The Five Houses of the Eldar
Before there were humans, there were the elves, as well as the giants and dwarves. The Sylvandor calendar, which was used before the Human Era begun a bit more than 500 years ago, dates from the founding of a great Elven kingdom of Sylvandor, lying in deep forests far to the south. That would be 2160 years before the beginning of the Human Era*, almost 2700 years before our time.*) The construction of the Castle in Nepeth, the signing of the Human-Elf treaty, and the consolidation of human dominion over the world form the basis for the beginning of Human Era.
On the left: The shield designs of the Houses - from the top: Amros, Glendoriel, Turgon, Midiar and Sethic. (The order is alphabetical, mind you.)
Five elven clans - Amros, Glendoriel, Midiar, Sethic and Turgon - affiliated themselves into the Eldar Coalition in the year 2098. The Elf-Human Wars (that erupted in 1850 Sylvandor) had been going on for over 300 years before a peace movement was begun. Like-thinking elves, half-elves and humans consolidated themselves into the community called the Eldar. Then, after some more destruction-filled years of negotiation, the Eldar were able to encourage the legendary half-elf, Bardoz, to bring peace between the Elven forces and the human tribes.
The Elders: Namril, Mithel and Sithus
Namril is the Eldar Historian. He is the person you should visit, should you wish to find out if there is any Eldar blood in your lines. You may find yourself interested in the history of the Elves or the Ilder, the ancient race. The Ilder helped the elves build Sylvandor and, when the Elf-Human Wars broke out, disappeared in the elven forests.
Mithel is our librarian, and when it comes to ancient history, he's the one you should look for.
Sithus knows the magic of mixing potions. His shop, as well as the library and several other sites worth seeing can be found in the village of Duendar, the home of the Eldar.
Duendar, a small village the Eldar call home
Should you wish not to use the coachline in order to get to Duendar and try it on your own instead, I would warmly recommend you followed the Orc Road and Bardoz Way. It begins its journey west of Tantallon right after the humpbacked bridge over Snag Creek (you can find the Canticle Offices here). Once you've travelled west by about five times five stadia (5 stadia = one map room), the road makes a turn south. Follow not the path that turns north, for it leads to Orc Valley. Then go southwards by 15 stadia and turn west again. You should continue west until you come to a rickety bridge. Unless you wish to swim across the Lullingstone river, try not to fall off. After the bridge, continue west until you see the mist that stops you from going any further. Turn south, then, and continue to walk in that direction until you come to a thicket, again stopping you from going any further. Turn east, then, and south. You should now be able to see a path going southwest, entering the thicket. Follow it and you shall be facing an Eldar Sentry. You need to have a pass to get to Duendar, but if you ask politely, maybe the guard will give you one.The official name of Duendar is 'Duender', by the way. I just happen to be one of the quite a few people who speak such a dialect that they can't help pronouncing it 'Duendar'.
I would like to thank the Librarian in Tantallon, Namril, Mithel, Sully and my (adopted) father, Dracul, for acting as my sources of information. The shield designs are not originally mine, that's why (and considering that this is a low-traffic site) I have them loaded them straight from AA. I wasn't able to catch whoever designed them in the first place to ask for an actual permission to use them, by the way. If you know him/her/it, let me know.