Elfharrow

Elfharrow was a near-desert land in southwest Faerûn in the 15 century DR populated by tribes of xenophobic elves.

Description
Elfharrow was a land of dry plains located north and north west of Halruaa.

Geography
Elfharrow was bordered on the west by the Shining Sea, the north by the Shaar, and the south by the Nathaghal Mountains.

Geographical Features
The Wormbones mountain range rose high above the plains in the east of Elfharrow, and the River Talar cut through the center, before turning southward. North of the river and west of the mountains was the Dead Vale, a dessicated dead forest and all that remained of the elves former jungle home.

Flora & Fauna
Life of all kinds appeared sparse to casual observers, but the land actually teemed with fauna. The native elves carefully cultivated herds of livestock for their own use, but coyotes, snakes, and various desert birds eked out a subsistence lifestyle on what little water and vegetation could be found. Said vegetation typically consisted of brush, poisonous thorny bushes, small shrubs and thin grass.

Government
The elves maintained a tribal society, with borders marked by rectangular stones separating the lands of the various tribes. Each tribe had it's own chieftain, and some also had shamans. All such tribal leaders obeyed the instructions of the Red Wolf when that entity came calling though.

Rather than having marked territory, the aggressive centaur herds that lived in Elfharrow were nomadic. They tried to leave the elves alone, but survived by raiding surrounding territories, ensuring that relations with the elves, who just wanted to be left alone, were always tense.

Trade
Though they had a reputation for xenophobia, the elves of Elfharrow were actually perfectly willing to trade with outsiders a lot of the time, so long as visitors didn't overstay their welcome in tribal territory or attempt to disturb the ruins of fallen Lapaliiya. They sometimes offered their services as guides through the plains, and welcomed everybody making pilgrimages to Halruaa.

Defenses
The elves built their villages on points of high ground that gave them good views of their tribal lands. Though only dead wood remained in Elfharrow, the elves still defended themselves with bows, arrows, and spears.

History
Elfharrow was a relatively young territory, having been created circa 1405 DR when the jungle known as the Misty Vale finished the process of dying due to the localised ecological disaster caused by a climate shift as a result of the Spellplague wherein all of the trees dried out.

The elves built small settlements out of stone taken from the ruins of Lapaliiya's buildings. Meanwhile, centaurs arrived from the north, forced out of the Shaar.

Unlike a lot of more temperate regions of Faerûn though, Elfharrow was not restored through the Second Sundering, and continued to be a hot, dry scrubland.

Rumors & Legends
The elves of Elfharrow, as a people, desired to find Cuivanu, a life-giving tree, somewhere in the Dead Vale. They would, upon finding it, use it's sap to restore the Misty Vale to it's former state. Should Cuivanu also be proven to have died though, it would be a terrible blow to the elves' remaining morale.

Notable Locations

 * Ruins of Sheirtalar: The former capital city of Lapaliiya. Partially flooded and thoroughly monster-infested, but otherwise largely intact. An outcast Aboleth controlled the Palace of the Overking at last report.
 * North Wall Gap: A pass through the Nathaghal Mountains, that, until the return of Halruaa, was used by both elves and outsiders for Scar Pilgrimages and coming-of-age rituals.

Inhabitants

 * Red Wolf, a mysterious and powerful shapechanging entity.
 * Seaspark, a young elf chieftain of the Abn'dak tribe.