A Guide to New Hope

The New Hope Guide is copyright © 1999 by Hydra's-Head Press. Permission is hereby granted to make copies of this document in any medium for the use of current contributing members of Tower Mountain/New Hope.

Topography

New Hope is located on the seacoast, east and a little north of Tower Mountain. It is located on the Bay of New Hope, between an estuary on its southern end, and a peninsula on its northern end. The settlement proper extends from the beaches of the bay to a range of hills not more than two or three miles from the bay at its widest point. To the west of the hills forest begins, and continues extensively inland.

The Bluesnake River flows from the north and west inland. Originally it flowed around the southern extremity of the hills, but the rockshapers, in conjunction with the trolls, diverted a part of its flow through a series of tunnels and natural caverns under the hills to provide water power for Trolldelving's forges and some running water for two other nearby households (Risingmist and Springreach.) Once out of the hills, the river drains into the western end of the bay. The estuary is the area where the river meets the bay. The river is freshwater, and when it flows into the bay the river water floats above the heavier brine throughout the bay, not actually beginning to merge with it until it goes through the channel to the ocean. The bay waters near the mouth of the river are shallow (not more than 10-15 feet). Due to the narrowness of the mouth of the bay, the bay has lag tides which go out roughly half an hour after the ocean tides.

The sediment brought by the river reacts to the salt in the sea by pulling together; the lighter bits flocculate and form loose, fluffy masses of suspended matter. Since they are buoyant, they are easily winnowed by tidal currents and swept southward into the quieter parts of the estuary where they settle during tidal lags and form beds of clay which are used for the Risingmist pottery works.

The mineral-rich river water (which contains trace metals) is responsible for the blue coral reef as well as for the rich soil of the river floodplains, a flat and low-lying area where the bulk of the community's farming is done. The salt marshes are located on the southern end of the settlement in certain places along the shore of the floodplain, and on the southern side of the river's delta. Ice runs in the river in midwinter.

Heavier sediment, especially from the ocean waters, helps form the sandbar which runs along most of the beach. Greenwillow Household, which is located near Piet's Watch and the peninsula, is too far from the river to be much influenced by it. It has sand on the bay side of the peninsula, a rocky beach on the ocean side.

Likewise, most of the land north of the bay is higher and more rugged than the south side, with thinner soil. The vegetation consists mostly of scrub and thin trees, punctuated by the occasional garden. Continuing north, the land eventually rises to a line of cliffs which mark the edge of the mountain range and the beginning of a grassy plateau which is used for herding.

Most Households which maintain sizable herds (Whistleleaf, Foxlair, Greenwillow) are situated on the northernmost end of the settlement. Agricultural households such as Springreach prefer the southern end.

The Holt of New Hope

Topographic map of the area around New Hope, with hawkrider patrol routes

The area between New Hope and Tower Mountain

Map of the entire continent, showing New Hope in relation to other tribes--warning, very large file!

Specific Map Features

Trolldelving: New Hope's troll community makes its home under the western cliffs and in the nearby rock outcropping known as Trollshall.

Eyrie Cliffs: New Hope's hawkriders house their birds (giant hawks of Tower stock) in eyries shaped into the eastern cliffs.

Council Rock: An assembly hall for the entire community is shaped into this large rock spire. Shelters, storerooms, emergency housing, and similar necessities have also been shaped into the other outcroppings and natural stone towers north of the bay, such as Hawks' Perch, Stormhaven Rock, and Lookout Rock.

The New Hope Infirmary is built into the lee side of Stormhaven Rock, partly in, partly out of the outcropping itself, with its doors and a number of windows facing south.  There is an outer 'wating room' which is all the more fortunate non-healers ever see, and a hallway behind that leads to the various patients' rooms.  A half-curtained doorway to the left of the entrance leads to the stillroom and dispensary.

Riverleap: A shaped stone bridge across the river, providing access to Springreach Household and the communal fields.

Piet's Watch: A natural stone spire at the mouth of the bay. Strengthened by rockshaper magic and provided with a spiral pathway to the flat top, it is an excellent lookout point that commands a wide view of the surrounding area (including out to sea). Piet often uses it as a place for meditation and a jumping-off point for "going out," hence the name.

Gull Island: A small, rocky island with a number of natural caves. Spiritual retreat for New Hope's shamanistic colloquium.

Voyager's Island: A somewhat larger island, with more trees. Site of a guesthouse most frequently used by Merek and Nennali of the ship Voyager, hence the name.

