The Westryn in the Hollow World
by WingofCootThis is a pre-Ilsundal elvish society; they live a sylvan lifestyle because it has always been their way and because it fits their environment, not as a conscious "back to nature" ideological movement. They precede the tech age that it was a response to. Thus, while they are still definitely a forest culture, they are not quite so fully focused in that direction as are the elves of Alfheim. While they hunt, gather, and fish, and plant nut and fruit trees, they do clear (admittedly small) areas of the forest to grow gardens of sunlight-loving plants.
Their capital, New Ringlo (named after long-lost Ringlo Hall, in the Outer World) is not a place for foreign interaction like Alfheim Town - it is first and foremost the home of their Clan Relic, the Standing Stone.
Agriculture and Food
Due to the relatively small scale of their gardens, the Westryn elves do not grow grain crops. Their agriculture is focused on gaining the maximum benefit from a small area, providing foods not found or not easily found in the forest. This means primarily root vegetables, as well as a wide variety of herbs (both culinary and medicinal). At the borders of their gardens, where the open sun meets the shade of the forest, they plant berry bushes and grape vines.
These gardens are not completely permanent; eventually, fruit or nut trees will be planted there and a new garden area cleared. The berry bushes and grape vines continue to be tended during the years the trees are growing. Thus, the area of a Westryn settlement is a patchwork of gardens, patches of newly planted trees, and mature fruit and nut trees. Once the entire area is occupied by mature trees, the settlement itself will be moved. (New Ringlo is somewhat different, however, as the central settlement location is fixed by the presence of the Standing Stone.)
The staples of their diet are meat (deer and various small game - squirrel, rabbit, game birds, etc.), nuts, and root vegetables; fruits and fish are also important.
Settlements
Except for New Ringlo, Westryn settlements are small villages (usually of less than 400 elves) built of wood and (near rivers) river cane. They are only semi-permanent on an elf's time scale, but will remain in the same place for many years. Elves often travel long distances away from their settlements in hunting parties and so on.
Technology and Crafts
The Westryn preserve the knowledge and craft of blacksmithing, but this is a special skill rarely used due to the rarity of iron (the Westryn Vales do not have good ore). Smiths are rare individuals who carefully train apprentices over many years, and even they do not do blacksmith-work daily; generally they practice another craft more frequently. Iron and steel are reserved for valuable items - weapons and armor given to the clan's more skilled warriors and heroes (generally 3rd level or above) and important tools (such as those used in smith-work itself).
Softer metals such as gold and copper, which need not be smelted and are found as small native nuggets in the hills of the Westryn lands, and as placer flakes in streams running down from the mountains, are used far more frequently - for small items like copper fish hooks, clasps on clothing, jewelry, etc.
The Westryn are known for great skill in making objects out of the organic products of the forest - woodcarving and carpentry, bow making and fletching, weaving various fibers, making of ropes and fishing nets. They have skilled potters. They also have stone tool crafting unusual among iron age cultures; common tools and hunting weapons are made of wood, stone, and bone. The long elvish lifespan gives opportunity to learn a variety of skills; most Westryn are skilled in a few of these crafts as well as general subsistence skills like hunting, gardening, and fishing.
Clan Relic: The Standing Stone
This Clan Relic long predates the Trees of Life used by the Outer World elves. It was designed to give the Westryn a little more access to magic, counteracting the limits of the Spell of Preservation to some degree.
The Standing Stone is a stone pillar, 40' by 40' in cross section, carved with many runes. Set in a clearing under the open sky, the Standing Stone absorbs the red sunlight and ambient magic of the Hollow World.
The Westryn Elves have noted that the Stone slowly grows, but this is only noticeable over centuries. (In the 4800 years it has been in place, it has grown from 80' tall to slightly over 100'.)
The Stone has the basic abilities of any demihuman clan relic given in the Companion Set/RC. It cannot be used to create an elven lightship as a tree of life can; instead, the stored magic and energy within the Stone is used to infuse water and the juice of forest fruits and herbs with magic, creating special potions. In addition, one special type of potion produced in this way can be used in a time consuming enchantment process to create certain other magical items.
Making potions in this way is quicker and far cheaper than the usual process to make potions, but the resulting potions can only function within a certain radius of the Standing Stone.
[Needs more mechanics]