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Characters

 * Tarellethiel (lit. elf queen) - current ruling queen of Kortirion
 * Tarellethiel's grandson - member of the House of the Fountain, head of the Cellyn, the elite warriors.
 * Calamaethor? bright warrior
 * Lainathion? - freedom
 * Aranethon? - young royalty

Kortirion

 * words (yes im mixing sindarin and quenya and qenya and sometimes noldorin. fight me):
 * eldalie - elf-folk, people of the elves (qenya, primitive.)
 * quendelië - elf-race (quenya)
 * quendë - elf (lit. one that speaks)
 * elvellon - elf-friend
 * sadron (pl. sedryn) - faithful one. in this case refers to clerics.
 * callon (pl. cellyn) - hero. in this case being used for the elite warriors.
 * galadhrim - the elves of laurelin. (lit. galadh tree, rim people)
 * imlothrim - the elves of nivrim. (lit. imloth flower-valley, rim people)

History
The Elves of Kortirion were once scattered across the entire continent of Zupiryon, before kingdoms began to rise from the dust the Goddess Yavanna Kementári provided. The fond memories of the eldest of their race speak of a time when their people wandered the lands now "owned" by mortal humans and vampires and nymphs, tending to the other creations of Yavanna (often recalled is the great war between the red and grey squirrels, which required a great deal of mediation).

When the other 'sentient' (though ask an elf and they will tell you that all living things have a voice, if you listen carefully enough) races began to appear on the continent, the elves took to teaching them as they did any other race. It is not entirely clear what the mortals learnt from the elves, but what is well-known, at least within the kingdom of Kortirion, is that the students betrayed their teachers.

Hierarchy is important within Elven society, of course, but as is democracy. The elves elect their own representatives - the Lord or Lady of their House - and their 'Monarch', who is judged best to keep the peace and make executive decisions on behalf of the entire race in times of need. Mortals, however, are greedy and power-hungry, at least in the eyes of many Elves. You see, once there were three great Elven cities: Gondolin was the largest and most important, complete with the then-King's residence. Nivrim (west edge/border) was next largest, a hidden valley in the Kôr mountain range. Finally, the smallest city was Laurelin (song of gold, name of the golden tree in valinor - lotr), so named for the forest it lay within. Of course, there were hundreds of small settlements throughout the continent, but these three made up the heart of the Elven people.

Thirty thousand years ago, Gondolin fell. The mortal Kingdoms of Altheria and Drokkenys had been warring, as they so often are, and the Elven Council at the time chose to ride to the aid of Drokkenys. After the third battle the allies won, Altheria chose to strike against the Elves: Gondolin, the only one of their cities whose location was widely known, was attacked while the majority of the army was gone. It was carnage, and only one in seven of the people there escaped alive, lead towards the Kôr Mountains by one healer of the House of the Willow, Nestariel. Needless to say, the Council of the time was disbanded, and the Elves withdrew from the war - and from the world. Nestariel was named Queen in place of the previous King, and took the name Tarellethiel (lit. Elf Queen).

The land that would become Kortirion was perfect for such an insular people. The Kôr (from corna, round) mountain range was unique in its shape, forming an unbroken ring around a vast forest and thus an effective natural barrier against many armies. It helped also that Nivrim lay in the range, and Laurelin within the forest. More and more settlements sprang up in the mountains and in the forest as Elves poured in, obeying their new Queen's command to evacuate. Finally, the House of the Hammer built a series of thirteen towers atop the mountains, topped with beacons meant to be lit in the case of an attack. The largest tower, named Kortirion (lit. tower of Kôr) was built to face towards Altheria.

The tower of Kortirion became a symbol of the Elves' safety, and so intertwined with the core values of their people that the whole kingdom began to be referred to as Kortirion. The hierarchy of Gondolin was implemented in the new kingdom, though the power was spread between the two remaining cities rather than concentrated in one. They had made that mistake once, and they won't be repeating it.

The People
As insular as Kortirion is, it is populated nearly entirely by elves. Messengers from other kingdoms are generally not permitted further than one of the towers, distrustful as the elves are, and foreign trade is completed outside of the kingdom, the House of the Opal's members acting as travelling merchants selling items of Elven make, furs, and plants found only in the country.

Of course, the people of Kortirion are free to leave the kingdom to travel whenever they wish, but most choose to remain in safety. Aside from the merchants, "war parties" provided by the House of the Fountain often go travelling to patrol the outer border, clear out dark creatures from the mountains (or from the southern part of the forest, which has been growing steadily darker of late), or to escort the merchant parties and protect them from mortal attackers. Some do leave simply for an adventure, though.

Some mortals can be found in Kortirion, however: if they have done something to aid a travelling elf, or simply befriended one, they may be awarded the title elvellon, elf-friend, and given a token that marks them as such. Each elf carries a few of these tokens, which is inscribed with their name and spelled to burn any who have not been given it by the elf in question.

