Elves have very few “cities” around Cerrix, but many “settlements” and “villages”. Each of these elven settlements and villages are small collections of elves who live in great trees, using interconnecting platforms high off the ground to build almost a city-like structure in the trees, complete with pathways, small homes, storage, and guard posts. Additionally, they often have multiple means of entering and exiting the structure, often with ladders, although some cities will actually have a pully system to move platforms up and down. Obviously, elves cannot create these settlements with any trees, they must be giant, and able to support these vast structures. Ancient elven magics allow very few select Elves to create these trees. Thus starting an new Elf Home is extraordinarily rare these days. The trees alone are wonderous and magical.
Some elven settlements have trees that are so large that they were once able to be hollowed out, and the insides of the tree itself can be used as a home. These are rare, and often apportioned out to elves who served their duties to the end-life, and can no longer climb the ladders needed to reach skyways above.
Elves do not recognize land the same as humans do, and anywhere that Elf-Trees exist is considered to be elven by elves, regardless of who’s territory it’s in. However, elves recognize other races understanding of ownership, and will often work with “humans who think they own the land”, rather than against them, to keep their territories.
Throughout the entire world, there is only one area that the elves claim as a “Home Land”. The land of Alfheim (Elf Home) is home to the largest population of elves, with great sky ways that run for miles in the surrounding elf trees. Near the center of Alfheim sits the great tree Yggdrasil, where the elf royalty resides.
The closest thing you will find to an elven trade hub, Alfheim is the primary home of elves. All elves, regardless of where they live and grow, make a pilgrimage to Alfheim at least once in their life, but often every 20 years or so. There are several outskirt towns near the entrances to Alfheim where non-elves practice trade with the elves, acting as major mercantile hubs for the area. The forest of Alfheim is likely the largest area that is considered to be owned by any royalty, spanning almost 40,000 square miles. Although not all of this area has skyways the elves call home, large portions of it are, making sky cities all around. Not all trees in Alfheim are Elf-Trees, but it does have the largest concentration of them.
Elf-Trees are special, magical trees that elves live off of. The are created with magic, but that magic has been lost to time, and no new elf-trees can be created. Elf-Trees require normal care and maintenance like a normal tree, with somewhat regular pruning, but they also require magical maintenance. This magical maintenance can be done by high level Elf Keepers, a job they are often called upon.
Yggdrasil, sometimes called the “World Tree”, is a great, towering, monstrosity of a tree. The base of it’s trunk is a full 50 miles in diameter, and it is unknown how far up it goes. There is only one known entrance into Yggdrasil, and the elves use it as the entrance to their palace (which is built inside). Yggdrasil’s bark is so thick and durable, it is unable to be affected by normal tools or fire.
It is unknown how far Yggdrasil reaches, nobody can see the top. However, inside there are very clear “floors” throughout the great tree. What is know is that you can see the tree from about 500 miles away, and due to the sheer size of the tree, the surrounding area has what seems like an odd day-night cycle.
As noted, the current monarchs of Alfheim use Yggdrasil as their “palace”, including a castle, court, and home. However, this barely touches the shear amount of territory that Yggdrasil actually takes place in. Yggdrasil beyond the castle gates is dangerous, and very little of the world tree has been mapped beyond the borders of the royal castle, although there do exist several elven outposts around the known parts of Yggdrasil.
Yggdrasil has large crystals poking out of branches and the innards of the tree. These large crystals glow with a light like the sun when Yggdrasil is bathed in sun, thus the inside of the tree is often just as light or dark as it is around the outside of the tree. These crystals are called Sun Crystals by the elves.
Whereas non-elves are rarely welcome into Alfheim past the mercantile cities, they can nevertheless enter Alfheim. However, only Elves are allowed into Yggdrasil. If Elven Royalty needs to do business with a non-elf, they will hold their meetings and businesses off-site.
Elves do not hold religion at all. Instead all worship is done in the name of nature, which is often thought to be the nature of any miracles that elves cast.
The way elves worship nature isn’t too different from how many others worship their religions. They have special holidays for thanking the earth for providing for them, they have a single day they take off from working to worship and give thanks to the earth and animals, and they have specialized ritual for the preparation of relics.
The worship is similar, but not the same, as the reverence that many “pagan” religions have for the earth.