Building My Dungeons and Dragons World Part 13: The Seldarine

 Introduction

    Elves are the next playable race to cover from my list. But elves are an extensive race with at least nine subraces and a vast sum of lore behind them. Even in my own world, they would be scattered in communities across the globe, with several areas of my world needing an introduction for the lore of the elves to make sense. With that in mind, I am taking the following three articles to cover everything related to the elves. This first article will be focused on the geography and key locations that need to be explained as a base for the elven communities. My next article will cover the Eladrin and the high elves. Finally, the third will cover the Sylvan Elves and other elven races on the Material Plane in my D&D World.

    This article will be focused on developing my version of the Seldarine, the elvish pantheon of gods. I will also focus on developing the Asian continent. It took me some time to come up with a name for this region, but I am going to refer to this as the Plane Touched Lands. This is due to the abundance of planar pathways that connect to the Inner Planes and their impact on the lands they connect to.

The Fall of the Titan Empire

    Before the Fall of the Titan Empire, Arvandor and Arborea at large belonged to the Titans under the leadership of Chronos. Additionally, the Titans were allied with the giants of the World Tree, much to the chagrin of the Asgardians. The Seldarine, the pantheon of the elven gods, lived in Aborea, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, and other realms of the Yggdrasil. 

    When Zeus led the rebellion against the Titans, many Seldarine soon joined the fight. Unknowingly, they ended up playing a pivotal role in the war. When the Seldarine mustered their forces, the Asguardians noticed their departure from the realms of Yggdrasil. They also soon noticed that the Ordning, the pantheon of the giant gods, was also mobilizing. The Asgardians, not ones to miss out on a good war, soon began to send out messengers and spies to see what was happening. When they learned of the rebellion spreading like wildfire across the realms, the Asgardians were quick to support both their Seldarine allies and the rebellion at large.

    When the Titans and the Ordning fell, the Seldarine were quick to return to their home realms. This would unfortunately be the last time the Seldarine were this united on anything. Like many of the pantheons after the Fall of the Titans, the differences between the gods would soon lead to new conflicts.

The Rise of the Dark Seldarine

    When Bahamut and Tiamat went to war over their territories of the Material Plane, it created a division between the gods of good and evil. The Seldarine were not immune to this division. Lolth, known as Araushnee at the time, saw an opportunity to move up in the Seldarine. She approached Tiamat with offers of an alliance. When Corellon Larethian, the leader of the Seldarine, discovered the treachery, he began to muster allies to take action. This quickly divided the existing Seldarine.

    When Tiamat fell, Lolth and the other Seldarine who aided her were put on trial and banished. They collectively became known as the Dark Seldarine. Many think of them as a group, but the various "members" of this group do not consider themselves allies. Since the war, the Dark Seldarine have rarely seen eye to eye and are constantly looking to move against one another for various reasons.

The Weakening Realm Barriers

    Wars between gods are not simple things. They leave lasting impacts on the many planes and worlds the gods rule over. Then unleash almost incomprehensible powers that wreak havoc on the natural order of things. So it is little surprise that two cosmic wars waged by deities had severe impacts on the many planes of existence. The barriers between the realms were severely weakened and even torn asunder in some places.

    While the various gods of the Celestial Empire used these tears to construct the Planar Pathways, the Seldarine weren't quite so industrious. The Eladrin and the elves likewise still respected the natural order of things, opting to use the existing tears as they were. There are a variety of elven races across the realms, but only six of the elven races eventually found themselves on the Material Plane. While I will explore each race of elves in more detail later, I want to take a moment to explore the lands where these portals appeared and how these portals affected each one.

Reference Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia

The Great Forest

Reference Link: https://www.freeworldmaps.net/russia/siberia/map.html

    The wars between the gods weakened the magical barriers separating the planes of existence. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the Great Forest. Across the Great Forest, Siberia in the real world, the weakened barrier is in a constant state of flux. As the barrier fluctuates, parts of the Feywild appear on the Material Plane and vice versa. As you near the center of Siberia, the more the forest seems to shift around you. Swaths of the forest will suddenly become unnaturally overgrown and massive in size, only to be returned to normal in a couple of hours. But the land is not the only victim here.

    Creatures, monsters, fey, eladrin, elves, and more have unknowingly traveled between the planes. Likewise, animals and sapient races from the Material Plane have found themselves in the Feywild. In years past, this led many to avoid the region altogether. The Great Forest was untouched and believed to be cursed.

    The elves were the first sentient race to explore the Great Forest. Drawn by its magic and intrigued by the many mysterious events taking place, the elves would eventually begin exploring the new plane. This would eventually lead to the elves becoming incorporated into life in the Material Plane. For races other than elves, it is believed that the elves were behind the mysterious nature of the Great Forest. Elves have done little to quell these rumors. Some out of pride. Some out of fear. Some out of a belief that it is for the greater good.

The Burning Islands

Reference Link: https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/japan

    As the Titan Empire fell, so too did the reign of the giants. While most giants fled to other planes to escape the war, small bands of giants stayed behind on secluded islands. The Ildjotunen, or fire giants, were one such group.