The Warriors
The warriors of Kortirion are legendary, each one trained for centuries before they're deemed good enough to spar with anything other than blunted weapons, and centuries more before they're deemed good enough to join a guard. The guards are simple to understand, really: Laurelin has five, each assigned to a different section of the forest. North, South, East, West, and Home. Nivrim has one, defending the valley, and each of the five towers have their own, patrolling the mountain range around them. The guards operating in the Kôr Mountains also patrol the outer borders of the kingdom, and are charged with lighting the beacons if an attack is imminent.
 * All warriors are part of the House of the Fountain.

Finally, the Cellyn are the elite warriors of Kortirion, consisting of only four hundred. A Callon is trained until they are at least three thousand years of age, in contrast with the other guards, which require new members to be in the range of a thousand to two thousand years of age. The Cellyn are the most distinctive of the warriors, with emerald green cloaks marking their rank, and they are generally sent wherever they are needed. As the Cellyn are required in all parts of Kortirion, they are proficient with all weapons, but the Galadhrim warriors (those from Laurelin) generally favour the bow and hunting daggers, while the Imlothrim warriors (hailing from Nivrim) prefer the sword and the bow.

Structure of Society
Kortirion's society is comprised of eight houses, depending on an elf's strengths and skills. At the age of one hundred and fifty, an elf chooses a house to become a novice for, and they remain a novice until they are at least a thousand years of age (though warriors and healers often remain novices for longer). The houses are: The ruling monarch is elected by their people, and rule until they either die, step down or are removed from power by vote. Supporting them is a council consisting of the heads of each of the other seven houses, who are also elected by the people. You may only vote in the election of your own house's lord or lady, and in the election of the monarch.
 * Crown, nossë ríë - the queen, diplomats and politicians
 * Opal, nossë mírë - the merchants and moneylenders.
 * Tree, nossë alda - the clerics, sedryn.
 * Fountain, nossë celurë - the warriors.
 * Willow, nossë tasarë - the healers.
 * Swallow, nossë tuilinn - the animal handlers.
 * Hammer, nossë lamba - smiths and craftsmen.
 * Harp, nossë nandë - musicians, artists, dancers and actors.

Religion
The elves worship Yavanna Kementári, the Goddess of the Earth and of life itself. They believe that she created them and gave them the ability to communicate with her other creations, so that they would be able to act as caretakers for it. And that is what they try to do, at least within Kortirion.

The House of the Tree is so named in reference to the central home tree in Laurelin, the leaves of which Yavanna is said to have used to create the first eight elves, who founded each of the houses. Each member of the House of the Tree is given the title Sadron, meaning faithful one, and works as a sort of priest to guide other members of society.

One key part of the elven religion is the tradition of assigning an adult, unrelated "guardian" to each child upon birth, who acts as almost a third parent as they grow up. This is seen as necessary because of the rarity of children among elves. They are so long-lived that they must be less fertile than other races, or risk overpopulation within a few centuries, but generally the birth rate is around one elfling per twenty years. It's low, and therefore children are kept incredibly close.

Other

 * Elves grow more slowly than other races, and are about the equivalent of a twenty-year-old human at the age of one hundred and fifty.
 * Elves do not marry, but once they find a partner they generally stay together for life.
 * Elves braid their hair in different patterns depending on their age, family, house and rank. It's really a complex way of identification which few other than the elves themselves can understand.
 * Elves can speak to trees, and to animals. In fact, the word quendë, meaning elf, is more literally translated as one who speaks. Legend says that it was the elves who taught the other races to speak.

Church

 * Dedicated to < insert name of goddess of death>
 * Takes all races.
 * Eligible to join as an acolyte when you reach the age of majority for your race.
 * Beforehand you generally would have been trained by one of the teachers sent out by the church
 * They live as ordinary citizens mostly & take on one student at a time (unless it's siblings)
 * When you come of age you are directed to a little town in the middle of nowhere, and you are expected to find your own way from there.
 * The church's main stronghold is in the most unremarkable mountain in the range. Not the tallest, not shaped interestingly, nothing. It's remarkable in how average it is.
 * This is defensive - they are expected to go for the most dramatic mountain. By choosing an average one it doesn't stand out.
 * When you do find the stronghold, you present your Tithe: the teeth of a murderer who you have killed.
 * After you are accepted, you have lessons in:
 * Songs (combat)
 * Pockets (thievery)
 * Masks (seduction)
 * Truths (poisons)
 * At the end, only four of each year's acolytes will become Blades (assassins). The rest become Hands, who are effectively servants to the Blades.
 * To become a blade you have to win one of the teachers' competitions. These are:
 * Songs - a tournament, comprising of swordfighting, hand-to-hand, archery and knife throwing.
 * Pockets - a competition throughout the year of training. The teacher makes a list of items to steal, and assigns them points. The acolytes compete to try and get as many of the items on the list as they can. The more dangerous to get the item, the higher the points yield.
 * Masks - throughout the year the acolytes spend weekends in big cities around the continent, competing to discover the best secret, which they then report back to their teacher.
 * Truths - the teacher creates an exceedingly complex poison, and the acolytes are given the year to try to come up with the antidote.