Any essay which discusses the origins of the Sylvan nation, the influence of
the Arkati in Syvlan culture or the role of the Sylvankind in ancient
Elanthian history must begin with a simple but important caveat. Because the
Sylvan race has lost touch with much of their historical roots through the
passage of many centuries and possibly more than a few disruptive
occurrences, the stories told of the ancient times are now considered by
many scholars to be more legend than fact. Considering an old axiom -- even
the most imaginative legend stems from a measure of truth -- can, however,
lead the curious investigator to some very interesting points for discussion
and even more intriguing speculations.

That said, the most obvious starting point for just such an essay is with
those points that are almost undisputedly accepted as factual truth and have
been laid down in the officially recognized Elanthian histories as kept by
the elders of the Order of Lorekeepers and the Elven scholars of
Ta'Illistrum. The earliest known direct reference to the Sylvan peoples
discusses the traits and mindset of that race at its origin. In the tome
entitled "The Sylvankind," located in the official historical library of the
Elven scholars, a description of Sylvan attitudes and philosophies is
mentioned in a general albeit brief passage. The tome states clearly that
Sylvankind and Elves share a common ancestry, yet their differences lie in
matters of existential philosophy and motives. While the Elves moved out
from the ancestral forests to establish the Seven Great Cities of the Elven
Empire, the Sylvankind retained an affinity to the forest and were wont to
remain there in relative isolation from the world at large.

The tome goes on to imply that this reluctance to enter into the social and
political structure developed by the Elven nation did not mean that Sylvans
remained a primitive and unsophisticated culture. Clearly indicated is the
fact that several large Sylvan cities were founded in the ancestral forest
and a thriving culture developed. Government, art, religion, and
philosophies developed during this early period are suspected by many
scholars to have been very stable and as such should flourish even today.
Distinctly mentioned in "The Sylvankind" is a form of government by council.
The existence of the Heirophants, the Sylvan term for members of this ruling
council, indicates a highly advanced societal structure and further implies
that the transition of ruling power was, for the most part, a peaceful and
bloodless exchange. This can be directly contrasted to the Elven nation
whose history is filled with quarreling Houses where disputes were often
resolved through military force.

"The Sylvankind" tells us in its closing section that so few Sylvans are
found in the outside world because "for them, the forests are the world."
This isolationist attitude is, in the opinion of many modern scholars, the
primary reason that those Sylvans who do live among the other races know so
little of their ancestry and racial history. In recent years however, many
researchers -- most notably those of the Order of Lorekeepers -- have made a
concerted attempt to reconstruct as much of the missing portions of
Sylvankind history as possible. It is through this effort that the scholars
are led beyond the realm of established fact and into the speculation and
conjecture which can be derived from an analysis of currently available
tales and legends of those Sylvankind still dwelling in isolation in their
forest cities, if such do indeed still exist.

As to the religious principles that ancestral Sylvankind practiced, nothing
is specifically mentioned in the officially accepted histories of the Elven
scholars.  However, the tome entitled "The Coming of the Arkati," also
housed in the official historical library of the Elven scholars, states that
"Imaera took the people of the forests, and taught them to be one with the
land." One could infer from this passage that Imaera would then figure most
prominently in ancient Sylvan religious culture. A point of contention noted
by some scholars, however, is that at the time the Arkati first revealed
themselves to the early Elanthian peoples, the Ur-Daemon War had just ended,
the land was embroiled in great chaos, and the various races we know today
may not have been solidly divided. An argument could then be made that this
reference to "the people of the forests" may refer to all peoples of that
time period which have since splintered into the various modern Elven races.
Should this prove accurate, the speculation continues, those ancient ones
who remained among the forest to become what we now call the Sylvankind may
hold no particular attachment to Imaera since she had taught them to be "one
with the land" as previously noted. Being "one with land" may have developed
with it sufficient dogmatic rites as to preclude specific devotion to any
single Arkati, leading rather to a religion based more on a belief that the
primordial forest itself is the supreme deity.

Among modern Sylvans, many generations of life in the world out side the
ancestral forests have led to development of a diverse people. Sylvankind
can be found practicing all professions and developing allegiances to many
different Arkati or, more commonly, none at all. One general survey of
present-day Sylvans has shown that among those Sylvans who do recognize the
Arkati, more hold allegiance to those of the Liabo Pantheon (Lorminstra,
Phoen and Imeara most prominently), but Sylvan followers of Lornon Arkati do
exist. One interesting point discovered in that survey, however, shows that
most Sylvankind do express a great interest in gaining a deeper
understanding of their roots and ancestry. Speculation on the tales of
Yuriqen, the fabled Sylvankind capital forest-city, whose location and even
definitive proof of its existence is lost to the modern Sylvan, has sparked
a keen interest in finding answers to some of these questions.

One fact is universally agreed upon by modern scholars -- today's Sylvan is
indeed truly Sylvan -- a race unique in its philosophies and outlook on the
world. There exists an intriguing history of how this race came to be where
it is today; it just has yet to be discovered.
 

--- Bulrabye Wo-cho-rook
the month Eoantos in the year 5100