Valraen Protectorate

Long ago, the waters along the western coast of Aerenal were inhabited by peaceful locathah. The sahuagin of Sha’argon’s Kingdom—a predecessor to the Eternal Dominion—steadily advanced toward Aerenal, conquering and assimilating the locathah. Concerned by the obvious aggression of the sahuagin, the Sibling Kings acted to secure the waters around Aerenal, establishing a buffer zone that would ensure that Sha’argon’s Kingdom posed no direct threat. The line of Valraea was chosen, and through the power of the Undying Court, its nobles were physically transformed into sea elves, gaining iridescent skin and the ability to breathe beneath the water.

Initially, the line of Valraea served as protectors and advisors, organizing the locathah and helping them construct superior defenses. Then the attacks began. The conflict slowly escalated; the harder the locathah fought, the more it drove sahuagin determination to claim the region. Valraean priests brought the full power of the Undying Court to bear against the attackers, and Sha’argon’s Kingdom couldn’t match their transcendent might. A generation later the sahuagin returned, and the elves retaliated, using the divine power of the Undying Court to seize the Sha’argon border fortresses. It was at this time—when the region claimed included both sahuagin and locathah lands—that the elves officially declared it the Valraean Protectorate. According to the proclamation, the Undying Court would protect all peoples of the Protectorate and the line of Valraea would provide them with guidance and security . . . all of which was a gentle way of saying that the people were now under Aereni rule and would be forced to embrace Aereni customs. While this decision was driven in part by a desire to ensure the island’s security, it may have also been tied to the discovery of dragonshard deposits along the seabed—both fallen Siberys shards and indications of deep Khyber shards.

The next thousand years brought chaos, as the sahuagin— first Sha’argon’s Kingdom, then the Eternal Dominion— continued to attack and the Valraean elves continued to retaliate by conquering additional sahuagin territories. But the power of the Undying Court is geographically limited. While clerics can draw on the power of the Court to cast spells anywhere in the world, the transcendent might that can repel dragons or defeat sahuagin armies has a limited range. When the elves pressed beyond that, they suffered terrible losses; and yet, the Dominion couldn’t challenge the elves within the Court’s sphere of influence. This began a long stalemate that continues to this day. The Eternal Dominion has launched numerous attacks over the last few centuries, testing the power of the Undying Court, but thus far, the might of the deathless has been sufficient to repel every sahuagin assault.

Most subjects of the Valraean Protectorate are locathah and sahuagin; despite this, the Protectorate is modeled after Aereni society in many ways. In Aerenal, any elf can prove themselves worthy of joining the noble line. In the Protectorate, subjects likewise strive to prove their worth— but in this case, they seek to be worthy of serving the elves of the noble line. Valraean subjects are raised to believe that all elves are semidivine beings. They’re ancient and wise, masters of powerful magic and remarkable skills . . . and most importantly, only elves can ascend to join the Undying Court.

The sea elves of the line of Valraea live in the midst of this enforced adulation. They’re idolized and adored from birth, and have been playing the role of divine guardians and guides for so long that many have come to believe it: they were shaped by the Undying Court to be the guardians of the sea, and they do stand above their adoring subjects. But while the Valraean sea elves are often arrogant and overconfident, they generally strive to live up to that vision, to protect anyone in their charge, to be the noble and gracious rulers that (most of) their subjects imagine them to be. They aren’t petty tyrants; they believe in ensuring the safety and security of their people—but they also feel no qualms about the fact that their subjects are ultimately trapped in their lives, with all positions of power held by sea elves. They consider their privilege logical and natural; and so do the overwhelming majority of Valraean subjects, who believe the elves, with their long lives and deathless ancestors, are more capable than other mortals could ever be with their fleeting lifespans.

Meanwhile, Valraean subjects believe they too are elevated above all outsiders, lower than the elves, but still blessed to receive the guidance of the elves and the living (or rather, deathless) gods of the Undying Court. And most subjects strive to prove themselves worthy of this blessing. All subjects of the Protectorate receive an education and learn trades. Its people engage in simple industry that no Aereni elf wants to dirty their hands with, as well as laboring to provide an important source of dragonshards for the mainland. In all of this, Valraeans are generally honest and industrious, trying to emulate the Aereni and perfect their skills; but they’re taught that they’ll never be as gifted as elves, since an Aereni elf spends an entire locathah lifetime in just their initial studies. This reflects the cornerstone of Valraean culture, which is, boiled down, that elves are glorious and better at everything than you. As a Valraean you’re just lucky to be near elves, to have their guidance and protection. It’s your duty to honor the Undying Court, because without it, you would be torn apart by the vicious sahuagin in the cruel world outside the Protectorate. And while no non-elf has ever proven worthy to join the Undying Court—how could they, with a paltry century to perfect their skills—maybe, just maybe, if you keep working hard enough and become the best person you can be, you might be the first.

