Eh'lah

Nestled deep in the jungles and set on the banks of a wide, wild river, Eh'lah was created by a small party of Dhe'nar just after the Fall of Sharath. In the time since its founding, it has grown into a fair sized community, steeped in ancient tradition and strong in its following of the Way.

Roughly a month before the Fall of Sharath, what is assumed was a scouting party left the shining Jewel of the Dhe'nar for reasons unknown. It can be surmised that they were sent out to find lands to conquest, or settlements of other races to raid. What is known for certain is what they returned to. As they walked, weary and ready to see their families again, they scented ash upon the air. They crested a hill in time to see the fires begin to rain down on their beautiful city, and the mountain rend it asunder. They sat on the hill, unsleeping, and watched as what they believed to be their entire race was destroyed.

True Dhe'nar, they said their farewells to the ruins of their home and traveled deep into the jungles. All they knew, their race and their families, were dead (as far as they knew), and they would not allow the Dhe'nar or the Way to perish in the flames that had claimed Sharath. They finally came upon a spot next to a huge river, and settled down to rebuild the Empire of the Firstborn. They called it Eh'lah, meaning Hope or Rebirth.

While the rebuilding Sharath focused on learning from the past to create newer ways, those living in Eh'lah clung to the memory of the old, and recreated the old ceremonies faithfully. They also created new ways, made to keep alive the memory of those that had perished in the fires. They never forgot, never allowed themselves to let go the mourning, and never faltered from the Way they held so dear.

A comparison of Eh'lah to Sharath shows many similarities. There are few fundamental differences in the most basic of rites and traditions, and each city has a "mascot" reptile they consider perhaps the fiercest thing to hunt. In fact, where the oldest traditions of the Dhe'nar are concerned, it seems Eh'lah has simply added their own slant to them, instead of making sweeping changes.

The most notable of the changes, perhaps, is the coming of age ritual, the Great Hunt and the naming standards. Children are still sent, naked and unarmed, into the jungles to return with a prize from the animal they killed. However, where Sharath's young simply go out to return with what they will, the children in Eh'lah must declare what creature they will kill before they leave the village. To return with the skin of another creature is to fail as surely as if they died.

When a child returns successful from their Great Hunt, they are taken to the Temple, and the Chamber of Remembrance. They are left alone in the dark room, and after a time of sitting and quiet meditation, the Chamber shows its true colors. The Chamber is designed to show proof of Eh'lah's belief that the body remembers...that the blood will always recall what has come before, as it is passed down through the years. Thus, each child sits in the dark, and he remembers the Fall of Sharath, seeing it as if he had been upon the hillside witnessing the rain of fire.

Names in Eh'lah are "backwards" by the standards of most cities. Those that live in the village use what would normally be termed the surname, or last name, as the name they are called by, and their first name as a special "true name" to be used under special circumstances. Thus, Gryphon Blackmoone becomes Blackmoone to the populace, and someone like Dhrakyn Ta'Nhilmon becomes Nhilmon, with the prefix dropped.

True names are considered gifts to be given only to your closest friends and most trusted allies. Spouses exchange them, as do battle companions of many, many years. Thus, at a simple listen, you can tell who is close to whom by what name they call others by, and what name they are called by whom.

However, further comparison shows several differences between the two places. In outlook and lifestyle, Eh'lah seems at once more spiritual and more tribal. Those who live in the village tend to wear less, most especially into battle. Tourneys and tests of strength and bravery tend to be more rough and dangerous than the ones in Sharath. At the same time, the rituals are more heart-felt, opening the soul to closer examination.

The most public ceremony is the Keening. Each evening, the Priestesses come forth from the temple with their assigned Tishi'qa (the Handmaidens, a group of all-female warriors assigned to protect and guard the Priestesses at all times), each carrying a lit torch. They file out in two columns, one to each side of the river, holding their torches high in the air. They speak not a word, and as they take their places, the entire village falls silent. In that deep silence, the Priestesses begin keening; wailing with their voices pitched high in mourning, to sorrow again for the loss of Sharath.

Other smaller traditions exclusive to Eh'lah include a massage technique that not only relaxes the muscles, but brings out memories and feelings long since buried. Very similar to the real-life technique of rolfing, this is one way to bring about remembrance of things long past.

The Dhe'nar dialect is also slightly different in Eh'lah than in Sharath. While the two languages are certainly compatible, the language in Eh'lah is often considered of an older variety, and includes many words that Sharathians seem to have forgotten. The village's dialect seems to contain more contractions and words with two apostrophes, than the larger cities.

While both Sharath and Eh'lah are set in jungles, the village is more overgrown, more deeply set into the rainforest than Sharath. Also, it does not contain any mountainous terrain or cave networks. Thus, they have no dark dwarf population, although their ratio of human and giantman slaves is higher. Also, there are no sh'arom, but those in the village do not lack a creature to be wary of.

The nhil'mon is a lizard, usually over twelve feet long, adept at swimming and fighting with its long claws and heavy tail. There are two varieties of nhil'mon, the brown and the black. The former are smaller, with muddy brown scales and rings of mustard yellow around their eyes. They are also much less likely to attack without reason, and put up less of a fight than their larger cousins. (For a real-life equivalent, please look at this picture of a komodo dragon.)

The black nhil'mon is something to be feared. They are often several feet longer than the brown variety, with gleaming black scales speckled with yellow. They are a temperamental reptile, known to attack without provocation and kill even the finest of warriors by dismembering them or dragging them to the depths of the river to drown. (For a picture, see this photo of the Nile monitor. She's a baby Nile, but it gives you the general idea.)

Both varieties are hunted to prove bravery and prowess, although in a controlled manner. Seldom are they hunted by young Dhe'nar on their Great Hunt (every so often, generally several centuries apart, someone succeeds). More often, warriors hunt them to prove bravery and skill, or lovers to prove loyalty to their partner. (A common phrase used by Dhe'nar women advising another female on how to rid oneself of an unwanted suitor is, "Tell him to go kiss a nhil'mon.")

The nhil'mon is respected and protected in Eh'lah. When first the Dhe'nar settled in the area, they met resistance from the neighboring human villages. While the dark elves were certainly more than a match for the humans, the nhil'mon made excellent guard dogs, protecting their territory from the humans that trespassed upon it. Often, the Dhe'nar set up ambushes and guards in areas that would force the invaders towards nhil'mon egging grounds, leaving the lizards to clean up the intruders that attempted to run away.

In conclusion, the Dhe'nar of Eh'lah were overjoyed to learn that Sharath still stood, even in a changed and rebuilt form. A large weight lifted from their shoulders, for they were no longer the only ones responsible for upholding the Way and the Dhe'nar bloodline. They have sent emissary missions to Sharath, and the two towns are rediscovering each other, seeing what the mixing of similar but different cultures will bring. Eh'lah has also begun sending their young to Wehnimer's Landing, keeping an eye on the expanding empire. Only time will tell what the future may bring them.