Idyle

Patron: The Old Mother (Treant, advanced)
Capital: Feidwa
Primary Race: Elf
Primary Language: Elven
Suggested Traits: Bullheaded, Child of the South, Courageous, Fleet, Handler, Hardy, Play Hard, Quick Reaction, Sneaky, Survivor
Regional Feat: Called to the Hunt

Description

Cocoon is a small continent covered in thick, steamy jungles in the south that fade slowly towards more temperate tropical hardwoods in the north, and all of it is home to the elves of Idyle.  They travel from grove to grove, praying to the various treants who guard them and grant them their magic.  Despite generally being calm, the forests of Idyle remain home to some of the deadliest beasts outside the Direwild and every few decades, a tribe will disappear when its path crosses that of a true monster.

Their only permanent settlements are a few small fishing communities along the shore and the village of Feidwa, where all hunters retire when they grow too old and the Old Mother sits, commanding her children treants and answering the prayers of the elves.

The rest of the elves—often called the Idylwilders—move about in small tribes of a few dozen individuals, constantly patrolling Idyle for danger.  When they find it, they will either eliminate the threat or, if they judge it to be too great, they will seek out the nearest treant glade and have a meet called, with more tribes being gathered until they are strong enough to deal with whatever trouble has been discovered.

History

Following the end of the Era of Heroes, Cocoon swiftly became one of the deadliest lands in Zenáthras, the forests filling up with monsters.  Where the beautiful, jewel-like cities of Dammahand had once been strung along the shore and throughout the interior, nature quickly reclaimed them and it is said that a century after the Field of Broken Crowns, that for every thousand elves who had once dwelt there, only one was still clinging to life amidst the ruins of their glory.

But for all its ferocity, not all of the forests were closed to the elves, and they eventually learned where they could find shelter, beneath the bows of great trees which the monsters that stalked the night refused to go near.  Though doubtless some suspected the true nature of their salvation, it was not until the great golden wyrm Duchak the Elder came to their land, to the mightiest of the trees around which more than a thousand elves had gathered, that they learned the truth.  Duchak spoke to the tree long into the night in a language the elves did not understand and, with the coming of the dawn, the tree moved and awoken, revealing itself to be the Great Mother from whom all the treants of Cocoon had been born.

The lands of Idyle began that morning, as the Great Mother made a pact with the elves that she and her children would shelter them and grant them a portion of their strength so long as they used those powers to ensure the island remained safe from any threat, be it mortal or monster.  In the millennium-and-a-half since that time, the elves have upheld their bargain and grown in number and power.

Foreign Relations

Idyle is an isolated country by choice, dedicated to the security of its people and the lands on which it was founded.  For all that, they do maintain some diplomatic ties with the Council of Wyrms, which have assisted them several times in the past, and the Tide Princes who prove to be a valuable source of trade for the few things the independent Idylwilders need but cannot make on their own.