WHERE IS ELFIA?
Elfia is a place which manifests itself and is accessible for humans only once in a while. When it opens, entrance gates appear. These entrances are a kind of twilight zone where humans can enter the realm and get in contact with the other inhabitants of Elfia. Since 2009 this happens twice a year. In April this ‘waiting room’ reveals itself on the ground of Kasteel de Haar in Haarzuilens, Utrecht (Netherlands) and in September this happens in the Castlegardens of Arcen, on the border of the Netherlands and Germany.
Mind: these locations are a mere glimpse of the entire realm of Elfia; a kind of twilight zone where we humans can get an idea of the greater Elfia. Elfia is realm that is never ‘finished’. In as the same way the universe expands en possibly shrinks so does Elfia “breathe” in several different dimensions and spheres. When we look at Elfia in a three-dimensional way then we can see an area which consists of one large island with a number of smaller islands and surrounded by 5,000 little islands. The islands are surrounded by a salt sea which rises and falls irregularly, which results in floodings or the appearance of entire sea beds.


NATURE AND CLIMATE
Due to the outstretched landscape of this island group Elfia has more than one climate. Some areas are known for their severe draughts and are tormented by sandstorms; others have to cope with hurricanes or volcanic eruptions which results in volcanic-ash eclipses. There are regions that have a rather mild climate and a high humidity – these are safe from natural distasters. These are the places where the most populations of humans and animals reside and where the botanic world flourishes.


INHABITANTS OF ELFIA
Due to the large number of islands and the circumference of the area there are a multitude of human populations which not only differ in language, dialect or culture; but also in race and species. Within every race and species there are numerous cultural and even physical differences. A number of species have the ability to communicate with a language or telepathy. The number of these races might be somewhere in the hundreds, this is partly due to the frequent blending of these different species.
A small fraction of the inhabitants of Elfia: Elves, Vampires, Humans, Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, Leprechauns, Hobbits, Fauns, Zombies… Each of these species counts a number of main races. Amongst them blending happens when the species mingle, creating new species such as Batguins, Gothits, Zombelves or Mantrolls. And how doe these species come into being? Well, that is the magic of fantasy. When someone or something in the human world comes up with something fantastic and that thought is shared by a large group of people, then a new species appears in Elfia. Often it is a writer, who reaches a large number of people with his unlimited imagination; making way for a new race or species in Elfia. But also a popular movie like Avatar can have consequences for the populace of Elfia.


ORIGINS OF ELFIA
The elven tribe of the brothers Elfius and Kelfas once lived on the small island Atlan, which lies quite far from the main island (once called Moei by the original inhabitants: the Gothits). Despite the isolated position the elven tribe had a refined culture; they learned a lot from the techniques the local nature and animal world displayed. An enormous volcanic eruption led the floods which submerged the largest part of the island, bringing an end to the flourishing civilisation of the elves on Atlan. Only a few elves survived. For weeks they were floating around in boats on the ocean until they reached Moei. The shoreline where they arrived was inhabited by the tiny and crooked-walking Oeishouts. More than half of the survivors became a prey to these omnivores. And because the OEI shouts could be heard deep into the inland, the elves that could escape had to venture deep inland. Eventually the remaining eleven elves reached an uninhabited hill with fertile grounds on the shore of a river they named Delf.
With the knowledge from Atlan the elves were able to generate large profits from the harvests of the new farming grounds. With riverclay they built stone farms, something the neighbouring Gobbits and Gothits had never seen before. The elves taught their neighbouring tribes that have gotten curious their building techniques, resulting in a lively trade of knowledge and goods. 


