Fey Haven
Deep in the Feywood lies an enclave of the Alev people - the second such enclave established by that people after their Awakening. Long ago, it was an open and welcoming place for any of the Alev who ventured there, and even for those of the other folk that had reason to visit. But since the The Great Strife, it has become a hidden fortress - a place of refuge for many displaced by the war, and of safety should a similar calamity ever again arise. This is Fey Haven.
Founding Date
1620AR (Alev Reckoning)
(17,063 years before the Common Reckoning)
Demonym
Haveners (but this is rarely used)
Population
<to be filled>
Demographics
Alev: 93%
Dwalev: 5%
Gobbin: 2%
Also countless displaced Fey)
To their surprise, this forest seemed to be teeming with lesser Fey creatures such as the pixies and sprites. They knew the Fey from their homeland, but they seemed to exist in this forest in much larger numbers. They named this forest the Feywood.
The Alev explored the forest for many years, wandering south into the deep woods. Eventually, some decided they would settle there permanently, and they began to establish what they called the Feyhome. This was in the year 1620AR.
Over the thousands of years after its founding and before the Great Strife, the Feyhome grew slowly. The Alev druids dedicated to the task of "growing" the enclave sharpened their craft and refined their designs along the way, and as a result the city became more and more intricate and elegant even as it became less and less conspicuous within the forest.
The god-war brought changes. Though the enclave was never directly threatened, the Alev and their druid priests made modifications to ensure the city would be safe. At the same time, the edges of the Feywood were under heavy attack from the The Gods of Coercionand their believers.. Many fey living in the forest were killed, and many more were threatened. The Alev opened their home to those fey that could be rescued; it was during this time that the enclave came to be called Fey Haven rather than its original given name.
Thanks to the art of the druids, the trees of Fey Haven are much taller and broader than those of the surrounding forest. Rooms with walls of treebark and ceilings of leaves interwoven so as to be waterproof provide living quarters and storage for the residents. Living vines are woven to provide walking bridge-like walking paths that connect the treetops. Stairways wind around tree trunks that have been reshaped for the purpose.
Once the god-war began though, the Alev the Feywood came under heavy attack. The Alev feared for their Feyhome, and thus erected defenses. The druids fashioned three rings of deadly foliage around the the outskirts of the enclave. The innermost and outermost consist of tightly interwoven shrubs of Ironthorn. These are called the Inner and Outer Bramble Walls. These plants grew to fifteen feet tall with four-inch long sharp thorns. The wood of the shrubs is as dense as iron; they are as difficult to cut through as if they were actually made of the metal. The middle ring was deadlier still. Here, in the Blood Wall, the druids established bloodvine - a plant that can send out whiplike tendrils to snare prey.
Two narrow and well-concealed paths were left when these ring-walls of deadly plants were established to allow Alev who knew of them to pass in and out of the enclave. Though the god-war never actually reached the defensive ring around the city, it remains to this day. Adventurers and other wanderers who have heard of Fey Haven and wish to see it for themselves face great peril if they try to seek it without an Alev guide from the city to lead them.
Location
Fey Haven is located near the center of the the vast expanse of forest known as the Feywood. It is situated along a river which runs into the vast lake known as the Lake of the Naiads to the Alev people, but as Karn's Lake to the Humans and the rest of Cartyrion's Folk.A Brief History
In the year 1581 AR (Alev Reckoning), the wanderlust in some of the Alev people became too much to ignore. They left the Firsthome to begin exploring the world beyond their home forest. Over the years, some of these wandered northward through the Iron mountains to the Coldsea, and then turned eastward - toward the rising sun. They encountered another vast forest, for at this time, the Feywood stretched all the way to the Coldsea coast in the north.(17,063 years before the Common Reckoning)
Dwalev: 5%
Gobbin: 2%
Also countless displaced Fey)
To their surprise, this forest seemed to be teeming with lesser Fey creatures such as the pixies and sprites. They knew the Fey from their homeland, but they seemed to exist in this forest in much larger numbers. They named this forest the Feywood.
The Alev explored the forest for many years, wandering south into the deep woods. Eventually, some decided they would settle there permanently, and they began to establish what they called the Feyhome. This was in the year 1620AR.
Over the thousands of years after its founding and before the Great Strife, the Feyhome grew slowly. The Alev druids dedicated to the task of "growing" the enclave sharpened their craft and refined their designs along the way, and as a result the city became more and more intricate and elegant even as it became less and less conspicuous within the forest.
The god-war brought changes. Though the enclave was never directly threatened, the Alev and their druid priests made modifications to ensure the city would be safe. At the same time, the edges of the Feywood were under heavy attack from the The Gods of Coercionand their believers.. Many fey living in the forest were killed, and many more were threatened. The Alev opened their home to those fey that could be rescued; it was during this time that the enclave came to be called Fey Haven rather than its original given name.
Architecture and Infrastructure
Fey Haven is not simply built among the trees of the Feywood; nor even built within the trees. Rather it is literally built "of" the trees. The Alev druids used their magic to shape the living trees into forms that provide shelter.Thanks to the art of the druids, the trees of Fey Haven are much taller and broader than those of the surrounding forest. Rooms with walls of treebark and ceilings of leaves interwoven so as to be waterproof provide living quarters and storage for the residents. Living vines are woven to provide walking bridge-like walking paths that connect the treetops. Stairways wind around tree trunks that have been reshaped for the purpose.
Defenses
Before the Great Strife, Fey Haven did not get many visitors from outside, and hence did not see the need for roads leading to the city. Trails through the Feywood along the river toward the Lake of the Naiads were kept clear by the druids and the Fey creatures themselves to provided pleasant walkways for the Alev who wished to enjoy the beauty of the lake's edge.Once the god-war began though, the Alev the Feywood came under heavy attack. The Alev feared for their Feyhome, and thus erected defenses. The druids fashioned three rings of deadly foliage around the the outskirts of the enclave. The innermost and outermost consist of tightly interwoven shrubs of Ironthorn. These are called the Inner and Outer Bramble Walls. These plants grew to fifteen feet tall with four-inch long sharp thorns. The wood of the shrubs is as dense as iron; they are as difficult to cut through as if they were actually made of the metal. The middle ring was deadlier still. Here, in the Blood Wall, the druids established bloodvine - a plant that can send out whiplike tendrils to snare prey.
Two narrow and well-concealed paths were left when these ring-walls of deadly plants were established to allow Alev who knew of them to pass in and out of the enclave. Though the god-war never actually reached the defensive ring around the city, it remains to this day. Adventurers and other wanderers who have heard of Fey Haven and wish to see it for themselves face great peril if they try to seek it without an Alev guide from the city to lead them.
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