#Lore24 – Entry #72 – Fantasy Month #12 – Nymphanos

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

Sometimes called the Gateway to the Southern Wildlands, as it is situated on the edge of the Great Narokayo Jungle, Nymphanos is a fortified city ruled by the Elvish Dominion, one of the larger cities to exist close to the Empire’s border while remaining officially neutral, though favorable to the Empire’s goals, as long as they don’t involve harming their protected areas or encroaching upon their territory.  Nymphanos is often seen as a trade hub for exotic goods from the south, including large amounts of both elvish and dwarven crafts.

Nymphanos, as its name suggests, was once a much smaller settlement, and more traditionally elvish in nature, situated amongst the trees and hosting a much larger population of sylvan and fae creatures, with a notably large population of nymphs.  Some accounts of the earliest explorers claim it to have been a paradise, albeit one that you could only see once in your life, though if you had to have a final image burned into your head, scores of literally blindingly beautiful nymphs is certainly one to go out on.  Of course, as the Empire grew and spread its borders, the great jungles of the Narokayo were pushed back, and there were many battles fought between elf and man until a lasting peace was established and Nymphanos was made into the entry point to the Wildlands beyond.  Thus far, the wildland elves who control the city have not pushed back on their borders (though of course there is always rumor that it is being planned), and the last five hundred years or so have seen no further attempts by the Empire to expand beyond the established borders.

To this day, many of the elves native to the region share some nymph heritage, though the majority of the nymphs have moved on to the deeper and still isolated parts of the jungle.  Those that still remain in Nymphanos are actively involved in their ruling council, and are known to deal with Imperial officials directly from time to time, usually from within the Great Silver Oak within the Dewshine Meadow at the center of the city, though they tend not to display their full supernatural beauty lest a diplomatic incident occur (though there are plentiful healers within the city that are capable of curing such a malady). 

I would very much like to visit Nymphanos someday, to see the wildlands beyond, perhaps, but to at least walk amongst an elvish city and experience the culture of such a robust trade center outside of the Empire.  I can recall Felaria telling me that she has visited the city on occasion, though she remembers it being much smaller and little more than an outpost at the time, hardly the great elvish city amongst the trees or the modern-day city it would then become.  I can only imagine what it is like to live such a long life; truly such a thing is unfathomable by humanity.