Da’fat Federation
The Da’fat Federation is the elven land south of the Calinor-dal, the river that marks the border between it and The Empire. Every elven race that survived The Desolation lives there, and only elves reside in it.1
Founding
After the collapse of their grand cities, the elven tribes who migrated north came together to found the Da’fat Federation in the Second Age. They chose Lady Nemarin as their leader to govern them fairly, a choice that caused little debate, since all elves except Lady Nemarin and a handful of elders had lost their immortality.2
The elves owe their place in these lands to ancient agreements made with humans after the Exodus. The price of this grace is a constant struggle to hold back the desert, which crawls north like a beast, trying to devour everything green and beautiful.3
The Circle of Elders, made up of the wisest elven druids, raised the Living Wall to stop the hungry desert in the south. With the permission of the knights of the Order of Palanthor, elven druids also created the Calinor-dal to separate the elven lands from those of humans, and the elves went on living their own isolated way of life.2
Lady Nemarin remains the spiritual leader of the federation and of all elves.4
Borders and passage
The Silver Bridge is the only land route into the federation; its northern end meets the lands of Whitefall.5
Not everyone may wander the lands of Da’fat freely. Ancient agreements witnessed by the Knights of Palanthor grant this right to the elven cities and tribes, and to the high lords and ladies, that make up the federation. The elves always watch the river, and even humans who live close to it may live and die without ever seeing its southern bank.6
Ancient enchantments guard the land. Those without fey blood in their veins cannot enter it: they cannot find their way and inevitably get lost. If a druid blesses such travellers, the paths open to them, though not forever.7
Life in the federation
Traditional trade is almost non-existent in the elven cities of Da’fat, and elves rarely use money among themselves. Long-term debts, mutual favours and social benefits count for more than coin.8
Wood elves and the federation
The k're of the wood elves are usually split into two sects, those against the Da’fat and those that support it. Those known as k're renegades usually follow the anti-Da’fat factions.9
Conflict between the wood elves who broke away from the Da’fat Federation and the Empire has gone on for ages.10
Alveir Greenblade comes from the Long Leaf, a k're that supports the Da’fat. Dhori Whitefang comes from an anti-Da’fat k're of wood elves in the Western Provinces, and he turned Alveir away because of where he came from.11
Notes
- ↑BookLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide, pp. 2, 43
- ↑BookLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide, p. 11
- ↑BookLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide, p. 2
- ↑BookLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide, p. 16
- ↑BookLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide, p. 38
- ↑BookDesolation of Time, p. 12
- ↑BookDesolation of Time, p. 6
- ↑BookLands of Exile: Starter Setting Guide, p. 43
- ↑BookShadow Over Vansreik, p. 55
- ↑BookShadow Over Vansreik, p. 19
- ↑BookMercenary Compendium, pp. 25, 46
Sources
This article draws on:
In Da’fat Federation
Related articles
RegionThe EmpireThe human realm at the heart of the Lands of Exile, an absolute monarchy heavily shaped by faith, ruled from Marble City by the unbroken line of the Red Eagle and divided into five provinces under their Sovereigns.RegionCalinor-dal RiverThe mighty river etched into the land by elven magic in the Second Age, which forms the southern border between the Empire and the elven Da'fat Federation.CharacterLady NemarinThe spiritual leader of the Da’fat Federation and of all elves, chosen to lead the elven tribes when the federation was founded in the Second Age, and one of the few elves who still carry eternal life.PeopleElvesLong-lived elven peoples who were wholly immortal before the Desolation and the Exodus and now live about a thousand years; only elves dwell in the Da'fat Federation south of the Calinor-dal.PeopleWood ElvesThe elves of the forests of the Lands of Exile, who sing their homes out of living trees. Those who broke away from the Da'fat Federation have fought the Empire for ages through their war clans, the K're, while others still support the Federation.RegionLands of ExileThe northern lands of Caligran where the ancient races took refuge after the Desolation, with the Empire at their heart, a harsh world of rare magic, scarce learning, many faiths and dangerous wilds.ConceptExiled PantheonThe gods worshipped across the Lands of Exile, held in the mythology of Teneris to be the children of the Dark One, and honoured in temples, churches and the holy city of Sanctuary.ConceptNight of the Red MoonThe night, in some years, when the smaller moon Malas shines red. It is held to be a dark night when the veil between realms thins, and people gather around great fires rather than stay alone.RegionCaligranThe eastern of the two great continents of Teneris, mostly desert since the Desolation, whose habitable north holds the Lands of Exile, the refuge of the surviving races.RegionCanarqueThe western of the two great continents of Teneris, a collection of fragmented lands discovered by an imperial expedition that returned in 289 AVD, and known to most imperial subjects as the New World.