A map of Evergrun and the elvish colonies, BC3500
by LoZompatoreIn the following there is an attempt of mine to answer this topic and show a possible map of the pre-cataclysmic island of Evergrun, locating the various elvish clans before the meeting with Blackmoor civilization and the Great Rain of Fire.
First of all, here is the map:
I took the general shape and size of Evergrun from Zendrolion's map about rakastas while I moved the island closer to the coastline according to these maps.
Names for most elvish clans are taken from Jennifer Guerra’s excellent list. I added a few of them found here and there in the official supplements: I added a suitable elvish name to many of them mostly by translating the English name with this Elvish translator utility.
The added elvish clans are listed in detail below.
Settlements' dispersion and their locations are basically at random: I placed them on the same locations of the lights in the southern hemisphere of my picture about the Great Rain of Fire. I then added rivers, lakes, natural barriers and I tweaked a little the coastline in order to make them reasonable locations for a settlement.
Correction of latitude distortion on the southernmost coast of Davania was made using as a reference the two pre-cataclysmic maps above and a rotation of Mystara's globe performed with the software PlanetGen (you can see the screenshot from this software in the little picture on the bottom right corner of Evergrun's map).
Now, a few (hopefully rational) reasons behind my choices about map details and clans' placements:
1) According to PC3 the Aquarendi marine elves lived in the water around Evergrun. So Evergrun should be surrounded by shallow waters and it is likely part of an archipelago with smaller islands, like the Ierendi/Minrothad group in the Sunlit Sea. Moreover, the Meditor and Verdier elves are already seafaring cultures while in Evergrun. That's why I added so many islands around the land of the elves.
2) Evergrun was conceived by Ordana as a safe haven for the elves before they were ready to explore the world. So I surrounded the island with natural obstacles, in particular the high plateau and the swampy areas to the east (see also point 3 below). Notice also from the mini-map on the bottom right corner of the picture that west of Evergrun there is nothing: just ocean for thousands and thousands of miles, which acts as a formidable barrier for any menace to the elves.
3) As you see from latitude marks, the climate is pretty warm, as Evergrun is very close to the pre-Cataclysmic southern tropic at 30° (see * below for details). As many elvish clans do not seem accustomed to warm weather I added a large and high plateau on the Davanian coast which would cool the local climate down to temperate levels. The low latitudes between the tropic and the equator are nevertheless populated by the elvish clans with darker skins (flamenco elves, Sheyallia, Red Arrows, Feadiel). The plateau would also act as a further natural barrier to protect the elves.
Notice also that the region commonly called Grunland is located on the top right hand corner of the map, and in 3500 BC it is, basically, an equatorial jungle, likely unsettled by the elves (unless you would like to introduce jungle elves on Mystara) until the Great Rain of Fire.
(* = this tropic is set at 30° because the estimated axis rotation during the Great Rain of Fire is 53° - from this topic; as the post-Cataclysmic tropic is around 23° it means that before the planet shift moved the tropic from 23°-53° = -30°. The minus sign implies that post cataclysmic seasons are opposite with respect to pre-cataclysmic ones).
4) Elvish clans were placed basing on the map following two criteria: A) those clans with darker skins are placed closer to the equator (and vice versa) and B) after the Cataclysm the elves tried to settle habitats which were closer to the lands they inhabited before the catastrophe.
So, for example, I placed the Sheyallia in a tropical swamp, while the Melydor (i.e. the Meditor elves, with very pale skin) were placed in a southerly archipelago far from the equator. In particular, I placed the four elvish clans who will later move to Blackmoor in a temperate swampy land similar to the region around Blackmoor.
Criterion B) applies also to the clans' habits: for example I placed the Chossum, Shyie and Mealidil clan on coastline locations in the middle of the elvish culture, as these three clans do not shun relationships with their neighbors. Pilinkaarne (the Red Arrows, brown-skinned warriors) were placed close to the equator, on a borderland from which they could better handle foreign aggression to the elvish culture.
As a rule of thumb, clans along the eastern coast of Evergrun/western coast of Davania are more trade-oriented, while those in the central-southern plains of Evergrun are more reclusive. Clans in the Davanian hinterland should have a more pioneer-like attitude. Finally, single islands could be picked up for "isolationistic" clans as well and many elvish settlements are set unassigned for future add-ons. I left empty the westernmost part of Evergrun as it could be an area populated by faerie folk, forest spirits or it is simply sacred to Ordana and cannot be settled by elves.
5) For fictional clans (Alfevien, Galerion, Vilmadien and the like, see Jennifer Guerra's list) I supposed that those who were destroyed during the Great Rain of Fire were actually flooded when, following the planet shift on its axis, the sea currents abruptly changed their course from a W-E direction to a NW-SE one. So I placed these clans along the north-west-facing coasts of Evergrun and Davania, where large tidal waves would have washed the shore unexpextedly. I also assumed that clans who did not survive the migration to Grunland were those already weakened (but not immediately destroyed) by the tidal waves, while those who did not survive the failure of Grunland were those on the mountains of Davania, which were the first to freeze and were contaminated by the poisonous black clouds from Blackmoor. Finally I supposed that the clans who refused to move from Grunland were those already based on Davania, farthest away from the new south pole and with a larger population (i.e. larger resources), which likely were less affected by the planet shift and by the losses following the escape from Evergrun.
6) Clans added to Jennifer Guerra's list are as follows:
Avariel: from various Savage Coast supplements
Anwa-Lote (Trueflower): from M5 module
Cocronel (mound dwellers): from Dungeon Magazine #1 issue; D&D adventure "The Elven Home"
Tarlyon: from CM5 module.
Lindenil: from the background of a pre-generated PC of M5 module (Kavva Lindenelm)
Gildenil (Gildenhelm): from the DM Survival Kit (background for the "Boots of the Five Winds" magic object)
Taneilian: From AC11 (background for the "Bard in a Box" magic object)
Calenska (Greendale): From AC11 module (background of Cathal of Greendale pre-generated NPC)
Tauremerka (Wildwood): From AC11 module (background of Juno from Wildwood pre-generated NPC)
Salkanar (literally "sun-dance"): the supposed ancestors of the flamenco elves (Alhambra, Belcadiz and the like)
Aztiel: the supposed clan from which Aztiann (aka Atzanteotl) came from. Notice their location on the map is similar to what Aengmor will look like in AC1000 (an island in a lake of lava)
Followers of Terra: From the Dragonlord Trilogy; in Alfheim there is a small clerical order devoted to Terra who is hinted to be originated long before the elves revered their current pantheon (in the trilogy Terra was revered by the Eldar, the race from which the elves came from). I suppose Terra established an outpost on the outskirts of Evergrun to attract those still faithful to her teachings instead of Ordana ones'.
7) Rivers, lakes, islands, climate in general and also the plateau will be all very different after the Great Rain of Fire, as the area will meet a major climatic and geologic upheaval (climate transition from temperate-tropical to arctic, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes everywhere in southern Davania, the opening of the current South Polar Opening), so there is quite a large freedom in introducing new elements to this setting.