had a Elves know how the lineage of those legendary Star Arrows
mighty lookout built in the high peaks of the Poyotta Mountains. has thrived through the seeds which have grown into the
On one of the highest spires, Rikkala's Peak, an elf-tree was tallest trees in Trudvang.
planted that was infused with magical qualities including far For centuries a score of semi-nomadic Illmalaini tribes
sight; by hanging lenses within its branches, it was possible have considered their duty to protect Grátandiviður. Out
to see into distant lands. The watcher could see both what of respect, they have never built any permanent settlement
was happening right then, at that very moment, and also amongst the bowers of the sacred Star Arrows, although
what had happened and what was yet to come. their cemeteries and holy places are located throughout
The Elves used what they called the "Memory Tree", the forest. Every tribe has the duty of protecting the area
Evajaka, to predict the Dragons' next gambits in the brutal in a specific season, whilst spending the rest of the year
war, allowing them to plan their own countermeasures and wandering. These Grátandiviður Elves are famous lore
strike back with ruthless efficiency. It is not a stretch to masters, considering it their sacred duty to preserve the
believe that without this enchanted tree and the gift of far history and ancient traditions of their race, handing down
sight it offered, the Elves would have fallen to the Dragons to the rich oral heritage of Elven culture to their young.
become nothing more than a memory woven into the tragic Grátandiviður is a traditional destination for the
sagas recounting the cost of the Long Storm. pilgrimage of young Elves who seek to know themselves,
Today, while Evajaka still grows strong, its lenses are used and no Illmalaini guardian has even forbidden another
sparingly, because gaze into the future risks being swallowed Elf to enter the area. The pilgrims are most frequently
up by it. Time being the great enemy, to be trapped within Star Elves, though there are some occasional Korpikalli
their own heads and yet forced to live in a future that their Elves who make the pilgrimage from Edras. Old songs
own bodies do not inhabit is a form of captivity the Elves fear speak about a lone Korpikalli from the Darkwoods, but if
more than almost anything else. After all, they are a people that tale is true his journey took place several centuries
who see history as permanent, with the future being another ago. No one has ever spotted a Talviakka pilgrim in
step further away from the gods. Grátandiviður.

91
HAUMMA than by days as other races do. They note the eves, the twilights,
The Perpetual Plains of Haumma are highlands to the north and demark the enemy of time in terms of darkness, but not as
of the Poyotta Mountains. They have been Elven hunting something to be feared but something to rejoice.
grounds from ancient times. The plains are home to a host of In terms of construction, the Jättiläinenvalvoja stands like
wild animals, including immense herds of wild elk and moose. a colossus, a stone giant in the image of the Vanirs, striking a
The creatures of the plains follow the seasons migrating from pose of contemplation. While the trees gather around its stone
east to west and from the coast in the north to the mountains feet like children eager to listen to the wisdom of the lost gods,
in the south as the ice and snow creeps in. Elves frequently the Maailmansilmä look up through the construct’s eyes to the
talk about a country of abundance, but there is a second aspect wonders of the night sky. It is an incredible feat of engineering
to this land: it is one of infinite stillness. A traveller here could and ingenuity, and visible for incredible distances, in many
go for days and nights at a time without encountering another places dominating the skyline.
living soul on the windswept plains. In the distance the grass Some Elves though have come to hate the shadow
grows waist high, rustling and rippling in the winds so that it Jättiläinenvalvoja casts across Soj, both physically and
almost looks as though ghosts are rushing through them. This metaphorically, as it is a constant reminder, carved in stone and
is basically a flat land with lush pastures, vibrant heathers and in many of the ways they no longer are, eternal. For that reason
colourful wild mountain flowers. many have come to view the statue on the hilltop as one of the
great sadness’s. Others, though, see it as a beacon of hope.
JÄTTILÄINENVALVOJA - THE During the night of Hylkääminen beacon fires are lit
OBSERVATORY within the huge head of the stone giant to light the way
High up within the great forests of Soj lies Jättiläinenvalvoja. back, in case the Vanirs have become lost and need a light
It is unlike any other place on the landscape as it is so shine the way home.
Elvenmade, crafted from stone and metal, to form a giant
watcher that is turned to the sky to study the movement of the LAKKA
gods. This incredible monument was firstly built during the The southernmost tip of the Samian coast is the Lakka
Age of Dreams, but it was burned down with the Suurityhjyys, promontory, a thin strip of land protruding into the ocean.
the Great Emptiness at the end of the War of Tears, when the It is an impressive site, with the ocean continuously raging
three Elven lineages were separated from each other once and against the impossibly high cliffs. Several ancient monoliths
forever. The Illmalaini rebuilt it at the beginning of the Age of carved with elven symbols stand above the clifftops, marking
the Jarnwurm and, from that time, it has remained in use. an area sacred for the Seed of the Vanirs.
The structure is built upon a mount on the southern part of An old legend speaks of Lakka, a Vanir of the cliffs, who fell
the Poyotta Mountains, on a peak which, like a promontory in love with the Ocean, and transmogrified herself into the
or a terrace rises up above the woodland, towering over the promontory so that she might be perpetually in contact with the
landscape by some considerable climb. The mount is said stormy waves. Two different Illmalaini tribes claim to descend
to be the highest point in all of Soj, with the construction of from this Vanir, the Läntinenlakka and the Itäinenlakka, the
Jättiläinenvalvoja adding to its already considerable height. It is western and eastern branches of the same lineage. The two
the closest one may come to the old gods in all of Soj. To stand groups, even if blood-related, have quarrelled and competed
atop the structure of Jättiläinenvalvoja and turn one's face to the for centuries over the same sacred land. Conflicts, even tribal
sky is to gaze upon the faces of the divine. Illmalaini come here warfare, have gripped this place until the late Age of the
to contemplate the nature of this new relationship they have Prophets, when counsel was sought from the highest religious
with the Vanirs, and pray to the gods who have left them. authority in Samia. The Sojlakoita of that time, Kyllmojna the
Some of the greatest minds of the Illmalaini have fashioned Poet, established the rules which still govern this territory today.
Maailmansilmä, a looking glass capable of seeing far into the Every year on the summer solstice there is a huge gathering
blackness of the night sky, where they seek any trace of the Vanirs. of Illmalaini on the promontory. The best bards of the two
They have given their lives to the study of the stars, charting the tribes compete, singing both traditional joikks and new
movements of those celestial bodies and trying to divine patterns songs and sagas. The winner is declared by secret vote by
and meaning in them, even going so far as to name clusters of a council of seven of the most venerable Ihana, chosen by
them after the lost gods, like the constellations of Máttugurstri the Sojlakoita among the northern tribes. These ihana bear
and Djúphugsun, that shine brightest of them all. What makes no familial relation to or friendship with the local Illmalaini.
these Elves fascinating amongst their own kind is that they This competition has been held every year during the last age,
were the first to begin the practice of reckoning by nights, rather establishing a local tradition of excellence in the musical arts.

92
LAULUKIVET - THE SINGING and as its stone began to resonate so it began to sing with
STONES those vibrations, the song carrying to other stones within the
There is a network of caves on Soj that lead deep into the chamber until one by one they joined in until every single
roots of the Poyotta mountain range, carved so far into the stone, hundreds of them, sang the same song. It was from
ground the air trapped down in these depths is hundreds of that song of creation the gods began to weave the stuff that
years older than the air above, stale and musty. The descent is would become the first seeds that would be carried up into
perilous, but worth it for the wonder that lies beneath. the world above to be sewn, carrying the Great Song within
Through the warren of passageways and declines that them wherever they were planted across Trudvang. In that
wind far beneath the surface, lies a vast cavern filled with the way, the echoes of the great song are in all things.
hundreds of dripping stalactites that form the Laulukivet, the To stand within the warm embrace of Laulukivet is the
"Singing Stones". closest any of the tribes might come now to the miracle that
This place is one of the holiest of all on Soj, and unique in brought life to Trudvang, and is an emotionally overwhelming
that it is the only one that is not under the stars of the night sky. experience, and incredibly humbling. It is said that if the
Through a peculiarity of geology, the cavernous hollow is listener can unravel the thousands of overlapping notes that
filled with an undying song. The Elves call it Vainkappale, the come together to create the Great Song they can actually
"Great Song". hear that first note, caused by the Vanirs striking the stone
The legend of the Great Song claims that during the to begin everything.
creation of Trudvang, the Vanirs struck one of the curious When an Elf takes the vow to become Tarumuisti,
stones of this place, drawing forth the longest single note, Lorekeeper, they make a pilgrimage to the caves so that the

93
Vainkappale might wash over them, filling their flesh with of the Ihana, a growing vaulted cathedral of trees that weave
the music of creation and in that moment truly grasping the together to create a sanctuary deep beneath the forests of Soj.
interconnectedness of all life. They leave the caverns forever Raa'athaavat is an impact crater caused by the fall of the
changed, for they have been touched by the Great Song and great meteor, Vanirsinkallio. The living temple has grown
understand their place within it. across what remains of the meteorite, shielding it from the
The Tarumuisti dedicate their lives to the seeds of life, elements.
looking to create new genus of flora from the many incredibly The repercussions of that extinction-level event were such
rare seeds that other Elves bring back to the vaults of that for an age it was impossible to see the sky for the thick
Valtoris from their travels, and through cross-pollination, layer of dust cloud that clogged the atmosphere, making day
germinating and cultivating entirely new species and in that feel grey and night black. It took time for the sunlight to finally
way adding to the Great Song. A Tarumuisti will often tend filter through as the dust settled, though before the Long Storm
to and commune with the ancient Yggdras, listening to the and the Great Betrayal time had no meaning to the Elves,
wisdom of the wildwood and remembering as the Yggdras so how long the sky was filled with dust is impossible to say.
remembers everything lost to the dragon’s flames in the Long That confusion of time is also considered by some—mainly
Storm, and seeks to somehow bring them back so that they those amongst the Korpikalli—to be the reason their kin look
might flourish once more. to the stars and believe they are seeing the last starlight trails
of the Vanirs leaving. With the stars obscured from view for so
POYOTTA MOUNTAINS long and the racial memory handed down from generation to
The snow-capped peaks of the Poyotta Mountains are a generation in the wake of the Great Betrayal it makes sense that
marvelous sight, visible from any corner of Samia. Trees stories blur together and legends change shape, one memory
are scarce here, but the landscape is embellished by an taking on aspects of another. For surely, that moment, when the
immense variety of thorny bushes, colorful heathers, Elves looked up and for the first time in forever saw the sun
seasonal flowers, and spicy-perfumed grasses. This is a shining through and the night sky full of stars how could they
realm of wolves, mountains goats and eagles, and there are not link that moment inextricably with the hope that their gods
even stories about good-natured Trolls living here, even if had not truly abandoned them, but were up there still?
there is no certainty about their presence. The Wound at the Heart of the World is not a place the
This mountain range is the only natural landscape on this Illmalaini return to often, though the presence of the meteorite
island where elven presence is less frequent. Even so, there is a is seen as a token of hope, as it proves there is life beyond
score of Illmalaini tribes which like wandering here during their Trudvang. Along the steep sides of the chasm various rare flora
nomadic cycles, visiting the mountains during summertime, clings doggedly to the dry rock, including a number of otherwise
when they love contemplating the starry, night skies from the extinct trees, which are accessible by a perilously narrow track
highest peaks, while they winter in seasonal villages on the they have come to call leiðtovisku, the Path to Wisdom. Every
northern ranges of the Valtoris forest below. Their totemträds now and then an Ihana will descend the path looking to harvest
always depicts birds, as their ancestors made ancient pacts seeds from the rarest of trees so that they might sow them
with the mountain vultures and hawks. The Poyotta Elves know elsewhere within the realms, but for whatever reason they
everything about these animals and, according to the legends, never take. It is almost as though they need the presence of the
when a threat appears the birds warn them. strange Vanirsinkallio meteorite to survive, though what the
implications of that might be, none are willing to voice.
RAA'ATHAAVAT - THE WOUND AT The one thing that cannot be denied is that the Wound
THE HEART OF THE WORLD at the Heart of the World is a place of great significance
Raa'athaavat, sometimes called the "Cradle of the Tribes", is a to the Elves, and along with other locations across the
wound in Trudvang that runs deep and wide, in a chasm that wildwood, Valtoris, like Ajansydän, the Heart of Time in
stretches wider than any river and as far as the eye can see, Valkalainen, Esiisienpaikka, the Grove of the Ancients and
and is more often than not referred to as the "Wound at the Jättiläinenvalvoja, the Observatory with its incredible looking
Heart of the World". The chasm is so deep that under the stars glass leaves, is a fundamental part of their culture and history
it appears bottomless, though that is just a trick of shadows that defines who they are.
and light. It is deep enough that any fall would be fatal five A few Elven tribes consider the lands around Raa'athaavat
times over and more, and the descent to its bottom is never to be their sacred territories. These Raa'athaavat Elves
less than precarious for an explorer—but worth it in so many are famous for their mastery of Toikalokke arts. All the
ways, not least being that it is the location of the living temple members of their tribes, not merely the fully dedicated

94
Ihana, are make seasonal or annual pilgrimages to the Elven bards believe that at the centre of what was once
living temple on the bottom of the chasm, where the ancient Turvanaika one can still find the original enormous trees,
secrets of the faith are studied. the star arrows, within which the buildings and walkways
were woven, though it is not somewhere travellers would
RAUSMALLIKALLIO willingly go. Those titanic, almost immortal trees, should
Daalheimer sailors never land on Samia, however all recall they survive still as the bards claim, must easily be amongst
the impressive sight of the monumental coastal cliffs of the the tallest and most vital of all the trees on Trudvang and
southern coast, especially in Rausmallikallio, where the waves more than a match for any of those in Valkalainen. The
of the stormy ocean continuously clash against the rocks, fundamental difference though lies in the fact that these
leading any vessels foolish enough to sail to sure death. boughs possess a wild and hostile aspect, like in no other
Here the Elves gather on the clifftops to bear witness when place of the archipelago. Their branches have contorted,
Logrjotuns congregate far into the sea to keep counsel. The warping into terrifying skeletal shapes and the wind passing
Elves have named this rarest of events "Rausmalli" - the though them cries balefully. It is a haunting song, thought
voice of Giants - and according to legend this occurs but once by those unlucky enough to hear it, to be the sung by the
in every century. Why the Giants gather so, and what events voices of the damned.
they discuss, is unknown to all save those in attendance, but, Turvanaika is the one place within the leafy Valtoris forest
ever since time itself was young, the Sea Giants have come where light is banished. The sunlight can rarely pierce its
to this same site within the ocean waves to hold their council. incredibly thick vegetation. Birds and other animals here
Sometimes it is short, lasting only a day or two, though other seem larger and fiercer than elsewhere, and tend to avoid—
times their congress can last for months. or worse, are openly hostile towards—the Elves.
The Elves of Samia have long since come to the conclusion Nature in Turvanaika is wilder, unfettered, and all the more
that the timing of Rausmalli is erratic, rather than occurring terrifying for it. The wilds found here are more dominant
in line with some celestial alignment or oceanic drift, though than in any other place of Soj.
some loremasters noted that it only ever takes place when Curiously, Toikalokke does not seem to work here, as
the floes of the great ice plains are moving, so perhaps there Elves believe that no god or any divine power—not even
is some sort of link there, after all? those worshipped by human dimwalkers—will answer their
prayers in Turvanaika. No Dwarven Thuulcraft artefact have
THONNA knowingly been brought here to test their might, but it is
There are a number of mysterious groves that cover much conceivable that not even those will work in Turvanaika.
of Samia's north-eastern territories. These are known as The Illmalaini of Soj have not set foot within the ruins of
"Thonna". The Thonna groves are beautiful when in full Turvanaika for millennia, claiming it to be an accursed place.
bloom. Here, a traveller might encounter Elves and white It is well known that no visitor returns from this place, though
deer. Here, the rippling spring water is imbued with a no one knows what truly happens to them.
vitality that is more potent than anywhere else across There are those who believe that an ancient sect of Dark
the islands. Here, the trees grow taller and straighter, Elves guard Turvanaika, secretly living here and killing every
piercing high into the sky. This is the only place in all of trespasser they encounter, to ensure the dead city’s secrets
Trudvang where one can find the white elf apples; a juicy are kept. That, of course, begs the question what such secret
and restorative apple that the Elves wandered far from of the Korpikalli is worthy of murdering today? Could it have
Valtoris to pick as they mature for their healing powers. something to do with why they cursed the Vanirs so many
millennia ago?
TURVANAIKA The vast majority of northern Korpikalli from the
There is no trace of Turvanaika, the fabled city where Darkwoods know nothing of this sect, or if they do, are not
the Korpikalli cursed the Vanirs after the Savenpaha. It speaking of it, but then it is not unlike their elders to hide the
has been purged from the landscape and almost all of truth from the world. And the older the truth, the deeper the
its inhabitants have long since migrated northwards, first secret, the more precious it is, surely?
onto the mainland and, finally, finding their new home in Other whispers tell tales of dark mists that cover the
the Darkwoods. heart of Turvanaika and mark it as a place where the barrier
But that does not put an end to its importance. There between the worlds is thin. All who enter the ruined city are
are few more significant sites on all of Trudvang when it doomed to disappear, crossing through the barrier even as
comes to understanding the Elvenkin. they walk through the mists.

95
 It is also worth remembering
as Turvanaika was once the
realm of the mythic King
Salivehen, vassal of Wellithelli,
and the wisest of all Elves. He
was the first to tame the savage
skjulds. How was it possible
that Turvanaika turned from the
haven it had been throughout his
blessed reign to the site where
the Vanirs were cursed? This, of
course, can only ever be a matter
of conjecture as those who knew
are long dead.
Flocks of unnaturally large,
monstrous skjulds are said to
nest in the area still, so perhaps
they are the reason behind the
site’s dark nature, and there is
nothing to the talk of mists and
demons?
Or, perhaps, there is a grain of
truth to all of the explanations?

VALKALAINEN
Valkalainen, Celestial Gate and
City of Dreams.
This Elven city has known a
great many names of the years.
The seat of the Sojlakoita, High
King Kallikka, it is the only
surviving settlement from the Age
of Dreams. To listen to the songs
and sagas that tell of Valkalainen
it is easy to imagine that it is
some vast city of towering spires,
ancient walls and fabulous
architecture, similar to the cities
Humans have built, but it is
quite different, in reality and not
remotely comparable to anything
There are even those who claim the ruins to be infested that Human minds could have conceived of building. It is
by demons and other forgotten monsters from the Age of uniquely Valkalainen. And it is beautiful.
Dreams. Perhaps it is some collective memory of when It was first constructed in honour of the Vanir, Valkalai,
the spiders were the greatest threat the Elvenkin faced, and the star arrows that grow at its heart forming the
but that are still Illmalaini storytellers who spin warnings foundation trees of the mighty city were planted in an
of an enormous, impossibly vile and venomous demonic arrangement that mirrors the constellation of Valkalai in the
spider living in the heart of the ruined city, who devours night sky, with the Mother Tree standing at its heart. This, of
all who come, seeking to understand the mysteries of course, is one of the many contradictions of the Vanirs, for
Turvanaika. surely the city was raised before the gods retreated to the

96
heavens, and yet there is no denying the earthly alignment canopy of branches are so numerous, as well as venerable,
of those mighty trees does indeed mirror the placement of any sort of count has long since been lost. Many of these
the stars in the heavens. homesteads within the wood are amongst the oldest in all
Valkalainen lies on the border of the vast plains that of Trudvang, and yet they are still vital parts of this thriving
cleave through the heart of Valtoris, opening the great community.
forest up clean through in the middle.
The great city that hangs suspended between the Ajansydän - The Heart of Time (within
towering trees, whose celestial bridges link with dizzying Valkalainen)
walkways that span the gulfs between the majestic trees. Deep within the celestial city, Valkalainen, lies the
The mighty "Mother Tree", the first "star arrow" that was "Gateway" or, as some still call it, "Ajansydän".
planted to seed what became the forest around Valkalainen, Standing on four immense, and visibly twisted trees,
is unimaginably vast. It is impossible even for fifty or even the gateway offers a view of the stars no matter if it is day
a hundred men to link hands around the vast bole of the or night. Vines and runners tangle from one to the next to
mother tree's trunk, and incredibly beautiful where it stands the next back around to join with the first to form a circle
in the middle of Valkalainen, serving as an anchor for the of life that forms the gateway. Four more trees grow from
web of walkways that make up the treetop city. There are these high boughs, seeming to replicate those beneath,
hundreds of walkways, some hanging low, others spanning and creating a canopy that towers high over the Elves
the highest heights. Some are narrow, others wide enough who come to haze up at the starry starry night.
to walk four and five abreast. There are no palaces or In this place, the sky is forever filled with shimmering
prisons in those treetops, but boughs weave and interlink light, offering the deep luminous blue of moonlight that
to form living shelters beneath their embrace, and wide never creeps out of the confines of the circle of trees.
trunks are hollowed out and carved with the most intricate The Illmalaini have come to call this haunting place
and beautiful designs to create haunting ‘buildings’ within Ajansydän, or the "Heart of Time", in the knowledge that
the trees themselves, without ever costing the mighty trees while Time is the great enemy, there is no denying the
their lives. Here, life is symbiosis. The trees of Valkalainen beauty of eternity as seen through its heart. The wisest
thrive, and so the Elves that live within them thrive, and of them soon understood that there was something most
because the Elves thrive the trees of Valkalainen thrive. It peculiar about this place, as those shimmering points of
was ever thus. light never seemed to move, and neither did they match
Valkalainen is by far the largest sedentary community of any view of the night sky from anywhere else on Soj. They
Illmalaini to be found in Trudvang. It is home to the High came to believe that the celestial gateway was actually
King Kallikka, who is the spiritual heir of the ancient High showing them the way back to the home they’d never had.
Kings, Wellithelli and Valki, though not of their bloodline. The Ajansydän is among the most precious and purest
The Elves of Valkalainen have dedicated their very existence monuments of Elven culture. Even so, the only passage
to the Illmalaini philosophies, keeping the old structures leading to the Heart of Time is protected by a curious,
safe, nurturing and nourishing the noble trees, and star non-Elven artifact: a great rune-carved gate crafted in
gazing each night. the purest mitraka and other precious metals mined
The inhabitants of Valkalainen know that they are among from the Great Iron Tooth. Dvakk Goodheart Blood of
the privileged few who get to live where Elven civilisation Dvakk, the Great Thune of Trilheim's Dwarves, sent
initially thrived. It bonds them to the land in ways that others it to an Elven queen as a gift at the beginning of the
of the kin can only dream. This fashions a connection that Age of Stars, as a sign of reconciliation after millennia
others perhaps lack, especially with regards to their shared of grudges and hatred between the two races. The
histories. Here you will find a repository of fable, myth Illmalaini have masterfully inserted the metal runic gate
and legend unlike any other. The Illmalaini of Valkalainen among trees and vegetation and the magnificent object
are guardians of the past, with each fresh generation of now stands as a mighty protection against both physical
Illmalaini committing these histories to memory so that the and supernatural attacks.
past never truly dies out.
There is no way of knowing exactly how many Elves VALTORIS
reside within Valkalainen, fewer than at its peak, for sure, There is no forest more beautiful than Valtoris. This is an
but it remains a thriving centre. The harmonious houses undeniable truth. No tree in all the realms of Trudvang
both within the great Star Arrows and supported by their grows taller or sprouts leaves that shine richer and

