1. Overview ----------- Wellhollow is the city of the Elves deep within the Civil Wood in the Elven Protectorate. It is nestled in a hollow at the feet of the Dragonspine mountains, where it is the most safe from all intruders. The city is built in the most ancient portion of one of the oldest forests in the world, the Civil Wood. The forest is just as full of Treants and Fey creatures as it is of elves and normal plants, making it the perfect place for the Elves to rebuild their line. The city is built as a series of platforms and treehouses built in and amongst the trees. Whenever possible, natural formation are used to create the desired effect, as the elves are loathe to cut down the trees. So far this has worked out well. 2. People --------- The people of the city are comprised of mostly high elves, but some of the higher ranking members of the tribal elves make homes here as well, in order to represent their people on the council. The total population of the city, however, represents the shocking devastation that the elvish race endured during the time of the Alliance; the total population of the city is only 500, more than half of which are newborn or otherwise too young to fight, and of which fifty are in their extreme elderly stages and are too old to fight. In the city of Wellhollow, there are only 150 people of age and physical condition to fight - both men and women. When the city was settled just 275 years ago, there were only two of the ancient High Elven houses left intact enough (e.g. enough of them left alive) to create any sort of government. Now, there are three, and a fourth is on the rise once more. However the application of the terms "great house" and "noble line" are fairly superfluous; most of the houses are barely 50 or 100 strong at the absolute most. The distinction of "Tribe" has become far more important in these times. 3. Notable Persons ------------------ 4. Notable Locations -------------------- 4.1 The Well of the World ------------------------- The Well of the World is here in Wellhollow (one of the reasons it got its name.) The Well is actually a pool of water inside of a pool of stones, which holds various magical properties - among them the ability to prolong natural life, cure many diseases, and even act as a sort of gate between time and worlds. It is the duty of the Elves to protect it and keep it safe; they consider it a gift from their gods, to assist in their rebirth after their exit from slavery. 4.2 The Grandfather Tree ------------------------ The Grandfather tree is the single oldest tree in the Western Kingdom. Standing at the center of Wellhollow, the Grandfather Tree measures a full 700 feet in circumf- erence, measuring 30 feet across at its base. The tree is of an unknown species, but is estimated to be a variety of Redwood. All educated estimates place the tree at over five thousand years old, since before the time of the alliance. The Grandfather tree, it is said, speaks to those of pure heart, purpose, and blood; that it is a living historical record that can be asked questions. That its roots run deep and wide, touching every corner of the earth. 5. Government and Politics -------------------------- The Council at Wellhollow is both the government of the city and of the Elven Protectorate as a whole. The council consists of one member from each of the Noble Houses and one from each of the Wild Tribes; it was this model from which the Gnomes took their system of government in Breech. The government is, at its core, both communist and socialist. The community of elves in the Elven Protectorate is so small that it cannot afford the beurocracies enjoyed by the massive Human kingdom, or the quickly reproducing Gnomish nation. So the government - consisting of the head of each small family and tribe in the protectorate - decides the best course of action for the species to take as a whole. Goods are produced on a communal basis and distributed according to the need of the individual tribes and families. The very concept of property ownership as most human and gnomish cultures know it is simply foreign, if not downright taboo, in elven society. 6. Economy ---------- Being a communist and socialist society, there is no real economy to speak of inside of the Elven Protectorate. When dealing with the outside world, however, the elves generally prefer to operate in a barter system, trading in fine wood products, medicines, art, literature, histories, and other such rare items. The elves also pan gold from the rivers that flow through the Civil Wood and the Dragonspine, and use this to trade for various raw materials, but they do not use it as a currency inside of the country. The basic idea in the Elven Protectorate is that money and vanity are the root of all evils; while the elves are still struggling with their vanity, they are doing very well about the money, having refused to adopt - or honor - any system inside the Protectorate based on the idea of money. 7. Notable Non-Government Bodies --------------------------------