Oh wise sage, what is known of the elven realm of rucien-xan?
— Duane (@Duane33762849) April 30, 2020
1)
Rucien-Xan is a hidden elven city-state that, according to tavern tales, has never been found by anyone searching for it, though it supposedly lies in the depths of the Chondalwood, and long ago ruled the nearby elven realm of 2)
…Nikerymath, ere the elves of that kingdom destroyed Jhaamdath.
Rucien-Xan is said to still exist today, though few elves still dwell in its “magnificent halls” (of smooth tunnels, rooms, sculptures, and elaborate pierced…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 2, 2020
3)
…screens all fashioned of the same magically-fused white stone, that hosts growing mosses that form carpets and the cushioning of built-in couches, seats, and beds).
This is all true, though “Rucien-Xan” and even “Nikerymath” 4)
…are human versions of nicknames, not the full and proper elven names of the city and the realm, respectively.
The reason Rucien-Xan (more properly, “Ruucienandrar-founded-by-Arlxandnaea”) has never been found is that it…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 2, 2020
5)
…exists on its own demiplane (precise whereabouts cosmologically unknown to Elminster), with only the gates (portals) to enter and depart it being found in the Chondalwood: high in the air just above the growing boughs of 6)
…massive trees (so to enter, you climb the tree, and walk out on a huge limb guarded by an elf sentinel to pass through an invisible ‘door in the air’ above the limb, employing the right password—and into a challenge issued by…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 2, 2020
7)
…several waiting guards in the city). So if the lone sentinel withdraws, there’s literally no sign of the
city, on the Prime Material Plane (the elves deliberately cast “driftspells” in the Chondalwood that moderate and 8)
…redistribute moisture and control local temperature for optimum tree-leaf growth, so detect magic spells will find magic everywhere, and not spotlight invisible portals as beacons).#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 2, 2020
So what’s the relationship between Rucien-Xan and Iryandrar, since they’re both in/adjacent to the Chondalwood? Pretty much non-existent. The xenophobic gold elves of Iryandrar largely want nothing to do with the wider world; the elves of Rucien-Xan want nothing to do with THEM (they see the Iryandrans as "arrogant half-wits").#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 2, 2020
Interesting! Thanks for the reply! So does that mean that the elves of Rucien-Xan aren’t xenophobic the way the Iyryandrar elves are? Or only that there’s enough of a difference of culture/temprament between the two that they don’t get along with each other OR the outside world? The Rucien elves aren't xenophobic; they're not interested in being wiped out. Having seen humans reshape Faerûn (a LOT of deforestation, and what they see as the "failure" of Myth Drannor) they try to attract as little human attention (to their city) as possible.#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 2, 2020
So that begs the question of course: who or what was/is Arlxandnaea?
— George Krashos (@gkrashos) May 3, 2020
1)
Arlxandnaea was a female elf adventurer (a sorceress) who explored several planes of existence and mastered quite a bit of planar magic. She founded the city just as a hidden-refuge home for herself (and cache for her stuff), 2)
…but it grew into a haven for her friends and extended family (she took several male partners, down her long, long years). When she finally died, they ‘gave her to the trees’ (buried her under the entwined roots of several…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 4, 2020