97
greener. The forest is Trudvang's largest hardwood. Here Even today, the Elves avoid the river and if they are ever
a traveller will find the rare Golden Ashen, Iron Oak, forced to talk about the Vaal it is only to describe it as
Silver Oak trees as well as the grandiose Star Arrows, something most evil.
those titanic, immortal trees on which Elven settlements
are built. WIPPA AND SIPPA
In the rolling terrain, sunlight strains its rays and lights The wild rapids that churn a path from Poyotta Mountains
up the moss-covered rocks and bellowing streams like a all the way through the landscape to the wide Bay of Hen are
scattering of gold coins spilled across the land. Valtoris remarkable for their fresh water. In the mountain reaches,
is every pathfinder's dream forest; hunting grounds are it is a wild river, raging over the crest of waterfalls and their
rich with game including the white-horned battle deer, dizzying drops, foaming at the foot, but the closer to the bay
moose and other wild elk, as well as all manner of smaller it flows, the calmer the river becomes.
fauna. The eco-system of the great wildwood is carefully The Elves have many names for the rapids; the wild
balanced, and for that reason the Elves only hunt when southern rushes are called Wippa, the Elven word for
needed, and never for sport. They look after the forest and "wild", while the northern, quieter waters are known as
its inhabitants, holding the place sacred. Sippa, which mirrors the meaning of serenity in the old
tongue.
VAAL RIVER In Wippa there are plenty of fish for the Elven fishermen to
The Vaal River divides Samia in two. "Vaal", in the Elven haul in their nets, while in Sippa they might hunt Glyhanpi,
tongue translates to "Dragon", making it the "Dragon a giant species of pike, from their canoes.
River". On the west bank lies Samia's mainland, on the
east, Wolinki. According to ancient Elven sagas, these WOLINKI
lands were the battlegrounds and sites of several bloody During the Age of the Prophets there were remnants of
and brutal conflicts during the Age of Dreams and the Long humankind who attempted to settle an area of Samia
Storm, with Elves and Dragons clashing. known as Wolinki.
Often shrouded in thick fog, Elves believe the Vaal still They were a peaceful people, and for many a long year
smoulders because of the bones of Dragons that litter its lived in harmony with the Elves—until one fateful day when
bottom. one of their number had a vision of a god, a lonely god who
In the memories carried down from those times there they believed would bestow his gifts to mankind. As word
is one particular saga that tells the legend of the Elven of this vision spread, the ties that bound the settlers to the
heroine, Annya, whose blade sliced open the dreadful Elves were cut and the people fell to worshiping their new
dragon Tojakka's abdomen with a stab so deep and hard it god. It wasn't until the Humans caught and sacrificed an
bit through the earth itself, and that slit in the ground formed Elf to their new god that this heresy became too much for
the riverbed of the Vaal. Many Elves believe it is Tojakka's the peaceful Elves. War broke out, brief, but bloody. There
skeleton that still smoulders on the bottom of dragon river, wasn't a single human survivor. Today there are remnants
which is more fable than fact, but there is no denying that of those lost Humans in Wolinki, including immense
the remains of countless dragon beasts lie rotting in the silt stone statues that were erected along the coastline, and
of the riverbed. further inland an adventurer might come across the ruins
In the bright days of summer, it is said you are able to see of houses and farmsteads, but otherwise it is a desolate
the shimmer and sparkle of gold along the riverbed spilled region, the land poor in both flora and fauna as though
from the dragon beasts' guts. For the Elves, this gold is no countryside died when the blood of that last human settler
treasure, and remains untouched, cursed and forbidden. was shed on it.
But there is no end to the greed of the human heart; a Given a choice, no Elf would set foot on within the
man, Rein Albrash, is said to have brought gold from the boundaries of Wolinki.
river to fashion into a crown. Rein Albrash was a master
blacksmith and the crown he forged held many magical YGGHANNA
qualities. Among other things the tales tell, its wearer could An impossibly old Silver Floral Tree of titanic proportions
become invisible, whilst being gifted immunity to the heat stands in the middle of the forest. Even if not as old as
of fire. Albrash's crown ended up in a Dwarves' treasure the famous Ensimmäinenpuu in the Grove of the Ancients,
vault, and today is lost—assuming it existed at all beyond this tree is still at least fifteen millennia old, if not more.
being a cautionary tale against greed. Elves speak of is as the First Hookaipana, where the first

98
Hautja rituals were performed. As mortality struck the their own interpretations of the core values of the clans
Elves during the Falekala it was here, in Ygghanna, that themselves, with no two tribe being exactly the same.
they devised a way of to reconcile their new status within The focus of some tribes is more outward-gazing, with
the world. their attentions turned to the celestial and their core belief
Ygghanna is reputed to host the bodies of thousands of systems and values translated from the heavens by their
elven generations. As all those who were not allowed to Ihana. Amongst others, these include:
be buried in Gylolanta, since they lacked immortal blood,
were all put here. All of this happened so long ago that ✦ The Sólinkysst – who venerate the sun as it is the giver
burials are no more visible, as wood has grown so much off all life.
to fully envelop the innumerable bodies. In fact, the last ✦ The Tunglriddari – who see the moon as the true lifeforce
elven bodies were weaved in Yghanna during the Age of of Trudvang as it rules the tides that would otherwise
the Queen, as after that period the growing fragmentation drown out all life.
of Illmalaini tribes led to the creation of multiple tribal ✦ The Kosmítómleiki – who struggle with the abandonment
cemeteries. still, and see a reflection of themselves in the blackness
Yghanna became sacred grounds, as nobody was allowed around the burning bright Vanirs that are the stars. That
anymore to touch the holy tree. Skjulds, who are usually emptiness is Time itself and will consume all in their
solitary, guard Ygghanna in large numbers, and the Elven time. These Elves have adapted to live and practice their
pilgrims have created various sanctuaries as a certain most important rituals even in the darkest, moonless
distance from the tree, in order to perform their melancholic nights.
rituals. ✦ The Aðhandan – who have come to think of death not as
the end, but as the beginning of their return to their gods,
TRIBES & CLANS OF SAMIA and not something to be feared at all. It is the last gift of
the Vanirs. Influenced by their ideology, these Illmalaini
Bound to nature as they are, the elven tribes of Samia tend are famous for their uncommon resistance to both pain
to echo elements of the natural world. There are those and fear.
who consider themselves mirrors of the seasons and thus ✦ The Skilað – who watch the skies as harbingers of their
become known under the broad banner terms: lost gods, interpreting the cloud formations, weather and
other cosmological events for any signs of their return.
✦ The Sumarbjorn (Summer)
✦ The Veturforráðam (Winter) There are countless other tribes within the children of
✦ The Haustaðhaldi (Fall) the wildwood who dedicate themselves to the seasons and
✦ The Voriðmyndast (Spring) the stars in any number of other ways.
There are also Illmalaini tribes whose identity is based
With each of the four in some way flourishing during upon more mundane traits, like the Runkoveistäjät, or
their given season, with the Veturforráðam protecting the “Trunk-Carvers”, whose ancestors were reputed to be
forests during the worst of the savage winters, while the master shipwrights for Queen Valki, or the Hopeasilmät,
Voriðmyndast will lay the foundations for nature to flourish the “Silver Eyes”, who were quite possibly the best archers
before the climate comes into its own in the summer in Soj. There are the Sillimestarit, or Silk Masters, who
months, ensuring that the soil is nourished and seedlings craft the most refined shimmerweave, and their kin, the
sown, and the Sumarbjorn are in the ascendancy, so forth. Verkkoleikkurit, or “Web Cutters”, who are famous slayers
Each group values very different skillsets dependent upon of Great Spiders.
their seasons of need, and focuses upon the notion of nature Some of these groups identify themselves into the
and life as a cycle. four previously described great clans, while others have
These four groups are not simple tribes but are rather rejected the four-seasons ideology. There are even splinter
large clans or unions of smaller tribes united by common groups outside the clans which bear the same names of
ideology, ancestry, lineage, traditional pacts or cultural clan-related tribes. This complexity simply reflects the
heritage. Whilst these four great clans share a basic fragmentation which the Elven society of Samia has
allegiance, there are dozens upon dozens of smaller suffered since the decadence of the ancient kingdom of
factions or tribes within each, with these tribes hewing to Valkalainen.

99
EDRAS
Ever since the Humans were awakened, Edras has been in fact preserved here more than in Ywol.
one of the few places where Elves and Humans live together The city is governed by a chief who makes no claim of
in something approaching harmony. royalty or kingship, though he sits on a throne. Edron is
The vast majority of Elves in Edras are Illmalaini, as is governed by Thronelandic law. Trond Rilka is the current
typical in Soj, but it is here in Edras that you’ll also find the Chief of Edron, however, he is an old man with no sons. It
main Korpikalli community of the archipelago and while is expected that the throne pass down to his only daughter,
it is not a large group, these Dark Elves are definitively Gylinda Rilka.
noteworthy as their presence is incredibly rare on the other
islands of Soj. HELSAKKA
The deep forest, Pohanta, conceals both innumerable Once a year, however, all the Edras Korpikalli congregate
secrets and beautiful places. It is claimed that the in Helsakka, a sacred grove deep in the heart of the forest.
Thronelandic prince, Gavilli Pyllis, sought a new realm The place is holy for the Illmalaini too, as the Elves have
where he might live in the shadow of the long-lived Elves gathered here since the Age of Dreams during solstices and
who he called the "First Children", and longed to learn equinoxes, but the Star Elves' tribes are allowed to gather
from them. In his white ship they travelled across the ocean in numbers here only during the Spring Equinox, while the
towards Samia, but instead ended up on Edras' northern Korpikalli monopolize the rituals during the other three
shores where they built two cities, Edron and Ywol. times of the year.
His people never made claim to the land, seeing it rather It was here that Wellithelli whittled the magic spear Tolki –
as a loan from the Elves, which allowed both races to live in otherwise known as Starflash – out of the precious yggdras
harmony, side-by-side, on this isolated island in the Althis that slumbers here. It has been years beyond counting since
Ocean. Unbeknownst to all, there were Buratja Dwarves anyone last had contact with the slumbering yggdras, but
living beneath the Tring Mountains whose pickaxes first every year the Elves gather anyway in the hopes that it might
broke though the surface in the Age of the Prophets, and wake that they benefit from her wisdom.
thus it came to pass that all three races came to live side- The Helsakka Korpikalli are the only tribe whose
by-side on Edras, making it the rarest of communities. wanderings are limited by the proximity of the sacred
The Elves and Dwarves could never be considered friends grove. Their sacred duty is to protect Helsakka and regulate
or allies, but neither were they at war with one another, with the flux of Elven pilgrims. They are also famous for their
the Dwarves keeping to their side of the island, nurturing prowess with spears, a custom which clearly derives from
their mountain, while the Elves kept to theirs, nourishing the myth of Tolki.
their forests.
The cold ocean currents that bring frigid air sweeping in KIVIMETSÄ - THE PETRIFIED
from the east and warmer currents from the west meet here, FOREST
causing a climate that is always in flux. The weather might One of the most peculiar phenomena in all of Trudvang lies
even be called whimsical, as one day it could be brilliant on the island of Edras, Kivimetsä, the Petrified Forest. It is
sunshine and blistering warmth, while the next blizzards an area unlike any other, a relic of the Long Storm, where
might howl, burying the land beneath their brutal snows. acres of rich woodland were damaged by the Dragons, but
rather than reduce them to ash, the trees were destroyed
EDRON with pieces of wood littering the mesa, that over time have
The Thronelandic city of Edron stands in the middle of the become petrified. This includes rotten tree stumps and
Dwynnbay, sheltered from the storm winds of the Althis other fallen timbers, making for a haunting landscape.
Ocean. It is a small town by most standards, built of stone, The wind, as it blows across the mesa, whistles through
and rarely plays host to travellers. Even so, it is the largest the petrified trees, creating an elegiac chorus that is
human settlement in the island of Edras, and therefore it is enough to cause a shiver to chase down the ladder of even
a meaningful site in many ways. the bravest warrior’s spine.
The Thronelanders who reside in Edron live in much the And with good reason, Kivimetsä is cursed.
same way as they did when their ancestors first arrived on The landscape is a blood-red with heavy iron content
these shores. The old Thronelandic culture and religion are in the rocks staining the ground and giving the illusion of

100
slaughter that is only made worse by the keening wind. POHANTA FOREST
This entire region was once part of a flood plain, which The dense forests of Pohanta run deep. The trees within
as the world was reshaped during the Long Storm, led to the ancient wildwood are mostly hardwood.
the damaged trees being buried under sediment which The river Meltwater runs down from the snow-capped
prevented the usual process of decay and turned these fallen Tring Mountains, pooling into hundreds upon hundreds
trees into a permanent reminder of that brutal conflict. This of tiny lakes and capillary streams, some transforming
is a place of mourning for the Illmalaini, who will stay away great areas of woodland into swamp. There is little
from the barren mesa at all costs. undergrowth within the dense forest, though moss
It is one of the few places in the wilds that are isolated grows thick on both stone and trees. The forest teems
from the touch of the vitner, and they feel that absence with wildlife. The Elves here do everything in their
keenly. They have another name for Kivimetsä. They call it power to nurture the land as best they can, turning it
"Kuollutmaa", or the "Dead Land". into a thriving woodland habitat. Others may feel that the
To trespass within the Kuollutmaa is to invite death forest is overgrown and has run wild, living its own life
to follow you out of it. The curse is believed to stain the and that the nurturing touch of the Elves has, for once,
trespasser with the same emptiness that engulfs the land, failed, but the Elves themselves see only beauty in this
isolating them forever from the vitner. untamed wildness. They do not fear or feel threatened by

101
the increasing Troll population, but rather they see them positioned as a beacon for ships traveling on the sea, with
as something else that makes the forest richer and more great braziers that burned to warn of the treacherous cliffs
vibrant. It is, after all, a living thing. and brutal breakers.
In theory, Ywol is ruled by Edron, but it is led on a day-to-
STALLIKK day basis in all practical matters by the richest farm holder,
Centuries ago a small enclave of Buratja Dwarves broke the Arthyll Naom, a good and wise man that all who dwell within
surface of the Tring Mountains. Ywol look up to and admire. Arthyll is not a tyrant and will
In the long years since, a cavernous wound has gaped in often summon a council of "ealdormen" to share the decision-
the face of the mountain, deep, dark and desolate. That hole making process to ensure that everything is undertaken for
testifies to the truth that Dwarves dwell deep beneath the the good of the place, not merely for the good of the man. The
mountains but, unlike other strongholds across Trudvang, ealdormen command respect from the others, but rather than
the Dwarves here never bothered to forge a proper gateway sharing any sort of noble blood, or precious wisdom, they are
to act as a barrier against incursion into their subterranean rarely more than old farmers who have been around long
home. And for good reason: it takes several days to delve enough to see the effects of most actions and have memories
down deep enough below the surface to reach anything that that stretch back far enough that they might provide counsel.
even remotely resembles a dwarven town. Arthyll's voice is by far the most commanding.
Far, far below the surface, basking in the heat of the lava A gavlian, Brotus Braan, is among the ealdormen, with
river, Rorinka, the Buratja Dwarves make their home still in many of the locals being converts to the Tenets of Nid. Some
a vast cave network they call Stallikk. have even started to define themselves "Viranns". Even so,
many other inhabitants of Ywol still consider themselves
TRING MOUNTAINS Thronelanders and worship Whote, adhering strictly to the
This mountainous range has a volcanic origin, and the land old traditions. The two factions are not in conflict though,
is filled with geysers and hot springs. The Tring mountains and peacefully coexist, often intermingling within the same
raise above the Pohanta forests as a series of apparently families, even if that involves blending cults and ritual
bald peaks, but their flanks are not barren, but rich in practices into some sort of curious mix not seen elsewhere.
a dense vegetation of short plants, mostly bushes and This elastic attitude to religion would be seen as nothing
grasses, growing strong due to the minerals which were short of scandalous in somewhere like Viranno, which
erupted millennia ago from now-inactive volcanoes. leads to the gavlian Brotus Braan frequently grousing and
Most Elves tend to avoid these mountains, although there complaining about the distillation of the old ways and the
are small groups which occasionally visit them to collect corruption of the pure faith in Gave.
precious curative herbs and plants which grow only here. Thronelanders in Ywol still cherish their close relationship
These Illmalaini are famous healers and potion-makers with the Illmalaini, which often sees Elves come here to
and define themselves as “Tring Elves” even is most on feast, trade and exchange stories and news. The Elves
their wanderings are limited only to the mountains’ lower consider the inhabitants of Ywol their friends and they have
parts, on the Pohanta forest’s fringes. Here they have many many times fought side-by-side with them against common
of their historic cemeteries, where a few Silver Floral Trees threats.
grow. They have practically no contact with the Buratja of
Stallik, as they have lived parallel lives for millennia on TRIBES & CLANS OF EDRAS
different parts of the Tring Mountains.
Where the great clans of Samia are predominantly
YWOL subservient to the seasons, those of Edras are bonded to
Ywol is another of the Thronelandic settlements that can be totem trees and other flora, and draw their names and
found on Edras. It is smaller than Edron, both in terms of unique identities from the flora of the land, so amongst the
the number of inhabitants and in sheer scale, with far fewer many scattered tribes you'll encounter the likes of:
buildings and streets to talk of. Calling It a "town" or even
a "city" is definitively an exaggeration. It is more akin to a ✦ The clan of the Spruce
gathering of farmsteads which were built close together to ✦ The clan of the Hawthorn
offer physical protection as well as the natural protection ✦ The clan of the Thorn
provided by the long earthen embankment that arches ✦ The clan of the Bramble
around one side of the farm buildings. Originally, Ywol was ✦ The clan of the Willow

102
 And so on, often with the individual tribe exhibiting some THE EDRAS KORPIKALLI
of the more peculiar aspects of the flora they have bonded The few Korpikalli Elves living in the Pohanta Forest have
with, so some may be more nourishing in nature, like the no real permanent settlement to call their home, choosing to
Spruce, or more melancholic, like the Weeping Willow, of live their nomadic existence, wandering smaller clans and
the fiercely defensive Thorn. These regional clans harbour tribes most of the time, though under certain circumstances
any number of naturalistic traditions and still conduct they will gather into larger ones.
rites that have otherwise faded from memory. A number These Korpikalli have never adopted the Illmalaini custom
of these rites focus upon renewal and return to life, as the of great clans, as each small tribe is fiercely independent,
flora flourishes then fails only to flourish again. There is proudly displaying just a tribal name, often linked to a
wisdom to be gleaned from these cycles of rebirth. They totem animal, a specific ancestor or to a place which the
are particularly gifted when it comes to splicing seedlings Elves consider to be sacred, like Helsakka. Examples of
and saplings and breeding new genus of flora from them, this include the Kettuihmiset, the "Fox People", who are
forever expanding the ecological diversity of the world, even famous for their almost preternatural ability to disappear
now. into the forest, or the Valikovska Elves, descendants from
Great clans in Edras work in a similar fashion to those the eponymous heroine who, according to legend, stole
in Samia, with different tribes belonging to the same clan. the possession of an ancient Totemträd from the Illmalaini
Tribe names can derive from variations of the clan names using only honey words and silver tongue.
(e.g. the Black Thorns, the Spring Thorns, etc.) or from These Korpikalli are different from their kin in the
specific places or ancestors. Darkwoods, as they have retained many of the traits
Not all the Edras tribes take part to the great clan system usually seen as typical of the Illmalaini of Soj, including
and, unlike in Samia where there have always been only four a curiosity for the stars and a love for the Althis Ocean.
clans, the number of clans in Edras has changed throughout Even so, the Edras Korpikalli are very much ‘real’ Dark
the centuries. Among those outside the Illmalaini clan-system Elves, disdaining their old gods and having Aufhiyuths
are two large tribes: the Tammipoka, or "Oak Sons", famous instead of Ihanas. Their ancestors were in Turvanaika
for their knowledgeable loremasters, and the Kelluvapuu, like those of the other Dark Elves, but they never left
or "Floating Wood", possibly the greatest fishermen of the Soj after the Great Emptiness, preferring to live in the
archipelago. Pohanta Forest.

103
UJIKAKOIT
Today, the easternmost island of the Soj archipelago is There are those who believe the reason for this abandonment
known by most as Daalheim. The name was given to the was due to some unknown curse originating from the dark-
place by the courageous Stormlander colonists who settled vitner infused blood of Yttamari, although Ujikakoit never
the place over 250 years ago. was declared a forbidden island like Oskla. Other believe
Elves no longer reside here. that the descendants of those who died suffering the wurm’s
But that does not mean they do not remember the days fire were too filled with pain and sadness to come back on
of antiquity when so many of the tribes enjoyed life here, the island.
flourishing on the land their poets used to call "Ujikakoit" or There are some who think the lack of Elven population here
the "Dawn's Kiss", because it was always the first part of Soj was part of an older pact between Elves and the Dwarves
to enjoy the sunrise. of Trillheim, dating back to when they established the Old
Humans are just the latest inhabitants of the island. Alliance. Whilst on the surface this might seem reasonable,
Unsurprisingly, the Elves of the Age of Dreams built any it is highly unlikely given that the Elves stayed away long
number of glorious cities within the forests here, but what after the Gydadunn, when Dalmtatzba became independent
is more surprising to many is that during the same time the from Trilheim, and still did not return when Dalmtatzba itself
Dwarves built a secret kingdom within the Djutt Mountains, collapsed eight centuries ago, with its underground halls
Dalmtatzba. The city fell in the year 750 of the Ages of Stars, drowning under the pitiless waters of the oceans as they came
victim of a mysterious cataclysm which saw the ocean waters flooding through them.
drown large parts of its underground halls. When Stormlanders came, less than three centuries
According to Elven scholars this island was the site of ago, they found no clear signs that either Elves or
first contact between the Elves and Dwarves, coming Dwarves still resided upon the island, though it is not
towards the last days of the Age of Dreams. unknown for Elves to occasionally visit the island to pay
Daalmtatzba was, at the time, a colony of Trilheim, not homage to the ancient holy sites. Those that do always
a separate kingdom in its own right. It was here that the avoid the Human colonists.
first embassies were established and emissaries exchanged
between Queen Valki of Samia and the Great Thune of the THE DJUTTRING
Vurfim's Bloodline in Tvologoya.
What is known is that the Elven population in Ujkakoit Six permanently snow-clad peaks spring up like spears from
was already decimated at the time of that first meeting, since the Djutt Range. These are amongst the highest mountains
Ujikakoit had suffered through seemingly endless violent in Trudvang. Daalheimers call them the "Godspeaks", but
attacks by logiwurms during the Long Storm. What remained they do not know how close the name echoes the history
of that Elven populace was wiped out less than a millennium of the place.
later, during the early Age of the Iron Wurm, by the coming There was a specific group of Vanirs, six gods by
of the Yttamari (or "Glaupkelp" as it was known amongst the number, one for each peak, whose ideal domains were
Dwarves), the great jarnwurm who took the island to be its snow and skies. They cherished these places and chose
own dominion. Yttamari was one of the greatest Iron dragons to have their thrones on those summits. The Elves built
ever spawned from the depths of Muspelheim. cities in their name in the forests below, nurturing them
From the island, the beast launched daring attacks on as they grew on the slopes of those mountains. They also
Samia, wreaking havoc and causing unmatched devastation, constructed any number of now-lost sacred sites in the
until Annillas, a legendary Elven hero, came to Ujikakoit to shadow of the Godspeaks.
hunt the wurm in its lair. One of these ancient shrines is Djuttring, a collection of
The bones of the hero are said to have been mixed with megaliths on the western slopes of the Djutt Mountains.
those of the beast in the Duuplya forest, with his bony The large stones form a kind of circle, but looking at the
hands still grasping the famous Pjontikka Spear that slew way they are positioned, it is clear that each of them was
the jarnwurm. raised into part of a very deliberate and quite strange
During the later ages Elves never re-colonized the old pattern. The pattern itself is considerably more complex
Ujikakoit, despite the fact that it was the second largest than the simple circle which they seem to represent at
landmass in the archipelago, second only to Samia itself. first viewing.