While many members of the line of Valraea believe their own propaganda, the simple truth is that the benevolent Protectorate is an oppressive regime, sometimes brutally so. The line of Valraea has long worked to stamp out all traces of the native cultures, replacing the local languages with Elvish and eliminating the locathah religion. Few subjects publicly challenge elven rule, but those who do are quickly silenced. But despite these efforts, there are those among the masses who resist the Valraean propaganda and seek to reclaim and preserve their ancient traditions. Rebel sahuagin may work with malenti and support Dominion espionage. The locathah have a more difficult path, as for their kind, life in the Dominion would be even worse than in the Protectorate. But the locathah resistance still clings to hope, believing that as long as they are free in their hearts, they may yet find a way to overthrow all of the tyrants.

Valraean subjects are split into houses, each of which includes members of multiple species; this, in part, serves to deemphasize the importance of direct family. Each house has a patron in the Undying Court. They are taught to idolize this patron and believe that it personally protects them; in some cases this may actually be true, though many deathless councilors pay no attention to their Valraean devotees. Regardless, the Valraeans’ ongoing adoration of the Undying Court provides a valuable source of positive energy for the Court itself.

Valraean fashion largely mirrors that of Aerenal, though using different materials. Fine leather takes the place of cloth, and Valraeans generally wear less clothing than their counterparts on the surface. Coral, ivory, and bloodvines (described in Tools and Traditions) are often used as ornaments. As in Aerenal, masks are important accessories; elves wear full face masks, while accomplished non-elves generally wear masks that cover their lower faces.

All subjects of the Protectorate speak Elvish. This replaces Aquan among locathah and Sahuagin among sahuagin. Those who dream of resistance work to preserve their ancestral languages, but they’re not spoken where elves can overhear them.

The Valrean Protectorate extends approximately 150 miles from the coast of Aerenal. Within this radius, the Undying Court wields great power; it can control the weather and produce other dramatic environmental effects. As a result, the Protectorate truly seems a blessed land; the waters are peaceful and the weather is beautiful. The Protectorate includes settlements along the shelf in the upper water and on the ocean floor.

The Protectorate has fought many wars with the Eternal Dominion and its predecessors. Ultimately, the transcendental power of the Undying Court holds enemies at bay, but over thousands of years, the Protectorate has developed and fortified defenses on the border of their territory. A series of bone-coral towers stand along the front, connected by rune-lines—glowing patterns engraved in the sea-bed that help focus and channel the power of the Court when it is needed. The region contains spirit mines—floating ivory spheres that conjure angry ghosts into any ship that comes too close—and other defenses. All shipping is wise to follow the sanctioned routes for entry.

The manifest zones in this region are mostly tied to Irian and Mabar. However, there are a few manifest zones tied to Lamannia, and those in the upper waters are prone to the violent surges seen in zones across the sea. While the Undying Court can contain these surges, this is an expenditure of energy on their part; as a result, the Valraeans welcome the merfolk of Karakala, whose rituals stabilize the zones.

Valraeans of all species practice the same traditions as the elves of Aerenal. Though magic is widespread in the Protectorate, Valraean subjects aren’t taught the higher arts, so the overall level of common magic is more on par with the Five Nations, with greater wonders seen in the coral palaces of the line of Valraea. The common populace of the Protectorate includes magewrights and adepts, with a handful of gifted wizards. While all subjects are taught to worship the Undying Court, the actual priests are sea elves.

Sea elves of the line of Valraea typically focus on divine or arcane magic. The sea elves are encouraged to think of themselves as divine champions, and many do become clerics or paladins. Arcane spellcasters are typically wizards, and the strengths of the Protectorate are divination, abjuration, and necromancy. There are also a handful of artificers among the line. While the power of the Undying Court defends the region, the line of Valraea maintains the many wards and monitors the seas for sahuagin activity, or any other threat that might arise.

The artisans of the Protectorate work with the exotic woods of Aerenal, but they use other exotic materials as well. Leather is the primary material used in clothing, both fine, thin leather for simple fashions, and tougher hides for armor. Bone-coral is a form of coral that is artificially grown and hardened using arcane techniques, used for everything from buildings to ornaments. Bloodvines are an aquatic form of Aereni livewood; they draw sustenance from any creature in contact with them (though not so much as to be noticeable in any way) and thus remain alive, even when shaped into ornaments or armor.

The artificers of the line of Valraea are curious about the arcane potential of kar’lassa biomatter—the foundation of Dominion arcane magic—and are always eager to acquire it. Valraean sahuagin don’t have access to the magebreeding and alchemical techniques of the Eternal Dominion; as a result, they develop as any other creatures would, instead of being guided down a particular path. This also means the Protectorate doesn’t have any of the secondary mutants—such as barons, malenti, and Claws of Sha’argon—found in the Dominion.

