Upon request, this is the text of the presentation I gave this evening for the Mentor event, concerning sylvan government. I tried as best as I can to stay within the lore, but I've also added some things from my own RP. This was given in character so anything not given in the lore is not necessarily accepted as canon. Still, it might interest some people!
Greetings, everyone, and welcome. Thank you for joining me for a discussion on the traditional form of sylvan government. Thank you as well to the Lorekeepers for allowing me the time to speak to you all.
My main experience in sylvan government centers on the High Council, so I will be focusing on that for this discussion. I will touch upon the D'ahranal from time to time as well.
I'll begin with a history of the High Council and how it has impacted the sylvan people since its inception. I'll then follow with an outline of the High Council itself, from its members, to its procedures, to a few of its rituals.
The main body of the sylvan High Council resides in our city of Yuriqen, which has been sealed off for approximately five thousand years. To finish our discussion, I'll touch on how the sylvans outside of Yuriqen have formed their own governments, lacking the full presence of the High Council.
Once we've finished that, I'll be glad to take any questions anyone has.
Introduction: What is the High Council?
On the whole, we sylvans tend to be a very community-minded people focused on working for the benefit of everyone. As such, we don't find ourselves in need of an extensive or complex system of government to tell us how we may live our lives.
That is not to say that we don't have our differences and disagreements. Rather, they tend to be minor, and we tend to be able to resolve them on our own when they come up.
Should an issue arise that affects a large number of people or deals with contact with the outside world, however, we look to our High Council for guidance.
The High Council is a body of men and women, known as Hierophants, chosen from the community who serve for life. They are known for their wisdom, and their decisions carry great weight among the people as the closest thing we have to laws.
History of the High Council
It is not known precisely when the High Council began, but it was in place early enough to endorse the founding of the first city of Ithnishmyn, over fifty thousand years ago. Some even tell that the Lady Imaera, whom many call the Mother, gathered the wisest of our people and founded the Council as she wandered the lands after the Ur-Daemon War, a hundred thousand years ago.
The Council was not called on very often in the early centuries before Ithnishmyn. They may have directed the people's nomadic wandering in search of more abundant game, or perhaps they oversaw certain rituals and observances. As the ancestors of today's city elves left the forest to found their Houses, however, the sylvans who chose to remain increasingly looked to the Council for guidance in the face of an uncertain future, and the Council's influence grew.
It would seem rather strange, then, that the Council did not oppose the founding of Ithnishmyn, our first permanent city. Were they not falling into the lifestyle of those who had chosen to forsake everything they held dear? However, the Council had decided that it was possible for the sylvans to settle permanently, ceasing their wearying migrations, while still remaining close to the forest they cherished.
Ithnishmyn flourished under the Council's guidance. Arts and sciences took hold and guilds formed to cultivate excellence in various fields and vocations. Academies were founded to educate the youth, among which were those teaching civic service and leadership. With education more formalized and structured, the High Council found their candidates much more competent and capable of meeting any challenges placed before them.
The D'ahranal also formed in Ithnishmyn, an overarching association encompassing the various guilds and academies in the city. Three divisions of the D'ahranal existed originally, the civil servants of the Kytawa, the artisans of the Fresiawn, and the warriors and hunters of the Tyesteron. Each division also elected representatives to serve in the D'ahranal to oversee controversies arising among the academies and guilds, as well as advising the High Council concerning matters under their purview.
At this point, the basic mechanisms of our government were in place. Little would change over the millenia, save for the founding of the last subdivision of the D'ahranal, the Lassaran. The Lassaran were those few people who left the cities in search of any wandering sylvans who may have become separated from the main group, so they might bring them home first to Nevishrim, and then to Yuriqen.
The honor and prestige enjoyed by the High Council and D'ahranal remained constant, though the frequency with which it was called upon waxed and waned through the years. When the sylvan people wandered the land in search of a new home, they found fewer reasons to call for guidance. When they founded the cities of Nevishrim and Yuriqen, their influence returned.
