Sylvanya
Sylvanya Village
Overview:
Meaning: Sylvanya - Derived from "sylvan," meaning "of the forest," representing the village's deep connection to the natural world.
Sylvanya is a small, forested half-elven village with a population of around 127, surrounded by woods. The layout of the village is carefully integrated with its natural surroundings, reflecting the elves' deep connection to nature. The homes, fields, and other structures are spread out to harmonize with the landscape while maintaining a central hub for community activities.
The settlement has perhaps more structures on the ground that the traditional elven village, but this reflects its unusual nature, the home to half-elves, and a few humans.
The village extends beyond the obvious village boundaries, out across the plateau on which it is nestled. More traditional elven home being found out amongst the tree, storage in the surrounding trees and a few buildings near waterfall lake.
The village is largely self-sufficient, supplementing local harvest with trading beyond Ellarwood.
Key Areas and Buildings:
Village Centre:
The heart of Sylvanya is a grouping of larger, more prominent buildings at the village's core. These structures serve essential communal and administrative functions.
- Elder’s Hall: This large building in the central square serves as the meeting place for village elders and decision-makers. It is also be used for important ceremonies, celebrations, and as a place of gathering for the village's inhabitants.
- Market Hall: Another large structure within the centre is the market hall where villagers trade goods such as produce, crafted items, and forest-gathered resources. This structure is open sided and is often used for wider gatherings of the residents, spilling out onto the surrounding open areas.
- Guardians Hall: On the path to The Clearing is the Guardians Hall. This serves as a communal place for those within the community that also serve as Guardians. It acts a place of training and storage for the Guardians.
Residential Clusters:
- The houses of Sylvanya are spread across multiple clusters surrounding the village centre. The homes, constructed from natural materials such as wood and stone, blend with the environment and are spread evenly to provide privacy while still maintaining a communal feel. Most homes are family dwellings, many with its own small garden or space for personal use.
Other Key Buildings:
- Paddocks and Barn: The field and structure to the east is the animal barn, where livestock are reared and cared for. However, most of the livestock of the village roam free across the plateau. Those used for milking and those with youngsters or those needing special care within the paddocks. The fowls, chickens and geese are also kept here, making it easier to collect eggs. Although some homes have their own chickens, and a few escapees’ range free.
- The Smithy is on the pathway leading to the animal barn. Clearly visible but the hardstand area. The smithy is home to a master craftsman, skilled in the ways of the forge, tending to all the settlements metallurgic needs.
- Bowyer/Fletcher/Arrowsmith: Elves are well known for their skill with a bow. Those of Sylvanya are no exception and have a master craftsman in their midst, based in the western most building. Whilst they craft mostly normal bows, which are traded with the villages outside Ellarwood, they are known to also craft special bows from the wood of The Clearing for use by the Guardians. Arrow smithing (making of the arrow heads) is also done by the Bowyer and the Smithy.
- Herbalist: Whilst many of the villagers are skilled in the use of herbs and woodland flora, the main village herbalist tends a special field just to the north of the Smithy. Here special crops are tended and harvested, being dried and stored in one of the two buildings. Herbs from Sylvanya are prized within the surrounding villages with whom they trade, forming a major part of Sylvanya bartering for supplies.
- Artisans Row: The row of small builders from the main hall to the Bowyers is known as Artisans Row. Whilst many of the homes and buildings have home crafting, these buildings are the home to some of the larger scale activities, or act as a point of consolidation.
Agricultural Fields (Southwestern & Northern Areas):
Southwestern Fields:
The large plots of land to the south of the village are dedicated to agriculture. These fields provide essential sustenance for the village:
- Grain Fields: Only one filed is used for growing grains such as barley or wheat. The area being too small for providing all the villages needs throughout the year. Here they are reliant on the farms to the southeast with whom they’ve trade agreements in place. The caves to the borders of the plateau being used as grain silos.
- Vegetable Gardens: The bulk of the fields, broken into smaller plots not shown on the map, contain vegetable gardens where root vegetables, leafy greens, and other edible plants are grown. These gardens help the community maintain a healthy, varied diet, supplementing what they can forage from the forest.
Northern Field:
The Smaller field toward the north, bordering the green, is used for growing more specialized crops such as medicinal herbs or flowers. These crops are for creating remedies, potions, and maintaining the health of the villagers, as well as wider trade goods.
Livestock and Animal Pens:
Along the edges of the village, small animal pens or grazing areas may be present, though not depicted. These areas are used for livestock such as deer or forest-dwelling creatures, which provide milk, wool, and other resources. These animals are cared for in a way that respects the natural balance of the forest. This are however limited, the whole plateau in effect being a secure area for the livestock, used by the wider community.
Other Areas
The Clearing
To the northeast, near the forest edge, there is the sacred site known locally simply as “The Clearing”. This is a place of religious significance, where the villagers gather to pay homage to their gods or spirits of nature. See separate dedicated text on the topic.
Pathways, Connections and Trails
- A series of well-worn paths connect the village's centre to the outlying fields and homes. The primary road, or main pathway, leading northwest southeast.
- Southeasterly route leads to the secluded and secure pathway off the plateau and eventually out of Ellarwood into the surrounding hinterland. Once down the escarpment, various pathways and tracks are used to minimise tracking and traceability.
- Smaller, more hidden paths lead deeper into the forest, not shown on the map. These trails are used by hunters, gatherers, and village folk familiar, all well familiar with the forest’s secrets.
Defences and Watch Points
- Natural Defences: The villages biggest defences are two-fold, the natural geography of the plateau being the primary one. Secondly the forest itself keeps a watchful eye of the plateau, the Guardian, but principally the Clearing. Paths change, wildlife such as large wild boar appear, all dissuading the casual visitor or aggressor.
- Additional, alerted by the forest, The Guardians have watchtowers, ambush points and lines of defence well established with the forest.
