raggidman
Prince
Registration Date: 06.01.2006
Posts: 3,317
Location: where my heart is
 |
|
| Aldmeri Dominion - Valenwood observations |
     |
From the Imperial Library's capacious tomes:
| quote: |
Valenwood
was claimed as a wasteland province of the Second Empire, and its
geography is partially described in several Imperial surveys. Valenwood
is noteworthy in that it has no cities or townships built by the Wood
Elves themselves. Their strict "Green Pact" prohibits the use of wood
or other vegetable derivatives as building materials, and they are too
improvident to learn the use of stone. The Wood Elves permitted a few
roads to be built by the Second Empire, but neglect their maintenance,
as the Bosmer do not need roads to move easily through the thickest
forest; these roads would be now overgrown were it not for the High
Elves of the Thalmor, who have repaired and widened them for rapid
passage of their arms to and from the coast. Much of the region is
impenetrable mangrove and coastal rain forest, with few grasslands or
glade areas until further north near the Strident Coast. Many of the
human trading posts established by the Second Empire have been
abandoned or claimed by the beastfolk - Centaurs, Orcs, and Imga - that
share the forests with the Bosmer tribes. Humans, in general, have
learned not to intrude in the forests of Valenwood. While they once
depended entirely on the annual Stridmeet caravans of the Colovian
West, the Wood Elves now rely entirely on the sea piracy of the
Dominion for whatever they require from the outside world.
Concerning the Wood Elves as a people, we must again turn to the
prolific Eric of Guis. After a grateful dismissal from the Court of
Alinor, he stayed with the Bosmer for a time at the capital city of
Falinesti, during its summer migration. As the city strode along the
coastal region of the Cape, Eric of Guis recorded much about Valenwood
culture: |
| quote: |
"No
less abhorrent are the Bosmer than their kin at Summerset, but they are
far more cooperative. The Wood Elves love the current human activity
because it makes them feel important.
"They are exclusively and religiously carnivorous. They cannot, or will
not, eat anything that is plant-based. They eat game, beastfolk, each
other, or meats imported from other regions. This part of the Green
Pact is known as the Meat Mandate, and, among its other rules, it
requires that a fallen enemy must be eaten completely before three days
pass. The family members of the warrior that slew the enemy may help
him with his meal. Needless to say, the Wood Elves do not like to
engage in large battles if they have not undergone a suitable
starvation period.
"Though they are excellent archers, the Green Pact forces their bowyers
and fletchers to use bone or similar materials, or to buy bows and
arrows from other cultures. The use of woodcrafts created by another
race is not forbidden, nor is the sale of their own Valenwood timber as
long as it is collected by a non-Bosmeri.
"The Wood Elves, of course, cannot smoke anything of a vegetable
nature. Bone pipes are common, however, and are filled with
caterpillars or tree grubs.
"For a brief time the Colovian armies used Wood Elf archers, as in the
War of Rihad two years past. The Bosmer proved to be too undisciplined
and prone to desertion for further use. They would sometimes walk into
the shade of a single tree and vanish. Their forest-coupling skills are
remarkable. The title of their most famous poem, the Meh Ayleidion,
means "The One Thousand Benefits of Hiding."
"At the trading posts of the Empire, the Wood Elves become very happy.
Some creations of carpentry delight them to no end. Most of it has
never occurred to them. They bring their own trade items: hides, river
pearls, finger-bone charms made from the still-magically-charged hands
of their dead wizards. They often buy woodcrafts that they have no use
for or whose use they never bother to find out. Some of the bravest
Wood Elven warriors use wagon wheels as shields, or as (they think)
impressive headgear.
Wood Elves of the Wild Hunt, 1e369, still about in Valenwood -- Willy
the Bitten returned to haunt Silvenar Grove, While King Dead Wolf-Deer
stalks the Lympan March.
"While sometimes amusing, the Bosmer have a bestial side. They can
resort to animal shapes if they need to, or water. Their most dreaded
transformation is the Wild Hunt, which killed King Borgas for the
"iniquities" of his Alessian faith. The Wild Hunt is a pack of shifting
forest-demons and animal-gods, thousands strong, which sweeps through
the countryside killing everything its path. The Wood Elves do not like
to talk about the Hunt, and I gather they do not feel proud of this
power at all-Gomini, my Bosmer companion of late, tells me that the
Hunt is used for justice, but that also, "every monster in the world
that has ever been comes from a previous Hunt. Those Bosmer that go
Wild, they do not return."" |
|
|