Household Descriptions:

Foxlair

Greenwillow

Risingmist

Sea Runner

Springreach

Startide

Threetail

Trailingstar

Trolldelving

Whistleleaf

Household Floorplans:

Foxlair

Greenwillow (ground floor)

Greenwillow (second floor)

Risingmist

Sea Runner

Springreach

Startide

Threetail

Trailingstar (ground floor)

Trailingstar (second floor)

Trolldelving

Whistleleaf

The New Hope Eyrie (Not a household, but we have a map for it anyway)

Local Flora and Fauna

Sea animals: Oysters (including pearl oysters, harvested in summer), Crabs, Shrimp (including "spirit shrimp" [pink ghost shrimp which live in pairs and burrow in sand leaving little mounds]), Clams (including a tiny, bioluminescent species), Salmon, trout, stonefish, and shad. Dolphins and porpoises (usually outside the bay, but relish the crabs and clams found within), whales (several species), sharks, rays.

Birds: Gulls (eat anything and everything; most are migratory with one species around in winter, another in summer; rafts of them hang out on Gull Island), ducks, pelicans (which eat fish), sandpipers (which eat crustaceans). Owls (which feed on the voles and some shore birds), Meadowlarks/whippoorwills/bobolinks/grouse, etc. (grasslands)

Land Animals: (domesticated) Goats (the most numerous; for wool, meat, milk and milk products), Sheep (ditto by-products), Horses (most bred by Foxlair Household, but widely used), Chickens (meat, eggs), Dogs (hunting, guard duty, pest control), furkits (pest control).

Land Animals: (undomesticated) Voles, field mice, deer/elk/moose etc. (most on the far side of the eyries or in the western forest). Rabbits/hares, snakes (harmless and poisonous).

Philosophy and Beliefs

The philosophy and beliefs of New Hope as a whole are largely derived from those of the Mraal cult of the Lovebringer (unwittingly started by Piet when he first visited the Tower in TWR 1087), with certain modifying elements from elfin culture and thinking. The basic precept of the Lovebringer cult was that everyone is blessed and worthy of love, and that love brings the greatest blessing of all. To this ideal the inhabitants of New Hope have added the determination to live in peace with all races and peoples (as far as possible) and the ideal of self-fulfillment in all aspects of life. Also, of course, the humans of New Hope no longer consider the elves to be "spirits" or gods, though they still harbor a certain amount of reverence (tempered with a healthy dose of simple affection) for Piet, who may be fairly considered the "heart and soul" of the community.

The philosophy of New Hope is most often expressed by the simple statement "Love All." This statement is elaborated into three parts:

1) Love the world: take joy in its beauty and diversity, strive to understand the way it properly goes together and how you can live in harmony with it. The folk of New Hope believe that there is an underlying pattern to existence, which they often refer to as The Dance (or later, under the influence of Wing Tribe beliefs, the Mother's Song or the Song). "Learning one's part in the dance (or song)" is another way of expressing the concept of living in harmony with the world.

2) Love others: strive to live in peace with them, take joy in their differences, help and don't hurt; treat all peoples with respect. Do your best to understand and learn from them. Remember that all people are blessed and worthy of love (as hard as this may be to remember in certain individual cases). Use your talents and abilities as best you can for the benefit of the whole community.

3) Love yourself: strive to make yourself the best you can be by developing your talents and abilities, but don't get down on yourself; don't be self-destructive. It's impossible to love others if you're full of self-hatred. Another aspect of loving oneself is accepting the love of others.

An often-quoted statement at New Hope is "Evil is the absence of love," but most acknowledge that this is an oversimplification. Evil is defined as a conscious choice by an intelligent being to go against the way the world is meant to work, to step wrong in the dance. Why the person makes such a choice is where the absence of love comes in: perhaps he doesn't see himself as loved, perhaps she hates herself so much that she cannot love others or the world. The people of New Hope are cautious about making judgments of evil, knowing something of the kind of circumstances that can cause a normally good person to perform evil acts, and also acknowledging that different individuals may have different perceptions of good. "No one person can know the whole Dance," they say. "Who knows what steps another might be called upon to take?" However, they consider an absence of love to be a telltale symptom of true evil, and conversely the presence of love in an individual's life as a sign that there is still hope for that person.

The people of New Hope also believe in not letting oneself be haunted by past mistakes. This concept was especially important to many of the Tower elves who originally settled New Hope, since they wished to be free of the burden of over a thousand years of decadence and darkness. A newcomer to New Hope is often told, "Your past is your own. You may tell it to us or not, as you see fit, but in any case we will do our best not to judge you by it, only to understand you better."

Needless to say, all of the above is a statement of ideals. The people of New Hope are only human -- or elf, or troll -- and often fall short of their ideals, singly or in groups. (Heck, if it were all sweetness and light, we'd never have any stories, would we?) However, their knowledge of what their ideals are will make them aware of what they have fallen short of, once they stop to think. This is why the general beliefs of the community should be kept in mind when writing stories. It's also perfectly possible to have individual characters deviate from these beliefs in one way or another, but there again, they'll likely be aware of what the prevalent beliefs are and why their own differ.

