The tainted places near the mountains are shunned by all but the boldest Elves for lurking evil can strike the unwary even here. They guard the Everqueen as her court travels through Avelorn for the forest contains many dark and dangerous places where the hearts of the trees are rotten and great spiders lurk. They number 100 strong and are some of the most gifted and beautiful beings in Ulthuan skilled in the arts of peace and war. The Maiden Guard of the Everqueen are not mere courtiers they are her warrior guard - a hundred beautiful Elf-maids schooled in the arts of war till they exceed or even surpass the greatest of Elf knights with sword, bow and lance.
All seek to enhance their status at the cost of their rivals. To be chosen as the Queen's handmaid is the highest honour for an Elf-maid or her family, just as to be chosen as her consort is the dream of every youth of Avelorn. For prestige is treated as a matter of life and death in Avelorn.
Old rivalries are barely submerged and every quip has a deadly double meaning. Factions at the Evercourt vie for the favour of the Queen. Yet beneath this carefree surface bitter enmities stir. With its perfect weather, bountiful forests and beautiful near-immortal inhabitants Avelorn seems the sort of rustic paradise of which mortal men can only dream. By night, faery lights flicker in the darkness, drifting behind the Everqueen's courtiers and illuminating the revels and feasting. By day, silver laughter rings through the forest as the Elves make sport. The court of the Everqueen moves through Avelorn from place to place like a great carnival, pitching silken pavilions of myriad colours wherever it halts. Hence the Queens of Avelorn have always been the Everqueens of Ulthuan, forming an unbroken chain from ages past. Both can take new consorts but only their daughter can be the new Everqueen. The Queen of Avelorn is the firstborn daughter of the previous queen conceived after her year-long ritual marriage to the Phoenix-King. Īvelorn is ruled by the Everqueen, the chosen of the Earth Mother, mistress of the undying forest, preserver of green fastness, observer of the rites of the golden spring, and occupant of one of the Twin Thrones of Ulthuan. While Aenarion, the first king, was deeply in love with his Everqueen, it has not been uncommon for later kings to choose an Everqueen for political reasons. Upon ascension to the throne, the Phoenix King is betrothed to the Everqueen for a ritual marriage lasting one year, after which they are both free to hold separate courts and take new consorts. Unlike the Phoenix King the Everqueen is not an elected position but is hereditary, and as such is for life, meaning that it is theoretically possible for an Everqueen to last through multiple Phoenix Kings. The current Everqueen is Alarielle, chosen by Finubar the Seafarer at the start of his reign.
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