Ginzelrad's Journal
These are the bard-songs of the Highland Elves as chronicled by Ginzelrad's father, Ginzelwroth the Bard, as well as rare Orc-ish songs documented by her mother, Ladiol the Scholar. Ginzelrad has even tried her own hand at writing songs, but asks you to remember with indulgence that she is only eighteen years old!
About the Highland Elves:
They live in the pristine mountain forests right below the timberline, and because of their altitude, are somewhat isolated from the valley lowlands where the great elven civilizations were founded in larger forests (such as the fabled Lorien.) A sense of banishment from their deeper cultural roots is a part of the Highland elvish legacy, although no one can recall whether they were banished or if they left voluntarily, or why.
Oddly, while the Highland Elves have largely lost touch with their own race, they have much more contact with other races, such as humans and dwarves. They are quite friendly and accessible to humans, and have very little of the emnity for dwarves that their lowland counterparts do, although there is a friendly rivalry. Because they live on the mountains, they share close proximity to the dwarves' vast underground societies. They also live a little too close for comfort to the tunnel-Orcs. However, while they take all reasonable precautions against the Orcs, they also find them interesting subjects of study (Extremely Primitive Anthropology, which is Ginzelrad's mother's field of work.)
About Ginzelrad:
She is a charming young elf-maiden from a well-educated family. Ginzelrad hopes to carry her father's Bard-Mantle someday. She is already an accomplished singer of the old songs and is trying to hone her craft at writing as well, though she is still immature. She comes from a thoroughly nice and respectable home, which is why she's a bit bored and restless, and very eager to become a little less nice and respectable. Her parents realize that they can't shelter her forever, especially since travel is an integral part of her chosen trade. She's not nearly as bold as she'd have you believe.
About the Journal:
Ginzelrad is personally very eager to share its contents with a wider human population, for a few reasons: 1)she hopes to share the traditions of her people with a human audience, 2) she hopes that human dungeonmasters and gamers will enjoy the elven bard-songs and legends and be able to incorporate them into their role-play as they see fit, 3)she hopes one of them is a cute soldier-type who likes feisty redheaded elf chicks, and he might take her along on a grand adventure, and 4) she wants us to reciprocate by sharing human books, songs, poems, and legends. Something her mother particularly enjoys are our "Urban Legends." So...share and share alike!