104
 At the center of the pattern lies the stump of a gigantic, itself mourns for the loss of the ancient age of bliss.
impossibly old, dead Alfark tree. The heart of whoever Daalheimers will, upon occasion, come to pay homage
touches it is filled with such feelings of sadness and loss to the place, laying flowers and raising their voice in
they can barely cope with the sense of bereavement that hymns, understanding how this site belongs in truth to a
haunts them to their dying day. It would seem the place culture far older than theirs.

105
TUMMATVALVOJAT OF DJUTT The Valey of Innakka is a place where no Human foot
has ever walked, and nature is lush as nowhere else in this
The icy peaks of Djutt are home to the Tummatvalvojat, one island, with verdant trees and luxuriant vegetation, as there
of the creepier inhabitants of the wildwoods of Daalheim. is no pair on the
Another of the whispered ones, these shadowy figures are On the northern side of the valley an enormous cave
often caught from the corner of the eye, watching travellers mouth opens off one of the guarding mountains, pouring
as they move through their territory. The watchers seldom rapid water on the canyon below, down to a lake which
interact with the interlopers, but dog their tracks to such occupies almost half of the valley’s bottom. The waters
an extent the travellers are left with a sense of unease, of disappear into Muspelheim, as the lake is connected to
being watched, a feeling that only intensifies the further ancient tunnels whose endings were once accessible only to
they journey up the slopes of the Djutt Mountains. the Dwarves of Daalmtatzba, before the cataclysm drowned
It is only if they leave the trails, venturing out onto the that realm, in the 8th century of this age.
slopes themselves, that travellers need to worry, as the The Innakka are the tallest falls in the whole Soj
watchers will not give in to their base instincts to hunt and archipelago, as the waters are poured for a height of almost
kill unless they feel threatened by the newcomers. a thousand fathoms, although the whole distance is broken
No one knows truly what the Tummatvalvojat are, only by multiple granite terraces, each with its own small body of
that their presence can be felt in the early morning, or in water. It is an impressive sight, and the sound of the water
the gathering twilight, it is said that they disappear like fog can be heard throughout the valley.
if trapped in a stare. Old Elven songs speak about a large community of
There are those amongst the Illmalaini in Samia who Nymphs living in the canyon. They were reputed to be good-
believe the Tummatvalvojat are the shades of their fallen natured and hospitable, unlike their relative elsewhere.
kin, burned by the Dragons during the Long Storm and, There are so many poems about love stories between Elves
unable to give up the fight to save the land, find themselves and Nymphs during the Age of Dreams, that one wonders
trapped as smoke and ash. whether there is some trace of Nymph blood in the veins of
The belief is that only way that they might be saved from those Illmalaini who fled Ujikakoit.
this torment is to be seen haunting Djutt, with the eyes The Innakka waters were reputed to be sacred to the
of their own kind serving to let them go. However, even Vanirs, giving different kinds of blessings, healing, and
knowing this belief and the possible sufferings of their protections, even immortality, to those who bathed in them.
ancestors’ spirits, Elves have never re-colonized Ujikakoit. Nobody knows whether this is still true today or not, as Elven
Some Elves fear this large island to have been cursed, while loremasters have suggested that the waters may have been
others believe the Tummatvalvojat to be nothing more than corrupted by the same curse which decimated the ancient
a fearsome illusion, perhaps even produced by some evil, Elven population, or maybe it was the tainted magic of the
demonic entity who wants to attract Elves into a trap which Great Jarnwurm, Yttamari, who ruined everything.
has been waiting for them for many millennia. The last known elven visitor to the Innakka valley possibly
came here during the late Age of the Prophets. It was
INNAKKA Kyllmojna the Poet, the most famous Elven High King among
the innumerable short-lived ones who ruled Valtoris in its
There is an ancient song, quite diffused among the decadence. Tired of his life, the old Sojlakoita abdicated and
Illmalaini, and often repeated by Samian bards. It speaks of came here to seek answers about the twilight of his people. He
a lost world, of a marvel which belong to the Age of Dreams. never came back but, according to the legend, his story was
It speaks of the blessed waters of Innakka. reputedly told by birds which Kyllmojna sent home.
Deep inside the Hellakk Range there is a valley which no The Illmalaini thought to find wise Nymphs but, instead
Stormlander colonist has ever reached. High, barren peaks he found an immensely old Lindwurm inhabiting the valley.
in bluish-black granite and treacherous ground, prone to His name was Hauti or “Pike”, and he was unlike any of
frequent landslides, guard the inaccessible canyon, and all its kind. Elven Bards have composed many poems about
the passes were covered by debris so many centuries ago. the long philosophical conversations between the Poet and
These dangerous mountains also host the lair of aggressive the Pike Wurm, but nobody can be certain about the truths
Gryphons, which is a further deterrent for the would-be of such myths. The two may even be still alive now, after
explorer. Even Elven pilgrims avoid this area, as the beasts more than sixteen centuries, if those waters still really give
seem to be aggressive even against the Seeds of the Vanirs. immortality.

106
LESSER ISLANDS
Beyond Samia, Oskla and Edras, the archipelago is host
to a myriad of smaller islands, many so small they barely
warrant the name, scattered on the Althis Ocean. Each
one of these places possesses its own peculiar history
and relationship with Elven culture.
In truth, the vast majority of them are little more than rocks
protruding from the depths, but there are many others
which have been strategically or historically important,
and many more that host mysteries and treasures worthy
of exploration.
All Humans forced to cross the Althis Sea, including expert
Stormlander sailors travelling from Daalheim to their colony,
Dalefish on Visenthia, tend to avoid these rocks and islets
even more than the main Elven islands, as their superstitions
warn them against such places.
The mythic Toukka, for example, was the birthplace
of Queen Aino, who later became Valki. Its exact
location remains unknown, with different Elven bards
singing of different places, but it is thought the island
should lie somewhere between Samia and Edras. One
curiosity of the stories those Elven loremasters spin is
that there are those who claim it is so hard to find, with
so many conflicting descriptions of its shores and their
whereabouts, that it appears and disappears from the
mists between the worlds, forever changing its location.
Another mysterious island is called Ymradas, by the
Elves, or the "Giant's Garden". Ymradas is reputed to
lie somewhere south-east of Edras. Illmalaini avoid the
mist-covered isle, which was once a blissful place, before
a demonic curse turned it into a nightmare.
Among the legendary, difficult-to-place isles there is
Anasach, an atoll that has formed around a volcanic isle, discovered new lands. So many episodes of his sagas are set
and is forever volatile, the fires at its heart threatening among the Altheasis islands which lie between Edras and
the life on the island, and Basrac, a seeming paradise Samia.
of treacherous sucking pits and sand traps that drown Seven islands stand out for their size, but islets are
unsuspecting travellers more brutally than any mere ocean countless here. Their real number is unknown, as an
could. unnatural fog may often covers the sea, especially at dusk.
All manner of life can be found within the islands and Incautious sailors may land on places which do not exist in
atolls of this region, with new territories just waiting to Trudvang at all, having stepped through the mists between
be discovered. the worlds.
The five easternmost islands, nearer to Samia, are the
ALTHEASIS ISLANDS “Punaistemaa”, volcanic isles rich in obsidian and other
magmatic rocks. Underground cavities, both natural and
The Southern Ocean has always been called "Althis Sea", cut by elven hands, are common, as the pumice is incredibly
but very Humans remember how the Thronelanders firstly soft here. Many grottos are dangerous, since ceilings are
learned the name from the Elves. Althis was possibly a Sea prone to collapse, but the local Elves have used them for
Vanir who wandered the ocean’s depths, rode the storms, and unknown rituals since time immemorial.

107
 These islands are mostly flat, with some hills at most,
while small, sweet water lakes occupy the calderas of long-
sleeping volcanos. Countless beautiful birds of so many
forms and colours live here, as no major land predator or egg
stealer wanders the Punaistemaa. Vegetation is scarcer than
in Samia but it is nonetheless present, with many different
species of low conifers and pristine ferns.
The local Elves are the Punaisia or “Red Ones”. They are
Illmalaini in lineage, but their culture is so peculiar, founded
on myths which other Star Elves consider heretic. They
claim to descend from the mythic Althis, but they believe
him not to be a Vanir, but rather the firstborn of Wellithelli,
which they refer to only by the archaic title of Vainemojna.
They believe Althis to have been tricked by Aino, which
became queen, after having imprisoned Althis in the lost
island of Toukka.
The Puinasia widely use body paint, tattoos and always
dye their hairs in red, using the Muryxada, a pigment
created by mixing smashed snails and certain magmatic
rocks. Their isles lack hardwood and their miekkas are
crafted in soft conifer wood, but with sharp, obsidian-
reinforced edges. The Red Elves are possibly the most
talented navigators in Soj, able to orientate themselves OSKLATYTTÄRET
even under cloudy, night skies. They wander the whole
archipelago, looking for the best fishing places, but they There ar two islands between Oskla and Ujikakoit/
always return on the Punaistemaa, where are all their Daalheim: the "Daughters of Oskla" or Osklatyttäret.
cemeteries and sanctuaries. The northern one, Tiivistetalo, has many naturally protected
The two southernmost isles of this archipelago, bays where countless seals of different species seasonally
Tennmakia and Elmesia, are not Puinasia lands nest. No hunter harasses them, as the island is cursed. Many
Tennmakia is the northern one, and its naturally runic stones raised by superstitious Stormlanders are the
protected bays are often exploited by Elves during seasonal only remnant of a great battle which happened here between
migrations between Samia and Edras. It is inhabited by the Daalheimers and Bults from Sylvan about a century ago.
“Thronemaasia”, Illmalaini which supposedly have Human None of them inhabits Tiivistetalo today, but this is only the
blood in their veins, as their ancestors intermarried with most recent of the bloody tragedies which mark the island's
Thronelanders colonists during the Age of the Queen. history. All prospective colonizers have always been cursed
Humans are long gone now, but these Elves are unusually by hatred, jealousy, and strife. Elves know that this the work
tall and are the only ones to explicitly consider Whote a of an unnatural force, since Tiivistetalo was the setting of an
Vanir. immense tragedy during the Falekala, maybe even something
The southernmost island, the forbidden Elmesia, is a so world-shaking as the death of a Vanir.
mystery. There are not naturally accessible bays, as all coasts The southern isle, Pienitiivistetalo, is also avoided by Humans,
are marked by impossibly high cliffs. Sea waters are reputedly out of the same superstition afflicting the northern island. This
infested by ocean-adapted lindwurms, but Elves avoid Elmesia small island is free from the curse, but the dark fame has been
mostly out of ancient cultural prohibitions. A luxuriant forest exploited by the Valppaana, Illmalaini who secretly lives here,
grows here, where fairies are more common than anywhere wandering the eastern waters in their black canoas, while
else in Trudvang. Old elven songs speak about a score of spying on Daalheimers. Their tribal duty is to act as sentinels.
immortals, the last remnants of the Age of Dreams, passing If the Humans will try another colonization attempt on Oskla,
the aeons in slumber seated on high thrones, trapped in an the Valppaana will send word on Samia, calling for the help of
eternal melancholy about all that has been lost. all other Illmalaini clans.

108
THE DARKWOODS
An immense, never-ending sea of trees crosses Trudvang, living in the shelter of the furthest corners of the Darkwoods,
south of the Great Iron Mountains, from one end of the but there is no proof of them being there, and given that the
continent to the other, interrupted only by the Iron Tooth. Darkwoods are the heart of Korpikalli culture it would be…
Viranns, Mittlanders and Stormlanders, tend to use the same unwise.
word for all these forests, "Darkwoods", implying that they Korpikalli tribes and clans are more often than not small
are all part of the same, vast, alien and savage space, where and mobile. They wander in patterns and cycles across large
civilisation has no hope of flourishing. sections of these forests, though a keen eye will realise they
Elves, though, have any number of names for that infinite tend to remain within the same, vast tracts of land, travelling
span of forests: the woodlands east of the Great Iron Tooth around fixed points that have been demarked by their own
are divided by the Dark Elves into Tuulinajka, Tympeja and totemträd, cemeteries and sanctuaries.
Ellikka, while those to the west are Mustasyvyys, Isojvire and This isn’t random, but rather quite deliberate.
Syvalinka. They do so to allow nature to adapt to their hunting habits
All of these very distinct wildwoods represent important and, for a few of the tribes, for the pasture lands to recover
aspects of Korpikalli heritage for the tribes and clans who have from feeding their semi-domesticated reindeers. These
made their homes within them since the schism that sundered seasonal migrations are intended to prevent the scouring of
the lineages in the wake of the War of Tears. a single area, and giving the land to precious time to recover
The Darkwoods are so deep and so enchanting that few from their presence.
dare venture into their heart. Here Trolls, Dragons, treasures Of course, not all of the Dark Elves live this nomadic life.
and secrets of every imaginable kind flourish. The Korpikalli Some few are more sedentary, having dedicated their lives
Elves, disdainful of the Illmalaini attachment to the traitorous to the protection of the Yggdras that grows within a specific
Vanirs, have taken refuge here. In their own words, not even a territory within the Darkwoods and they will never stray far
hundred generations of gods can come close to describing the from its roots.
awesomeness of the Darkwoods.
As snowflakes fall from the sky, endlessly changing and NATURE AND HABITATS
infinite, so too are the mysteries of the forest.
Here lurk the dangerous, the dark and always the It should be unsurprising, given their vastness and spread
unexpected, but there is something else, something far deeper across the continent, that the Darkwoods include an enormous
that makes its home in this place. Here, the Elves are as close variety of natural habitats and an almost infinite variety of
to life and death, the gods’ betrayals and the tranquility of time, vegetation. As in Soj, there are countless species and genus
as they could ever hope to be and still living. Here, they walk of tree here, although latitude and colder climate seems to
in the swirl of these eternal questions. And maybe, just maybe, inhibit certain species and growth patterns, conditioning the
they brush up against the answers they seek. nature of the woodlands as much as any gardener’s hand ever
could. The southern parts of the Darkwoods are richer in
INHABITANTS OF DARKWOODS deciduous species, including the likes of elm, birch, and beech
trees, with the occasional gigantic oak towering through. As
It must be stressed that the Korpikalli are not the sole one goes nearer to the mountains and more northwards, those
inhabitants of the Darkwoods, and neither do they reside in trees are gradually replaced by all manner of pine, larch and
the furthest corners, dells, glens and bowers of the immense fir, as the forest becomes more taiga-like.
forests. Far from it. The Darkwoods are far too large in scope Animal life within the Darkwoods are every bit as varied as
to be the realm of the Dark Elves alone. Many other creatures, the trees. There are so many species that make their homes
from Trolls and Wildfolk to Wurms dwell within the confines here including warg beasts of all sizes that wander the forests,
of the Darkwoods. But that does not stop the Dark Elves from in constant competition with bears, lynxes and wolverines.
considering these never-ending forests fundamental to their There are countless species of hawk, buzzard and great owls
cultural heritage, the new mythology of their tribes, and their nesting in the highest trees, while majestic elks and countless
seasonal migrations will very often put them in conflict with variety of deer grazing these lands.
other inhabitants of the wildwood. There are so many streams, ponds, tarns and waterfalls
Curiously, there is even talk of a few Illmalaini hermits not marked in any map which together make a maze of the

109
wildwood. Nobody knows where these water courses end,
nor in many cases where they begin or what source feeds
them, though it is thought several are connected to misty
areas, where the barriers between the worlds are thinner.
These ranges are the dominion of dangerous Nymphs and
their malignant Warg Hares, while treacherous Hulders stalk
unsuspecting travellers, making a meal of them.
Southerners have the misconception that the Darkwoods
are flat lands, ignoring how the forests hide ranges of hill
and valley, mostly unknown to the outside world, and thus
unmarked on all but the rarest of maps, and likewise unvisited
by any but the Dark Elves and Trolls. to a treeline where they fall away, replaced by smaller, bush-
There is only one constant in the Darkwoods: the canopy like species that cling tenaciously to the mountainsides. Only
of leaves. the highest parts of the mountains are denuded of vegetation.
Forests here are dense, the trees flourishing, their branches Dark Elves and Forest Trolls seldom wander to those
often intertwining to shield the ground from sunlight, which is heights, and only then during the summer months. Their
the origin of the "Darkwoods" name. hunting grounds are found at lower altitudes, where the
Despite this, there are frequent glades as well as areas forests are denser. These upper reaches are to be avoided as
where the canopy seems less oppressive. they are the realms of gryphons and Firdtursirs.
There are even places where strips of tree-less prairies cut
through the woodlands like knife wounds, providing prime SIX DARKWOODS
pasturelands for enormous herds of reindeers, and sometimes
even mastomants and wild bison in the northern regions. Each of the six regions has its own specific names for the
Most maps display the Darkwoods as a sea of trees just Korpikalli. These are distinct forests, each with unique
bordering the Jarngand and the Great Iron Tooth. The reality characteristics and history.
is far more complicated than that, with the thick forests of Regardless, each one of the six Darkwoods is both incredibly
conifer and beech trees climbing the mountainous flanks up vast, larger than some countries in the Stormlands, and

110
 This seventh forest may even be part of the fabled
Othiwhaalio.
Only the mysterious Sàmalikka knows the truth.

Ellikka (Central-Eastern Darkwoods)

"Ellikka" is an archaic name, dating back to the Age of Dreams,
whose original meaning has been forgotten even by those who
still speak the melodious Forneika, the language the Elves
and Vanirs used to share. This name refers to the majestic
woodlands which grow on the eastern side of the Great Iron
Tooth. This forest is not just vast, it is magnificent. It is both
consists of wildly different environs and habitats. imposing and terrifying for those who are unused to the sheer
Moreover, the exact borders between these six Darkwoods enormity of its trees. And few are truly accustomed to the size,
are never completely fixed, and can move even tens of miles given that some of the tallest oaks, beeches, pines and firs of
through the years with the Darkwoods continuously growing, Trudvang flourish here. There are trees so deeply rooted ten
their boundaries ever-changing. men linking hands could not circle the trunks, and some that
Elder Korpikalli murmur of a lost seventh forest, Nimetön, have been growing for millennia that would take twenty.
the Nameless One, a wildwood which can only be accessed Ellikka is the historical centre of Korpikalli culture. It is the
from within the others and only on specific nights and days. place where Veikko Kirottu sought refuge, as indeed did the
This is not a forest of this world, but rather a place where vast majority of Dark Elves when they first abandoned Soj
incautious wanderers can unwittingly step, when the fog in the Age of Dreams. It is also the forest which harbours
rises and the mists between the worlds thin. This is a place Korjaavatitkeä, the Healing Tear, one of the three great
which cannot be marked on any map, as wanderers are lured gemstones which are fundamental for Elven history.
here by the malicious voices of demons and spirits. Time and Here, the Ellikka Korpikalli are the main keepers of their
Space have no meaning within Nimetön. Legend is it shelters ancient traditions. Their staunch refusal of the gods and their
wanderers lost during the Age of Dreams, as well as marvels attachment to nature in supreme. Their loremasters and bards
and dangers far beyond the imagination of mere mortals. know more sagas and otherwise lost myths relating to their

111
ancient brethren, than those of any other Elven community. with these sites, they feel the calling to protect the ruins and
Young Korpikalli cannot be recognised as adults until they all the secrets hidden there, whilst appreciating the lessons of
know the Turvaikalla in its entirety. This is no mean feat, given nature and how, at end, it always triumphs over the trappings
the sprawling nature of the epic song, which details the trials of civilization.
and tribulations of their ancestors during the separation from Ancient pacts unite the Ellikka Dark Elves with the
the other Elven lineages during ancient times. Vidrjotuns living in the forest.
When the Korpikalli firstly came to this place, in the wake of The giants act as guardians of the ruins and those areas
the War of Tears, there were no Elven cities within the forest. within of the forests where Yggdras dwell.
Very few Elves made Ellikka their home before the Falekala, It is believed they have some sorcerous means of informing
and those that did saw their settlements burned down by the Korpikalli should any intruder set foot within the grounds
wurm fire. The wildwood here is vital, nature always hungry the protect.
to restore the balance, so it wasn’t long before the Darkwoods It is here, within Ellikka, that a number of Korpikalli hunters
reclaimed and devoured the charred and blackened ruins. A have tamed and broken Warg Beasts, turning them into their
few seasons, and it was as though they had never existed. ‘dogs’ and using them for the hunt, letting them get the scent
The first of the Dark Elves refugees built their new cities in of the enemies. They are especially useful in the search of
the wilderness, much as they used to do in Soj, each one a pale things that do not belong within the wildwood, including
likeness of Turvanaika, the original metropolis the Dark Elves human intruders.
had abandoned on Soj. Likewise, these new settlements were
gradually abandoned as Korpikalli culture evolved into what it Isojvire (South-Western Darkwoods)
is today: a society of small nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, The "Great Green" or "Isojvire" as it has been called by the
each living in close contact with nature. Elves since time immemorial is the stretch of Darkwoods that
By the third century of the Age of the Iron Worm there were grows up to western slopes of the Iron Tooth.
no thriving Korpikalli cities within Ellikka. After almost fifteen It is an incredibly lush environment, in no little part because
millennia, time and the voracious vegetation have claimed of the favorable combination of winds, weather and moisture
almost every last lingering trace of those wooden structures from the Swanwhite Lake. Verdant evergreen conifers
- all save those few that were the product of the ancient dominate the landscape here, while the deciduous trees thrive
sattaloijka arts – and these survive, hidden from sight, secret on the south-western borders, fed by the many streams.
from all but those few who know where to look. The luxurious forest spreads across a series of valleys and
The Ellikka Korpikalli tribes are fiercely protective of these hills throughout the lower reaches of the Iron Tooth.
relics of antiquity and will kill on sight any who try to enter Countless ponds and tarns can be seen along the valley
the ruins. Even Illmalaini and Talviakka would be treated with floors here, as well as innumerable streams, some little
outright hostility and be risking their lives if caught in any of more than a trickle, others a roiling torrent, that mostly run
these sites. southwards, spilling out into the Swanwhite Lake or the great
During ages past, on more than one occasion forces have Ravelsford river.
been raised to try and conquer these hidden ruins, either at This land is a hunters' paradise, full of game everywhere.
the hand of powerful dark vitner weavers, ancient wurms or, So many deer and elk roam these lands no hunter will ever go
in one instance, a demon-possessed King Troll. Through the hungry. The natural predators are numerous too, with it being
millennia many a ruthless war has been fought by the Dark a favoured hunting ground of wolves.
Elves to defend their lost cities from the covetous Trolls and All Elves here are expert fishermen, with these rivers
Wildfolk, eager to discover the secrets of these legendary producing some of the largest salmon and trout on the
places. The Korpikalli always emerged victorious, in no little continent.
part because of their mastery of sattaloijka, which allows them The Korpikalli have always considered the Isojvire to be
to hide the ruins in the nature and create fiendish traps with their land, but throughout the centuries they have had to
the sole intent of killing trespassers and would-be looters. fight hard to maintain control of it with countless Trolls and
The Korpikalli tribes perform seasonal rituals within these Wildfolk tribes attacking them. There have been some eras
ancient places, most notably during the Spring Equinox, where the sheer scale of the Troll attacks was so brutal they
when nature wakes from the slumber of the long winter. They almost succeeded in crushing the Elven presence in Isojvire,
celebrate the first homes of their ancestors as well as the but equally there have been times when the Korpikalli have
forest which has completely overtaken the ancient remains. thought to have secured the entire forest, only for fresh waves
The Korpikalli have, at best, an ambivalent relationship of Troll hordes to descend.

