Qaeld
Landscape
The Forest nation of Qaeld is located to the east of Cadwal, north of Triadus, running along the western border of Egund and Halvmir. The entire country is a huge forest of tall oaks and elms, spruce and ash. The Sidhe who rule Qaeld have not so much carved their kingdoms from the land as grown them. To the Sidhe, life is precious, and so it is in Qaeld. There is no finer example of lush vegetation: plants, herbs, flowers, fruit, trees, brush, and everything else that grows green. In some places of Qaeld, the trees above form a canopy that spreads absolute shadow on the ground below. Truly, one could walk through some parts of Qaeld for days and never see the light of day... if one didn't know what one was looking for.
The Sidhe build flets and houses and steps on and around the trees of the wood, so as to make their own cities purely from the products of their homeland. No Sidhe would ever consent to have a stone house built in one of their cities.
The humans of Qaeld, on the other hand, have been allowed to build small communities in the woods, so long as they abide by the Sidhe law. Namely, no logging or mass cuttings.
History
The Sidhe have controlled the forest of Qaeld since the beginning of recorded history. The only mentionable invasion (truly, the only successful invasion) was launched by the late King Cullemon of Cadwal. The Cadwallers poured forth from behind their walled cities and invaded the forest as a ruse, occupying the Sidhe while their own rangers infiltrated into the forest and cut down the Heart Tree, the soul of the wood. Fueled by a mad King's obsession, the soldiers fought furiously for every inch of progress they made. It is said that the western edge of the forest was home to a delicate white flower which has since turned red and thorny, having been watered with the blood of so many Cadwaller soldiers. It is said that when the Sidhe finally learned that the Heart Tree was cut down, instead of slaying the hapless rangers still left in the wood, each one sat down and wept, some never to rise again, destroyed by their grief.
Reciprocity came in due time for Cullemon. The humans of Qaeld, in disguise as Cadwaller citizens, infiltrated beyond the Wall and became privy to the Wall's defenses. Using this information and the help of the human infiltrators, the Sidhe were able to carry out a suicide mission to assassinate Cullemon. It is said that Cullemon was so riddled with arrows and spears that his body was pinned to his throne, where he cowered in fear from the Sidhe warparty. All of the host was slain, but their task completed, they went to death content with vengeance.
