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Dyarinyae Yultherie, the Mother Grove
Also known by outsiders as Forest Heartstrong, Dyarinyae Yultherie is ancient
beyond the likes of even the Eastern Empire. Many elfin races believe that The Mothergrove is the birthplace of the first elves and that
the Earinai are the last remaining true-bloods of their race. However, the Earinai are exclusively secretive and extremely xenophobic
paragons of racial centrism who refuse to have any contact with even other elfin races. The borders of Dyarinyae Yultherie have been
closed to all outsiders for as long as anyone remembers. Millenium old treants and powerful fae guard its boarders against all intruders
with such fortitude that even the Dark God decided to postpone invasion of the region until a time which never came to pass. A thick
canopy of trees prevents all view from curious airborne creatures and powerful magic prevents magical eyes from scrying within.
Population: Earinai elf (85%), Fae (15%)
Government: Inherited matrimagocracy. The most powerful sorceresses, daughters from the three ruling
lines of Earinai, rule over the Earinai and are called the Three Muses. Virtually immortal, only three generations of Muses have watched
over their race. Few non-Earinai mortals have ever seen an Earinai, but none have seen one of the Muses. Beneath The Three is a complex
court of princes, princesses, courtesans, favored entertainers, sages, and so forth. Since virtually all Earinai possess sorcerous talent
there is no place in society especially for wielders of magic unless they are unusually powerful or of great longevity.
Leaders: The Three Muses; Anael, Enosaedra, and Rhiahaen. Of the three, Anael is the oldest. Rhiahaen
is the youngest, though she is several times older than the average non-Earinai elfin lifespan. The daughter of Anael is Seranael; of
Enosaedra are Dynaedra and a son named Tellarian; and of Rhiahaen is Iohaen and a son named Rhyavael.
Religions: The Earinai do not worship any gods, though some take part in the fae traditions of the
Seelie.
Climate: Temperate and dense forests. Most of The Mothergrove is as it was millenia ago due to the
careful stewardship of the Earinai. Each season is a vibrant embodiment of that time of year. Autumn is marked by brilliantly colored
leaves, crisp air, and bustling woodland creatures preparing for the coming cold. Winters are snowy yet not arctic frigid, quiet,
and peaceful as though all the wood slept in wait for warmer days. Spring bursts with emerging life, thousands of varieties of flowers,
birds in song, crashing rivers made fast by the snow melt, and sudden storms which pass and leave hints of a warm breeze. Summers are
very warm and dry, though it is not unbearably hot and the forest stays green due to the protection of its thick canopy of branches.
Major Cities: The Earinai do not build cities, their population is scattered throughout the forest as
small burroughs of three or four families. Homes are usually tents, song-shaped wood, or magically erected dwellings of extra-dimensional space.
Regardless, most Earinai prefer to locate their dwelling off the ground and in the trees. Their leaders dwell in temporary courts said
to be colorful cloth pavilions which move about their kingdom as the seasons change. These traveling tent-courts of the Three Muses are
erected in leafy courtyards atop great boughs or upon the ground. Earinai have established a broad system of routes that can easily
be traversed through the heights of the trees without hazard. Though their homes are often in the trees, Earinai are not
"brachiating-elves", they are comfortable on the ground and travel just as often upon it.
History: The Earinai of Dyarinyae Yultherie are the last of their kind. The first Earinai came from
the Faerie Realm during the time called the Age of Chaos, where they were changed by the chaotic magic of a world in flux and molded by
it into their present form. Along with the Earinai came the Nadristi and these two races formed the origin of elfin bloodlines within the
world. In the years following the end of the Age of Chaos the Earinai discovered that their powers were waning and that they were
continuing to change as members of their kind adopted traditions of industry from humans and other races. As their race lost its
spiritual harmony with nature so too did their spirits and bodies change. The Earinai abandoned their kind who were changed and
sequestered themselves in ancient forests. Over the many thousands of years that have since passed, only The Mothergrove remains and
legends of the Earinai remain.
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