112
 The truth is that whilst the Dark Elves are the predominant Isojvire. Many Troll tribes, composed of Gray Trolls allied with
culture, Isojvire cannot be purged of other species for the Firdtursirs, have exploited the situation, and descended from
simple fact that the forest is too vast and lush for it to be so the Iron Tooth to wreak havoc. Hordes of Forest Trolls, which
absolutely dominated by a single people, and invaders will were once banished to the northern borders, have laid waste
always return, seeking dominion, most notably the Bastjurs to any number of Korpikalli clans.
from the Iron Tooth who covet the vast resources of these The impetuous Vajningas the Young, son the deceased lokoiti,
lands. has made moves to lay claim to the power vacuum left by his
The Korpikalli clans here are almost certainly descended father, citing his heritage in support of his claim, but the Dark
from the Dark Elves who historically had more contact with Elves have yet to recognise his authority, as they deem him an
Humans – even if that contact was almost always in the form unproven warrior, and fear him too naïve to lead them. Other
of conflict! For millennia they have both traded with and fought leaders are emerging in conflict to his claim, like Normakosva,
against the Kandovs of the Iron Tooth. Some sages believe an Elven woman with an unmatched talent for vitner weaving.
that those Kandovs who migrated westwards to found Bysent She is even reputed to have even wounded Merhodras once.
during the early Age of the Prophets, were refugees from a She is ambitious, but has a ruthless streak and is well known to
war with the Dark Elves, who judged their ancestors guilty be treacherous of heart, as she is a master of Darkhwitalja arts.
of having destroyed too much of the forest and its’ trees, with For this reason the tribal chieftains will not bow their heads to
their mining and ironsmithing. her. It would seem that the Elven realm of Isojvire is no more,
Even today, the otherwise warlike and savage inhabitants with the Dark Elves returning to their usual fragmentary state
of the Skatfafijell (the rugged north-eastern part of Runewiik) with the countless clans and tribes doing everything they can
dread entering these forests. to survive.
Of course, it is worth remembering that the vast majority
of the Korpikalli who died in the Battle of the Five Spears, Mustasyvyys (Central-Western Darkwoods)
fighting side-by-side with Humans and Dwarves against the Since time immemorial the ancient name of "Mustasyvyys"
Cloakmaster, came from these forests. has been used by the Elves when talking about the roots of the
The Isojvire Korpikalli are fierce, proud and valorous, both Darkwoods which lie to the south of Arkland. Mustasyvyys is
ready and willing to sacrifice their lives for the benefit of their framed to the east by the Iron Tooth, to the north by the Great
clans and tribes. Iron Mountains and westwards by the Sooty Mountains.
While the Dark Elves of the Great Green live in small The forest's name, the "Depth of Blackness", is well deserved.
tribes, much like their brethren elsewhere in Trudvang, they The dense vegetation hides a series of deep valleys, whose
are perhaps something of an oddity amongst their own kind floors are often bathed in absolute darkness. Furthermore, on
as they have been more often united under a single lord, or the easternmost fringes of this woodland the sun rises late in
Loikoiti, than any other Korpikalli. the morning, with the towering peaks of the Iron Tooth blocking
While the existence of a single, unified forest realm within out dawns' early light from the east. The same is true for the
Isojvire has never been a constant during the long history westernmost outskirts of the forest, with the Sooty Mountains
of the Darkwoods, there have been frequent instances of obscuring the sun as it sets westwards, meaning night falls
a particularly charismatic warrior rising up amongst the several hours earlier than it otherwise might. The mountains'
others, uniting the many Korpikalli tribes here to pursue a long shadows, especially during the cold winters, make
common goal – be it destroying a troll horde or defending nights both gruelling and seemingly endless in some areas of
the forest against Human invaders. These Korpikalli kings Mustasyvyys. It is a rare two months in the height of summer
never established dynasties, their lines lasting no more than a with the sun at its zenith when the days have what might be
couple of generations. There is good reason for this. The Dark considered a normal length.
Elves do not believe that legitimacy is given by blood right. It The vegetation has adapted to these conditions, with the
is earned. leaves of both the conifers and deciduous trees displaying a
Now, though, is a dark time. darker hue in Mustasyvyys than elsewhere.
The last Lokoiti in Isojvire, Vajningas the Tall, was killed last It has happened on occasion that a lost hunter who
year by Merhodras, an ancient and hideously large logiwurm miraculously survived the perils of the wildwood as emerged
that abruptly woke from its underground lair in Muspelheim, with tales of entirely white trees at the bottom of the deepest
and emerged, bringing mayhem among the Dark Elves. The valleys where the sunlight never shines. How these trees can
dragon, having satisfied its thirst of Elven blood, has been survive without the nourishment of light, nobody knows, but
content to retreat and remain within the innermost tracts of the Elves believe it is a vitner phenomenon.

113
 Not all the forest is dark, by any means. Particularly high hands and fingers can hang from a Korpikalli's belt, while the
hills and ridges of rock rise from the sea of dark trees. skulls of famous Ark chieftains and dreaded Thorn Beasts
Here nature seems more benign and serene, a place where are sought as prestigious trophies. They affix them to the
the lost and weary may find solace as sunlight more easily tops of their Totemträds, ensuring that they are clearly visible,
pierces the tree canopy, giving root to more normal oaks, pines marking out the limits of Korpikalli’s tribal borders.
and firs. Old Illmalaini legends claim that a few of these hills
hide abandoned Elven sanctuaries that were built in honour Syvalinka (Western Darkwoods)
of the Vanirs during the Age of Dreams. Indeed, pilgrimages Elves call the Western Darkwoods "Syvalinka", which, in the
were made to these places as late as the Age of the Iron Wurm old Elven tongue means "the Deep".
but, since those days no Star Elf has visited any of these sites. This originally referred to the easternmost part of this
If these ruins truly exist, they have been undisturbed for forest, to the west of the Sooty Mountains, where the woods
many millennia, with the Korpikalli particularly hostile cover a vast and dizzyingly deep valley. The vegetation in this
towards any who come looking for them. The reality of it is valley is mostly composed of larch and firs, and is lush beyond
that Humans and Dwarves would almost certainly be killed compare. The game is plentiful, and unsurprisingly, many a
on sight, likewise any pilgrims from the Illmalaini or Talviakka hunter and trapper dreams of ranging these lands. The furs of
lineages. all Syvalinka’s animals, no matter if they are bears, martens,
Many dark beings wander through the black forests foxes or minks, or any other creature, are renown the world
of Mustasyvyys, far beyond the threat posed by the Warg over.
Beasts and dreaded bears on the prowl. Forest Trolls are a The local Korpikalli, considering themselves the apex
predominant threat, but they are far from the most dangerous predators of this place, hunt and skin the animals, but they do
creatures here. There are whispers of flocks of Night Ulms so with wisdom and care, waiting for the proper seasons and
lead by harrowingly powerful specimens, whose wings span only bringing death to the right animals.
so wide and bodies are so muscular that they can easily pluck They may, upon occasion, allow a lone traveler or one of
a horse from the ground and carry it away in their claws. the Wildfolk in desperate need, to skin a beast, if they dwell
Travellers have reported a peculiar phenomenon, with mists somewhere along the forest’s borders, far from Korpikalli
rising from the valley floors, venting from dark holes dug by lands. The Dark Elves think little of these rare events,
unknown beings who have burrowed into the base of the considering them to be part of the natural cycle life, even if
mountains. No one can peer into these wounds in the world they are lesser beings. But this does not change the fact that
and hope to survive, they say, as they are peering through the the Korpikalli will greet any large parties of trappers with
black gates that lead into supernatural realm of Dimhall. extreme hostility. Such groups not only threaten the natural
The Trolls that dwell here, in the depths of the valleys, would balance of the ancient forests, but range in in competition with
seem to be smarter than others, but for that they pay a strange the Dark Elves themselves.
price, often bearing more deformities than those who dwell The lands along the western edge of Syvalinka are flatter
elsewhere, as if they are subject to unknown, supernatural and, as one travels westwards, the effects of the chill winds
forces. blowing in from the Vilore Sea can be felt with more and more
Some of them grow to gigantic sizes, like tursirs, while force. The trees here are bent and twisted, deformed by the
others have two heads or eyes of curious sizes and numbers, constant battery of those winds.
giving credence to the idea that some taint here is corrupting The Amur Woods, on the westernmost tip of Syvalinka, are
everything that falls within its touch. a nightmarish place, where the crooked, dark trees are dead
Korpikalli are less numerous in Mustasyvyys than in other and blood-curdling sounds are sung by the breeze as it rushes
parts of the Darkwoods, but these few tribes are infamous for through the dense, intricate canopy of this damned forest. Sea
their savagery and bloodthirst. Storms frequently batter this the Amur woodland. So fierce
After millennial-long wars against the monstrous Trolls are those storms, it has become a place of il-legend, where
that have inhabited the valleys depths, these Korpikalli have sagas say that no god can answer a prayer. This dark place is
become battle-hardened and warlike. They prefer ambush avoided by both Amurs and Trolls alike, with both considering
to outright confrontation, and are deadly. These Elves are it cursed.
dreaded by all, even by Arks who rarely dare descend into People are said to disappear in this dead forest, never to
these Korpikalli territories. The Mustasyvyys Korpikalli enjoy come back. Why, what keeps them bound to the dead forest
mocking the Haminges faith of the Arks, taking body parts is a matter for whispers, but plenty of those whispers tell of
of defeated Wildfolk and wearing them like jewellery. Dried strange beings from the mists that emerge to claim them.

114
 Korpikalli consider these lands both sacred and forbidden, Amur Woods because the gods do not answer prayers here.
to be entered only during selected times of the year, and They see it as proof of the Vanirs' duplicity and the great lie
even then only to perform ancient rituals bound to specific that they were ever beings of power.
pilgrimages, and only ever under the protection of their most When they settle, the Korpikalli clans make their homes
powerful vitner weavers. Despite all the whispers of darkness along the eastern forests, and most commonly within the
and the wood’s fell nature, the Korpikalli are drawn to the deep valley which is the real core of Syvalinka. They avoid

115
the Amurs, though they will launch both ambushes and raids, most notably by the Buratja armies of Saukka, the overlord
when necessity dictates, though they will avoid attacking the of Sootbrand. The imperial dreams of the Buratja seem long
few caravans heading for Arkland as they trundle through gone now, little more than a distant memory, with the Buratja
their territory as these tend to be better protected. limiting their time on the surface and their travels as much
The Syvalinka Korpikalli were once allies of the ancient as possible, with few Dark Elves choosing to differentiate
Bysentian Dragon Knights, both fierce enemies of the Wurms between Borjornikka or Zvorda. Needless to say all Dwarves
and Wildfolk from the Sooty Mountains. Nowadays, the travelling through Tuulinajka need to be careful.
knightly order is in decay, reduced to the House of Havold.
There are no real relationships with these Humans now. Tympeja (Middle-Eastern Darkwoods)
Regardless, the Korpikalli remember the old vows, and would So many thousands of miles north of Dranvelt there is a vast
aid a member of the House of Havold lost in the Darkwoods. forest that lies at the foot the of Great Iron Mountains, north
of and roughly between Ellikka and Tuulinajka. Here, the trees
Tuulinajka (Eastern Darkwoods) seem different to those in other regions of the Darkwoods.
The Dark Elves call the easternmost tracts of the The Elven word "Tympeja" or "Gnarly Woods" is particularly
Darkwoods "Tuulinajka", which in their tongue means apropos, as the forest consists of many species of low trees,
"Wind-bent Trees". The region owes its name to the strong all of which are characterised by twisted, gnarled trunks
winds that bluster in from the Grim Sea and hit the forests with thick bark. This peculiar looking vegetation spreads for
hard, especially during fall and winter. hundreds of miles, covering hills, valleys and flat lands.
The area suffers beneath a wild combination of multiple air The gnarly trees become less dense on the northernmost
currents: the violent winds from the Grim Sea which sweep fringes of the wildwood where they are gradually replaced by
across the plains and hills of Wildland, the bitter-freezing larger spiky bushes and dwarf pines whose branches grasp
winds from the north-east icy sea, and the stormy air currents out, intertwining, and tangling into impassable barriers. Here
that blow down from the peaks of Jarngand, the Great Iron the forest climbs on the southern flank of the Jarngand and,
Mountains. The combination is so potent that, once every few with the elevation rising steeply, even this harsh woodland is
seasons, an incredible number of trees are uprooted by raging forced to adapt to survive, such is the power of the landscape.
storms, leaving miles-wide empty expanses in the otherwise The dark Tympeja is a mysterious place, where newcomers
dense woodlands. In time these become glades, or in the case can easily become lost and stay lost, as the thick mists
of the largest, strips of prairie land. The grazing habits of large descending from the Jarngand, spreading through the twisted
animals, including mastomants and wild bison, will often trees, to sow confusion in the traveller’s mind. Odd, hideous
hinder the regrowth of trees, but only ever slow the process, faces appear from out of the shadows, echoed in the scarred
not halt it completely. In time they recover, only for the winds barks of the contorted flora. Paths are easily lost, never to be
to begin the cycle again elsewhere in the vast forest. Again, it found again. Legends warn against following unknown tracks
is merely the balance of nature and the nature of that balance, here, promising that they may lead the incautious to other
nothing to be feared or fought. worlds, lost in the mists, where demons and ghosts wander.
Throughout the millennia the Tuulinajka Korpikalli have Tympeja is a land inhabited by countless Troll clans, but for
learned how to exploit this landscape, and in doing so have all their strength, these trollkin are wise enough to fear the few
become renowned for their large herds of semi-domesticated Korpikalli tribes that dwell in this place. The Tympeja Dark
reindeers grazing between the forests and the cold prairies Elves are fabled for their mastery of the ancient vitner arts, and
that cut across the woodlands like knives. possess knowledge of powerful secrets other tribes have long
The Korpikalli tend to avoid the easternmost parts of since forgotten. These Korpikalli came here during the last
Tuulinajka, and never wander as far as the Wolf Woods. The millennia, but claim descendance from the hero, Lepolainen.
main reason for this is that they have no wish for contact with This charismatic Dark Elf was a master Vitner Weaver and
the Wildlanders. The Humans too have always done their one of those who cursed the gods in the dreaded Turvanaika,
utmost to avoid the Elves, though there have of course been during the Falekala, in the Age of Dreams.
conflicts between the followers of the Wulfr clan with their He came with his brethren to Ellikka after the War of Tears,
warg beasts and the Korpikalli. but he was not content to remain there.
The traditional enemies of the Tuulinajka Elves are Hrim He entered the dreaded forest of Tympeja to face a legend
Trolls and the Buratja Dwarves. It is a never-ending hatred of his time, the dark monstrosity Gautlikki, the soul-devourer.
that burns fiercely even now, and is rooted in the terrible A web of impure darkness forever masked the beast like a
defeats the Korpikalli suffered during the Age of Prophets, mantle as it wandered the lands, hiding its features.

116
 Some Elven bards posit that Gautlikki was a giant spider ANUPPHA
possessed by a powerful demon, that terrorized these lands Somewhere upon the Western Black Road - an ancient
long before the Vanirs descended to Trudvang. While the track that runs through the heart of the Syvalinka forest,
gods sought to instill harmony and majesty to the Darkwoods barely worthy of the name road in many places, but one of
with the melody of the Great Song, Gautlikki perverted the the few tracks offering ‘safe’ passage through the terrain -
woodlands, scarring the trees and warping them into their or the Western Darkwoods, there is a tower formed from
present forms. twisted trees and plants, that rises far above the leafy
Lepolainen was not some common Elf, but an immortal canopy of the forest's heights. This tower is called Anuppha
Korpikalli, one of the rarest and most powerful of his kind, a – the Sunbeam – and its core is constructed from the
chosen one - the most powerful Vanirs had taught him their magical Alfark tree, a plant which is otherwise rare in the
vitner songs when he was just a boy. And yet he was among Darkwoods. This living monument is one of the greatest
the first to curse the gods, as he understood better than most examples in Trudvang of the Elven art of sattaloijka, the
what his masters’ abandonment meant. shaping of things from living materials. Legend has it that
More than one wurm had already been slain by Lepolainen's the great hero Nunjikka herself twisted the first shoots of
vitner arts, when he entered Tympeja. Gautlikki fell to the Elf, this huge building, weaving them together to match her
who chained the monstrosity in a cave somewhere within the vision, the driving force of her entire life to one day bring
mountains. Gautlikki is still rumoured to slumber there, in the Elves closer to their creators in the night-black sky.
perennial hibernation, waiting to be awoken. The tower withstood the fire of Dragons during the Long
In this fight Lepolainen stole not only the sovereignty of Storm and defied the ravages of both Wildfolks and Trolls of
Tympeja from Gautlikki, but forced the monster into revealing the Darkwoods that followed.
the arcane secrets it carried from the time before the arrival During the Age of the Prophets a stranger found the
of the Vanirs. Lepolainen soaked this fell knowledge up, and beautiful tower.
passed it on to his followers, but his mind was also changed He was neither invited nor expected, and the Korpikalli
by it, and by his encounter with Gautlikki. How could it not be, Elves were both curious and concerned at how he had found
so potent was this magic. The immortal Elf disappeared in the the place given it was so well-hidden in the depths of the most
mists during the Age of the Iron Wurm. impenetrable heart of the wildwood.
His descendants claim he lives still, even after all these Some looked at the stranger and named him a human being,
millennia, and stands guard to some unknown gate, while others looked and would only say that he wore human
blocking Gautlikki's demonic kin from come to Trudvang. form, and that was a different thing. The difference was in the
They believe that Lepolainen will return to them at the time eyes. This stranger, they believed, was one of the new gods of
of their greatest need. men. Others still argued that it was one of the feared Illijnaka
Albino Logiwurms that had somehow adopted a disingenuous
SITES IN THE DARKWOODS guise to confound them by using mysterious vitner arts.
Whatever the truth of his nature, the stranger carried great
What follows is just a small sample of the sites within the wisdom and spoke to the Elves in a way that made them listen.
confines of the Darkwoods which are most important for Of course, some doubters believed he enthralled them with
Elven culture. The Korpikalli have lived within the bounds the honeyed tones of his voice and his stories of the ancient
of these gigantic forests for more than fifteen millennia and, gods, while more besides whispered a more sinister truth, that
before them, perhaps they were home to some of the Vanirs this stranger slowly but surely wove an incantation over the
and the ancient Elves who dwelled here even before the place and the Elves who lived there.
Falekala? One of the greatest tragedies would be, then, that no The stranger had no name, indeed, one of the first things he
sign of these ancient civilizations and lost lives remains today. told the Elves who would listen to his wondrous stories was
Or, perhaps the Old Ones avoided the immense wildwoods that such things were unimportant. Even so, the Elves chose
from fear, knowing that they were home to mysteries from to call him "Vardija" — the "Secretive One", or more accurately,
the time when Trudvang was young. The reverence of local "He Who Weaves Secrets".
Korpikalli to the mysterious Sàmalikka may have something Vardija settled in Annuppha, remaining there for the span
to do with this. Dark Elves never speak about these subjects of many human lives, sharing his stories with all who would
but, given their long presence in these forests, it is obvious that listen, until one day he simply stood up, dusted his clothes
any number of important Elven sites are likely present in the off, and with a soft smile on his lips, wandered back into
Darkwoods, waiting to be discovered. the forest.

117
 It took time for the Elves to come to terms with his to a natural mirror of the veins and arteries that carry
departure, and in later days they came to described how the lifeblood of the Elves through their bodies, so nature
Annuppha's heart was lost when Vardija left. mirrors nature, creation echoing creation.
What is undeniable was that, despite the beauty of the For that reason, it is whispered amid some of the older
tower, it was hollow. Beauty, without the heart that had Elves of the Korpikalli line that the watchers are neither
inhabited It, was empty. dragon fire nor vitner-fused lightening, but something
The Elves were distraught. else entirely; the shells of the lost gods. The fragile glassy
Had they been deceived by Vardija? crust is all that remains of their eternal souls, shed so that
Had he slowly but surely taken their soul and made his they might escape this place during the height of the Long
own, stealing everything that made them one with the Storm. These shadow figures remain now, hundreds upon
world and the world one with them, and twisted it for his hundreds of these echoes of the past scattered throughout
own needs? the ancient wood, all that was left behind as they departed.
None knew for sure, but the reality was that the Elves This is not a place the Korpikalli choose to travel, for each
who made their home within Annupha languished. They glass sentinel is a mocking reminder of the gods who
were devoured by the forest or scattered with the winds. betrayed them. For that reason, they tend to treat this region
They did not belong where they had always belonged, and of the Darkwoods as a cursed place, though every now and
that was painful. then one of their young, filled with the righteous anger of
There was a single tower formed by the twisted trees that youth, might come to smash the Lasiaaveet into a million
was most prized by the Elves. While others abandoned tiny shards, no axe nor hammer nor any other weapon is
Annuppha, there were a few who refused to leave and capable of damaging them.
dedicated their lives to guarding the site, hoping against The weird trickery of the sunlight and moonlight through
hope that it might one day return to the majesty it had once the glass can make it appear as though the watchers are
known and those leafy bowers would once more ring with everywhere, moving through the trees around the traveller
the laughter of youth and the joy of life. They call themselves through the wildwoods in a disorientating and distorted
the "Vardim". chase, which only serves to add to the legends of this eerie
part of the Darkwoods.
LASIAAVEET - THE SHADOWS OF
THE VANIRS MUSTAKEVÄT - THE BLACK SPRING
Deep in the heart of the Darkwoods in Mustasyvyys, one There are few places in Trudvang that can be considered
of the most haunting relics of the Long Storm lingers, truly evil, though the Elves are wise enough in the changing
occupying a vast tract of the undergrowth. What appears to ways of the land to understand that darkness is creeping in.
be hundreds, if not thousands, of these silent, glassy figures It is the way of this world. All things die. All things return to
stand, unmoving, within the shadows of the tall trees. They dust and dirt, the stuff of the land itself. Time sees to that.
stand their lonely vigil across vast tranches of land, never The Elves have learned to live with this entropy, though many
moving, frozen forever in that moment of their creation. of the tribes cannot accept that it is inescapable. They give
These strange figures, the "Lasiaaveet" as they are known themselves up to the study of the vitner, the stuff of life, and
amongst the Korpikalli, may very well have been formed by its weaving, seeking to understand the nature of the earth
some weird natural phenomenon - perhaps lightning strikes magic imbuing every leaf and branch, every dark pool and
fusing with the vitner-infused ground of this particular shimmering stream, but, deep in the heart of the Darkwoods,
stretch of woodland - or the fire of the ancient Dragons, in the depths of the Isojvire forest, there is a vitner wellspring
who wreaked so much damage here, tapping into a vitner like no other, for it is as a source of Black Vitner.
wellspring that transformed that fire to ice. Mustakevät is a curiosity, a waterfall that plunges not from
Others refrain from that name, and simply refer to these a mountain, but rather bubbles up from a cleft in the ground
eerie sentinels the Watchers in the Woods. It is as good a caused by a tectonic shift that tore open a faultline in the rock
name as any for them. that resulted in a deep chasm in the forest floor that plunges
The light as it streams down through the leafy bowers so far down into the earth none have yet descended to its
of the wildwood brings these strange figures to something full depths, and some who have tried have returned shaken
that mocks life. Through a peculiarity of their glassy form, forever, swearing that the chasm plunges down forever, all
they appear to magnify every leaf and branch seen through the way into the heart of the world where Time and Death
them, transforming the vegetation into something akin dwell, and the black vitner infused water that gushes up