For more details on Mraal religious beliefs, see Religion In New Hope.

Life-After-Death Beliefs

The question of life after death is one of New Hope's most pervasive philosophical problems. The traditional Mraal belief is that the individual human personality does not survive death, but instead melts back into the "world soul" from which it originally came, just as the body dissolves back into its primal components. The elves, on the other hand, know for a fact that even if they do die physically, their spirits survive and usually go to the Palace of the High Ones. This has led to a good deal of anguished speculation on both sides. Must the friendships of elves and humans be irrevocably broken after death? Are the elves, as exiles on this world, forever barred from joining its "world soul"? Encounters with the beliefs of other human tribes (e.g. the Shigyeveth, who believe both in rebirth and an afterlife) will add new dimensions to these questions. This may be one of the subjects pursued by the shamanistic fellowship based on Gull Island.

Magic

The other great difference between elves and humans is that elves have magic (psionic Talents) and humans, by and large, do not (or at least, if human magic is indeed present, it seems to be rarer and more diffuse, as well as of a different nature). A wide range of magical Talents are present among the elves of New Hope, many of whom are early-generation elves from the Tower: sending, gliding, healing, rock- and plant-shaping, and most of the dependent powers in one form or another. It is almost inevitable that jealousy should arise among the humans because of this. Such jealousy is defused (with varying degrees of success) by pointing out that all beings are gifted in some way. The humans themselves have greater size, physical strength, and fertility, aside from what talents and skills they may have as individuals. As long as everyone's talents are used for the benefit of the entire community, they are in some degree gifts to all. The elves may not be able to share their immortality or their magic with their human friends, but at least they can share the results of those gifts.

Such sharing is not always possible, however. With only a few exceptions, neither sending (telepathy) nor magical healing work reliably on humans. The exceptions are in the cases of those elves who have "broadband" empathic/sending Talents: at present, Piet and his blood daughter Snowflower. These elves can touch the minds of humans and, in Snowflower's case, heal them. (Mikail can also heal humans if he mindlinks with soulbrother Piet. And at some point, Rahirah's latent animal sending talent is going to surface fully.) Even then, the human must be sufficiently receptive. A deep, psychological trust is involved; the human must perceive the elfin mind as "friend/my tribe." If not, the human mind will instinctively throw up mental blocks and effectively prevent any contact. This is a deep subconscious reaction, not a voluntary one.

Most human inhabitants of New Hope, especially those born there who have grown up in the company of elves, will have this complete trust. Other humans, especially those from tribes who were originally elf-hostile, almost certainly will not. Believing intellectually that elves are your friends is not the same thing as believing it "heart and soul." Writers, keep this in mind for story purposes!

Language

Due to various factors including bilingual humans, monolingual elves, monolingual (and conservative) trolls, comparative language difficulty (languages tend to simplify with age) and a general atmosphere of cooperation and togetherness, the majority of inhabitants of New Hope end up speaking a dialect of elvish with a large number of loan words from the Mraal dialect of the subcontinental human tongue. By the time a few human generations have gone by, a former Tower elf is more likely to have "pure" Mraal as a second language than a typical New Hope human is. Those elves and humans who often travel outside the community, such as traders and explorers, are more likely to learn the human tongue. Preservers, of course, talk the way preservers have always talked, in their own peculiar dialect of elvish.

New Hope has writing available to it in the form of Cuendee's sound-notation. Originally developed for Cuendee's own linguistic studies, the script has been adopted by the human group she lives with, the Shigyeveth, as a writing system, and some of the New Hopers have begun to pick up on it too, especially those with a need to keep accurate records. After contact with the Taiakaari, some denizens of both New Hope and Tower Mountain learn the Taiakaari writing system, but as it is both more difficult to learn than Cuendee's and less well suited for transcribing the elven language it does not become common.

Names

The names of New Hope residents are as varied as their backgrounds. Tower elves and Mraal humans tend to have sound-names (e.g. Rahirah, Mikail, Tekka), whereas the elves of other tribes, such as Great Water and Wolfgang, more often have sense-names as "outer" names (e.g. Shadow-Wise, Raventongue, Dove) and secret soul names. Whether a child of mixed parentage is given a sound-name or a sense-name is largely up to the parents (and the child itself when it's old enough). Whether or not such an elf has a soul name is up to its creator. Some elves with sound-names may later adopt or be given a sense-name to use when visiting elf tribes where these are customary, since some tribes feel uncomfortable addressing an elf by what sounds to them like a soul name. (Possible examples: Piet/Halfwise, Rahirah/ Hawkspirit; Peysol uses "Sailweaver")

Some of the human tribes whose members have settled in New Hope have clan names or surnames attached to their personal names (e.g. Arista Fire, Tawno Rock, Sherron Firewing). Again, whether these are passed down to a person's offspring is up to both parents and children (and the creator of a particular character, of course).