Through it all, the High Council guided the sylvan people through many centuries of wandering and trials, through the Undead War, the founding and dismantling of cities, and the sealing of the last city from the outside world.
Individual members of the Council impacted sylvan history as well. Two in particular are well known, Eislemar Nathlai and Alesanderie.
Eislemar served the Council in the final years of the first city of Ithnishmyn. He was a driving force in the discussion on how the sylvans should respond to the increasing numbers of elven visitors in the city. Many had seen, with no small amount of concern, that sylvan children had gone missing, young people were lured away to the city, and ancient traditions were not being observed as they should. Eislemar advocated measures that actively prevented elves from entering the city, perhaps even harming them, but the Council instead chose to abandon the city entirely in favor of finding a new place to live. Eislemar was put in charge of the expedition.
It was during this expedition that the sylvan people encountered the vast plain of grassland they would come to call the Golden Anvil. The sylvan people, naturally, did not trust such a broad expanse unbroken by trees. Unfortunately, Eislemar was growing impatient, as the people had to wait for months for all of the wandering groups to find the main assembly. Rather than going around and remaining in the safety of the trees, he won over the Council and was permitted to lead the people across the plain.
It was, however, a mistake. The Golden Anvil was populated with immense wyrms that carried people off who had ventured too far away from the group. Though the people retreated to the safety of the forest, over 1100 sylvans met their end in the grasses, possibly including some of the Council. Eislemar himself also fell, attempting to defeat and even tame one of the wyrms through his command of magic. The beast instead shook off his attempts at control, burrowed into the ground and appeared beneath the man's feet, engulfing him whole.
The sylvans regrouped on the edge of the grassland. This time, they wisely chose to stay well away from the Golden Anvil and the death it held.
Many years later, another Councilor would give her life to uncover an insidious plot against the people of Yuriqen. In those days, the people rarely entertained or welcomed visitors, but one Faendryl sorceror was invited to stay with the people. His name was Myrdanian, and he charmed the people with his intellect, his personality and his musical talent. Some even tell that he had begun to convince the people that it may be time to reach out to the city elves once more.
One of the High Council, Alesanderie, did not trust him. Using a combination of rare herbs and magical incantations, she was able to break through Myrdanian's mental barriers as he slept and see his malicious intent to harm the sylvan people.
Myrdanian woke and attacked her viciously, but she managed to live long enough to pass on her visions to three other Council members, who warned the others of the danger. They said that Myrdanian posed such a dangerous threat to the city that he must be put to death, though the rest of the Council could not agree. The sylvan people had never been people of violence.
Myrdanian was bound by magic and cast out into the forests surrounding Yuriqen until the spells wore off, which took several weeks. Afterwards, he launched an attack of dark magic and wicked creatures against the sylvan people so relentless that the people were forced to seal off the city completely.
Yuriqen was initially protected by a magic working known as the Nanrithowan, which inflicted disorientation and confusion on any who did not know the counterspell, known as the Rithowan. Desperate to halt Myrdanian's assault, however, seven Hierophants sacrificed their lives to strengthen the Nanrithowan until none could enter or leave Yuriqen, sealing it off from the world entirely. Today only the people of Yuriqen know how to break the Nanrithowan, but they have no way of knowing when it will be safe to do so.
Given the amount of power Myrdanian was able to call to force such an action, it is hard to imagine the devastation he could have wreaked on Yuriqen, had he not been caught in time by Alesanderie.
The Anatomy of the High Council
Now that we've explored the history of the High Council, allow me to elaborate on what the Council is.
As I mentioned earlier, the High Council is comprised of men and women, known as Hierophants, who serve for their entire adult lives. Only through the death of a Hierophant does room open for another to join their ranks. Members tend to come from the Kytawa, given the Kytawa focus on public service, though there have been occasions of a Fresiawn joining the Council. Tyesteron and Lassaran rarely if ever are called to this service.
