mordenkainens tome of foes

elf wizards of FaerOn summoned into the world

a piece

of Arvandor and bound it there. Their intent was to

craft

a new homeland for the elves, a place protected from the

outside world and so similar to their afterlife as to allow

elves

to live in a virtual heaven on earth.

Although

the performance of the ritual was an act

of supreme sacrilege, it didn't bring divine retribution

down on those responsible. Perhaps the Seldarine

deemed the consequences of the act to be punishment

enough. The ritual ripped

continents apart. It shifted

seas. The lives lost couldn't

be counted. Even time and

space were, for a time, torn asunder.

This event was the

first Sundering of FaerOn, and the world was forever

changed by it.

Millennia later, Evermeet still exists, although now it

is unmoored from the world, somewhere in the

space

between the Feywild, Arvandor, and the Material Plane.

By using secret pathways, entering a fairy ring on spe-

cial nights, or traversing a moonlit sea by following cer-

ta

in stars, elves of many worlds can get to Evermeet-if

they're lucky. Even from FaerOn, for instance, one can

sail to Ever meet only on a ship captained by an elf who

has been there before. And if the captain slips up, the

ship might become adrift on the Astral Plane.

Despite all these obstacles,

when elves feel the pull of

Arvandor, some find the way

to assuage that feeling by

traveling to Evermeet instead.

Unlike on Arvandor, elves

who visit Evermeet can do so for as long as they like and

leave when they want-or can choose to stay, as many

elves do in the later decades of their lives.

The arrival of elves from worlds other than FaerOn

is

a phenomenon of just the last few decades. When

Ever-

meet became detached from Faerun, it also lost its great

queen, Amlaruil Moonflower, said to have been invested

with

powers by all of the Seldarine. Her throne

has sat empty ever since. The consensus of the

ruling houses in Evermeet is that the Seldarine

now want Evermeet to be open to all elves and

not ruled by any single mortal.

ELADRIN AND THE

FEYWILD

The Feywild exists separate

from but parallel

to the Material P lane. It's a

realm of nature run

amok, and most of its inhabitants are sylvan or fey

creatures. In these respects, the Feywild has certain

similarities to Arvandor. First-time visitors might be ex-

cused for not being sure which of the two

planes they're

on for a time after arriving. Unlike Arvandor,

however,

which is a plane of good, the Feywild leans toward

nei-

ther good nor evil; both are equally prevalent and pow-

erful there. For that reason, parts of the Feywild where

evil holds sway are substantially more dangerous than

any place in Arvandor.

All kinds of elves live in the Feywild, but one sub-

race

• the eladrin- has adopted it as their home. Of all

the elves, eladrin are closest in form and ability to the

first generation of elves. Some could pass for high elves,

but most are

distinctly eladrin in appearance: very slen-

der, with hair a nd skin color determined by the season

with which they feel the closest affinity. And their eyes

often glimmer with fey magic.

CHAPTER 2 I ELVES