Social Structure and Government

 
Children born into a Household are considered members of that Household until they marry or mate, at which time the couple is free to choose which Household they and their children will belong to. Most often this will be one of their two original Households, but theoretically it could be a completely different one. Wanderers of whatever race who decide to settle at New Hope are customarily adopted into an existing Household, usually one where they have formed ties of friendship, marriage, Recognition, or whatever. It is also possible for a single adult to change Households for some reason, but with the exception of Sea Runner Household, which customarily adopts apprentices to the seafaring trade as Household members, this is rare.

For more information, see the Adoption Ceremony.

Each Household is governed by its Household Elders, generally one or more of the "founding" elves and senior members of the various human bloodlines. Again, this varies by Household. From among the Household Elders are selected those who will represent the Household in the Council of Elders of New Hope as a whole, which is the supreme governing body. The Council of Elders makes major decisions affecting the community as a whole, from mundane matters such as which fields to plant in what crops this year, to questions of wider import such as trade agreements or the organization of community defenses. The Council also acts as a tribunal or judiciary body when this becomes necessary, and has various ceremonial functions such as witnessing marriages.

Decisions of the Council are made by consensus, i.e., the matter is discussed until some decision is reached that all Council members can agree on. There is no concept of "majority rules." Nor is there any concept of "precedents" in Council rulings, though if the matter under discussion is similar to something that occurred in the past, someone is sure to say, "Well, the last time that happened, we did this." ("Yes, and how well did it work that time?") Any inhabitant of New Hope who has an interest in the proceedings is allowed to attend a Council meeting and air his or her opinions on the subject under discussion; sometimes a particular person will be asked to speak who may have valuable information or insights about a specific concern of the Council. However, non-Council members do not have a say in the final decision apart from whatever influence they may have on the Elders.

Food Sources

New Hope's two main food sources are agriculture and fishing. The southern floodplain is mostly given over to farmland, where food for the entire community is grown. The principal crops are grains (wheat, maize, oats, etc.), legumes (e.g. beans, lentils), fruit trees (apple, pear, peach, plum, cherry), and a root vegetable similar to potatoes (these are called "whiteroots"). Numerous other vegetables are grown in gardens; there are also herb gardens for the use of healers and cooks alike. Beekeeping is practiced in conjunction with the gardens and orchards. Another crop grown at New Hope is flax, for linen. Cotton has been tried but doesn't grow well; it's easier to trade with the Island Clans for it.

New Hope has a substantial fishing fleet which fishes both the bay and the open sea, depending on the season and the habits of the various food fish. Shellfish, including pearl oysters, and several varieties of seaweed are harvested. Due to trace minerals in the water, the Bay of New Hope also yields a rare blue coral, which is used to make jewelry for trade.

New Hope does a good bit of herding, as a secondary food source (especially for milk products) and as a source of wool and transportation. Herd animals include goats, which the Mraal brought with them from the Tower and which are therefore the most numerous herd animal; sheep, originally obtained from the Clanners and prized mostly for their wool; and horses. New Hope's horses are derived from several strains: the original stock bred by Dijin's horse cult, the mounts of the Shigyeveth human tribe, and the smaller ponies of the elfin Plains Hunters. Foxlair Household in particular is known for its horsebreeding, but horses are widely used throughout the settlement as mounts. Also in the category of livestock fall the chickens, like goats domesticated by the Mraal for millennia, which practically no Household is without. These supply meat, eggs, and feathers for various uses. Not exactly in the food category but important nonetheless are domestic dogs and cats, the former used for hunting and guard duty as well as pest control, which is the province of both species.

The inhabitants of New Hope do a certain amount of hunting and gathering, though this is not a major source of food; the community is too large to depend heavily on hunting and gathering without rapidly depleting the surrounding land. Hunting and gathering are done mostly to satisfy individual needs and to "fill in the corners" of the usual diet. The giant hawks are sometimes taken hunting, but are more often fed from the surplus of the herds (cf. the Dragonriders of Pern). Nevertheless, most New Hope inhabitants are taught at least the basics of hunting for use when traveling or in other situations where it's necessary to live off the land.

New Hope acquires certain foodstuffs through trade (e.g. herbs and spices that don't grow in the area), but again, this is not a major source of food; it is done to add variety and interest to the regular diet.