The Council regularly meets during the festivals celebrating each new season. There, they discuss the state of the community, plans for the future and any actions that need to be taken. Times are also set aside for members of the community to approach the Council to discuss matters affecting the whole of the community or large sections of it. Matters that affect fewer people may be discussed with families of the people involved or the D'ahranal.
The Council may meet on other occasions should issues arise that demand immediate attention, such as an attacking force, visitors from the outside world, choosing a new member, or a natural disaster. Any member may call for such meetings, though it is understood that doing so should not be taken lightly.
Given that they meet so seldomly in an official capacity, Hierophants will typically hold other vocations at the same time. They are offered the best of sylvan education as part of their training, so they often follow scholarly paths, though it is not uncommon for them to work as teachers, healers, mages, priests, or even craftsmen. For example, those of you familiar with the story of Haloiyand and Alandalore will remember that Haloiyand, a well-respected Hierophant, worked with the human foundling Alandalore to create an illustrated reference volume on many varieties of herbs and plants.
Despite their only meeting a few times in the year, the High Council had a space specifically built for them in each of the sylvan cities. In Ithnishmyn, the Council met in a large hyrrad called the Heart of Contemplation. Nevishrim featured an airy structure translated into Common as Wisdom's Illumination. The largest of the seven modwirs of Yuriqen, known as Yr'Thrumh, hosted the meeting area for the High Council, as well as the Kytawa and the D'ahranal representative body. Yr'Thrumh was a fitting location to meet, as it was dedicated to the Circle, an abstract concept somewhat akin to the combination of all things - living and not living - and the power and energy contained in the world.
Acolytes of the High Council
Joining the High Council is restricted only to those sylvans who exhibit what is known as the hierophantic talent. It's a bit difficult to define this talent, however, as it appears nowhere else in any race in the world. Among other things, the hierophantic talent allows a person to receive the knowledge and wisdom of another person into their mind and soul. It is through this passing of wisdom from one to another that a new Hierophant may step into the high Council and serve the people as best they can.
As you might imagine, this allows the Hierophants great insight into matters, and it is a large part of why they are so highly regarded by other sylvans. Many believe that the Mother Imaera gifted us with the ability to transfer wisdom to new members of the Council at its founding, and that an enchanted scroll records the names of every Hierophant from the beginning up until the present.
The hierophantic talent is also very similar to what other races call telepathy, so those people who possess talent in one often also possess talent in the other. In fact, it is so common that people training to join the Council often receive instruction in telepathy and other mental arts. The Council recognized early on that having insight into a person's mental state is highly beneficial, particularly when assessing whether they pose a threat to the people. At the same time, being able to walk minds unsettles many people, so those training in the mental arts are strongly instructed to use their skills very judiciously, lest they lose the people's trust.
In fact, Alesanderie, whom you may remember discovered Myrdanian's intentions to harm the people of Yuriqen, did so using telepathy. She also communicated what she discovered to her fellow Hierophants telepathically. She was too weak to speak and telepathy allowed them to see as she did before she died.
The hierophantic talent is, unfortunately, quite rare. For this reason, the Hierophants seek out children who show the talent, preferably while they are young, between five and fifteen. Those exhibiting the talent are then observed for a year to determine whether their personality, temperment, compassion and capacity for wisdom suit the possibility of joining the High Council.
Should they be judged suitable, these young people are given instruction for twenty years before being tested again. Most often, the hierophantic talent is lost as the child reaches adolescence, and those who do lose it are released from their training to find another path in life.
Those rare individuals whose talent actually grow more potent with time then undergo an induction ritual known as the Arg'Hamim. From then on, they are known as Acolytes of the Hierophants. These Acolytes are the people who may be chosen to ascend to the High Council upon the death of a Hierophant.
