Yulyu

Yulyu, also known as the Village of Hidden Water,, is a small, isolated wood elf village to the north of Meadowcraft with a population of roughly 450. Yulyu sits in a small alcove between the small mountains of Posd and the dense, natural forest on the edge of the Outlands. This has allowed for Yulyu to exist in secret for some time before making contact with the outside world. Three small rivers run through the center of Yulyu that make up the greater river Vulk. Similar to many other wood elf villages, Yulyu had encountered financial and territorial hardship with the Lord's Alliance, and risked total collapse beneath a quickly growing, modern world. The village of Yulyu, its politics and allegiances, remain one of the strangest, neutral spaces of any wood elf colony. While the village existed on human land, and therefor any business done on said land was the human's responsibility, they owed an incredible, almost unpayable, debt to the High Elves of Val-Adin. Yulyu had essentially existed in a zone between the humans and high elves, neither of whom knew whether to absorb the village, continue the debt, or who was totally responsible between the two to parlay with Yulyu. This is where the anarchist terrorist-cell known as the Forsaken swept in bought Yulyu's allegiance. Those loyal to the Forsaken were quickly, and violently deposed by Tuunbaaq and the Fireflies who currently remain as the dominant power in Yulyu.

To this day, Yulyu currently remains a battleground between its traditional, pro-isolation residents and those in support of Tuunbaaq and her desire to bring Yulyu into the greater wood elf council of the Free Folk. Yulyu was once a village hidden amongst the trees, living off the land and barely a passing thought in the public. After the incident between the Forsake and the Fireflies, Yulyu has become a political tinderbox on the verge of bursting into flames. Conservative, old-fashioned values clashing with more progressive, pro-public forum ones. There's a tense back and forth between those within Yulyu loyal to Tuunbaaq, loyal to the Elders she disposed, and the very belief and cultural system of wood elves as a whole. How leadership is decided. What values remain and which are toxic. What the very word 'culture' means to wood elves. What happens in Yulyu may shape the very fabric of wide-scale wood elf society. The realm is watching.

Government

Yulyu was ruled by a council of elders and shamans who advised and controlled Yulyu's economy, agriculture, and judiciary system. The small size of the village allowed for the council to easily rule and oversee much of the day to day operations, as well as speak with individual villagers on any issues. Beneath the elders were highly-trained, loosely-organized warriors led by Atalanta who act as the in-between for any hostile talks and defense of the village. This system of government had proven to be contingent completely on Yulyu remaining a small, isolate village, whose financially and economic needs remained small. As the village and its population steadily grew, and the cost of living went up with the modern-fantasy era, isolated living proved to be very, very costly. Self-sufficient, isolated settlements were being surrounded or pushed out of their native lands entirely by the expanding Lord's Alliance. This became where organizations such as the Free Folk arose, fighting for the cultural land rights for native wood elves in the political theatre. Yulyu's refusal to join the wood elves, as well as their strong commitment to remaining isolated, proved to be financially disastrous. The elders and shamans clung to their beliefs and ultimately were leading Yulyu to ruin, while promising the villagers they would thrive.

When Tuunbaaq and the Fireflies arrived, they staged a coup and violently overthrew the elders and shamans. Within a day, Tuunbaaq has killed the elders with magic, and beaten Atalanta in a Rite of Combat. The conditions of which were, if Atalanta won, Tuunbaaq and her unwelcome revolutionaries would leave, but if Tuunbaaq won, they would stay and Atalanta would be exiled. Tuunbaaq came in like a great storm, at first decapitating the political leadership and beating Atalanta within seconds. With Croak and Dagger's involvement and aide, Tuunbaaq and the Fireflies secured leadership of Yulyu and snuffed out any remaining Forsaken-cell. With the Fireflies in charge, there is a loose committee of villagers and laborers who voice wider concerns directly to the Fireflies. Villagers often voice their grievances and concerns directly to Tuunbaaq who can be seen walking the length of the village. There are talks of expanding the village to the point of it becoming recognized as a town, and with that, a much more concrete political hierarchy.

Defenses

Yulyu's first, and most effective line of defense is the forest surrounding it which is covered in a mystical, otherworldly shroud. It's not yet known how the shroud works, or how those in Yulyu control it. Once unwelcomed visitors enter the perimeter they find themselves trapped in an endless loop through which they can't escape. The day passes at it normally would, but landmarks, markings, and the sun or moon remain at the same point in the sky. If the invaders somehow make it through the shroud, they can expect a number of deep-forest traps set by the trained warriors of Yulyu. Picked off one by one until their force is ultimately extinguished. The Fireflies are highly-skilled guerilla fighters, many are ex-military or ex-special forces operators, trained in modern close-quarters combat and tactical espionage. Their wide military background allows for each Firefly to approach a problem in any number of ways and craft highly-durable, lightweight armor that is all but impenetrable to non-magical attacks.