Buildings and Dwellings

The architecture of New Hope shows a distinct blend of elfin and human tendencies, for whereas the usual elfin impulse is to shape existing features to their own use, humans (who don't possess shaping magic anyway) are more likely to build new structures. Elves, with their longer lifespans, are particularly concerned about permanence in their dwellings. New Hope's climate has also had an effect, for while it is relatively warm, with hot summers, a fairly long growing season, and mild winters, it is also, because of its proximity to the ocean, considerably more boisterous than that of the Redrock Valley. Storms are common, especially in the late spring/early summer and autumn, and the occasional hurricane or "deathstorm" makes its way up from the south.

The rock outcroppings and spires north of the bay are honeycombed with rooms and passages, some of which are natural caves and some of which have been added by rockshapers. Except for the large assembly hall shaped into the base of Council Rock, most of these chambers are used nowadays for storage or emergency shelter rather than everyday dwellings, since for most of the elves (and some of the humans as well) they smack too much of Tower Mountain. The typical New Hope building style is long, low, and rambling, with wide courtyards and plenty of windows, the latter having sturdy shutters for bad weather. Style and building materials vary widely from Household to Household, however, depending on the location and the tastes of the inhabitants.

Most Households have large communal eating, living, and working areas and small sleeping chambers for individuals or small family groups (e.g. couples, siblings or close friends sharing a room, etc.). In good weather, most of the day's activities will be carried on outdoors. For obvious reasons, dwellings are constructed on a human scale (have you ever heard anyone complaining about a doorway being too high?), but the furniture inside will be made in a variety of sizes to suit the various-sized inhabitants. Most furniture is wooden, with the occasional rockshaped shelf, table or bench when it isn't necessary to move them. Rugs, tapestries, and wall hangings are common to brighten up living spaces and to keep them warmer in the winter. Heating is mostly by open fireplaces, and lighting is provided by candles and lamps.

Clothing

Weaving is one of New Hope's most widely practiced crafts, so the majority of clothing is woven. Wool and linen are the most common materials for everyday wear; cotton and silk are obtained through trade (at least, until we get those preservers) and thus are more "expensive." Everyday clothing is sturdy and practical, but rarely drab; the folk of New Hope enjoy bright colors and ornamentation unless they're doing particularly grungy work. The "layered look" of native Mraal dress is prevalent among the humans, and many elves have taken it up, too, though the elves are less likely to preserve gender distinctions. As a result these have become more relaxed among the humans as well, particularly the younger ones -- though it's still unlikely you'll see a human male in a skirt. Leather is mostly used for footwear, accessories like belts and pouches, and sturdy bad-weather gear, though a few New Hope inhabitants use it for everyday clothing for reasons of taste or tradition. Closure is usually by lacing; common decorations include embroidery, beadwork, fringes, and feathers. Fur is sometimes used as trim as well, or, along with leather, for cold-weather clothing.

A festival or other special occasion is a signal to pull out all the stops when it comes to dress. Instead of merely cheerful, colors become riotous, and styles vary wildly. Though no one has the roomsful of clothes once common among the pampered Tower elves, festival garb is lovingly designed and painstakingly made, carefully preserved, and constantly altered to accommodate new ideas and changing tastes. Also in the category of "special" clothing are the Elders' robes, worn by Household and Council Elders on solemn or ceremonial occasions. These robes are usually of plain linen, floor-length but not trailing, with long, broad sleeves; they are designed to be worn over regular clothing. (Think of a choir robe.) Each Household has a distinctive trim pattern that appears in a band along the edge of the sleeves. In addition, a Council elder wears a narrow stole in the same pattern. For especially festive ceremonies such as weddings, an Elder may add an overgarment more or less like a poncho, which can be elaborately decorated. Elders have one other distinctive garment, the Elder's apron, which will be discussed below in the section on the Festival of Love.

Jewelry is popular among the folk of New Hope. Since the settlement itself is metal-poor, metal jewelry is not as common as that made of beads, feathers, and shells. Most metal jewelry is either keepsakes from the Tower or wherever a wanderer may have come from, handed down, or traded for. Small amounts of raw metals are also obtained in trade and can be worked into jewelry, most often by the trolls or a few jeweler elves. Precious gems are similarly scarce, with the exception of pearls, which are grown and harvested in the bay. More common are beads made of semiprecious stones, carved wood, bone, shell, and other easily obtainable materials. Remember that blue coral!