    They were scattered across a variety of small islands for years. But rumors of mysterious creatures made of fire drew their attention to a string of islands off the coast of Asia. When they investigated these islands, they found a string of elemental vortices hidden within the many volcanoes of the lands. The fire giants sent out word to their fellow kinsmen and proceeded to build a new society on the islands. While some believed this to be the prelude to war, no attack ever came.

    Since those days, the Ildjotunen have gained the approval of their neighbors. surrounding nations trade with the island regularly and it has become a center for those seeking knowledge on magics related to fire as well as information on the Elemental Plane of Fire. This has given the chain of islands the moniker "The Burning Islands."

The Realm of the Earth

Reference Link: https://www.britannica.com/place/Inner-Mongolia

    The residents of the Underdark refer to the lands of China and Mongolia as the Earthen Sea. The Elemental Vortex beneath the surface of these lands looks like a wall of rock. But it shifts constantly, generating earthquakes as it travels. Residents from the Elemental Plane of Earth sometimes find their way into the grounds of the Prime Material Plane. All of this gives the impression that the tunnels of the Underdark seem to shift and sway like water.

    The surface provides little escape. While the vortex does not reach the surface, the creatures and earthquakes do. Those who live here have learned to remain mobile, as it is hard to build defenses against the ground itself. The ultimate irony of this is the land is surprisingly fertile. If farms could be started, the crops they yield would be healthy and abundant. But most do not have the courage to try, with the exception of one specific race.

    The Steinjotunen, or the stone giants, were the primary race of giants to build a society on these tumultuous lands. They are also one of the largest giant populations on the Material Plane following the Fall of the Titan Empire. This is due to a number of reasons. They did not aid in the conflict, preferring to keep to themselves. Second, while armies attempted to take their land, the vortex beneath ensured that most races gave up the venture as a lost cause. Third, the lack of competition and the nature of the land served as excellent habitats for them. Fourth, even following the Fall of the Titans, the Steinjotunen tend to keep to themselves. Aside from the Duergar, the Steinjotunen interact very little with the outside world. And even with the dwarves, it is less interacting with them and more ignoring their presence unless provoked. The Duergar attempted war once, only to find themselves outmatched by both the giants and the surrounding ecosystem. Finally, their private nature means that their underground society is largely unexplored and unstudied. There are some who venture into these treacherous lands and know of the giants, but the study is extremely dangerous and few companies are willing to fund such ventures.

The Windy Mountains

Reference Link: https://www.yowangdu.com/tibet-travel/where-is-tibet.html

    If you recall back to Part 2, the first playable race I covered was the Aaracokra. In that article, I covered their interactions with the Elemental Plane of Air and the Air Vortex. I also established that they resided in the Windy Mountains. However, they are not the only residents of these mountains and are not the only ones who interact with the vortex.

    The Air Vortex technically hovers above the Windy Mountains, almost invisible to the naked eye. This is not because the vortex is invisible, but rather because the skies on both sides of the portal look fairly similar. But like many things in the mountains, it is shrouded in mystery and mythos. The mountains are treacherous and full of strange creatures that the residents of the Prime Material Plane are unfamiliar with.

    Aside from the Guardians of the Tempest, the Skyejotunen have also been drawn to this foreign magic. The cloud giants were drawn to the mountains after learning of the Ildjotunen rebuilding their society on the Burning Isles. They soon found the vortex above the Windy Mountains and began rebuilding their society nearby. Similar to the Aaracokra, the Skyejotunen constructed their homes on the tops of mountains, taking measures to ensure that outsiders could not reach their homes above the clouds.

The Realm of Water

Reference Link: https://history.army.mil/brochures/eindies/eindies.htm

    There is a string of islands that reach from the southeast coast of the Planes Touched Lands to the northern coast of Australia. In our world, this region is referred to as the East Indies and Indo-China. I admit that I am unfamiliar with this region in general. I know a little about the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, but most of what I know about them is recent history.

    In my dungeons and dragons world, this region is known as the Realm of Water. Similar to the real world, this region is heavily reliant on fishing and naval trade from the Pacific. Unlike in our world, an elemental vortex moves along seasonally across this area of the ocean. Resembling a whirlpool, it connects to the Elemental Plane of Water. Like the other vortexes, this passage sends creatures from both worlds into each other.

    There are a variety of differences between the Realm of Water and the other regions of Planes Touched Lands, however. For one, the vortex is not particularly well hidden or mysterious. While few know that it connects to another plane of existence, most know about the whirlpool itself. This has led to trade between the lands becoming complicated or even impossible. Many of the societies here have become isolated, giving rise to unique cultures relatively untouched by the outside world. Another difference is that this is the only Planes Touched Land to not become a hotspot for giants. While other aquatic races have moved into the region, there isn't a race of giants that were drawn to this region by elemental powers.

Conclusion

    Oof. I am glad I decided to split these articles up and space them out every two weeks. This was a lot of information and world-building. I can't wait until I get to explore each of these regions in more depth through the playable races. For those curious, I have not forgotten about India, the Middle East, or the other Western regions of Asia. It's just that I didn't have any ideas in mind for those regions. Plus, those regions are heavily socio-economically related to other regions I have plans for, like Africa, Australia, and even the Celestial Empire. They will get covered in time, but for now, they have to wait their turn because I only needed the regions that the elves and the Inner Planes affected. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the article and look forward to the next article where I will be covering Eladrin.