Sylvans joining the Acolytes are given the best education the people can offer, as leaders of the people must be knowledgable in many things. They are also allowed to indulge their curiosities in various fields of study that may catch their attention. In addition, each Acolyte is assigned a Hierophant as their patron to guide them and provide any instruction they might need.
Clothing of Acolytes and Hierophants
Members of the Acolytes are easily distinguished by what they wear: an ivory tunic with either an indigo or green mantle. Members of the general assembly wear green mantles, while tradition holds that those who wear the indigo mantle are most likely to be chosen to join the High Council. Typically, those who wear the indigo mantle demonstrated qualities most sought after in a new Hierophant, including a strong hierophantic talent, intense intellect, compassion, wisdom and so on.
As you can see, I'm wearing an outfit typical of an Acolyte of high rank.
>(You are wearing an orb-inset haon talisman, a vibrant indigo chainsil mantle gathered at the shoulder by a coiling mithril penannular brooch, a soft ivory long chainsil tunic bound with a simple braided leather belt, a pair of loose-fitting ivory linen pants, and a pair of polished ivory leather boots trimmed with white ermine.)
You may also notice that I have a tattoo here.
>(an inked spiral of bronze tendrils tightly coiled upon her temple: Myriad bronze lines trail across her pale skin to coalesce into a series of fluid markings that would escape detection from afar. The delicate script most strongly resembles an altered form of the sylvan language, but offers no help to decipher its meaning as it twists into a tight spiral centered with a seven-pointed star.)
The sylvans recognize that, while practicing the mental arts provides insight, there may be other practicioners who may attempt to gain advantage over the High Council. Many Hierophants and Acolytes, particularly those trained in telepathy and other mental arts, receive tattoos such as this to protect against intrusion. Others wear items that augment a person's defense or skill, or they appeal to the spirits or the Mother Imaera to keep them safe from harm.
You may also notice that there is a seven-pointed star at the center of this tattoo. It is a common symbol used to denote the High Council. The seven points of the star refer to the seven modwirs of Yuriqen. The star itself signifies that the High Council is responsible for all sylvans, while reminding that all are interconnected in the community. Sometimes the topmost point of the star is emphasized in some way, which refers to the northmost tree of Yr'Thrumh, where the High Council meets in Yuriqen.
Obviously, the seven-pointed star was not in use in Nevishrim or Ithnishmyn, since Yuriqen was not founded until after the other two cities were abandoned. Before then, a common symbol was a golden sunburst enclosing a burning torch, symbolizing the High Council as a guiding light through both day and night, good times and bad times. The symbol does still see use in Yuriqen on occasion, though the seven-pointed star is favored overall.
When an Acolyte ascends to become a Hierophant, their ivory tunic is replaced with that of dark green, and they wear a heavy mithril chain around their neck, such as this one.
>(a densely woven heavy mithril neckchain: Alternating in hues of silver and blue, pairs of polished mithril links dip, weave and twist into a dense rope the width of a sylvan's thumb. No clasp gathers either end of the chain, yet the length allows it to drape freely about the wearer's shoulders, a seamless whole.)
The mithril chain is left whole to symbolize the Hierophant's link to the people of the past, present and future. Typically, they are passed down from predecessor to successor, and a few have even been passed down all the way from Ithnishmyn and before. Other items may also be passed through the generations, but that tends to vary from one person to another.
Religious Affiliation
The sylvan religion on the whole is devoted to the Mother Imaera in most things. This is no different for the High Council and the Acolytes. Given the Council's love of knowledge and wisdom to guide the people, a good number of Hierophants and Acolytes honor the Judge Koar and the Teacher Lumnis. The Silent Gosaena also has a presence in sylvan religion and has a share of adherents among the Council and Acolytes as well. However, individual affiliations sometimes vary beyond that depending on a person's proclivities and temperment.