Arts and Crafts

The folk of New Hope practice a wide variety of crafts -- of necessity, since almost everything they use must be made by hand. Weaving and leatherworking provide the community with clothing; carpentry and woodworking furnish their houses; metalworking (mostly done by the trolls, who have charge over the limited metal supply) and stoneworking provide tools and weapons. Pottery, basket-weaving, rope and net making, and shipbuilding all have important places at New Hope. Though there is more emphasis on useful crafts at New Hope than in the "artists' colony" of Tower Mountain, crafters are encouraged to take joy in their work and to make it beautiful as well as functional. Nor is the making of purely decorative items frowned upon, especially during the winter moons when everyone has time on their hands. If a necklace or a child's toy will make someone happy, it is held to be serving a useful purpose.   For an overview of the level of crafts available, see the Technology article.  Cooking, brewing, and herbalism also fall under the heading of useful crafts. The Tower elves brought with them a fairly advanced knowledge of brewing and distilling, as well as a taste for a wide variety of food. Herblore provides the medicine for most of New Hope, the Tower elves' knowledge of it being supplemented by the humans' and that of various other elf tribes. Writers should keep in mind, however, that herbal medicines tend to work slowly, in conjunction with rest, good food, etc., to enhance the body's natural healing tendencies. They are not wonder drugs and should not be treated as such.

Music and dance have an important place in the lives of the folk of New Hope. They are integral parts of most of the seasonal festivals, and any gathering of whatever size or purpose is an excuse for singing, playing, and group dancing. Due originally to the inspiration and influence of Sharai, New Hope has also developed what is rather an anomaly on the World of Two Moons (at least, so far as we know), choral singing. Apart from its beauty, it is valued as a way for those of relatively modest musical gifts to participate in a fairly elevated art form -- a concept eminently suited to the philosophy of New Hope.

Storytelling is popular, both as entertainment and as a way to teach history. Though symbol-making is known and a writing system is available (see the section on Language), most of the history and culture of New Hope is oral. Tales and songs are the collective memory of New Hope's people. Drama is also known (from the Tower), but whether it becomes important at New Hope will depend on whether any writers care to deal with the subject.

Festivals and Observances

 
The nature of the Midsummer Festival (held at or around the summer solstice) is a less formal occsion than the other quarterly festivals; it is often celebrated by household, with picnics, competitive games, and dances; there is traditionally a sailboat race around the bay, weather permitting.

Autumn Festival or Harvest Festival is the major "secular" festival of the year. It is, of course, held at harvest time, before the winter sets in and makes travel difficult. All the tribes with whom New Hope has relations, or their representatives, are invited for a combination trade fair, craft exhibition, music festival, and general whooping it up. Almost anything can happen at Autumn Festival and usually does. The celebration lasts for a full eightday (since it would hardly be worth the trouble for guests to come all that way just for overnight), with parties every evening hosted by each Household in turn. The Really Big Bash is saved for the last night; the "hosting order" is rotated each year so that no one Household always gets stuck hosting this. The whole festival is pervaded by a spirit of friendly competition as to who can provide the most dazzling decorations, the best food, the most original entertainment, etc. During the day is when the more businesslike aspects such as trade negotiations and craft fairs take place. Autumn Festival is another popular time for weddings, though a wedding celebrated at Autumn Festival definitely has a different "feel" to it than one celebrated at the Festival of Love.

Midwinter Festival takes place on Longest Night (the winter solstice) which New Hopers reckon as the turn of the year. It is a time of looking both backward and forward. The foremost entertainment at Midwinter is storytelling, usually tales of the past and reminiscenses about those who have died in the previous year. During the day there is much visiting between Households (or as much as the weather allows) for the purpose of exchanging greetings, gossip, and foodstuffs, but on the Night itself, each Household clusters around its own hearth for the storytelling, which goes on all night, accompanied by appropriate food and drink (e.g. mulled cider and cookies). Just at sunrise, at the first dawn of the new year, it is customary for each person (or each one still awake) to share with the others some wish, or hope, for the coming year. Then everyone goes to bed!

Other occasions for celebration or commemoration include such milestones as births, marriages or matings, and deaths. According to Mraal (human) tradition, a baby has a naming ceremony eight days (or one cycle of Child Moon) after its birth, at which it becomes officially a person. The Mraal and other human groups also formally celebrate marriages (see the separate article "Gettin' Hitched"). Mraal funeral customs consist of placing the dead on a pyre decorated with flowers, which is then burned while traditional funeral songs and dances are performed. These customs have carried over to New Hope and some have been picked up by the elves as well, who don't see any reason not to celebrate such joyful occasions as the birth of a baby or the decision of two elves to lifemate. Elfin funerals are, in the normal way of things, far rarer than human ones, and the ceremonies performed are much more a matter of individual choice (of the deceased, if his/her wishes are known, or of the immediate family and close friends) than they are among the humans.

Counting Time, and Other Things

New Hope uses the Mraal calendar, in which the year consists of 24 (three-eights) moons of 16 days apiece (for a total of 384 days -- yes, we're postulating that the WoTM year is twenty days longer than the Terran variety. This is a different world here, folks!). "Seasons" consist of six moons apiece: Winter (aka Coldtime) is Moons 1- 6, Spring (Buddingtime) is Moons 7 - 12, Summer (Longsun) is Moons 13 - 18, and Autumn (Brightleaf) is Moons 19 -24. The moons probably have individual names, if anyone would like to invent them. As mentioned above, the year begins on the Winter Solstice, which is counted as the last day of Moon 24 (Year's Death) / first day of Moon 1 (Year's Birth). When a "leap year"-type extra day is necessary, it falls between these two.