118
from the rent in the ground is filled with the essence of every supposedly, that Eikasvoja, the Faceless One, hunts. Eikasvoja
creature that has ever left this world. is one of the whispered ones, a creature that grows in legend
To touch the thick black waters of Mustakevät is to touch the with every passing season.
last lingering remains of the dead, their corpses so degraded Descriptions of the master of the maze are both many and
that they have become this oleaginous ooze. varied, which in itself is unsurprising, as Eikasvoja is believed
But in death there is life, of a sort. to steal the face of its victims, though how it steals them is a
There is the legend of Surevaisä, a Korpikalli Elf who matter for some conjecture. Some believe it merely mirrors
could not accept that the child of his flesh had died so the features it sees, remembering them, while others claim
tragically young, barely living for what felt like the blink of that it absorbs the victim, literally drawing the features from
an eye to the old Elf. Stricken with grief, Surevaisä carried their face to be reformed within the malleable bone and gristle
his child’s body for days into the depths of the Darkwoods, of its own.
seeking out the thick black waters of Mustakevät, to bath Wanderers through the maze often report finding bones,
him in the black vitner waters of the wellspring in the hopes picked clean and left to rot in the dirt, which adds to the notion
that the ritual might bring the child back to him, so that he that Eikasvoja may feed on its victims before it is done taking
in turn might bring the child back to his beloved. And so the their faces.
legend goes that Surevaisä found the well, and administered It is possible for travellers to be trapped within the warren
the right, giving the boy to the black vitner, though what for days, with the oppressive weight of the high rock walls
returned to this life was not his child. Not anymore. feeling more and more like a tomb in the process. With
Whether there is truth to this story, or if it is nothing more the vegetation running wild it is easily to understand how
than a cautionary tale meant to keep the grief-stricken away someone traversing the warren could get disorientated and
from the wellspring for fear of what might happen if they turned about, mistaking avenues already taken and missing
surrender to the vitner of death none can tell, but the Korpikalli the narrow cracks and crevices that actually lead to freedom.
are taking no chances and every generation assign two of their All manner of smaller fauna makes its home within the
finest warriors to stand guard over the Black Spring to ensure biodiverse warren, including predators and prey.
that none try. These Mustavesi guards use all of their nature
skills to camouflage the approach to Mustakevät and over the TORAKKAPYHÄTTÖ - THE SHRINE OF
generations have created a near-impenetrable maze around NIANFJALL’S FALL
the crack in the world. In the Eastern Darkwoods, in the Tuulinajka forest, north
of the Stormlands, lies what was once one of the most
SMARAGDINULKKERI - THE WARREN magnificent and haunting temples, although it has fallen into
Deep in the Darkwoods, in the north-western part of ruin. Long dedicated to the Vanirs, and longer abandoned, this
Tympeja, on the slopes of the Great Iron Mountains, lies strange and wonderful place is now home to a pair of fiendish
Smaragdinulkkeri, known by those who stumble into it as the squatters.
"Warren". The buildings themselves have long since fallen into
Smaragdinulkkeri is a peculiarity in the strata of the rock disrepair, with the decay of time eating into the stone and
where part of the foundation of the world has fallen away to bone, but even so, they remain some of the most spectacular
leave in its place a towering maze. and ambitious constructions in all of Trudvang.
The rock walls climb fifty times the height of an Elf in places, Seen from a distance, it is almost as though the towers
with thick, spiky vegetation clinging to them, and looming so which grow around the perimeter of the shrine resemble
high they block out the sun at the base. the opening petals of a lotus blossom. The walls are pitted
In patches, the walls of Smaragdinulkkeri are smothered with clinging vines and a wealth of other vegetation as
with a weird lichen that glows with an eerie green nature has begun the painful process of reclaiming this
phosphorescence in the darkness, lending the maze a once wonder of the land.
nightmarish hue come nightfall. But what makes the shrine a truly marvellous place is not the
The clefts of the warren are so narrow in places that even walls, or the weird towers, but rather the bone centrepiece at
the slimmest of Elves will struggle to wriggle through, but its heart. The cage of bones is perhaps the smallest part of the
wide enough in others for a Jotun to walk easily through the shrine, and yet they are fundamental to it. They were once the
heart of the maze, swinging a massive battle axe with ease. great dragon Nianfjall. It is here that the squatters have their
But, for all of the creepiness of nature, the real horror of burrow, hiding out within the bones of the dead dragon.
the warren lies in one legend that refuses to die. It is here, The legend of Torakkapyhättö is an old one.

119
 Slain during the last days of the Long Storm by the Elf, with a body of twigs, and might be considered to be the
Matoruoka, wielding the great sword, Raa'athaavat—known embodiment of the forest itself brought to life, and Corvani
as the "Wound at the Heart of the World" amongst his people, possesses a crustacean-like carapace akin to a beetle’s hard
Nianfjall was one of the last great Dragons and her fall shell, and pincers easily capable of rending flesh from bone.
heralded the turning point in the Long Storm. Whatever they were before, this is what they have become,
Suddenly, the Elves had hope that they might survive the creatures of the chaos that is the black vitner running wild
holocaust that had crippled the tribe and left nothing but through their veins. These two are mutations caused from
devastation in its wake. the wild bleed of black vitner from the land, caught in the
Wielding Raa'athaavat like a butcher’s knife, Matoruoka spill. They live as guardians of this place now, and the
carved away the individual scales of the wurm's thick hide Elves who are aware of them doubt they will ever die, and
one at a time, then weaving vitner around them, used them to hate them for it. Neither Coritani or Corvani are rational,
fashion armour for his companions, and in the process created thinking creatures now, so long have they been trapped in
the Matosoturit, an elite fighting force capable of withstanding this state of half-existence. Rather, they have become primal
the dragon’s fire and answering it with a fire of their own. The creatures, driven by instinct and hunger. They are among
armour of dragon scales allowed the Matosoturit withstand the most fearful predators in all of the wildwoods.
the fury of even the elder dragon’s breath, changing forever the
landscape of the great war. VAPAUDENKIVI – THE FREEDOM
But Matoruoka was a superstitious Elf. STONE
For him, this land where Nianfjall had fallen was part of the When the Healing Tear, Korjaavatitkeä, fell free of the thief’s
great mosaic, replicated up in the heavens. He saw within the grasp, the Korpikalli believed it had made its choice to
stars an echo of Trudvang and of the places where this war remain within the ancient wildwood, Ellikka. It was seen as
for survival was being fought. Worse, with some of the stars an auspicious thing. In time they came to call this place, and
seeming to die out, burning up in the sky only to disappear the rock where the thief lost his hands “Vapaudenkivi”, or the
from existence, the warrior believed that he was witnessing Freedom Stone, and today consider it be the foundation of
the death of the gods, not merely their departure, and sought their tribe. Vapaudenkivi is quite literally the place where it
to do anything and everything in his power to keep them from all began. Without it, there would likely be no Korpikalli, or at
disappearing out of the night sky for eternity. least not as we know them today.
Offering up the fallen Nianfjall, he built a shrine from the A huge, apparently shapeless, megalith stands in the middle
bones of the dragon and dedicated it to the Vanirs, praying of an impressively large glade in the middle of the Ellikka forest.
every night to the shrine, underneath the open sky, in the The only apparent non-natural feature is a badly weathered
hopes that the gods would hear his prayers and remember inscription in Forneika mentioning Syy or the “Cause”, which
their place and find the sacrifice of the dragon worthy. was cut on the monolith, just above the place where Veikko
They never answered his call, despite the fact Matoruoka Kirottu was buried.
spent every last breathing moment of his long life in this place, A complex wooden structure once stood atop the Freedom
and in death foreswore a final resting place on Soj amid the Stone, during the late Age of Dreams and the Early Age of
Elven cemetery, and instead lies buried here in Torakkapyhättö. the Iron Wurm. The structure held the “Fists of Stone”
But what of the squatters? or Apinajumalankynsi, a rock which was stained with the
To understand the nature of these long-lived enemies one vitner-infused blood from Veikko Kirottu’s stumps, which
would first have to grasp exactly what happened here, with has the power of causing dreadful visions. Elven pilgrims
the death of Nianfjall, and the vitner of the elder Dragon’s frequently visited the Freedom Stone but the problems cause
life force that spilled out into the land causing a link with by the Apinajumalankynsi were so great that the Dark Elves
the black vitner already bubbling up to the surface here. It destroyed the wooden structure during the Late Age of the
is equally important to understand the links between the Iron Wurm. The Apinajumalankynsi was buried in front of the
black vitner and the realm of death, because the squatters Freedom Stone, nearby the mortal remains of Veikko Kirottu,
should, by rights, have died centuries ago, but somehow to protect the pilgrims’ eyes from the dangerous powers.
they linger, kept alive by the sheer force of vitner infusing On the other hand, the most important item, the Healing
its tormented body. Stone, was never kept by the Korpikalli in Vapaundekivi,
Those who have caught a glimpse of Coritani and since too many Illmalaini and Talviakka were familiar
Corvani, the twins, describe them vile and unnatural, where with the location. The Dark Elves chose instead to keep
Coritani resembles nothing more than a man-sized insect, close to the Freedom Stone, as the Tear seemed to have

120
chosen the Ellikka forest on purpose. Its precise location ✦ The “Long Noses” or Pitkänenä of Isojvire, renowned for
remains a closely guarded secret. This secret place is, at their almost preternatural skill when it comes to spotting
the same time, both in Ellikka and outside it. They call it trails.
Sumuinenpimeys, the “Misty Darkness”, a place which can ✦ The wild Ihmissyöjiä, or “Man Eaters” of Mustsyvyys,
accessed only by passing through a hole hidden amongst whose ferocity is feared even by the Arks, are reputed to eat
the roots of an impossibly old Iron Oak. The dead, petrified human prisoners.
trunk of that tree still stands today, after all these millennia, ✦ The Satakieli or “Nightingales” of Syvalinka, whose
but only the few, trusted guardians, the Uhriritari, know Aufhiyuth teach the basics of their arts to all the tribe’s
which is the right tree, and they will never reveal the secret. children.
The short tunnel, framed by the petrified roots of the ancient
Iron Oak, leads to another place, a never-ending grove of The Dark Elves never adopted the inter-tribal clan system
black-bark Iron Oaks, where the air is always filled by an eerie which is the vogue amongst the Soj Illmalaini. On the other
mist. A perpetual, dim twilight rules in this place, where it is hand, what they do have is a system of clearly defined blood
never full day or night, as neither sun, nor the stars shine over lineages which can be shared among members of different
Sumuinenpimeys. Spirits of the dead, lyktgubbes and disers, tribes, even those living in different regions of the Darkwoods.
wander this place, always eager to lead travellers astray in These bloodlines are not socially organized clans, as
the mists between the worlds, as those who are lost here will members of the same lineage have often waged wars one
never return to Trudvang. against the other. Neither are they marks of dynasties, as
Only the Uhritari know the secret signs carved on selected the Korpikalli disdain such a Human concept. Dark Elves
trees which lead to the Great Oak, an immense tree with a recognize specific traits and talents are common among the
hollow in its trunk where the legendary Korjaavatitkeä, the descendants of named heroes of the past. The vast majority
Healing Tear, is kept. of Korpikalli cannot claim any such lineage, but those who do
may often exhibit traits peculiar to their ancestry, rather than
TRIBES & CLANS OF DARKWOODS the more typical characteristics of their tribe. Identifying such
individuals is relatively easy, as they are constructed upon a
The naming of the unnumerable tribes of the Darkwoods simple linguistic building brick, with the ancestor’s name
Korpikalli does not follow a single, homogenous rule, as followed by the “-pojat” suffix meaning “sons of”.
the fiercely independent, quarrelsome Dark Elves have Some of the most famous lineages are the following.
chosen so many different labelling systems during their long
and winding history. The tribes can be named after totem ✦ The Harpingaspojat, blessed by an unnatural charisma,
animals, common ancestors, sacred places, activities for which makes them natural leaders.
which they were famous or, even after old Forneika words ✦ The Ilmarinenpojat, whose skillful hands are blessed with a
whose original meaning has been lost through the millennia. talent for craftsmanship
A few of the most famous and largest tribes are here listed. ✦ The Jeppiattapojat, who are talented with a prodigious gift
for storytelling
✦ The Kasvotpuiset, or “Wooden Faces” of Tuulinajka, always ✦ The Lepingaspojat, who have a natural disposition for
wear elaborate masks, are famous for their endurance of fighting Beings of the Mist.
both wind and cold. ✦ The dreaded Louhipojat, who are unnaturally gifted
✦ The Tammenmielet, or “Oak Minds” who live in Tympeja, with Darkhwitalja arts, and are usually avoided by other
seem immune to fear. Korpikalli.
✦ The “Sons of the Bear”, or Karhunpojat, are famed as the ✦ The Virikonnaspojat, who display an uncommon knowledge
most skillful warriors in Ellikka. of plants and trees.

121
ISVIDDA - THE GREAT ICE PLAINS
Isvidda, the dreaded Great Ice Plains beyond the Great Iron in their own urine before they bury it. This causes the fish to
Mountains are not beloved of the Korpikalli, who seldom ferment, and means it lasts considerably longer before rot
venture north beyond the fringes of the Darkwoods, and are takes hold, however, the feast, when it is unearthed, stinks,
anathema to the Illmalaini, who much prefer the warmer which can be cause for concern as it may draw hungry
climes of the southern and western territories. bears from the ice.
It is a truth that neither Star Elf nor Dark Elf tribes wander Without trees and all but the most stubborn of shrubs, the
these lands. This far north is home to the third great Elven Frost Elves do not get to practice or perfect the sattaloijka
nation, the Talviakka, or as they are more commonly called arts in the same way as their southern kin, which presents
by the very few Humans who have seen them, Frost Elves. a different kind of challenge when it comes to homing and
It was the Talviakka who bestowed the ancient name protecting themselves. Weapons are easier, as they often
"Isvidda" upon these lands. They have wondered here since involve utilizing bones taken from dead walrus and seals,
the schism and the sundering of the Elven lineages. reshaping them into daggers and short-bladed weapons,
but the true ‘beast’ of the armoury is the whale, the bones
THE REALM OF ICE AND DEATH of which can be fashioned into wickedly curved javelins,
swords, and a bone miekka capable of doing every bit as
The Great Ice Plains are without doubt one of the most much lethal damage as any wooden or steel blade. Shelter
extreme and hostile landscapes in Trudvang. Frozen winds is more difficult, but likewise involves utilizing the materials
constantly howl, cutting in from every direction and the available, which is, again, hide and bone, which the Frost
ground is permanently blanketed by thick layers of snow Elves stitch together to fashion tents that offer protection
and ice. All the storms coming from the unknown north from the worst of the elements, and will often burrow into
clash against the immoveable barrier that is the Jarngand the snows and hard-pack them to bank up walls to hold in
mountains, expending all of their fury on lands below. The the heat of their bodies which can be the difference between
simple truth is that there is no place to hide from the fury of life and death on the Great Ice Plains. And while they are
elements here. If a traveller seeks refuge their only just is to nomadic in nature, and refrain from burrowing out any
head south and pray they find it in the southerly valleys of the great cities these days, the Frost Elves do dig deeper within
Jarngand which are deep enough to afford some protection. the northern valleys of the Great Iron Mountains, hollowing
Very few animals live within this harsh land, and out more permanent (yet still temporary in nature, designed
unsurprisingly vegetation is almost nonexistent. Seals, for no more than a season or two’s habitation before they
walruses and great white bears inhabit the westernmost move on) homes beneath the ice.
and easternmost territories of Isvidda, where the Grim Sea In terms of other fauna, the few animals of the Ice Plains
and the Vilore Sea take the shape of floating ice. Skinned, prefer the southernmost regions, and tend to cluster along
these animals provide the skins and hides that are cured a long, thin ribbon of land near the mountains, where they
and used by the Frost Elves to fashion their garments. graze on what sparse vegetation grows there. This is the
They have developed a habit of wearing layers of skins, only region of Isvidda when summer brings something
relying upon the pockets of air trapped between the skins of a change to the landscape, allowing lichens and small
to insulate them, and hold warmth close to their bodies, but bushes some little time to properly grow when the sun is
with very few furry animals on the ice, it is the wild bear high enough to pierce the peaks.
skins that are used for the base layers, their fur working like Muskoxes and a few herds of large reindeers dwell here,
the wool of sheep and goat to hold the warmth. migrating between the northern valleys of the Great Iron
Of course, these animals, along with fish procured from Mountains. They are a hardy breed, much tougher and
beneath the ice provide the basis for their diet. The Frost stronger than their southern kin found on the other side
Elves have become adept at curing and storing the animals of the Jarngand. Along with the bears, seals and walrus,
and fish they catch and kill so that there is food to be had these animals are the primary source of meat in Isvidda.
during the worst storms of the seasons. One such trick they Talviakka both hunt and herd them, careful not to thin the
have developed involves digging through the permafrost to herds too much and risk their own survival. As ever with
make pits that the dump the carcasses of gutted fish in – the Elves, it comes down to the nature of balance and the
removing the organs that might rot – and soaking the meat balance of nature.

122
 North of this thin, elongated tract of land there is only are mysteries we lack a proper understanding of, but it is
death to be found on the plains, coming in the form of wind, undeniable that they do not merely survive, they flourish in
ice and snow. This is the realm of the Hrimtursirs who these harsh conditions that would be death to mere mortals.
endlessly wander the frozen plains, hunting, or dwell in their Frost Giants are far from the lone threat stalking these
majestic fortresses of ice and rock mined from the Jarngand. dread lands. Large horned Hrimwurms circle these clear
How do they survive? Where do such huge and powerful skies, looking for prey stupid enough to dare travel on the
creatures find nourishment in these desolate lands? Those ice plains.

123
HULLUUSVUORI - THE CITY a honeycomb of passageways and tunnels that resembled
BENEATH THE ICE the rot they’d seen in some of the old trees in Valtoris,
In the age after the Talviakka abandoned the sanctuary of the where insects had eaten away at the trunk, building their
first home they lived a nomadic existence, trekking across home within the dying wood. The similarity was not
the Great Ice Plains, guided by the peculiar phenomenon lost on the Elves, who began to wonder what manner
that was the "Fire in the Sky", Revontulet. There were those of creature might eat into the rock in the same way as a
amongst the tribe who began to divine messages within the termite ate into the bole of a tree, and assuming such a
eerie green and bluish flames, and believed they were being thing had happened here, what had happened to the rock-
led toward what would become their second home, though eating creatures?
none could have predicted how a huge volcanic upheaval That gnawing doubt lingered, even as the tribe took
would reveal it to them. shelter within second home, and for the first few months
They felt it from miles upon miles away from the epicenter they refused to settle, expecting the creatures to return to
of the quake, with the ground beneath their feet feeling fluid, their burrow as the season turned. There was signs of the
like the rolling of waves through the sea as the tremors ‘teeth and claws’ that had excavated this place everywhere,
chased through the land. Above, the sky filled with birds, the scored into the bare rock. Hulluusvuori bore the scars of its
squall unbearably loud, with thousands upon thousands of creators. But those creators were long gone.
the creatures flocking to the wound in the world. They flew A few amongst the Talviakka’s number began to whisper
in a gyre around it, giving the nomadic Elves a landmark to the unthinkable, perhaps these things had been chosen to
aim for as they walked on for days until they finally found it. leave with the Vanirs? Could they have somehow been more
Great tectonic upheaval opened fissures in the landmass, worthy?
reshaping this part of the world. Among the strangest of The "City Beneath the Ice" is one of the hidden wonders
these anomalies were the ice floes over Hulluusvuori, of the world. So few know of its existence, even in rumour
which, as the permafrost cracked, revealed wounds in the or legend, and yet it predates the oldest songs of the skalds.
land that ran so deep it was impossible to truly appreciate Some even suppose it was built by the first inhabitants of the
their depths. land, creatures that somehow lived in this place before the
Hulluusvuori lies far beyond Arkland and the Great Iron Vanirs descended. But for that to be so it would undermine
Mountains, deep in the endless ice sheets of the north. all that they hold true, as surely before the Vanirs there was
To find that wound was nothing short of a miracle. The only chaos?
landscape for miles around is flat and featureless. There is The only thing that cannot be denied is that no mortal
little in the way of flora or fauna that survives in the deathly hands built the place.
cold of this region. One of the great curiosities is that while There are more than a dozen tiers within the hive, for that
great expanses of the ice cover water, more by far covers the is what it resembles in so many ways, each interconnected,
bedrock of the world. and in places illuminated by a peculiar phosphorescent
The Talviakka were drawn to the ice because of its lichen that echoes the eerie fire in the sky of Revontulet
permanence. Unlike the rest of the world, the ice plains are which only served to reinforce the belief that the Elves
unchanging. They are trapped in time. The ice is as old as had been meant to find this place, and that their making it
the world, and will remain longer after time has taken the second home was in no small part fated.
last life. There is eternity in the ice. Of course, the Talviakka are more pragmatic than their
Descending, scouts from the Talviakka tribe found an brethren, and like a hermit crab are adept at finding new
entire warren of tunnels and subterranean vaults that shelters that serve as temporary lodging as they continue
had been exposed by a massive earthquake that had been their great walk, hunting the ice plains. It isn’t in their
burrowed out by something. Beyond curiosity and the nature to set down immovable roots, although Hulluusvuori
fact that this chasm offered respite from the bitter cold— has provided a safe home for the nomadic Talviakka for so
amongst the coldest weather the Elves had experienced many millennia before its ‘abandonment’ during the Age
in the seasons since venturing onto the ice—there was of The Iron Wurm when the Great Thaw gripped the ice,
something alluring about the darkness it offered up. Their with them excavating out fresh tunnels and chambers as
scouts found a stair that seemed to have been carved their numbers grew, so the city beneath the ice grew with
into the side of the chasm, though in truth it might have them. It was arduous work, each new tunnel taking season
been the result of the rock tearing apart rather than any upon season to complete, and only served to reinforce the
craftsman’s chisel. Venturing into the darkness, they found wonder of the original architects of this place.

124
 Whilst they have held to their nomadic existence, often VESIKÄRPÄSET - THE BURNING
leaving Hulluusvuori empty for decades at a time as their SPRING
migratory habits have them following the omens in the sky When the Talviakka abandoned Ensimmäinenkoti they
that brought them to this endless winter beyond the Great wandered the Great Ice Plains beyond the Jarngand
Iron Mountains, the tribes always return to the shelter mountains for an age, looking for a new place to settle.
of second home eventually, guided by those same fiery Life was hard, with them facing enemies far fiercer than
omens, where they give a part of their lives to continuing the natural predators of the north, the dreaded hrimtursirs,
the excavations, with each son and daughter of the tribe and the trollkin in the sheer cold that gripped the place. It
spending at least a season beneath the ice helping to dig is believed to be so cold it burned the skins of the Elves
out more of the land in the hopes of learning the secrets of to the darkest shade of blue that today it is almost black
whatever built this place. with exposure and frosted the colour out of their hair,
What is seldom uttered, but often thought: if those rock- leaving them with silver locks. This may not be the truth
devourers who made this haven under the ice could fashion of the transformation these rarest of elfkin underwent in
Hulluusvuori what other warrens might they have built with the generations after the diaspora, but it is undeniable that
their voracious appetites? What other secrets lie unfound in the centuries since they disappeared beneath the ice the
beneath the ice? pigment within their skin darkened whilst some sort of
achromotrichia changed their hair forever.
THE UNKNOWN NORTH During this era of displacement, with the Elves living their
The northernmost part of Isvidda, the "Unknown North", is nomadic life on the ice plains they discovered a miracle, a
a region avoided even by the Talviakka and the Hrimtursirs. wellspring that burned with a furious fire. They came to
Many stories and legends unfold within this mythic place, call the place "Vesikärpäset", the "Burning Spring". To gaze
and most of them are false and contradictory in nature. upon it is to see one of the true wonders of Trudvang. The
Why? Quite simply because nobody can visit the Unknown wellspring gushes up through the ice, rising some ten times
North and hope to survive. the height of any living creature, the water on fire. The heat
Some bards claim it to be the realm of a mythic evil known of the flames prevents the waters from freezing and keep
only as the Snow Queen, and the origin of the Black Ice Cult the spring alive.
which tormented Wildland a few centuries ago. The bodies Vesikärpäset is one of the few vitner wellsprings in the
of countless of her victims are said to lie here, buried under north, with all the strands of earth magic suffusing the
miles and miles of permafrost, in a subterranean place water to keep the flame alive.
where their souls are shaped into the monstruous features Vesikärpäset is the most sacred site for the Talviakka,
of the Snow Queen's servants, the mythic Orkhir. Others who include a pilgrimage to the sacred burning spring as
speak about the legendary immortal Norim Elves who, if a rite of passage in the coming of age ceremony for their
they ever existed, retreated here to perform some ancient young. The rite forms part of the Song of Leaving which
duty, the details of which have been forgotten through the marks their entry into adulthood. The last act of Talviakka
millennia. youth is to drink from the burning spring, taking the vitner
Whatever the truth, the Unknown North certainly into their bodies with the fire water.
hides secrets and threats far older than human fairy There is a grim legend amid the Talviakka that is built
tales. This place is the source of all the cold winds, and around the belief that if Vesikärpäset were ever to burn out
the mother of all storms. Ancient songs, most of which the ice sheets will creep over the mountains and spill down
are long since forgotten by the inhabitants of Trudvang, across the world to lock Trudvang in an endless winter that
pay homage to the vast lands where ice is black, cursed will extinguish every last life on the land, bringing an end to
by an evil entity in ancient times before even the Vanirs the tyranny of Time. This extinction of all things has name,
had descended. Impossibly powerful frost demons though few well even whisper it: Jääkuolema.
scream through the eternal storms, while the skies are
constantly hidden by tempests and harrowingly deep VAALHLOHIKÄÄRME - THE
chasms open within the icy plains, venting columns of DRAGON'S SCALES
vitner fire and uncontrollable wild energies that have Vaalhlohikäärme is a geographical anomaly, deep within
been trapped within the heart of Trudvang since the Alku, the expanse of the ice plains, where the ground itself has
the beginning of everything. broken up into these peculiar scale-like plates of ice that
resemble the overlapping armour of a dragon’s thick hide.

