Defenders of the Forest - Liber Fanatica

Chapter VIII: The Laurëlorn
Forest
More common are single-storey, ground-level Lodges (called
Bwthyns in Elvish) built under and around ‘home trees’ that
form the natural hearts of the dwellings. Usually grown and
nurtured over several decades, lodges are constantly remodelled
and extended with additional chambers sung from living plants.
Lodges are never finished, but instead change with the seasons
and the whims of their owners. Much of the dwelling is considered
public space that’s open to visitors, including the dining,
cooking, storage and workshop areas, as well as the household
garden, a domestic version of the Kailyard (see The Bole). The
quarters adjoining the home tree are more private, containing
just sleeping arrangements (often a loft bed, shaped from
the home tree’s lowest branches), a study area and sometimes a
Misneach dedicated to resident nature spirits.
The glade’s biggest construction is the Winter Palace or Hall
(7), often situated adjacent to the Feis. This building serves as
the glade’s political centre when the High Hall is abandoned for
winter. Either a single, large building or a complex of smaller
ones, the Winter Palace contains an audience chamber, private
apartments and bower (‘the Cloister’), library, guardroom and
armoury. The name is somewhat misleading, since the Winter
Palace is used year round as a meeting place where decisions are
made on matters considered too trivial to bother the highborn
in the High Hall.
A glade’s economy is based on hunting, gardening and handicrafts.
Visiting Asrai always bring and receive gifts, resulting in
regular circulation of goods. While most Asrai can turn their
hands to basic crafts, advanced works require specialists, and every
glade has a Potter (8), Weaver (9) and Leatherworker (10).
The glade’s Miller (11) produces flour and makes Elf-bread,
cakes and honeyed sweets. The millstone is generally hardwood,
treated for centuries year after year in special seed and nut oils,
and washed in blessed water, so that it seems the grains willingly
spring apart at its touch. The miller is often married to the
beekeeper, who doubles as the glade’s brewer of mead, ciders
and fruit wines. In this case, the couple’s apiary can often fulfil
the role of ciderhouse, wine bar and pub, as well as bakery and
confectionery all at once.
Most crafts are practised from home, but some have special
status. The healer is generally resident in the Sanctuary, and the
Smith (12) occupies a specially constructed building set apart
from other houses. The Asrai of Laurëlorn accept the need for
smiths only with reluctance. Fire is considered a tool of Humans
and Dwarfs and is therefore unclean. To save on wood and charcoal,
the forge is never left to cool completely, and does double
duty as the miller’s oven.
‘Moisture Farms’, these complex systems are ingenious but fragile
and demand constant maintenance.
The Asrai share their glades and homes with friendly animals.
It’s quite common, in fact, for a glade to exchange food and aid
with local animals for special services that only the creatures can
provide. Bees might swarm attackers, wolves patrol the surrounding
forest, wildcats stand guard at night and squirrels help
the Elves find nuts and berries. A few animals can even speak
Malla-room-ba-larin and participate in the glade’s decisionmaking.
Th e He d g e
The Hedge is not a barrier like a stockade or wall, but a zone of
various defences cunningly crafted from the forest itself. To the
lost and the ignorant, the Hedge is relatively forgiving. Briars,
brambles, subtle illusions and circuitous paths divert unguided
trespassers around the glade without even betraying its presence.
But attackers soon discover its darker purpose and find
themselves funnelled clockwise into spiral killing zones for Elven
arrows, towards pits and deadfalls, or into thickets of bloodsedge
and glade-widow. The Spites infesting this area are viciously
dangerous, even to Elves who stray from the path. Only by staying
close to their guide do visitors have any chance of reaching
the glade safely.
At the other side of the Hedge, often gaoled in by briars, nestles
The Threshold (13), a simple cottage or hut comfortably furnished
and kept warm through winter. This is where travellers
and guests stay before the decision is made whether they shall be
admitted into the settlement or not. For non-Elves, the Threshold
is usually the furthest they get and it may also be a trap,
offering apparent shelter and rest while the Elves arrange for the
unwelcome guests’ sleepy demise. Very occasionally, innocents
like children reach this far by accident to find a seemingly miraculous
wonderland of shelter – and sometimes death.
Th e Fo r e s t
Each settlement takes responsibility for the surrounding forest.
Elves cultivate wild orchards where apple, pear, plum and aoilym
trees thrive, as well as maintaining pastures for wild sheep
and Stable Glades for Elven Steeds. Fields of flax, rye or barley
are grown in forest clearings. Kithbands foster relations with
local spirits by keeping a watchful eye on waystones, rivers and
springs, monitoring for any signs of poison, disease or corruption.
Water is a different matter. The Asrai rarely dig wells, preferring
to build their settlements near a stream. In settlements where
the lornalim do not grow near water, the Elves build complex
systems of channels shaped from branches and leaves to collect
rainwater from the treetops and store it in cisterns. Known as
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