The "eightday" is sometimes used as a subdivision of a moon (it also approximates the cycle of the smaller moon, whereas the "moon" proper corresponds with the cycle of the greater moon). Suggestions on subdivisions of the day to substitute for Terran hours, minutes, and seconds will be appreciated. (Some people have been using "span" for this, without pinning down how long a span is.) In the meantime, "heartbeats" and "breaths" are always useful, and "moment" is nicely non-specific.

As should be evident from the above, the Mraal long ago picked up the elves' base-eight numbering system, though there are still remnants of a base-ten system in their original tongue. Therefore all inhabitants of New Hope tend to count in eights; the fact that the moon cycles are 16 and 8 days respectively reinforces this tendency. An "eight-of-eights" (64 years) is a more common unit of time measurement than a century.

Contact with Other Communities

New Hope is in contact with a number of holts and tribes of the World of Two Moons, and is always eager to meet more (on peaceful terms, that is -- though this can't always be guaranteed). Contact can be made and maintained in several ways. New Hope carries on regular trade with a variety of peoples. New Hope and Tower Mountain in cooperation also maintain a regular messenger service using the hawkriders as messengers. (Would you believe... air mail?) Wanderers who come to New Hope often bring word of the existence of other tribes; depending on circumstances, New Hope may decide to send out an exploratory or diplomatic mission to make contact with a previously unknown tribe. Needless to say, such missions can be dangerous, but the folk of New Hope are committed enough to spreading their ideals of peaceful relations between peoples (and to opening up new trade opportunities -- let's be practical here!) that they are prepared to face these dangers. Besides, it makes great story material!

Tribes and Peoples Currently in Contact with New Hope

Tower Mountain: The parent community of New Hope, a settlement of early-generation elves who reside in an isolated valley, served by a tribe of worshipful humans, the Mraal. Their cultural level is extremely high on the WoTM scale: think "artists' colony." The original (or previous) home of many New Hope elves, who will almost always have friends and relatives still living there. There is considerable coming and going between New Hope and the Tower, from short visits to changes of residence (Tower elves deciding they'd rather live at New Hope, and vice versa), and a good deal of trade goes on between the two as well. Since the Tower is located in a dormant volcano, it is metal-rich; much of New Hope's metal supply initially comes from the Redrock Valley. Hawkrider messengers fly between the Tower and New Hope at regular intervals, and an overland supply train also travels back and forth at somewhat less frequent intervals (since going overland takes considerably longer.) Coming and going of humans between the two communities is less frequent than that of elves, but still happens. The majority of Redrock Valley humans cling to the old "elves as spirits" religion, which creates some conflict between the two human groups. Tower Mountain is presently ruled by Lord Erik. Tower Mountain is, of course, also the parent to New Hope in fannish terms, and run by the same people -- that's us!

Servan's Enclave: A small, independent community formed by the Tower elf Servan, certain of her friends, and humans who were originally members of her cult of hunters, the Cult of the Silver Dagger. Though largely in sympathy with the ideals of New Hope, Servan (due to certain previous experiences) refuses to be beholden to any authority but her own. Theoretically her enclave is a loose confederation of individuals with no formal government, but in practice Servan is the tacitly acknowledged leader. The community is located in a forested area not far from New Hope. They subsist mostly by hunting and gathering, trading the products of these activities for such things as cloth, pottery, and metal goods. Servan's Enclave is the creation of Maria Manemann.

Great Water Holt:  The original or previous home of several of the founding elves of New Hope, a coastal holt with a primarily hunter/gatherer/fisher level technology. It is located down the coast (south) from New Hope. Relations are friendly and contact is frequent; Great Water is on the regular hawkrider messenger routes and also trades with New Hope (often by water, that being the easiest way to get there). The current chieftains are Windrunner and BlackTalon; later on their daughter Windhawk is expected to succeed them. Great Water is an independent Elfquest fan club/holt created by Liz Roth (then Welsh).

The Tribe without Name: Up until NH 29/30, a friendly human tribe allied with Great Water Holt and living a little to the north of them. Several New Hope/Great Water elves, Seahawk in particular, have ties of friendship with the Tribe. In NH 29, the Tribe is attacked by the Stinkers (see below) and decimated. The survivors (perhaps 25 - 30 in number), at Seahawk's behest, follow him to New Hope and become part of the community (specifically Greenwillow Household, at least at first). As of the first time jump (NH 50 -55) they still preserve something of a separate tribal identity despite a number of inter-tribal marriages; how long this will last remains to be seen. The Tribe without Name was originally developed by Ree Moorhead Pruehs.