125
The Dragon’s Scales stretch for miles in all directions, ✦ The Clan of the Walrus Tusk
hexagonal steppes across the ice plain. Indeed, at one end, ✦ The Clan of the Seal Hide
the scales are more akin to hexagonal pillars, which step ✦ The Clan of the Broken Ox
down and down as the geological fault that caused them ✦ The Clan of the Ice Wurm
settles to a lower level. Some of these pillars are isolated
now from the rest and form weird stone ‘cacti’ on the plain. And more, with the Elves of these particularly tight
In truth, Vaalhlohikäärme is part of a volcanic plateau groups beginning to resemble their totem animals in their
and the peculiarity of the scales were formed by fast-cooling mannerisms and nature, with the Ice Wurm being among
lava after an eruption an eon ago during the forming of the the most dangerous of all the Elven tribes on Trudvang. This
world. clan was born out of death, with hunters stumbling across
The Talviakka hold the place as sacred for the part it played the corpse of a huge ice wurm rotting on the ice plains, and
during the Long Storm, with the great dragon Verenlapsi stripped its flesh to feed them, taking the beast into their
terrorizing the north. There were nights when it felt an own bodies, and then used the dead creatures’ bones to
impossible fight, that surely now that time had found its way make their weapons. None of the creature's corpse was
into this world, it was only a matter of how long before the allowed to go to waste. What none of them knew was that
Dragons rendered it barren. The great winged wurms ruled the ice wurm had supped at the burning vitner wellspring
the skies, wings unfurled, banking and swooping low to and though its flesh was weak, its dark spirit was eternal
sear the ice with blazing fire, scorching great black runnels and they had willingly taken it into their bodies. Even now,
that melted down beneath the permafrost to the dying earth descendants of those first clan members are afflicted by the
itself. Flora and fauna shrivelled beneath the assault. The dark dreams of the dread wurm and are susceptible to its
beasts would not be content until the world was aflame. bleak humours.
It was here that Kohtaloa, a descendent of Wellithelli, Some of the greatest heroes of the clans include
stood against Verenlapsi in what should have been hopeless Myklstype, of the Ice Wurm, who led his people to safety
resistance, but the Elf brought the dragon down with during the worst of storm the plains had ever seen. Some
Leskentekijä - The Widowmaker’s Knife—claiming the first heroes are judged on their wisdom, others on their
dragon’s death of the Long Storm, and with it, won his kin prowess, but in Myklstype's case it was voice, raised in
hope. That blade, fashioned out of the ore from the core of a a raucous song that somehow scaled above the howling
meteorite known amongst his people as the Vanirsinkallio, winds that battered the ice plains. It was his enchanted
was one of nine forged from the rock, and is considered song, woven with the last of his body's vitner, that
amongst the tribes as the last great gift of the gods. Without provided a beacon for his people to follow when their
those swords, the Elves would not have withstood the eyes and other senses had betrayed them. Myklstype did
onslaught of the Dragons, and surely Trudvang now would not survive that march to safety, trading his life for those
be a desolate waste, burned beyond all recognition and of his clan, and the child his sister Kortinel carried, who
incapable of supporting life. was born a season later, and carried his name in memory
The tragedy of the Dragon Scales is that some think this of his sacrifice.
might have been preferable to life in the thrall of the great Another hero was Martolmelus, of the Broken Ox,
enemy. whose stubbornness became legendary, when he and
two of his brothers stood against a force of Jotun and
TRIBES & CLANS OF ISVIDDA Trollkin, the three of them holding the enemy at Skilgan
Cleft, within the Jarngands, for three days and three
The Frost Elves are by necessity tribal in nature, with the nights, buying the time for their clan to escape. It was a
harsh elements making it almost impossible to imagine battle unlike any the Elf clan had fought before or since,
a lone Elf surviving this savage frontier. There is safety as the three brothers, Martolmelus, Nyfilani and Pello
in numbers. There are, of course, countless small tribes could not fall sooner, else their entire clan be wiped from
that call the ice their home, each with their own unique the face of the world. They needed to buy time for their
characteristics and very different traits. Solitude has a way kin to reach safety that was three days and more away.
of shaping a living being, and to such a degree that they It was in those three days and nights of sheer stubborn
begin to take on aspects of others fighting for survival resistance that then Broken Ox finally earned its name,
beside them. For that reason, many of the tribes here adopt with the brothers grim determination becoming the stuff
totem animals as their identity, so you may encounter of legend.

126
ELVES ELSEWHERE
Elven civilisation is incredibly old. To men living today, it is times down the ages countless Giants and Trolls have
older than their minds are capable of imagining, with time descended from those heights to pillage and destroy, from
itself losing all meaning against talk of more than fifteen that first raid during the Age of Dreams when the hordes
millennia that have passed since the Age of Dreams, and sought to exploit the chaos that reigned in the wake of the
before that, how long was that ageless primitive era? wurm fire as it tore through the Elven forest cities. The wurm
The sad truth is that it is impossible to say, but during this fire may have burned out, but the raids have persisted. Peace
seemingly endless span of seasons Elves have wandered may hold sway for long years, but there is always another
throughout Trudvang, establishing settlements which brutal tragedy on the horizon, it is only a matter of time.
rose and flourished, only to later abandon them, and see Still, as hard to imagine as it is today, there was a time
them fall into ruin, reclaimed by the land even as the Elves during the Age of Dreams, when the Vanirs loved walking
themselves became nomads. these mountains, contemplating the world from their
There is nary a single region in Trudvang unable to lay heights, and with their divine sight savoured the beauty of
claim to at least one ancient Elven site. their work on the lowlands of Trudvang.
The same can be said for the Elves themselves. There are thought to be ruins of ancient Elven settlements
Not all Illmalaini live in Soj, for instance, just as not all on the Iron Tooth's peaks.
Korpikalli dwell within the Darkwoods. More surprisingly, Elves were never numerous here, and in truth these
perhaps, it is even mostly true when speaking about the settlements were nothing close to what we consider to
Talviakka, as some have begun to migrate from their Great be Elven cities to our mind. Here, rather than in the leafy
Ice Plains during the last century or so, making their canopy of trees, they were built far above the altitude those
way south to less hostile climes. They tend to limit their forests thrive. It was a different kind of living, but the few
presence to the northern reaches of the Iron Tooth, but Elves that made their home here were happy, living close to
there a reports of pilgrimages which reach as far south as their gods' thrones. Little if anything is known today about
the Glimmersmond, while a chosen few have even served the unique cultures of these curious settlements, bar the
as guardians of the Kinokke in the past. fact that they were among the first to be wiped out by wurm
This chapter aims to offer something in the way of fire during the Long Storm.
explanation for the Elven presence in those regions that During the following centuries Elves have upon occasion
hasn’t already been covered by the previous chapters. visited the mountains. They make the pilgrimage for the
Elves are a minority in today's Trudvang, with the simple reason that the peaks are the one place on Trudvang
vast majority of humanity living their lives without ever where they come nearest to the stars and their lost gods.
encountering a single one of the long-lived First Children. What is more surprising is that no larger community of
Even so, bear in mind that these few pages that follow stargazers has developed here in the years since, unlike the
only scratch the surface, and for every secret shared here, community of Gold Elves on the Fjaldgand Ridge.
there are dozens upon dozens of others that lie hidden still, However, occasional pilgrims, Elven hermits and the rare
including all manner of smaller Elven tribes that have made small community may sometimes make its way to either the
their homes away from the prying eyes of Humans. Great Iron Mountains or the Great Iron Tooth itself. Those
that make it this far are most commonly wandering Illmalaini
THE GREAT MOUNTAINS or, though the odd lone Talviakka from the north has been
sighted. The Korpikalli of the Darkwoods remain completely
Today there are no large Elven communities on the disinterested in the mountains and the lost homes. As far
greatest of the mountains of Trudvang, the Jarngand and as they are concerned the mountains are the dominion of
Jarnganskilen, to use their ancient names. Even so, the Dwarves, Giants and Trolls and should stay that way.
Great Iron Mountains and the Iron Tooth play a significant
role in many of the older Elven sagas, casting their shadow ENSIMMÄINENKOTI - THE FIRST
over the past just as they cast their imposing shadow over HOME OF THE TALVIAKKA
the landscape today. In the days after the Great Emptiness, the Talviakka headed
On the one hand, the mountains have always been the north, seeking a place of belonging in the world. The moved
realm of dreaded enemies of the Seeds of the Vanirs. Many from woodland to woodland, from valley to mountain, and

127
128
in the frigid peaks of the Great Iron Mountains, they heard If this is true, those wretched souls deserve nothing
a strange keening sound, like the land itself was lamenting but pity, as the song of suffering fills the halls of
the loss of the gods. They came to know this cry as "Kärsivä Ensimmäinenkoti still, amplified by the curious acoustics
Laulu", or the "Song of Suffering". They sought out the of the mountain, and never falls truly silent. Every time the
source, eventually discovering the mountain they came to wind finds its breath the lament is born again, filled with
call "Surua" for the haunting lament that tore through its pain and suffering, aching with the torment of Trudvang in
chambers as the cold north wind did blow. the absence of the gods. It is enough to drive an intruder out
Surua, riddled with a honeycomb of tunnels and of their minds.
passageways, was essentially hollow. The displaced Elves It was enough to convince the Talviakka that the mountain
welcomed the shelter of the mountain, intending to make was haunted and had them risk the elements on the ice
it their home in its depths for generations and establish a plains rather than remain.
settlement that would become their first true home since There is something else these intruders fear beyond
leaving their kin. the maddening echoes of Kielienkirous. Unknown to
It did not take long before the city under the mountain most people, there is still a tiny Talviakka population in
became known as "Ensimmäinenkoti", though it was Ensimmäinenkoti: their Uhriritari, These few warriors are
obvious even then it could never be their forever home, almost immune to the tear’s influence, having sacrificed
because the mountain separated them from the stars and parts of their bodies and souls to fulfil their duty, and
stood as barrier between them and the lost gods, but for a they still guard Kielienkirous now, as they have done for
time it served its greater purpose which was sanctuary. millennia.
Despite this, the Talviakka only dwelled within the
mountain for a few of seasons, before moving on. Talviakka MUINAINENPAYA – THE WORKSHOP
oral traditions would suggest that this period lasted between OF THE ANCIENT ONE
one and three centuries, but there is no definitive answer to Unbeknownst to most of the people of Trudvang, a small
this. During that time, they fully excavated vast sections of community of Elves does in fact live within the secluded
Ensimmäinenkoti, discovering a labyrinth of galleries and territories of the Great Iron Tooth’s peaks, so high and
network of caves that ran for miles, all of which fed from a so isolated from the world, most believe the only living
placid lake deep beneath the ground that was so wide the eye creatures here are the great eagles who have their nests
could not see the other side, and what, if anything was there hidden amid the cracks and crevices of the mountain.
waiting to be found. There is so much more of the mountain But that isn’t true. The Muinainen Elves are all Illmalaini,
they never delved. Even though it is centuries since the Elves trekked from Soj. Very few are born in this place, but rather
moved on, there are reminders of the Talviakka to be found chose to come here to be part of a legend. This place cannot
everywhere within the mountain, from carvings on the tunnel sustain a large tribe, but there is enough here to nurture the
walls to the constructions of their artisans and crafters that few who call it home.
made it habitable. All manner of relics remain, left behind in These Star Elves, living in such an unlikely place, where
the Talviakka’s haste to leave Ensimmäinenkoti. no trees grow, are keepers of a lost tradition.
The greatest of all relics is the Whispering Stone, The Illmalaini here practice an ancient art, the most
Kielienkirous, the First Tear of Wellithelli, brought by the precious secrets of which have long since been forgotten by
Talviakka in Ensimmäinenkoti. They hid the precious gem in the their brethren elsewhere, perhaps from as long ago as the
darkest depths of their First Home, hidden in a secret chamber, Age of Dreams: metalsmithing.
under miles and miles of hardstone and soil. But the power of These strange Illmalaini still gaze at the stars in the night
Kielienkirous was too great to be contained, as its dangerous skies, though they live in caves connected to tunnels where
whispers intertwined with the natural keening produced by the they trade for ores with the Dwarves. Not that they trade
winds, bringing madness and despair to all the inhabitants. with any Borjornikka – they buy only from a single clan with
As the White Smile in the Sky appeared, the Talviakka took whom they have sealed pacts that date all the way back to the
it as a sign that their First Home was doomed. After the Elves days of the great smith Raudansydä: the Glorovvska Glorka.
abandoned the place, Ensimmäinenkoti has remained empty, These Dwarves hold the secrets of their trade from
though there are stirrings deep within Surua now that suggest inhabitants of Trilheim, and refuse to recognize the current
creatures of dark descent have taken refuge in its dank Great Thune's authority. Rather, they choose to respect the
chambers and use the mountain as a base of operations for oath as ancient as the Age of the Iron Wurm, like those old
their raids into the territories of the Darkwoods and beyond. alliances between Dwarves and Star Elves.

129
 The Muinainen Elves forge blades whose quality is Sagas and songs heard in the inns of Redborg or Driik
unparalleled by the standards of contemporary Elven have almost certainly inspired more than a few daring souls
metallurgy. Their elders adhere to secrets first taught by to venture up into the Trollridge Mountains in search of the
the Great Muinainen, the Ancient One, to their ancestors. ancient treasures of the Elves, rumoured to have been hidden
This legendary metalsmith is claimed to be immortal, and somewhere there, so long ago, as the Elves sought to protect
still alive today, living as a hermit somewhere on the highest it from the logiwurms' claws. Adventurers who strike out in
peaks, though no Illmalaini has seen him for millennia. His search of these lost relics very rarely return, their lives are
identity is contentious. Some swear he is none other but the taken by trolls and wargs, and those who do are changed
mythic Raudansydä, the creator of the Nine Blades which forever. Yet the same songs keep on being sung all along the
brought mayhem on the logiwurms during the Long Storm. coasts, inspiring more to risk their lives in pursuit of fools gold.
Others believe the smith to be an immortal veteran of the While Elves today are not as numerous as they once were
Old Alliance who was once a great slayer of the jarnwurms. within the Stormlands, with many Humans living their
The Muinainen Elves dream still of such masterworks he entire lives without encountering them, Stormlanders are
may even now be crafting in his lost hermitage, helped by aware that some Korpikalli tribes hunt their forests, though
some of the most skillful artisans from the Dwarven nation. they avoid them at all costs, knowing how dangerous the
However, such is their reverence of for the Ancient One they Dark Elves can be. Trading is not unheard of, though conflict
have vowed never to disturb his work, and stand guard still, and ambush are far more common occurrences.
ready to kill anyone who would commit such an impious act. There are very few instances of half-Elves in Östheim,
and all of them are Barkbrules, more often the product
THE STORMLANDS of violence than love, while Dyfirs are virtually unknown.
In fact, it is generally assumed that no other Elven breed
Even today Elves insist upon calling the Stormlands by besides the Korpikalli is present in the Stormlands.
their ancient name, "Östheim", and recall how mighty A truth that few if any know is that a few isolated
forests once covered the entire region. This was long before Illmalaini may sometimes wander these lands, and do so
Wildbrons, Kremors and Broths conquered the lands, and with the intention of preserving the few ancient Elven sites
predates even the time when the mighty Wildheart was hidden here. These Star Elves avoid all contact with others,
tainted by its dark curse. be it their distant kin, Humans or Dwarves. They adhere
In the Age of Dreams mighty Elven cities were scattered faithfully to their own traditions, and live only to preserve
throughout this land, the greatest of which was Parshakajlo, those the few remains of Elven heritage that still cling
the "Star in the East", which flourished where today's stubbornly to these lands.
Fynnheim has its foundations. This was a legendary time,
when the mighty trees of the Bjarnwoods reached the banks THE COPPERWOODS
of all the many rivers crossing this land. The most important Elven community in the Stormlands
Dragon fire destroyed all this so long ago. lies in the heart of the Ejdland peninsula, in the area known
Today's Stormlanders have no inkling of the many as the Copperwoods - the largest tract of land in southern
tragedies and epic deeds that were witnessed by the soil Trudvang, excluding Soj, where the beautiful Copper
they stand on. Oaks flourish. The prehistoric life of this forest is virtually
Parshakajlo is reputed to have been the most prosperous unknown, although Elven storytellers still spin tales of how
of the Elven realms of old, and it is not unreasonable the first Copper Oak was planted in Wildheart, before its
to suspect that many abandoned Elven ruins lie still corruption. The Copperwoods are reputed to be Wildheart's
somewhere beneath Fynnheim, most likely submerged by spawn and were still part of it during the Age of Dreams but
landside and the sucking mud of the rivers, or simply built today preserve the beauty and harmonious atmosphere the
over by the settlements of the Broths who came from across dark forest lost so long ago. Nobody knows who – or what -
the Grim Sea all those years later. divided the two forests, although logiwurm's fire during the
But the immortal Elves of old did not contain themselves Falekala would be the most likely cause.
to dwelling within in Fynnheim. Consider, for instance, a The fierce Korpikalli have lived inside the boundaries
small forest, like the cursed Great Shadow Woods in Dain, of the Copperwoords since the schism and the sundering
which became one of the most dangerous places in the land of the lineages, and claim to rule everything between the
with so many Elven heroes falling there to wurm fire during Grimhills on the north and the Tinder River to the south.
the Age of Dreams. They find themselves in constant conflict with the Wildbrons

130
in a war that will never end. The Wildbrons colonized the avoid them, limiting their incursions into the region to the
forest borders during the late Age of the Jarnwurm and border of the Frosholt Forest.
refuse to be driven out of their homes in return. With both A Korpikalli community has thrived here, in the centre
communities relying upon hunting the same woodlands for of these woodlands, developing their own foundation myth
survival, and no hope of reconciliation, violence is the only that explains the origin of these legendary trees.
answer either of them know. They claim to be descended from exiles of the mythic Norim
The Elves rule most of the wildwood, though some lineage, coming from the far North, whose immortal blood
Human villages have managed to flourish, sometimes has been diluted amongst the Korpikalli clans and tribes
surprisingly deep into the woodland. after so many millennia living amongst them. According to
These settlements may sometimes survive for a decade their legends, their Norim ancestors took the first seeds of
or two before the Korpikalli's wrath is unleashed upon them the Frozen Oaks from somewhere up on the Great Ice Plains
and they are scoured from the landscape. Such violence and brought them here where they might flourish. Truth or
only serves to trigger the WIldbrons' fury in retaliation, and lie, it is hard to know, though many do not believe the story
thus the infinite cycle of vengeance and retaliation thrives to be anything more than a fanciful tale, even if the Korpikalli
in blood and bone. here are indeed somehow different from their relatives in the
This never-ending conflict has been going on for millennia, Copperwoords and the Darkwoods. They are by nature less
with one notable exception: in the 562nd Elven season of aggressive and value knowledge and wisdom much more
the Age of Prophets (or Year 140 according to historians than their warlike kin. Curiously, they tend to not to harbour
in Majnjord) Korpikalli and Wildbrons united in the "Old aggressions towards the Nojdans, and would rather avoid
Elven Pact" to stand united against a horde of giants that them than come into conflict.
descended from the Trollridge Mountains. Nowadays, so
long after that one moment of alliance, Wildbrons and Dark ILLIMARIK
Elves remain locked in a war without end. Of course, one The tallest peak of the inaccessible Icepeak Mountain
day it will end, when the last breath is taken. Range is famous for an Elven legend.
The Copperwoods Korpikalli are infamous for their The sagas say that it was here, on the Illimarik, that
treacherous ways. They are as dangerous as any beings in the Elves planted a ring of Alfark trees, whose beauty is
the world. They have planted large, thorn-pricked bushes unmatched anywhere in Trudvang save for Soj. The trees
and nurture poisonous thickets as they seek to prevent grew strong and healthy, even if they were in one of the
Wildbrons and other Humans from gaining access to the bitterest landscapes of the continent, battling permafrost
most sacred parts of the Copperwoods, and practice the art and snow storms to flourish. A throne, crafted in the purest
of the ambush with an almost supernatural skill. There is silver, was positioned by the immortal Elves of old, or so it
a saying amongst those who would walk these woods: you has even been whispered, by the Vanirs themselves, at the
never see them, until it is too late. center of the ring.
Those who were allowed to sit upon it could benefit from
Frostholt Forest a vision of the starry skies, unlike any other in Trudvang.
Elves seem to disdain the rivers and swamps of Nojd, which And so it was said that it was possible from that seat to
are mostly inhabited by wild Stormlanders descended from speak with the lost gods themselves, or at least see their
the sons of Broin. The Seeds of the Vanirs wisely avoid countenances as drawn by the passing comets.
the Ravenwoods and Wargwoods, but it is rumoured some Vast knowledge and power were shared with the chosen
live at the feet of the Trollridge, in the Frostholt, the most one who sat upon the throne.
beautiful of Nojdan forests. The birds were said to visit the throne each day, listening to
The leaves of the trees here have a silvery hue and the voice of that Elf, only to fly away to every distant corner of
trunks are white, lending them a frozen appearance. Trudvang to spread the wisdom they heard at his feet.
These trees have been labelled "Frozen Oaks" for the Today, no one knows where the throne of the Illimarik
lack of any proper word to describe them, though in truth lies, and too many explorers, both Human and Elf, have died
they are not real oaks. They resemble the deciduous trees trying to find it among the treacherous Icepeak Mountains.
but, oddly enough, they do not shed their leaves during Nevertheless, Elven storytellers tell the old story,
even the harshest winter. Nojdans consider these white encouraging those who would search to look, as they believe
woodlands sacred to the memory of Broin's mother, one of the throne is one of the few remnants of the lost kingdom of
their most revered ancestors, and consciously choose to Parshakajlo, and worthy of being found.

