KELETHIN
| Location: | In the trees of the Greater Faydark forest on the northern half of the continent of Faydwer |  click to view expanded map... |
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| Races: | Wood Elf, Half-Elves | |
| Guilds: | Bard, Druid, Ranger, Rogue, Warrior | |
| Religious Facilities: | none | |
| Artisan Facilities: | Brewery, Forge, Kiln, Oven, Pottery Wheel |
Allakhazam Links: Bestiary
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Text last updated: 12/27/99
Map last updated: 12/23/01
Description
Kelethin is one of the most amazing cities in all of Norrath, a tree city built peacefully around the trunks of the giant trees of the Greater Faydark. I was seeking Bards in this part of the world, and a fellow traveller who gave me directions told me to not look at my feet, but I had no idea what he meant until I saw the bottoms of dozens of wooden platforms sticking out of the mist. This is the ancestral home of the wood elves, and the center of their society. Elevators can be raised and lowered to the surrounding forest floor from some of the lower platforms, allowing easy access for the wood elves and protection from those they would rather not have visiting.
Surrounding Areas
The area surrounding Kelethin is swarming with life. Black wolves, wasp drones, and bats move through the forest, and provide the targets for many a budding archer from the city above. The nearby orc city of Crushbone also sends scouts occasionally as far as Kelethin, but they have never gained a foothold on the city's platforms themselves.
Further from the main city lies the entrance to Crushbone itself. The orcs have made camps ringing the entrance and many heroes (and corpses) have been made by fighting the large orc families that live here. Faeries also move through the woods, but they will leave the average traveller alone unless they are known to hunt faerie-kin. The nearby smaller forest of Lesser Faydark holds the portal to the land of both the gnomes and is inhabited by more ferocious orcs and other, more horrible creatures. The dwarven city of Kaladim lies through the Butcherblock Mountains and their dangers.
Travelling To and From Kelethin
Kelethin is one of the four major cities on the continent of Faydwer, the others being the cities of the high elves, the dwarves, and the gnomes. They share Greater Faydark with the high elves, although the high elf city of Felwithea is almost exactly the opposite of Kelethin, being a grand and opulent city on the outside, and simple and beautiful on the inside. The gnome city of Ak'Anon and the dwarven city of Kaladim are both a short distance away, the first through the sparsely populated forest of Lesser Faydark, and the second through the stretches of the Butcherblock Mountains.
As far as travelling abroad, Kelethin is about as far from a port as you can be on this island, and the trip from Kaladim's port to the human city of Freeport is a long and boring one. There is a set of magical gates near the pass to Lesser Faydark that powerful mages are rumored to be able to travel with, but they have been inactive for quite some time.
Local Color
Places
The city itself is really the site to see when you are in Kelethin. It is incredible to an outsider (although I'm part elf myself) that these wood elves live and work on platforms with no rails or protection from falls to the ground below. Although personally not afraid of heights, my barbarian friend who made the trip to this city with me refused to ride the elevator to the platforms and curled up in a bush below to await my return. I can't say that I blame him.
People
The people of Kelethin are a quiet folk. They are sequestered away in Greater Faydark, and since the population reveres nature as a rule, it would be difficult to find any of the poachers or other misusers of the gifts in Kelethin. It pains my human half to say it, but I feel that elves are one of the truly beautiful races in Norrath, and this peaceful city is a faint reflection of an inner peace and harmony that we all could learn from.