WARS
Until the arrival of the elven tribe of Elfius and Kelfas the gentle Gobbits and the pale Gothits had lived in burrows in the ground, partly because they feared the aggressive, flying Zampires that lived on the large island Vampia which lies to the north. The elves taught their neighbours military tactics so they could defend themselves better from a swift Zampiric attack. For the first time in their existence Gobbits could defend an attack above ground, they could even shoot one Zampire from the sky. The small group of scouts the Zampires had sent ahead was astonished. A second attack ended even worse for them. They had to retreat from their temporary encampment because the Gobbits and their new-found confidence had pushed them back. The incredible news reached the capital city Radinad of Vampia. The blood-thirsty empress Radin decided to send even bigger troops to the rebellious area but every attack was counterfeited. The Gobbits and Gothits also received help from other, related tribes. The first large Vampia-War was then a fact and would last (with interludes) some 220 human years and 20 elven years.
Other elven folk, who lived all over the thousands of other small and larger island, were captivated by this heroic war and many young elves decided to settle in the young community of elves and some even fought along in the war. The Zampires, who once ruled 90% of Moei, had to relinquish large parts of the island and eventually they even retreated to their own island. Tired of fighting after 20 elven years, empress Radin accepted the peace treaty (the Peace of Quentex) – however reluctantly. 
Because Radin was blessed with nearly eternal life, she took her time to think about the defeat. Eventually she decided to do something that is not natural to Zampires: working together. In secret she made a pact with the head man of the Mongoblins: Zakti Khan. She knew that the Mongoblins were in desperate need of more space for their fast-growing population and they had desired to expand to other islands but their limited knowledge of the see and air had prevented them from doing so. Radin took care of the air transports for the Mongoblins and since the beginning of the human year 2009 the second Vampia-War was a fact. A relatively short but (joyous for the Zampires) very bloody battle of apocalyptic proportions. Radin was also assisted by thousands of Zombies that dug a way up from all over Elfia. The most effectively however, were the attacks of the Nazguls that have tens of thousand lives on their non-existing conscience.
Within weeks the important parts of the island of Elfia were flooded by the army, consisting of Mongoblins, Zampires and Zombies. Many cities, including Zrod, were taken and pillaged; while Elfia (the capital with the same name) was defend heavily against the bloodythirsty opponents. Fear ruled in Elfia, nothing was safe. Eventually the capital city would have fallen too if it weren’t for Zakti Khan and Radin, who started fighting about who would get command of these crucial city. Radin conspired and decided on an attempted murder to get rid of Zakti Khan but he was quicker. With two wooden spikes through her heart and one, well-aimed blow she was decapitated. After her death the Zampires, Nazguls and Zombies retreated abruptly. The Mongoblins decided to be wise and closed a peace pact with the new royal couple of Elfia. They were however allowed to keep a small region in the north: Dunekirk.


HEADS OF STATE 2008 - 2009
Elfius and Kelfus had decided after the first Vampia-War that they could only survive if there was more unity and harmony amongst the different populations of Elfia. Each population were principally allowed to chose their own leaders but every half human-year one democratically chosen king, queen or royal couple would rule over all races and species of Elfia.
In the human-year 2008 the first queen of Elfia was crowned: Earane I. This night-elf faced the difficult task of gaining respect despite her origins, among the restless orc- and vampire-minorities. This worked like a miracle. Her popularity grew immensely during her reign. When the second Vampia-War began early 2009 she could count on the support from all populations. The invasion however happened so quick and so scattered that she could not prepare her army accordingly. But she knew that the Mongoblins needed to be stopped – whatever the cost – before they reached the capital. When the elves seemed to loose the battle  at the Delf Earance personally came to their aid and stood her ground for almost 24 hours before she had to retreat behind the city-walls.
In the mean time the new elections had begun and one was well underway to choose a new ruler. These elections of course were heavily influenced by the apocalyptic threats. Because Earane was not allowed to run for a second term because of the constitution, the majority chose King Gyan and Queen Netel as their new heads of state. Even the Elfia-vampires got behind the heirs to the throne. During the change of rule in April 2009 the new sovereigns were faced with heavy issues and that had serious consequences. After Radin had died a minor battle against the Mongoblins took place on the shores of the Delf. The eldest son of Gyan and Netel, Sancto, fought in this battle. A treacherous, remaining, Nazgul unexpectedly ended his life. Queen Netel could not bear the loss of her beloved child and retreated into a convent. There she spends her days as Sister Netelia. Meanwhile King Gyan was assisted by his second son, crownprince Sissus and his cunning counsillor Grau. Although Sissus was more interested in shoes and purses than state affairs, Grau tried to get him to succeed his father without elections. In September 2009 several attempts for Gyan’s life were made but none succeeded. It could not be proved that counsillor woman Grau was responsible for the attempted murders although it was apparent to every inhabitant that she must be the evil mind behind it all. Generous as he was, King Gyan did not want to punish his son and his counsillor. Maybe he also was afraid to loose his second son as well after he already had lost his firstborn and wife. However he did encourage his son to take part in the elections but took the precaution that the newly elected ruler would only reign for a half-year instead of an entire year. In case Sissus would make a bad king, the consequences of his rule would remain limited.