131
YHMA - THE ETERNAL SPRING Illmalaini who tend to Yhma set aside their differences,
Ymha, the Eternal Spring is a vitner wellspring and one of allowing them to drink and complete the rituals, even
the great holy places for the Elves. There are only a few of though their ideologies are opposed. Some rites are more
its like in all the lands, including Vesikärpäset, the Burning important than ancient grudges.
Spring, out on the ice plains that are home to the Talviakka, The lake also home to a very rare fish, the golden char,
and Mustakevät in the dominion of the Korpikalli in the whose scales are believed to cure most diseases.
Darkwoods, and the lost Tahatonvetsi in the Dragon Forest. The Illmalaini do not fish for the golden char as the fish
This sacred site is protected by a very small community of is so strongly associated with this place it is considered a
Illmalaini, one of the very few remaining in the Stormlands. sacred animal.
Their presence here is hidden from both Humans and
Dwarves, as they seek to keep the location of the precious KINOKKE - THE CHESTNUT GROVE
Yhma secret from those who are unworthy. In the Trollridge Mountains, on the outskirts of the
The pilgrimage to the vitner waterfall takes days and is battlefields of Falekala, where the great burning razed
an arduous trek through the Icepeak Mountains, some of so many of the ancient trees and left nothing but ash and
the most inhospitable country of the Stormlands, but to lay devastation in the wake of the great Dragons, there is
eyes upon the majesty of Yhma is worth every minute of that a grove within the heart of what is the dead wood that is
travail. Approached from below, Yhma is a huge waterfall unknown to the vast majority of Trudvang, but the Elves
that towers more than one hundred times the height of even remember it through their songs and stories.
the tallest of the Illmalaini who hold it sacred. The crash of There is a circle of trees that grows within this grove that
the water can be heard from miles away, carrying through is unlike any other tree on all of Trudvang. These trees are
the deep woods of Östheim, but for so many that sound is called "Star Chestnuts".
nothing more than a ghost. It is always there, tantalizingly All three Elven lineages have sworn to protect this sacred
close, and yet so very far away as it seems as though every grove, though it is not the trees themselves they protect but
track and trail lead away from it. It is almost as though the rather their fruits; the chestnuts that grow on them.
ancient woods choose to keep the secrets of Yhma… They call this grove "Kinokke".
And with good reason, for if it became well-known then There are eleven trees forming the grove, and even when
surely it would be plundered and ruined like so much else the nuts are taken to seed other soil, the Star Chestnuts
of the natural beauty that is Trudvang, with these short lived refuse to grow. There is something about the ground in this
Humans polluting creation with their avarice and appetites, place that is particularly nutritious for these strange fruits.
changing the land beyond recognition as they build their The Elves gather in Kinokke to “sacrifice” themselves
homes of wood and their cities of stone. in order to partake of the fruit of the Star Chestnuts. That
But for those who know the way, the waterfall is a haven sacrifice involves spilling their own blood. It is believed that
within the stillness of the forests; a place of solitude and it is only with a drop of Elf blood that the star shell can be
stillness, where to drink the waters is to drink harmony and pried open and the fruit of its heart reached.
peace and become one with the world. The fruit of the Star Chestnut is imbued with healing
Below the torrent of the high waterfall lies a lake that properties and is thought to prolong life.
has a number of huge stones scattered across its bottom. The rarest of fruits, the Star Chestnut blooms only once
According to legend, the Yhma was formed from the tears of every century.
the Vanir, Mojnavakka. So the story goes, Mojnavakka cried When this happens, Elves from all the lineages make
so much when she saw the beauty that was the creation of their pilgrimages to Kinokke.
Trudvang that her tears pooled together until they formed a However, so precious are the Star Chestnuts that the
vast subterranean lake which today serves as the source of sacred grove is never left unguarded, even when there are
the great waterfall. countless seasons before the next harvest. In the past, a
The Elves who dwell within the forests of the Stormlands small group of Elves drawn from each of the three Elven
visit Ymha once a year to fill themselves with peace, kin would guard the grove day and night. It was considered
drinking a single cup of the vitner-infused water of the one of the most honorable duties that could be bestowed
lake, which they call "Korjaavat", or the water of life, for upon a young Elf. Today the Kinokke Watch is a duty shared
its restorative powers. Whilst some of the pilgrims today between Illmalaini, Korpikalli and Talviakka, though they
are lone Illmalaini who wander from other regions, most do so alone rather than together, with the duty is passed
of those who sup from Korjaavat now are Korpikalli. The from one lineage’s Watch to the next with the consumption

132
of the last fruit. So scared and profound is the fruit that of the Sisterskimmer Korpikalli is woven into the mystery
even the distant Talviakka send their warden from the north of the forest itself. A wildwood of ghosts, Trolls, Vidrjotuns…
when the time is right with no question or argument. It is and a dragon.
an ancient and oathbound duty. Today, the Korpikalli guard
the grove, though the harvest time is due to occur any time WILDHEART
soon, leaving the Star Elves to take their turn on the Watch. Elves know very well just how dangerous the wooden heart
It is among one of the greatest fears of the Illmalaini of Ejdland can be, as their oldest songs weave around
that, when it is next their turn to stand guard, the fruit will the legends of a Vanir who created Wildheart during the
be rotten and that sickness within the Star Chestnuts will Timaal, and how dragon blood changed it during the Long
herald the beginning of a new Dark Age… Storm.
Elven bards tell of how the spirit of Wildheart, the one
SISTERSKIMMER FOREST who chooses to appear as either an old man or as a hart, is
Djunghart is a land where Elves would usually unwelcome nothing but a fallen Vanir, or rather the corrupted echo of its
given that its inhabitants are both violent and superstitious spirit that lingers still in the forest, as his true, pure soul left
and harbour a hatred for the Seeds of the Vanirs. Trudvang with his brothers and sisters during the last days
That hatred is deep-rooted. The natives here hate anything of the Long Storm.
even remotely connected with vitner weaving, and revile its The north-eastern part of Wildheart, beyond the Blacktear
practitioners. Curiously enough, Elves have avoided this River, should in theory be more distant from the dark spirit's
southwestern part of Östheim as far back as the Age of influence, but that matters not to the Elves who avoid it just
Dreams for fear of another ancient civilisation reputed to as keenly, and not merely because it is Troll-infested. They
thrive here. There are stories of the legendary Fjol trolls, cannot abide the taint of the nearby darkness.
kinder and gentler than their modern kin, and the incredible In the time of the Old Alliance, early in the Age of the
cities they are said to have built here. But like so much, time Iron Wurm, Queen Valki dispatched an army of Illmalaini to
has destroyed them. The curiosity remains, though. aid Grunkovorda in the war against the Jarnwurms and the
If the Elves were truly absent during the entire Age of Bastjurs. Most of these Elves died side-by-side with their
Dreams, something must have happened to change that, Dwarven allies, but a score of them managed to flee the
as, during the Age of the Queen a Korpikalli tribe settled Trollridge Mountains. They ended-up in Wildheart, unable
within the Sisterskimmer Forest. Djughartians murmur to exit the cursed forest.
still about these mysterious Dark Elves who hide within the Time in this place flows differently from the rest of the
forest, but no Humans have set eyes upon these Korpikalli world and, while almost fifteen millennia have passed in
during the last century and more. The Humans here remain the rest of Trudvang, only a couple of centuries have passed
skittish, jumping and shadows and spinning cautionary for them. Unexpectedly the grandsons of those Illmalaini
tales about the shadow creatures who haunt the forests. warriors have prospered, slowly adapting themselves to the
They live beneath the pall of dread, fearing what the unseen life in the cursed forest. They have started to call themselves
Dark Elves are scheming towards in the depths of the "Vanhalaika” and consider themselves a separated tribe,
Sisterskimmer. Despite the fact none have seen them, their unbound from their brethren. They know places and secrets,
presence is enough for the Djughartians to avoid the forest. and they have lost any interest in leaving Wildheart. Rather,
It does not matter that no one can remember the last time the Vanhalaika have accepted their presence here as part
one of their kin fell victim of a Korpikalli attack. of the trials and tribulations their lost gods set to test them.
Strangely, perhaps there is strong evidence that Humans These lost Illmalaini have accumulated vast knowledge
have suffered and died from the violence of King Trolls of Wildheart's secrets and have identified some score
and Ogres in the Sisterskimmer, but those deaths are not sites where the trees are sparser and skies more visible.
the talk of midnight campfires. Those tales are the sole What skies they see from these groves is another matter
provenance of the unseen Elves. altogether, as each site offers a different view of the stars,
It is not like the Copperwoods, where Dark Elves with some of them reflecting them as they were during the
slaughter trespassers, it is not unreasonable to think that Age of Dreams, while others offer an unobstructed view of
Korpikalli have abandoned the Sisterskimmer. today's constellations, and others again are totally alien,
But, if they have not, and dwell here still then surely they lacking a single recognizable star in all of the heavens.
are protecting some deep ancestral secret they cannot risk The dark souls of Wildheart have no love for the
being discovered in the forest. For that reason the mystery Vanhalaika and on occasion will have some fun at their

133
expense. It isn’t unheard of for one of the tribe to become these wild beasts, harnessing them with saddle and bridle
lost. A few have even ended up so turned around they in the later days of the Age of the Iron Wurm.
stagger out of the forest, but the world they see is not what The old Elven friends were gone. Now, the Hanirs, the
their ancestors foretold. They feel different even from their first Human nomads and horse-tamers, rode these lands as
Illmalaini brethren, belonging to a time-lost culture. The rulers.
Vanhalaika still speak Forneika, the musical language the It took no time at all before the Elven glory in Mittland
Elves used when talking with the Vanirs, and have little to was lost, never to return.
no understanding of the phrases and quirks of the most As the Darkwoods are no true part of Mittland, the wild
recent Eika. Korpikalli are not considered part of the life in Mittland, and
The Vanhalaika know that Wildheart has been trying very few Elves make any sort of life here today. Many would
to divide them since the beginning, and they claim that argue they have no presence here and hasn’t been since
somewhere in the forest there remains even now a group some of the minor clans inhabited territories like the forests
of the original Illmalaini warriors dispatched by Queen of the Gildamor or the Reijdun in Runewiik, and the Valarook
Valki, trapped in a place where time runs even slower. The in Majnjord, at least for a time. There is no significant Elven
Vanhalaika would like to find them, to learn more about community in any of these wildwoods today.
their origins, though they fear the dark spirit of the forest The presence of Trolls and other monstrous kin is
will never allow them to do so. frequently cited as a major factor behind the diminished
Elven presence, however, there are several forests, like
MITTLAND the Meawar, the Whootdalir and the Hornwife, that are
known to be sacred or cursed (or in some instances, both)
During the earliest seasons of the Age of Dreams countless by a number of spirits, gods and demons. The Seeds of
smaller primeval forests were scattered across the lands to the Vanirs, seek to avoid offending any supernatural entity
the east and west of the Great Iron Tooth. The majority of these during their secret migrations, and thus, if they ever set
were seeded and shaped by the Vanirs in those glorious days foot in those woodlands, it is only along the fringes rather
and lacked any real separation from the northern Darkwoods than plunging deep into the heartwood, and never for long.
and into the northlands beyond, or from the Dragon Forest Though long is a relative term when we consider these
which was rooted to the south-east. What was created from long-lived inhabitants of Trudvang. It could as easily be a
out of these forests came to be called "Tusillevalta" or the century as a season.
"Twelve Stellar Leaf-ship", which appeared to be a never- Yes, the Elven presence is rare in Mittland today, but that
ending deciduous forest that homed many of the 900 cities does not mean the past has become invisible. Signs of ancient
the Elves built in honour of the Vanirs. Elven civilisations can be seen by those who know where to
The verdant plains which today dominate the Mittlander look for them, perhaps buried beneath the feet of the Iron
landscape were little more than a few lush corridors that Tooth, or drowned in a fast-flowing river, or hidden within the
ran between the boundaries of these forests. surviving scraps of those ancient forests, and any number of
These grasslands were the dominion of herds of wild other places, waiting to be discovered. There are a number
horses. The Elves treated the animals with respect, as they of sacred sites that remain shrouded in mystery, including
would any friend or ally, and never as some mere beast of the four monoliths that surround the spring of Brundhagg in
burden. Old Elven stories speak of fabled horse bloodlines Fylges, which are reputed to pre-date the arrival of the first
roaming the lands, like the majestic Urrikaani which met Humans in Mittland, having stood since before the Age of the
and aided the Talviakka in their migration northwards. Iron Wurm. Mittlanders consider the huge standing stones
But time is hard on living things. Almost all of these holy, and even today use these sites for certain ceremonies,
forested lands were wiped out by wurm fire and dark rites, cult practices and even as meeting places, while
vitner, as were most of the massive wildwoods. However somehow ignoring or ignorant of the importance of such
impressive they may appear to our eyes, the Valkarook, the places held for the Elves of old during the Age of Dreams and
Meawar and the Dragon Forest are nothing more than pale those millennia so far gone our minds cannot hope to grasp
shadows of what was lost. with the passage of time and our part within it.
As the forests receded, the plains grew, and Elven Even without an abiding Elven presence in Mittland
presence here dwindled until the horses became the today, Elven culture has been undeniably influential in the
undisputed masters of the region for a few millennia, but shaping of the Mittlanders' traditional beliefs. Ealdfolks,
even that time couldn’t last, and man sought mastery of descended from the Thronelanders of old who came from

134
the west, carrying with them so much of the knowledge grows on this soured ground now, since the scourge of
their ancestors had learned from the Seeds of the Vanirs. wurm fire razed the forest and the Elven city more than
Some scholars even dare suggesting that Whote was not fifteen millennia ago.
more than a Vanir, and they cling to some of the same lost There are local myths pertaining to forgotten Elven
gods as the Illmalaini, with the same hopeless dedication. tunnels beneath Angorboda's ground. Of course, with
Whilst this may or may not be true, what is true today is that all such stories, they spin wildly out of control and now
most of the Eald Tradition has been formed by beliefs and tantalize the listener with the promise of powerful artefacts
practices which owe nothing to the Elves. from the Age of Dreams lost down there, so of course many
come here in search of wealth or power, lured in by the
MAJNJORD tales. Those who leave may claim some joy, barely masking
There is a place in Mittland where the Elven heritage their frustration, and truthfully no Human or Dwarf has
can be clearly seen, even if only indirectly: Majnjord. The ever confirmed a single find.
ancient, long-living Kulhjan bloodline, whose ancestors it is Elves avoid the city, as they usually do with Human
said took immortal Elven brides in Throneland, flourished settlements, but a few Korpikalli are known to keep a beady
as the Kings of Majnjord. During the Age of the Prophets eye on Angorboda, watching for trouble and listening to
the second of the Ealdfolks' kings, Malw Malhewens, took conversations around campfires merchant campfires. They
as his bride Korillasja, the most beautiful Elf in all of Soj, do not make their presence known, preferring to operate
and Perkaloka, the traditional crown still worn by the Kings from the shadow margins. So, perhaps there is some truth
of Majnjord today, was the wedding gift offered to him by to the tall tales and there is something of worth beneath
the queen of Valtoris. Angorboda waiting to be found? Regardless, the Korpikalli
Today, anything resembling Elven blood in the veins here, hold to the old ways and fiercely hate any who come
of the Kulhjan kings is so diluted as to be washed away looking to loot their ancient sites. Word of Angorboda and
completely leaving nothing remarkable about these men, what lies beneath have passed from Elf to Elf, all around
but that matters little to kings. Ellikka, the region of the Darkwoods which spreads north
The kings of Majnjord have been traditional allies of the of the city.
Illmalaini Elves in Soj, and over the years have exchanged It is protected.
several emissaries, deep knowledge and rare gifts, without The watch might have begun almost two centuries ago,
ever meddling in each other's daily existence, even during but with time more and more Korpikalli have migrated
times of great trouble and conflict. Take, for example, the here, settling on the thin strip of woods marking the eastern
Battle of the Five Spears in 1146 of the Age of the Stars. reaches of Dark Mundor, claiming it to be a minor spur of the
It was the savage Korpikalli Elves of the Darkwoods who Darkwoods. These Elves have taken to calling themselves
allied themselves temporarily to Majnjord, not the Illmalaini the "Mundor Korpikalli" in part to mock Humans, in part to
of the southern archipelago. The reason? It isn’t because hide the forbidden, ancient name of the lost city.
Majnjord and Soj are separated by thousands of miles, but They hide, they spy upon Humans and Dwarf alike, and,
rather, down to the fact that the Elven monarchs of Soj lack upon occasion, cut throats. They do what they must to
the power over a real, unified kingdom, and are unable to keep the secrets of Angorboda. They will give their lives
coordinate with allies or raise armies. to ensure the powerful relics of this place do not fall into
wrong hands. But should such a thing ever occur, the wrath
ANGORBODA AND DARK MUNDOR of the Dark Elves promises to be brutal.
Nothing of Elven influence can be seen reflected in the Iron
City of Majnjord today. SWHANEVITI - THE SWANWHITE
It is a place renowned for its metalsmiths and strong LAKE
iron trade along the terrain along the eastern slopes of the At the base of the Great Iron Tooth, in north-western
Great Iron Tooth. The region is known colloquially as "Dark Majnjord, lies a beautiful lake. It is from here the mighty
Mundor". Ravelsford river stems, its course acting as a border
Angorboda is inhabited by Humans and plays host to between Runewiik and the mightiest realm of the Ealdfolk.
the occasional Dwarven immigrants, but what is of more Mittlanders call this lake the "Swanwhite" which is all well
import is that its foundations have been dug into the same and good, but many of the older sagas still sung across
ground where a mighty Elven city once stood, woven into Trudvang refer to it by an older name, given by the Elves,
the dizzyingly high treetops. There is nary even a tree that "Swhaneviti" or the "Many Swans Lake".

135
 Old songs tell of a prosperous Elven community which Here the Seeds of the Vanirs built all manner of cities
thrived here during the Age of Dreams. within the canopy of treetops during the Age of Dreams, but
According to both Human and Dwarven sagas, the the most important by far was the fabled city of "Utakimaljo"
Swhaneviti Elves have long since died out, or migrated, or "Moonshine".
joining with other tribes, but whatever arcane arts they Elven sagas tell of a stargate here, not unlike the one in
used upon the nature within this area still lingers on, as Valkalainen, though perhaps smaller in size. But if it ever
evidenced by the lush fertility of the lake' shores. was here, no one knows where it is now. The centre of the
Here it is possible to find many species of wild, rare herbs city was a sparkling spring from which an impossibly huge
with healing and rejuvenating gifts that are unparalleled in willow tree grew. Its roots were so large they acted as bridges
Mittland. over the water, and its branches were so long the Elves used
The most famous and powerful of these herbs is the them as passageways between the main quarters of their
"Silver Star" which is believed to grow near the lake, though city. Every month the full moon sparkled on the spring and
not every year, only during auspicious ones, and even then all of Utakimajlo would erupt in a glittering shine, dazzling
only in hidden places. to every eye that could see.
Hunters and trappers speak of occasional Elf sightings Once, this city was ruled by the legendary Valkohana, the
here, Korpikalli from the north or Illmalaini from the south, White Beauty, as her name translates into our tongue, an
but the Humans of the territory do not consider them to be immortal and eternally youthful Elven queen, and niece of
more than wanderers or pilgrims returned to the lake to Wellithelli.
remember how it was during the Age of Dreams. They do The fire of the Logiwurms during the Long Storm
not settle. devastated this dreaming realm. These treetop cities
Or such is the misconception. The truth, unknown to were the target of the dreaded Illjjnaika albino wurms.
most, is that there is a small community of Illmalaini The stories that survive promise that Queen Valkohana
who live on these lake shores. They are descended from transformed herself into a golden-white berry on a willow-
the ancient inhabitants of the territory who woven their branch to escape the Long Storm and the tremendous
vitner here so well, nurturing the land all those seasons suffering inflicted upon Tusillevalta. That branch hung so
gone. Today they hide within the forests growing all high that no dragon could reach it from the ground and the
around the lake, and refuse contact with humanity for mesh and tangle of other branches made it impossible for
fear of being corrupted by it. They wander between the them to reach down for it from the air. It is a good story, if
southernmost borders of Isojvire, which is the nearest nothing else.
part of the Darkwoods, and the northern border of the Humans and Dwarves have no conception of what truly
Whootdalir, which as the home of the Flowras, is holy to happened here, as Elven bards have no liking for sharing
the Ealdfolk. tales of their tragedies.
These Illmalaini never travel deep into either place, It would seem that the northern reaches of Tusillevalta
preferring solitude, and remain ever vigilant as they travel were the first to fall to dragon fire, but as the refugees
north, fearing the warlike Korpikalli that make their homes swarmed southwards, desperate, they were trapped and
there. killed by other wurms that lay in wait, hungry for the
The Swhaneviti Elves are content to remain on the lake slaughter. This is why even today Elves avoid the Dragon
shores, where they harvest rare herbs and nourish beautiful Forest if they can, and refuse to so much as breathe the old
flowers as they contemplate the waters that mirror the name of Tusillevalta, calling it instead, "Lothlinke" or the
night sky. "Dragons' Den" with no little scorn.
These Illmalaini are the last keepers of ancient herbalist This forest has borne witness to countless other tragedies
traditions long since forgotten, even in Soj. and myriad other mysteries since the Elves abandoned it,
and had earned every superstitious story of monsters and
THE DRAGON FOREST - dreaded spirits ascribed to its dark heart. It is haunted by
UTAKIMALJO things far worse than mere ghosts.
The dreaded Dragon Forest is the last remnant of the None know if the Dragon Forest harbours the remains
mighty "Tusillevalta" or the "Twelve Stellar Leaf-ship". of the ancient Elven civilization that once called it home,
That great forest consisted mostly enormous deciduous and the Elves themselves are none too keen to recover their
trees, lush meadows and magnificent glades that were heritage if the whispers are true.
hidden by dense tangles of undergrowth.