The Stinkers: (aka The Smelly Ones, The Great Unwashed; in their own tongue, The People) A hostile tribe of humans with a deathly fear of water and a few distinctly repulsive habits such as spoliation of the land around them and human (or elf) sacrifice. They believe that elves are demons and that those who associate them are demons in disguise (althari). The living proof that even nice folks like us can't get along with everybody. The Stinkers are the original creation of Liz Roth with help from Ree Moorhead Pruehs, but their resurgence can be blamed on Dale Beaver.

The Island Clans: A satellite holt of Great Water, located on an island southeast of the holt. They are primarily fisherelves and herders. The Clanners are friendly with Great Water and frequently trade with them. New Hope may trade with them directly or through Great Water; they obtain cotton cloth and sheep from the Clanners. Piet also studied for a time with Shimmermist of the Island Clans.  The Island Clans were originally created by Paulle and are currently active as a membership holt in association with great Water Holt.

Wolfgang: A tribe of wolfblooded elves, the origin tribe of several of New Hope's founders (notably Shadow-Wise, Mikail's Recognized lifemate). Wolfgang is located near the west coast, about two moons' travel from New Hope on foot; in culture and technology it is fairly similar to the EQ Prime Wolfriders (with a few additions such as weaving). The current chief is Hawkflight. Wolfgang is on the hawkrider messenger routes (at least a couple of times a year). Like Great Water, Wolfgang originated as an independent holt, the creation of Terrie Smith; it has now closed as a membership holt but is still in use as a source holt for Tower/New Hope.

The Rovers: A nomadic tribe of "gypsy" elves ("gypsy" just about says it all), they come in contact with New Hope around NH 6 and make periodic visits after that. New Hope gets the technology of carts and wagons from them. Ties between the two communities include blood relations -- Tinker is half-Rover and the daughter of Stormcloud, the tribe's current "king" -- and at least one Recognition, that of Longshanks and Shalamar. The Rovers are the creation of Terrie Smith.

The Shigyeveth: A human tribe of nomadic herders and traders. Initial contact was made through Cuendee, a former Tower elf who has been adopted into the tribe. The Shigyeveth are actually just one band of the far-flung tribe of the !Nekwethir (who actually attacked the Redrock Valley more than a millennium ago). Their culture is matriarchal, since the women own the most important property, the herds of kha'amir (a cameloid creature similar to the Terran guanaco). Since the !Nekwethir were originally invaders from a long ways off, their native language is completely alien to the subcontinental human tongue (of which Mraal is a dialect). The Shigyeveth visit New Hope fairly regularly for trade purposes; they also trade with other human tribes. The Shigyeveth are the creation of Margaret Dean.

The Island Trolls: A troll community located on a volcanic island a good ways out to sea (exact location as yet undecided). Known to Merek and Nennali of the ship Voyager (who actually get most of their ostensible "plunder" in trade from these trolls), and the birthplace of Bilge of Sea Runner. The Island Trolls are matriarchal, with a troll queen of tremendous size, and polyandrous. They have conquered their racial photophobia far enough to send out exploratory vessels crewed by "expendable" males. In other respects they are standard trolls, perhaps a bit more peaceable than most.

Plains Hunters/White Wolf Holt: The Plains Hunters are nomadic plains-dwelling elves whose usual hunting grounds lie a considerable distance from New Hope. Initial contact was made through Meiji, an exiled Tower elf who was picked up by a far-wandering band of Plains Hunters and spent a number of years with the tribe before returning to the Tower. Later on, a joint expedition of young Tower and New Hope elves will journey there to trade with the Plains Hunters for horses. White Wolf Holt is a wolfrider-type holt with an arctic setting which has semi-regular contact with the Plains Hunters. Both holts are the creation of Valerie Bowe.

Taiakaar: A human city-state to the extreme north, located in an area of high mountains. The Taiakaari are a relatively advanced culture, due in part to the influence of Arteuran, an eccentric High One who has served as their "spiritual leader" for several thousand years. Taiakaar is the creation of Ree Pruehs.

Godlings' Reach: A settlement of warlike rockshapers far to the south of Great Water.  Reach society is structured around formal duels.  The Reach is the creation of Elaine Pedee; for more information, see The Reach.

The Kindred: A tribe of sea-going elves who live on floating raft villages, led by a chieftess, Tresses.  They possess an uncanny knowledge of the ocean and its moods.   The Kindred are the creation of Maria Manemann.

We sincerely hope the above list will continue to expand; as usual, suggestions are always welcome!

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