The Valraean Protectorate is an extension of Aerenal, and diplomacy with surface nations is conducted by the elves of the islands. Generally, the only time surface-dwellers encounter sea elves or Valraean subjects is at customs checkpoints when approaching Aerenal; thus, sailors may be familiar with them, but most people of the Five Nations have never seen a sea elf or a locathah. Aerenal takes the security of its coastal waters seriously, and ships must adhere to specific shipping lanes or risk running afoul of spirit mines and other traps.

Today, the Valraean Protectorate remains at a chilly impasse with the Eternal Dominion of the sahuagin, as Valraea strengthes its defenses and the Dominion works to place ever more malenti agents within the Protectorate. Both refused to engage in direct commerce or diplomacy with each other, though the Dominion allows Aereni vessels to use their shipping lanes (at a price). Karakala serves as an intermediary between the two, carrying messages and conducting simple trade.

Elves of the line of Valraea rarely leave the Protectorate. They have important duties to tend to, and issues in the surface world are generally dealt with by the elves of the island. However, the line of Valraea is devoted to the Undying Court, and an adventurer could be following a direct mandate either from the court itself or from a specific deathless sea elf. Such a character could use the sea elf racial traits from Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes; you might be a cleric using the Life or Knowledge domain, or a paladin following the Oath of the Ancients or the Oath of Devotion. In any case, this character would likely be proud; in your eyes, you’re a celestial in the service of the divine.

Or you might be a sea elf who questions the traditions of the Protectorate. Perhaps you feel that the Protectorate— and Aerenal as a whole—should be emulating the spirit of innovation of the Five Nations rather than just holding to Aereni arcane traditions. As an artificer or wizard, you could be determined to study as many other systems of magic as possible; you don’t believe that the defenses of the Protectorate will hold forever, and you want to develop something new.

Alternatively, you could play a locathah from the Valraean Dominion (using the racial traits presented in Locathah Rising). Locathah are all but unknown on Khorvaire. As a Valraean locathah, you have the benefits of Aereni education, and may have adopted many elf mannerisms. Are you a proud champion of your nation and a loyal servant of the Undying Court? Or were you exiled after you opposed the Aereni oppression of your people? If so, are you acting in the interests of Valraean locathah now? Do you want to find a way for your people to develop their own deathless? Or are you following your own path in the world, leaving the Protectorate in your wake?

The Valraean Protectorate is an isolated part of a hidden nation. What could bring it into a story? Consider the following ideas.

The Cold War. Whether on land or sea, adventurers could stumble into a Dominion plot to wreak havoc in the Protectorate. Thousands of innocents will die if they do nothing; what’ll they do?

Fish Farm. The adventurers are on a ship that is drawn off course (by hijackers? a freak occurrence?) and runs afoul of Valraean defenses, crippling the vessel. The characters are rescued by a group of Valraean locathah who maintain a farm on the edge of a small island. While waiting for someone to retrieve them, the adventurers get to know these locathah . . . and perhaps discover a dangerous secret hidden on the tiny island.

Deathless for the People. A group of Valraean visionaries— locathah, sahuagin, and sympathetic sea elves—are determined to develop sahuagin or locathah deathless, their first step to establishing equality within the region. These revolutionaries are searching out scattered tombs that tie to the creation of deathless, along with artifacts that channel the power of Irian. Are their methods peaceful or violent? Will the adventurers assist them or oppose them?

Dead or Alive? To strengthen their support among the common people, the line of Valraea proclaims that a locathah hero has been raised to the Undying Court—the first non-elf to be admitted. But is this true, or is it a lie to placate the masses? The adventurers are hired to investigate, and if it’s a hoax, to expose it. Are their patrons members of the locathah resistance, or might they be unknowingly working for the Eternal Dominion?

The Quest for Hal’thela. The Protectorate is eager to tap the power and the potential of the kar’lassa, and the best candidate is Hal’thela—the kar’lassa bound to Thelanis. But the kar’lassa is deep behind enemy lines. Can the adventurers help find its location and lead a team there? Why do the sahuagin shun it? Is it simply that they can’t control the capricious fey? Or is the entire region touched by a fey curse—something that must be lifted before anyone can explore it safely?

The sea elves of the Valraean Protectorate are Aereni elves, though they use a different subrace. They still have cousins on the surface, take vacations on Aerenal, and travel to Shae Mordai to consult with the Deathless Councilors. So while there’s some cultural divergence, they’re still loyal to the fundamental principles of Aerenal and think of themselves as Aereni. And most of all, it is possible for sea elves of the line of Valraea to become deathless. There are deathless sea elves in the Valrean Protectorate—soldiers and councilors who protect and guide the people—and a few ancient sea elves sit on the councils of Shae Mordai.

Some remarkable locathah and even sahuagin have been preserved as spirit idols, and these are held up as paragons to the common people; this is immortality you can attain! While the hope that a non-elf could become deathless has long been dangled in front of the people, it’s never been done, and isn’t something any elf believes is possible. However, the possibility is explored in Story Hooks later in this section.