136
TAHATONVESI - THE HEALING incredible heroism of the Elves who stood in the path of
WELLSPRING his black fire.
One of the great vitner wellsprings, Tahatonvesi lies within The ancient woodlands of what has become known as
the Dragon Forest, north of Sylvan. With a powerful river the Dragon Forest were razed as the great dragon soared
running through the heart of the ancient wildwood, the and swept low. The trees blackened and burned, the ground
echo of the Long Storm is still felt within the land here black with ash.
in the form of Tahatonvesi. During a bloody battle raged Elven warriors and vitner weavers beyond
here, where Nifelfang, one of the most powerful creatures count died that day in the cataclysmic firestorm, but in their
ever to fly the skies of Trudvang, fell, brought down by the dying breathes summoned forth the vitner lying deep within

137
the land, unleashing it upon the raging dragon with such ghost-infested battlefield, rooted in the exact spot where
force the land ruptured beneath the drawing, with the land Aniota and Salviperka died. Today, four centuries after
itself torn apart so that the vitner might stream forth to feed the battle, the majestic willow still lives, a landmark for
their fight. all the wandering Elves, not merely Korpikalli breed, and
Chief amongst the Elves in that fateful conflict was testament to an age of heroes. Many make pilgrimages here
Inkataika, who shrouded himself in a shield of vitner even in homage to those who have been lost.
as the flames scorched the earth, and drew deeper on the
stuff of creation to unleash a flood of vitner that suffused WESTMARK
the land, weaving it into every root and sapling that they
might find the strength to survive and eventually flourish, During the Age of Dreams Elves built mighty cities in the
fighting off the choking ash so that the great forest might western parts of Trudvang just as they did in what today
once more live again, even if they were no longer alive to see is Mittland and areas of the Stormlands. A prime example
it and walk its wooded paths. His sacrifice was not in vain, would be Perlenne, which once stood on the foundations
though in giving his life as a conduit for the vitner to flow, of Silverport, one of the most important harbours of the
his death meant the wellspring remained open and the pure west.
vitner flooded endlessly into the soil of wildwood. A mighty, millennia-old Elf-tree, one of the few growing
Thus Tahatonvesi was born. outside Soj, stands even now in the middle of the Sirostadt
Even now, all these centuries removed from the Long Nidhist monastery. It is the last remaining echo of the Elven
Storm, the wellspring lies open, the vitner spilling into the civilisation that had flourished here.
land, healing the wounds of that distant war, and the ailments Cities like Perlenne were numerous, but their histories
of those who bathe in the waters of Tahatonvesi. are less well-known than those suffered by the eastern and
Tahatonvesi sits within a shrine in the deep woods, calling southern Elves. The truth is that vast forests were destroyed
out to those who shape the vitner. It is a part of one of the here, just as they were elsewhere, the landscape ravaged by
richest ecologies in Trudvang with some three thousand wurm fire and dark vitner. The difference, however, lies in
and more species taking refuge under the leafy boughs of the few small Elven communities that still dwell within the
the Dragon Forest. The wellspring itself lies within the cage remaining woodlands of Westmark.
of bones that had once been the great dragon, bubbling up Since the Age of the Queen Elves have witnessed the
slower now than in days past, but with the vitner seeping rise of the peaceful "Viranikka", as they once named the
into those ancient bones they will never crumble, but rather Viranns, and utilized their peaceful relationships, trading
stand always as a reminder of the horrors of that Long with them and allying against the threat of the Trollkin.
Storm. Elven influence has always been important in the
development of early Virann civilisation, however, it is a sad
THE PLAINS OF BOHAIN truth that this relationship deteriorated as the Tenets of Nid
Runewiik was the site of a battle like no other, where the flourished, developing a hatred for vitner weaving. Elves, as
furious hordes of Cloakmaster, Trolls, Giants and Wildfolk, masters of vitner arts, came to be seen in a darker aspect
were stopped by a coalition of Humans, Dwarves and Elves by the followers of Gave, and today Viranns and Elves tend
in the Battle of the Five Spears, in the year 1146 of the Age to avoid each other.
of Stars. Elven culture and legends have always been important
Korpikalli Elves, usually hostile to both Humans and for Thronelanders, and remain meaningful today. Hutiger
Dwarves, put aside their animosity and came here from Bearsoul and his eight companions, the founders of
the northern forests, led by the legendary Aniota Starborn Throneland during the Age of the Queen, all married
and his beloved lover, Salviperka, to defend the future of immortal Elven brides. For this reason the Thronelander
Trudvang and in doing so ignore whatever ill-deeds and Kings of antiquity and their noble heroes lived far beyond
misgivings they had suffered in the past from their unlikely the mortal span of Humans, still a vital force through
allies. On the plains of Bohain Korpikalli fought and died centuries. The undying Elven queen Savilloha married
side by side with Ealdfolks, Thronelanders, Viranns and two different kings in two different ages, giving the gift of
Trilheim's Dwarves. They fought, died and won like all the long life to two different royal lineages: the Whotgall and
others, in order to spare their children the Cloakmaster's the Kuhljan, which in turn came to pass the gift to the
cruelty. monarchs of Majnjord.
A golden willow was later planted by the Elves on this With the thinning of that immortal blood through the

138
endless millennia, the lifespans of Thronelander kings have races can be. However, again, this is not the isolationism
shortened considerably today, even so it rare that one of of the Korpikalli. The Bilefield Elves are not above trading
them does not see 100 summers, making them long-lived with strangers, and will even stand in alliance with them
amongst their own kind. against common threats. One legend tells of how the
The Elven heritage has somehow been preserved, even legendary Sangd Ribland, the founder of Silvtronder's
if mixed and diluted with other influences. The language knightly traditions during the last days of the Age of the
spoken by Thronelanders today is riddled with words that Queen, visited the Bilefield Elves to learn all he could of the
have the etymological roots in Elven-derived words, for ancient art of dragon-slaying.
instance. Even their ritual of burying their dead into trees Bilefield's southern reaches are part of an ordinary
and closing the holes with Gryphon bronze shields derives forest, rich in game and fruits, and all things considered
from Elven customs. unnaturally empty of trolllkin, though why is a matter of
During their early expansions throughout the Age of conjecture. There are a number of wandering Vidrjotuns
Queen Thronelanders sought old Elven sites to re-establish here, who are usually friendly with both Elves and Humans.
their own colonies on the abandoned sites, including Elbir The northern reaches of Bilefield are different. Game
in Silvtronder amongst others. This might have preserved is rarer. Trees tower over the land, reaching incredible
more, but it wasn’t to be. Even that wave of restoration heights, and branches are weighed down by pinecones that
and revival in terms of Elven lore is essentially lost today. are as large and heavy as a human head. The bark of these
Viranns inhabit these sites now, while Thronelanders trees has turned an unnatural shade of black. No giant lives
confine themselves mostly to their mountain highlands, here, and in truth, given a choice, the Elves avoid it, too.
and the men of Westmark view Elves with suspicion and Travellers are wise to stay well away, though those who have
distrust. travelled these tracks talk of how it is plagued by the deadly
There are many small forests throughout Westmark, "Curse of Rudold".
including places like Osnawold in Carlonn and the Leafen The remains of several lost temples and other ruins can
in Bysent, but as with the forests of Mittland, there are no be found within Bilefield, many dedicated to long-forgotten
real Elven communities thriving within their boundaries deities, the names of which have never graced a Human
today. tongue. The Illmalaini Elves refuse to reveal whatever they
know about these strange ruins.
BILEFIELD FOREST
This forest lies between Silvtronder and Fjaal, on the FJALDGAND RIDGE
western skirts of the Fjalgand Ridge. On the North-eastern border of Silvtronder, the Fjaldgand
It has been inhabited by a small Elven community since Ridge is without doubt the most imposing natural barrier
time began being measured by the First Children. anywhere in the world, if one excludes the Jarngand in the
This settlement is quite possibly the northernmost point north. The Fjaldgand is all that stands between the country
any Illmalaini dwell today. Their own legends claim the and the savage Fjaal from Bysent. Those who look towards
Elves remained here, in this place where their ancestors the mountains from the lowlands during a starry night
defeated a rage of logiwurms during the Age of Dreams will see the incredible proximity of the Fjaldgand Peaks
and successfully defended a now long-lost forest that was and those dark skies. This eerie characteristic has been a
once so vital it spanned the entirety of western Trudvang. feature of Elven poems dating back to the Age of the Iron
Bilefield is nothing more than a remnant of this wildwood. Wurm and before.
These Illmalaini tribes have a more warlike nature than The most important inhabitants of this area are
their southern kin, and hold to more traditions of violence the Dwarves of Glitthamn, but they dwell below the
than their cousins in Soj. It would be a mistake, though, surface in their vast kingdom. It is rare for trappers and
to think of them as nothing more than Korpikalli, as that Wildfolk to wander the heights. There is community of
could not be further from the truth. Unlike the Elves of that Elves who inhabit the highest peaks of the Fjaldgand
lineage, the Bilefield Elves never lost hope that the Vanirs Ridge. These Elves, of Illmalaini lineage, are called the
would return, preferring instead to nurture cultural links "Golden Elves".
with the Elves of Valkalainen. Golden Elves are related to the Star Elves of the Bilefield
The Bilefield Illmalaini tend avoid both the Dwarves of Forest, as their ancestors originated there. While several
Glitthamn, from the Fjaldgand Ridge, and the Humans of of the kin live even now as hermits, shying away from even
Fjaal, as they know too well just how troublesome both small communities, there are those of the tribe who still

139
enjoy the presence of others, including the pious Illmalaini KANTERGRIFF FOREST
pilgrims who come here from other parts of Trudvang. Illmalaini Elves have always lived in the Kantergriff Forest
The Golden Elves are amongst the greatest and most of Whistergalp.
renown Stargazers in all of Trudvang. They are an ancient community, claiming direct
Their knowledge of the starry skies is unsurpassed, as descendance from the legendary Norim Elves, who came
they have observed them from a privileged point, high upon here to establish an alliance with the mythic Fjol Trolls with
the mountaintops, where they are nearer to their lost gods. the hopes of preserving the forest as it was in the Age of
The reason behind their name is unknown, but it may Dreams.
well be founded in the golden hues of their light hair, which During the later millennia Norim blood thinned among
is unlike the purely silvery white hairs of most Star Elves. the Illmalaini, and the Fjol trolls disappeared in the mists.
Of course, it could equally come from their habit of gazing Two thirds of Whistergalp were once covered by the
at the golden sun during the endless days. Kantergriff forest, with roots running all the way from the
Thoordunn Ridge. As the Human population increased in
GLIMMERSMOND the region during the latter days of the Age of Prophets
This crescent-shaped inland sea is nothing short of breath- and the early ones of the Age of Stars, Viranns began to fell
taking, a vision to behold, with its crystalline waters always trees, stealing soil for agriculture and using the countless
shining beneath both sun and moon. white bone oaks to burn as high-quality charcoal or craft
It has been called "Mirror of the Gods" since the first days into impressive architectures with its incredibly hard wood.
of recorded time and even before any and all who have lived Slowly, the ancient forest retreated southwards, loosing
upon its shores. These people recount endless stories of the miles upon miles of those venerable trees.
mysteries and secrets of the Glimmersmond. The Elves in turn retreated deeper and deeper into
The Knights of Silvtronder consider it to be part of their the woodlands, avoiding conflicts with other races as
protectorate, although, to be fair, many fishing communities much as possible, until, barely a millennium ago, when
and the local rulers from both Bysent and Carlonn openly the Kantergriff was reduced to less than half of what is
ignore the Silverking's claims. The Glimmersmond has preserved today the otherwise peaceful Illmalaini launched
history that predates any human quarrel. Elves believe attacks against the woodcutters.
this was the place where the Vanirs bid their farewells The Kantergriff forest became a battlefield between
to Trudvang. For that reason, of course, the Korpikalli Viranns and Elves, until the Humans settled upon the only
consider it to be a cursed body of water. Both Talviakka and course of action they deemed certain to end all conflict, and
Illmalaini may occasionally make pilgrimages to this place chose to burn down huge tracts of the forest. The legends
to pay homage to the sacred waters of the Glimmersford. say that while the inferno enveloped the last white bone
Here, the sweetest songs are sung, as the Seeds of the oaks, all of them, Elves and Humans, shared a vision of
Vanirs contemplate the mysteries of the better world that these mysterious beings bards now swear to be the Fjol
was lost with the Vanirs. Their mourning is not something Trolls.
for human eyes. They come here in secret, either alone or in What they said has been forgotten by history, but an
small groups, always careful to remain unseen. Grief, after accord was reached between the combatants, and from
all, is a private thing. that day onwards Humans were allowed to fell a tree if, and
The Viranns who live upon these shores have never seen only if, they planted a new one within the same year. They
an Elf and have no real conception of how they live their faithfully respected this oath for centuries, no doubt mostly
lives or what they do, but that does not prevent them from because of superstition, given that transgressors were said
having all manner of tall tales and fascinating accounts all to be doomed by perpetual bad luck.
about them. While the forest recovered so much in a single millennium,
There are those who believe the inner sea to be some it could never reach its original glory.
kind of great mirror for the stars which the Elves use in North of the treeline, in the Olpen province, there is a
unknown rituals to commune with them. Fanatic Gavlians place called Griftloin, where a 12-meters-tall statue crafted
in Carlonn dread the thought of what the Elves are secretly in the white wood of an ancient Black Oak, towers. The
trying to invoke with their sorceries, while others believe the statue is impossibly old and would appear to depict an
Elves come here for no other reason than to die, immersing Elven woman dressed in some sort of plumage – a dress
themselves in the waters beneath starry skies, and sinking consisting of thousands of feathers, all beautifully carved.
down never to rise again in the world of the living. In her right hand she holds up a round object. With her

140
left hand she points to the sky. Her gaze is turned upwards it is only ever with the most peaceful of those tribes, and
while she stands upon a mighty tree stump. never prolonged. Korpikalli will more often than not seek to
It is without doubt this monument could only exist avoid Wildfolk, as they know full well just how troublesome
through Elvish magic and the ancient sattaloijka arts, so these savage Humans can be.
well defined are the details, in a wood so hard it resembles In theory, the Illmalaini are likely to have more peaceful
metal. relationships with the Wildfolk, but as they mostly inhabit
Centuries of rain and the hunger of lichen and mosses regions where such contacts are rare it is difficult to prove
have done nothing to damage the statue, which is still the truth of that claim one way or another. Furthermore,
incredibly well-preserved today. many Wildfolk are superstitious when it comes to dealing
No one knows who exactly the statue represents, and the with the Star Elves, fearing them for dangerous enemies
Kantergriff Elves refuse to answer questions about her, only given their mastery of vitner arts.
offering sadness when questioned, as such an important The Talviakka have the least contact with Wildfolk,
part of Elven heritage is lost to the once larger forest and though it is not unknown for Arks to dare wander into the
stands now in the heart of a township. northernmost, and coldest, reaches of their territories, and
During the last century the Kantergriff Elves have those that do seldom return. Are they victims of Talviakka
begun to see just how badly the situation in Whistergalp ambushes?
has deteriorated. While what remains of the forest seems
to have escaped the misery brought on the landscape by Thoorkaal
the earthquakes that have ravaged the Human-inhabited This fire-dominated country has two forests on its borders:
plains, where fertility has fallen away to such an extent Vrosslan on the west coast and Orkhelm on the east.
they fear desperate Whistergalpians may once again Elves live here, in these two natural oases in an otherwise
invade and devour the forest, wilfully ignoring the ancient volcanic country.
superstitions. Nature in both Vrosslan and Orkhelm is surprisingly lush,
Furthermore, the Elves have heard how the earth's fury given the surrounding lands, where the reddish-brown grass
has plagued the Dwarves of Thordunn's too, and there are the dominant vegetation in the rest of Thoorkaal. Here it is
so many rumours of Dwarves on march, if the worst comes nowhere to be seen. Rare flora and fauna survive in these
to pass, their forests may suffer attacks from both north and two forested regions that have long since vanished from the
south. rest of Thoorkaal, including the likes of giant moose, bears,
The Fjol Trolls have not been seen again, and, there is hares and deer. The moss-covered trees are as powerful
no reason to imagine they would return to save the forest a and dominant as any on Trudvang, while the foliage grows
second time, meaning the Kantergriff may be doomed. so thick as to absorb any wild noise. It is a curiosity of this
place, but constant silence dominates these woodlands.
THE LANDS OF THE WILDFOLK True to say, it is impossible to hear a noise made a hundred
steps away, no matter if it is game crashing wildly through
There are many places where Elves and Wildfolks meet, the undergrowth to flee its would-be hunter or an uprooted
though these are seldom peaceful places, especially within tree falling and pulling down all manner of foliage from the
the limits of the Darkwoods where the warlike Korpikalli canopy of trees all around. Silence reigns.
have little patience with the savage Humans. Arks have The painted Thoorkaals avoid these woodlands,
learned to avoid the Dark Elves, as Korpikalli kill them on knowing that the forest hates them and their fire cult. The
sight, treating the wild Humans no differently from Trolls. worshippers of Ygghala, the evil fire goddess, do not return
The Dark Elves have been quietly observing the thornroot- if they are foolish (or arrogant enough) to enter either of
addicted hordes since the Age of the Iron Wurm and know these woods. Their violent deity if powerless here. Fire
what to expect from them. More than one Korpikalli skull cannot be sparked into life within the twin forests, and all
has decorated an Ark's hut through the centuries, though, those who would try meet a mysterious death.
meaning there is risk involved in any talk, so why waste There is, without doubt, some strange phenomenon that
time and add risk treating with them? Better to kill them does not allow fire to spread among the trees. What it is though
and be done with it. is hard to say with any certainty. What we do know is that the
Whilst occasional peaceful relationships - including rare evil Thoorkaals have tried on more than one occasion to burn
trades and the exchange of tidings - have been attested to the woodlands, but for all their pyromaniac efforts, they have
between the Amurs and the Kandovs and the Dark Elves, never succeeded in destroying more than a few trees.

141
 The only beings who seem capable of conjuring a flame about, but mercifully none have so far, as they fall, either
within either Vrosslan or Orkhelm are the Elves, and devoured by the forests' depths or cut down by Elven
they restrain themselves to the smallest of campfires, arrows.
for cooking rather than warmth, which would suggest There is considerable tension between the Korpikalli
they have come to an understanding with whatever and the Illmalaini here. The Dark Elves guard the King
entity rules over these wildwoods. Some would claim a Yggdras in Orkhelm, while the Star Elves watch over the
kinship, others a servitude, but whatever the truth there Queen Yggdras in Vrosslan. While the Illmalaini have lived
is an undeniable respect between the two, and it goes in the wood since the Age of Dreams, the Korpikalli only
both ways. arrived in this place during the Age of the Prophets, making
These forests are home to clans of both Korpikalli and them relative newcomers in the life cycle of the forests.
Illmalaini lineage. Even so, they took possession of King Yggdras in Orkhelm,
In Orkhelm, the Dark Elves reside in the heartwood, in which at that time was dying an excruciatingly slow and
the very middle of the forest, while the Star Elves make painful death. The Illmalaini were few at the time, and the
their homes on the fringes. In Vrosslan the Korpikalli forest lacked the power to stop the fire worshippers as it
have made their settlements within the northern reaches, does today. The arrival of the Korpikalli was a blessing
while Illmalaini rule the southern ones. to the Yggdras. They laid waste to the Thoorkaal war
But Elves are far from the only inhabitants of these parties, and in the years after their arrival, the forest has
primeval woods. There are others, far stranger than the flourished, outstripping the growth of Vrosslan, with the
Elvenkin. For one, Fairies live within these trees, and old King Yggdras regaining all his vitality and powers.
Yggdras in large numbers are said to be grow in both Now the forest has begun to protect both itself and the
forests. Elves who would nurture it against the fire worshippers.
When visitors tread softly through these woods they The Illmalaini still instinctively see the Dark Elves as
will often feel eyes on them, and be unable to shake the invaders, despite the millennia that have passed since
feeling of being watched. It is unwise to speak aloud their arrival, and the necessity of their aid against the
one’s secrets in Orkhelm or Vrosslan as you never know Thoorkaals. Prejudices are hard to put aside.
who is listening. The Elves here would seem to know The Illmalaini who guard Queen Yggdras in Vrosslan
everything that happens within their domain, almost as have dedicated their energies to healing the land rather
though every other creature here, from Fairies to other than fighting the Thoorkaals and their dark powers.
unknown spirits, report these secrets back to them. Their deep-felt wisdom is that violence begets violence,
Mittlander songs tell of two titanic trees, one growing and as necessary as it was to put an end to the Thoorkaal
in the very heart of each forest. These trees are so threat, that violence can only bring darkness and pain to
enormous in stature it would take more than 100 strides this place in the long run. Perhaps the root of this belief
to walk around them, and their huge crowns are as large lies in the fact the Dark Elves continue with their raids
as full entire groves. against the fire lovers and risk capture by the priests
Legend holds that an ancient Yggdras lives in the of Ygghala. Loose lips under torture would reveal the
Orkhelm, a real King amongst its kind, while his Queen position of King Yggdras to the enemy and it would have
lives in the Vrosslan Forest. all been for nought.
The king and his queen were separated when the The uglier truth is that rather than protecting
volcanic cataclysm devoured Thoorkaal, and in the wake and nourishing their chosen forests, the growth has
of that tragedy the Elves and the Fairies here vowed to slowed through centuries of conflict between the
do anything and everything to nurture these woodlands Elves themselves. It is only good fortune that sees the
so that the twin forests might once again grow back into Thoorkaals as their shared enemy, as these folks are
the one ancient wildwood they were and unit the realms animalistic, their base nature is to hunt and kill, to burn
of the King and Queen of the Yggdras. and destroy, and they care little for the petty conflicts of
Many wandering scholars and adventurers have tried their enemies. This cannot last. Sooner or later a wiser
to reach the Queen or the King, but it is as the bards leader will rise up within the Wildfolk or a Ygghala cultist
sing, only the purest of heart can lay a hand upon them, may see a way to exploit the weaknesses these squabbles
and in that moment receive such wisdom and knowledge and conflicts expose. And then the forest will burn.
through the bark of the Yggdras. What would happen There are five large Korpikalli tribes in Orkhelm,
if any intruder were to succeed does not bear thinking ruled by a council of chieftains and, thus far, they have

142
managed to keep the King safe. The Orkhelm Illmalaini VISENTHIA
live in smaller clans on the outskirts of the forest, and In the dread mist-covered swamplands of Visenthia,
seldom leave its borders. There is an uneasy peace at it is rumoured that a group of Illmalaini make their
the moment, with the Dark Elves tending to the King homes. They avoid contact with outsiders, shying away
Yggdras. These Illmalaini are the descendants of those from Boglanders, Viranns of the western cities and the
who first came here to protect King Yggdras in the Age Stormlanders of Dalefish, alike.
of Dreams. This is their shame. They know they have lost There are legends that swirl around tales of lost
the King as penance for some unknown sin committed by travellers who have sighted these shy Elves dancing
one of their ancestors so long ago. They do not speak of together with ghosts and other spirits at the end of the
it, and their silence means they have all but forgotten the lonesome night, and again when the rays of the early sun
truth of that grave sin. pierce the mists. None know what it is these Visenthian
The warlike Korpikalli of northern Vrosslan have Illmalaini do, or what their rites and rituals entail, but it
recently united under the banner of a single, powerful, seems that they have dedicated themselves to the task of
and determined Elf maiden, Killajna. Her followers have limiting the spread of dark influences that seep out of a
taken to calling her a "Lokoiti" or "Queen". gateway to Dimhall that lies within the swamps.
The real Queen of Vrosslan, the ancient Yggdras, is kept The Havma Forest is the primary home of the
safe by old Harpakka, the eldest Illmalaini in the forest, Visenthian Illmalaini, but they likely wander the whole
and he had refused the epithet Lokoiti by his brethren, region, always busy with their odd rituals and seeking
preferring the more modest title of "Oikaloita", which lost secrets.
was the same as was afforded all the other respected Some legends treat them like the hidden guardians of
Illmalaini elders in Vrosslan. The Star Elves of Vrosslan Visenthia, the implication being that whatever it is they
listen to his wisdom, and his charisma has long been are at, these rites and rituals are essential to keeping
fundamental in keeping the clans united. Harpakka is the barriers between the worlds intact. Visenthian Elves
without argument the most respected leader within the have an unmatched knowledge of the darkest aspects
council of elders. of vitner and its weaving, and are reputed to be masters
It has not taken long, though, for Queen Killajna to when it comes to dealing with all manner of Beings of the
begin seeing Harpakka and his followers as weaklings and Mist that wander these cursed lands.
cowards, and their weakness and cowardice is limiting The Visenthian Elves have adapted to the life in these
the regenerative gift of the Queen. She dreams of the day swamps, always wandering in swift canoes or climbing
when the Korpikalli guard both King and Queen Yggdras. above trees. Boglanders fear them, as they believe the
Conflict is as inescapable as prewritten destiny. Elves to be killers of the snakes they worship, and claim
While the Vrosslan Korpikalli live only from what the that the ancestors of these Illamalaini forged sorcerous
forests yield up, the Illmalaini are known to frequent pacts with the pikes and all other swamp fish, which is
the shores upon occasion, fishing and even sailing upon the reason why these water animals today act as the eyes
the waters. They have blood relationships with tribes of and ears of the Elves. Whether this is true or not no one
Edras and are known to dispatch envoys there. If war can say for sure and certain, but the Visenthian Elves
against Korpikalli happens, they may have no choice but do seem to be in contact with the nature of these wild
to call upon their relatives in Soj for aid. swamps.

143
144