Joining the High Council
As I've mentioned, the only way a person is able to join the High Council is for one of the sitting Hierophants to die. Should that happen, a large drum known as the Summoner, or Rantylan, notifies the community. The Hierophants attend the body for three days, conducting ceremonies that include capturing the deceased's knowledge and wisdom so that they may be later received by his or her successor. What precisely these rites included is unknown, as the Hierophants do not allow others to attend and they do not speak of them, but rumors hold that the knowledge is captured within a specially prepared, large clay vessel known as an amphora.
The Council meets immediately after the rites are completed and do not leave until a successor is chosen. Three-fourths of the Council is required for a new Hierophant to be elected, and legends tell of these meetings lasting for weeks before the right Acolyte was found. The identity of the new Hierophant is announced at a public assembly that anyone who wishes is able to attend, and a brief welcome ceremony is performed, wherein the new Hierophant is presented with the mantle of his or her predecessor.
The next day, the Hierophant takes part in another private ritual with the High Council, this time to receive the knowledge of the old Hierophant. This takes all day, and a public ceremony follows at dusk.
The new Hierophant is stripped of all clothing and possessions, symbolizing his or her new role in life to serve the community. He or she is then escorted through the community by two indigo-mantled Acolytes chosen by the new Hierophant. The rest of the community gathers to witness the event, and showers the three people with flowers and herbs to carpet the ground as they pass.
The three soon arrive at the Council's meeting house, where the current members are gathered in a semicircle. There, the new Hierophant recites a pledge to serve the sylvan people that has passed unchanged down the generations. He or she then receives the dark green tunic and neckchain as signifiers of membership in the High Council.
Life as an Acolyte
Acolytes who are not selected to join the Council still enjoy a full and rich life. Most serve governing or ceremonial functions, such as assisting the High Council so they will be familiar with its workings should they be called upon. In addition, they pursue other professions of their choice. Because Acolytes are given the best education possible, many take up similar professions as Hierophants, including teachers, historians, mages, priests, philosophers and the like. In fact, some of the most influential scholars in sylvan tradition were Acolytes.
The High Council Outside Yuriqen
Many of you are aware that the city of Yuriqen is sealed to the outside world so that none may enter or leave. Most Hierophants and Acolytes chose to remain within Yuriqen when it was sealed, but a few did choose to leave so that they could provide the people outside the city with guidance and instruction. Unfortunately, not nearly enough of them remained outside of Yuriqen to help everyone.
Most of the communities outside Yuriqen have no High Council, Hierophants or Acolytes. Many of those who did at one point attempted to maintain the hierophantic tradition. However, they may not have had enough people manifesting the hierophantic talent or the ability to perform the rites that pass on a Hierophant's knowledge and wisdom. Because of this, some lines of hierophantic consciousness have died out and their collected wisdom has been lost.
Those communities without a Council to guide them are forced to find another method of governing. These typically closely resemble the High Council, such as a council of elders, but others include hereditary rule, choosing leaders based on merit or passing a test, and so on. The smallest communities may even have no government at all and simply make decisions as a group when matters arise that require deliberation.
Some communities, however, do have the population to maintain a stable line of Hierophants. These tend to be permanent settlements close to Yuriqen that pick up wandering bands over time. One such settlement is my home, Yr'Lassa, located just to the southwest of the Silver Veil that holds the Nanrithowan, near Ne'Yuscarl Point and the Moonstone Stele.
A small cluster of Hierophants and Acolytes brought a few bands of followers outside Yuriqen in hopes of bringing the wandering sylvans together again. We also observe the Veil in hopes that Yuriqen might one day open and we can return home. Until then, we watch, wait, hope, and honor the Council that guides us.
Conclusion
Thank you for joining me tonight for this discussion on sylvan government and the High Council. If any of you have any questions, I'll be glad to try to answer them now.
Gretchen
Meeting Nilandia: http://gsguide.wikia.com/wiki/Nilandia
Nilandia's GS4 Info Repository: http://www.nilandia.com
AIM: Lady Nilandia
