The elves are the oldest race in Glorien. Their kings ruled long before humans had abandoned tribalism and developed separate polities, necessitating the development of the concept of the nation. The elves had lived in the Great Forest for countless centuries before the dwarves emerged on Mt. Timorsk. The elves taught the art of architecture and the science of construction to the dalibor who laid the first stones for their great city of Frandylshyn.
Some wonder whether this ancient race still exists, apart from the degenerate Galliana elves living in self-exile from the Great Forest. Certainly, no elf strays far from Llwynedd, except for those that used to trade in the Perokan town of Wendora. In fact, these traders and the academics and bibliosophs at the University are the only elves that any outsider has seen since shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Wendora in 436 C.R,, almost four hundred years ago. This absence, coupled with the ethereal nature of many of the other inhabitants of the Great Forest, has led some of the mages at the Imperial College in Krondak to conclude that these are merely spirits who have taken the form of elves. The elves themselves, the mages claim, died out long ago.
Whether or not elves still inhabit it, the Great Forest exists. The elven nation of Llwynedd is the Great Forest, and the Great Forest is Llwynedd. The Great Forest may be the remains of a primordial forest that spanned Glorien. It may have always been exactly the size it is now. Whatever its past size, its borders have been constant at least since the arrival of the dwarves.
Llwynedd is a mystical place. Anyone entering it except along the road from Fnorson to the University quickly becomes lost. When they emerge from the forest, they may be a few feet or dozens of miles from where they entered. They almost all tell fanciful tales of ghostly dogs, glowing beards, talking trees, and the like.
The only landmark in Llwynedd known to outsiders is the University. Like the elves, the University seems eternal. It is commonly thought that all knowledge ever known in Glorien is recorded in its archives. Students can learn science and magic not known outside of Llwynedd. The cost of this knowledge is being so enthralled by learning that they can never leave the University.
Location: Llwynedd is located in the center of the northern coast of Glorien. Capivan is to its east. Auriland is to its south. To its west is Peroka and Fnorson. The former dalibor city of Frandylshyn lies near its southeast corner.
Capital, government, head of state: In the past, Llwynedd was a monarchy. Currently, there does not seem to be a centralized government.
Cities and towns: Llwynedd has no substantial settlements, apart from the University.
Economy: The elves traded some exotic fruits and hardwoods for utilitarian metal products in Wendora. It is not known whether these goods are produced by organized agriculture or timber industries. There is no evidence of any other industry.
Relations with other states: Llwynedd has no interaction with any other nation except Peroka (before the dwarves went underground during the Harrying of the Dragons). That interaction was amicable but limited to minor trading.
Galliana elves: The Treaty of Wendora committed the elves to live within the bounds of the Great Forest. The elven king Rhydderch went further than the treaty required. He declared that material want had led to unneeded hardships for the elves. Henceforth, all elves would devote themselves to spiritual pursuits. No elf would be permitted to leave Llwynedd without permission from the king.
Not all elves were willing to accept these strictures. They suffered permanent exile from Llwynedd for their refusal. These were the Galliana elves. The Galliana have suffered due to their separation from the Great Forest. The longevity of the elves is fading. Each generation lives many fewer years than the previous. They believe they have declined in intelligence and vigor, although they do not seem stupider or weaker than any of the other major races of Glorien. The Galliana have fatalistically accepted that they will soon have faded into nonexistance.
Den of the Red Wolf 