HEADS OF STATE 2010 - 2011
No one expected the Greenthing Bifi to become a candidate for the throne. This green Goblin girl was deemed to young to take part in the elections. The solution came in the form of instating a regent. Under this condition Bifi could be chosen and she did get chosen to be the new sovereign. At her side stood Queen-Mother Mutti. Not everyone was happy with the new rulers, partly because it was known that the Greenthings weren’t exactly the biggest fans of elves. In the election battle Mutti had a slip of the tongue and told that she was in favour of wings-taxes: everyone with one or more wings would have to pay extra taxes. Once they had ascended to the throne; Bifi and Mutti seemed to be less strict for their people as was initially expected. Real resistances failed to materialize.
Rumours were not to be silenced, people kept talking about former King Gyan and his alleged plans for a palace revolution. There has never been that much resistance to a royal pair as when Queen Bifi reigned. However, Bifi managed to keep the peace in Elfia while she was on the throne. She turned out to be a more capable diplomat than most expected. And she managed to turn the intrigue of Minister Grau of Foreign Affairs into harmless banter, partly with help from her mother Mutti. Grau saw a last minute possibility in the arrival of a large group of pirates to cause instability in Elfia and through that to push the ambitions of her great love, Prince Sissus. 
Prince Sissus was made into a Minister of Defense by his father King Gyan. In that function he was given the task to deal with the plundering pirates of Captain Flint. They offered him a permit to plunder the capital Elfia as long they would disappear afterwards, when Prince Sissus and his army would arrive to save the day. This would bring Prince Sissus the coveted title of hero and through that it would lead to power of state.
When Queen Bifi heard about this, she sought out Captain Flint and she managed to convince Flint to discard his plans for the pillage and instead to become a legit  candidate for the next royal elections. This would bring him no riches but respectability - for the first time in his life. Bifi also convinced him to accept the highly popular hobbit girl Ninde as a fellow candidate for the elections so that his chances to win would increase noteworthy. The plan was a success. Joshua Flint and Ninde were elected the new Royal Couple in mid-2010.
This reign was, from an economic point of view, a small catastrophe. Not surprising but very important for the defense of Elfia, was the interest of Flint to assemble a naval fleet. A huge sum went to the construction of five immense battleships. Costs and labour were not important. The only limitation lay in the bottom of the treasury but neither that was sacred. Clever as he was, Flint created debt certificates with which he could receive extra monies. Consequence of this was that Elfia would enter the next elections with a huge debt. What Elfia will need in 2011 is money, ots of money.


VICEROYS
Elves still remain to be the largest population of Elfia. Each larger group has the right to chose its own leader, as long as they rendered account to the chosen kings and queens. These leaders have a seat in the minor senate of Elfia. The brothers Elfius and Kelfas had immediately asked the wise Ar-Lath to become the leader of the elves. After a while his title changed to Viceroy. Because of his wisdom he wasn’t only highly regarded amongst the elves but actually among all the populations of Elfia. However, each life comes to an end and this also applies to the life of the 288 year-old Ar-Lath. A half year later, after the second Vampia-War, Ar-Lath drew his last breath. His body was placed on a bier for two days, during a twilight period; so that not only the people of Elfia could bid him farewell but also tourists from outside of Elfia.


