val’aria

The Paradise Before the Devastation.

The Kingdom of Val’aria was the ancestral home of the Elves and almost exclusively Elven, believed not to have been naturally formed but rather created by the Gods of the First Age. The Kingdom was located on four small islands to the west of South Thearos and connected to each other by giant, masterfully crafted bridges.

 It is said that the locations of these islands were strategically chosen, each island was created and positioned where, somehow, the inhabitants could more easily gain access to certain magical energies. What they were, exactly, is lost knowledge, but it is clear that the Elves of Val’aria had incredible affinity with magic and the whole Kingdom had such incredible magical protection that the Elves hardly knew violence. 

The four islands were called Rhun (East), Forod (North), Harad (South) and Annun (West). All shared a breathtaking, vibrant landscape, with many long, flowing rivers and beautiful, quiet waterfalls. The environment was taken exceptionally good care of by Elves who pledged themselves to be Nature Guardians. Bridge Guardians kept the four bridges that connected the islands intact; The Bridge of the Moon that connected Rhun and Forod, The Bridge of the Sun that connected Forod and Annun, The Bridge of Morning that connected Annun and Harad and The Bridge of Night that connected Harad and Rhun.

Rhun held the seat of civilization in Val’aria; The Floating City. A magical, magnificent city that floated above the land through unknown magical means, where the elite and nobility resided, and magical innovation and proud tradition stood hand in hand.

Annun was the home of a forest of unusually large trees called the Evergreen. It was a sacred place where some Wood Elves believed that they would drift to at the end of their extensive lives to become Dryads and become one with the trees

The Devastation happened at the end of the Third Era. The once isolated Acrian Empire, through unknown means, overturned the divine realm and broke their power. Very suddenly the Acrians declared war and brought ruin and destruction to Val’aria. Somehow they eliminated all magical protection within the Kingdom, no matter how ancient and powerful, and as the Elves were no fighters they could not withstand the invasion and had to either flee or perish.

Current State

Val’aria is now only a sad reminder of what it once was. There is only ruins and rubble and the once vibrant nature seems grey in the shadow of what it once was. The Floating City is now The Fallen City, as the magic that allowed it to float was eliminated by the Acrians, causing the city to fall from the sky. The fall completely destroyed it and created a large crater where it landed. The Elves depended much on their magic and so, with the absence of what had held almost everything together, even places untouched by the Acrians are crumbling. Even the once magnificent bridges are slowly falling to ruin, with half of the Bridge of Night that once connected Harad and Rhun having already fallen into the ocean. 

As some time has passed since the devastation, some Elves are done grieving and have started rebuilding efforts. Mostly it is centred around the Fallen City but with the lost magical knowledge there is no doubt that it will never live up to what it once was. There is also a small community of Elven Druids, modern Nature Guardians, that have returned to the Evergreen in Annun. There they are focusing on protecting, healing and connecting to the wounded nature there. 

Culture and Fashion

Many elves believe that the original split in focus for elves, leading to the differences in High elves and Wood elves, comes from the ancestral home of Val’aria. While once elves shared their connection with magic and nature, the strong pull of magic attracted the focus of certain elves and the strong pull of nature attracted others. 

High elves flocked to places potent with magic and built cities around them, beautiful, elegant and graceful buildings created by talented magical architects.

Wood elves became much more comfortable in the woods and rural areas, connecting with the flora and fauna, having a minimal impact on their surroundings.  

High elves and Wood elves of Val’aria had very different choices of fashion, just like the High elves and Wood elves of the current times. High elves focused on beauty and comfort and Wood elves focused on sustainability and natural colours.

Within Val’aria there were special circles of elves that were connected to and revered giant Guardian Statues, each circle centred around the protection of certain areas and aspects of the sacred land. There were the Forest Guardians, The Polis Guardians, The River Guardians and The Ocean Guardians. It is not clear how many of each type of Guardian statues there were, for so many of them are rubble after the devastation, but it is clear, however, that each statue was incredibly magical and there is hope within many elves that some of these powerful statues may still stand somewhere within Val’aria.