There are 5 main cities (one in Karrnath (winter fey), one in Zilargo (get along with the gnomes), one in Cyre (read Keith's novel for more on it), a "nightmare" city in the principalities (IIRC), and I think one in the Reaches, (IIRC).
Basically, the Eladrin were considered children tales for most of Khrovaire before the showed up, and now they are slowly trying to figure out what to do since they appear stuck in Eberron for the time being.
The Eladrin are native to Thelanis. A few of their cities have been shifting back and forth between planes, appearing in Eberron whenever Thelanis is coterminous. Thus, there are a few Eladrin descended from parents who left their cities generations ago and who have integrated into the other cultures of Khorvaire. So you can have an Eladrin wizard in Arcanix who knows nothing about Thelanis.
The bulk of the Eladrin population are tied to the cities scattered around the continent. They have been stranded on Eberron since the Mourning. Here's the list:
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- Pylas Pyrial , the Gate of Joy, is in Zilargo.
- Shae Joridal , the City of Emerald Lights, is in Darguun, where the goblins keep it under siege.
- Shae Loralyndar, the City of Rose and Thorn, is in the Twilight Demesne of the Eldeen Reaches.
- Shae Tirias Tolai, the City of Silver and Bone, is in Xen'drik; this haunted ruin has stood empty since it was pillaged during the Age of Giants.
- Shaelas Tiraleth, the Court of the Silver Tree, traditionally appeared in Cyre but has not been seen since the Day of Mourning. It was the largest of the feyspires.
- Taer Lian Doresh, the Fortress of Fading Dreams, is in the Lhazaar Principalities.
- Taer Syraen, the Winter Citadel, is in Karrnath.
Would it be fair to suggest that the "average" eladrin in Eberron doesn't looks as unlike an elf as the core eladrin do?
I think it's fair to say that eladrin who have lived within the five nations for generations have possibly interbred with humans or elves - and that while this hasn't produced a full hybrid race of "half-eladrin", it may have produced eladrin with normal eyes, for example. So sure, you could have a "thin-blooded" eladrin that's a little more elfy (and likely to be seen as debased by the full eladrin of the Feyspires).
Overall, I think that it's just that there's so few of the "naturalized" eladrin and that they haven't established a cultural outpost in the Five Nations (an Eladrin whose parents left the feyspires a thousand years ago may not even know the name of the city his ancestors came from, let alone have an outlook shaped by it) that people see pointed ears and make the best guess that they can - even a full eladrin looks more like an elf than like, say, a dwarf. Sure, he's got glowy eyes... maybe that means he's an elf warlock, or an elf from Riedra, or something. Anyone with Arcana training would know the full story; it's just not something that's common knowledge, because it's not something most people deal with on a regular basis.
How do they relate to the gnomes of Zilargo?
The ECS says the Zil gnomes have good relations with their local feyspire. I think this is because of a few factors:
The Gate of Joy has proportionally more gnomes than the other feyspires. Imagine if you met yourself from a slightly alternate universe; you'd have a shared cultural context, with a bit of mystery/magic thrown in.
Zilargo in general appreciates arcane knowledge and the puzzles of magic more, so an entire city of otherworldly magic showing up, neutral to friendly, is a boon.
The Zilargo government is not an expansive or aggressive power in the traditional sense. They broke off from Breland by declaring their allegiance and they have no known intention to take the throne of Galifar. The feyspire doesn't intimidate or confuse them like it would elsewhere. Compare this to Karrnath or Darguun, where the local feyspire is distrusted or outright attacked.
The ECS says the Zil gnomes have good relations with their local feyspire.
As the guy who wrote it, I can at least say what *I* was thinking about this...
Compared to the other Feyspires, Pylas Pyrial has actually had a trading relationship with the local gnomes of Zilargo over the centuries. It hasn't simply been a myth; the Zil know when to expect it, and would actually have trade goods prepared for offer. Part of this is exactly as you suggest: Pylas Pyrial has a significant gnome population, so there is common ground (for all that the Pyrial gnomes are culturally distinct from the Zil gnomes). Another part of it is the nature of the Zil themselves. Diplomacy and commerce is what the Zil are about; "Five words can defeat a thousand swords." They are not a militaristic nation, and there is less threat to dealing with them openly than to revealing one's presence to the Darguuls or the Karnathi, as the relevant feyspires are discovering to their peril.
I'm curious in particular about Shae Joridal. Is there much "official/canon" information on this feyspire and its inhabitants?
On a tangent... Keith, not knowing if you get a percentage of sales, are ebook sales as profitable for you as physical books? Due to difficulty finding physical, I ended to getting the kindle version of your last book and have fallen in love with ebooks. Will probably rebuy the dreaming dark trilogy in ebook as my books are pretty worn after all these years.
On a tangent... Keith, not knowing if you get a percentage of sales, are ebook sales as profitable for you as physical books?
Yup. Technically, I suppose it's slightly less profitable as my royalty is based on the price of the book and the ebook versions are slightly less expensive, but not so much as to make a vast difference. For me, the bigger thing is that the more Eberron books that are sold - regardless of format - the greater chance WotC/Hasbro will consider it worthwhile to do more in the line.
Also, more information on the eladrin's social situation and history in the setting as well. We know about the war they had with the Giants and how that failed spectacularly, but we know little else about them in the interim.
How is Thelanis not "just" the Feywild? Did the Feyspires have to deal with Fomorians when they were resting in their home plane? Are Fomorians some sort of planar invasion by the Giants of Xen'drik that have become corrupted and debased from prolonged exposure to the fey plane? With the towers stuck in Khorvaire, what keeps individual fey from just performing Planar Portal rituals to return to Thelanis and make new homes? (that last question actuallycame up when an Eladrin Swordmage asked me during a game)
I for one would be incredibly interested in Dragon articles detailing more of these feyspires and how they interact with Khorvaire (with a sidebar note indicating how extremely easy it would be to have these "fey courts" new arrivals in any setting, to molify the prevailing thought that everything must be core-compatable).
It might be a good subject for an Eye on Eberron article.
With the towers stuck in Khorvaire, what keeps individual fey from just performing Planar Portal rituals to return to Thelanis and make new homes? (that last question actually came up when an Eladrin Swordmage asked me during a game)
I don't have time to give my full answer to this now, but the short form to me is that the fey aren't just biological creatures and their homes aren't just buildings. An Eladrin from Taer Syraen is fundamentally different from a gnome from Pylas Pyrial; even if they move and live in the other spire, their home spire is an intrinsic part of who they are. And those spires can't just be created as mortals would create a city. Their absence from Thelanis is a loss that can never be filled unless they return. So yes, an Eladrin could use a planar portal to return; Thelanis is actually one of the easiest planes to reach. But he would always be severed from his spire, and in time - decades or centuries, perhaps, but time in Thelanis isn't as it is here - he would likely wither away, just as the Eladrin of the Silver Tree are begining to fade in The Fading Dream. Minimal impact to a PC in the course of a campaign, but from a long term perspective for a culture, it's an issue.
Stuff like this is why you should be paid for your genius, Keith. Who do I have to badger(read:email) to suggest you start an Eye on Eberron series?
Stuff like this is why you should be paid for your genius, Keith. Who do I have to badger(read:email) to suggest you start an Eye on Eberron series?
You mean like the one starting this month in Dungeon?
I can't wait for the Eberron articles.