TOURISM
In the human world people looked strangely at this new land with her remarkable inhabitants. To gain more understand among the rational humans Elfius and Kelfas instated the first ambassadors and therefore they opened a consulate. In the Netherlands they found Stefan Struik willing to become an ambassador and to help Elfia to get a better image. His goal was to increase the number of tourists, tourism now beign one of the important means of income for Elfia. Every year tens of thousand visas are distributed at the embassies, mainly to humans. Elfia has become a popular vacation destination, especially for short vacation and day trips. This trend is also going on in Great-Britain. The consulate of Prof. Dr. Roland Rotherham spends most of its time on stranded Elfians who are drawn to the British Isles by its magic. Currently there embassy have been opened in Germany and Bulgaria. In the latter the movie actor Stan Ianevski has set himself up as representative of Elfia. Stan is best known for his role of Viktor Krum in ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’.


THE ISLE OF LOEI
The region around the main island of Elfia has many unique larger and smaller islands. Of the most enchanting places is the island Loei, inhabited by the infamous Aqi, who belong to the family of water-elves. No one knows when the Aqi came to this region. There are stories that suggest that every water-elf is a descendant of Aq, the progenitor of the Aqi who, according to the legends, are born of water. The Isle of Loei is highly fertile but also very humid. It rains four out of five days. In the beautiful, mountainous areas many waterfalls can be found. Healing powers are attributed to he waters of these mountain regions. The Aqi reach exceptionally high ages. But because Aqi only write on water and their writing are continuously changed by the water outsiders cannot definitely say how old Aqi can get. They claim that they can reach the age of 800 human-years or more.
The watersupplies of the Loei are known all over Elfia and far outside its borders. When Elfia became a state the Aqi were quick to make the wells tourist-attractions and they wanted to give more attention to the spas. The exceptional hospitality of the Aqi was initially praised. Until people noticed that a number of tourists returned late from the spas, sometimes they did not return at all. Often was the case that customers from Elfia spent more than 100 years on Loei and left their families to worry about them because they had lost the concept of time. But because the water was therapeutic and the care at these spas increased the life-span of the patients, they seemed to not have lost any time. Their families however did get older. Among certain Elfian folk the island was a popular vacation destination.
The Elfian government saw two problems, one was that the island Loei would become overpopulated and the other problem was that too many good workers and constructors would leave Elfia. Loei on the other hand was also a necessary place where the sick and weak could come to recover. The Aqi took notice of the advantages of Elfia that had learned by trial and error how to defend itself against attacks from foreign powers.
In the human year 2008 the counsils of Elfia got together to discuss how they should work together in the future. Within a few days they signed a contract which would later be known as the ‘water contract’. In this contract both parties stated that they should work together as much as possible, Elfia would take care of the sea- and shore-defense of the Loei-isle and the Aqi would take up their position as a healing and spa-resort for the people of Elfia. A special force of time-knights were appointed to make sure the patients would return to Elfia within a certain space of time.

ELFO, SPECIAL DISTRICT OF ELFIA       The planet Eel on which Elfia is located is surrounded by eleven moons. The Ministry of Foreigneelse Affairs has in the recent past perfomed several missions to all the moons. It showed that as many as three moons contained the very expensive trollium. Trollium is a very powerful energy source that can be burned under high pressure without danger to the environment. 1 gram of Trollium can supply a 1000 households a year with energy. A fourth moon would be, because of the presence of water, suitable for habitation. The ministry wants a fifth moon (turquoise) as a penal colony for convicted criminals.

The eleven moons have their own government and its own flag. The name of this new foreigneelse country: Elfo (SDE). Or: Elfo (Special District of Elfia). The Board of Elfo has been mandated to do business directly with other cultures and peoples in the galaxies. Predators, Aliens, and Stormtroopers are only an example of the people who, with an Elfo approved visa, can visit our beloved Elfia.