Vuovdir

First: This blog has over a hundred views. I know that's not that much, but considering how recently I started it, I'm really proud.
Second: This world almost got pushed back as being too simlar to the last one. You can judge that for yourself.
Third: I am aware that oak trees aren't actually immortal.
So, here we go:
In the world of Vuovdir, there lies the continent of Meahccis. And the whole of Meahccis is a great forest, the people living only in small villages, in the few natural clearings in the forest. And this is a tale they tell there:
‘Once, there was a great old oak tree, and they called it the wishing tree. Because it was said that if you laid your hands on it, and whispered to it a wish, that wish would come true. And because, honestly, they were not a particularly creative people.
Nor, indeed, a lucky one. Because their wishing tree did not, in point of fact, actually work. It was a perfectly normal oak tree, which should have had no impact on world history whatsoever. Except that there was a boy in the village, named Jørgen. And Jørgen had a bit of magic in him. Not much - but enough. And so he put his hands on the tree, and whispered to it ‘I wish to talk to you’. And, with his magic, he did.
The tree was an old, slow thing, but kind. And it was in pain.  For it wanted to help these people, who whispered their problems to  it, but it could not - it was just a tree. And so with his magic, Jørgen made himself closer to the tree, and showed the tree how to move as people do. And so the tree rose from the ground, and was the first of the Muorrae. And in return, the oak showed him the secrets that the forest knows - how to live without food, but only sunlight, and how to age as trees do, growing ever-stronger with the passage of the years.
And the people of the village were amazed - but they were afraid, too. For magic was strange to them, and they were fearful of new things. So they drove out the Muorrae, and Jørgen with it. And together, they fled deep into the forest, and lived there, far from humanity.
But as they lived there, and as Jorgan became closer to the trees of the forest, and learned from them, there were people who heard of him, whose eyes were unnaturally green, and whose step was unnaturally sure. And the people went out into the great forest, and called to him, and told him they wished to learn from them.
And those of them who had the talent, Jørgen, came to, and taught them how to link themselves with the trees, as he had done.
And that, they say, is how the elves came to be.’
However true that may be, the elves certainly exist. They did not age, they were strong as oaks, and they claimed all the trees of the forest as their own. And to hurt a living tree, is to invite the vengeance of the elves. For Jørgen has no love for humans,, who drove him out.  And this he passes to his students, and they to theirs, until, in the younger elves, the reason has been lost, and there remains nothing but a deep distrust.
And the elves who speak out against Jørgen, they are exiled, cut off forever from the trees. They became the hulderfolk, with backs like rotten logs, to mark their shame, and desperate once again to feel a link like that they felt when they were linked to the forest. Many look to humans for such a connection, but they are inevitably disappointed - either by rejection, or by a connection that is so much less than what they had before.
But other things live in the forest than elves. Great serpents who would devour you whole, hideous swarms of strange insects which could strip you to the bone in seconds, and things stranger and more dangerous still. And the development of the humans is strangled by the forest - and so, they  live in fear of attack.
And so it is, that from time to time, there is some brave human, with strong magic, fighting skill, and great bravery. And, armed with one of their precious swords, he leaves his village, and goes out into the forest, to hunt down those things which are a threat to his village.
And, as time goes by, if he survives, he will become stronger, more skilled in magic and with a blade. And so they range further and further from human villages, seeking out ever more dangerous threats. And it is from these adventurers, that the creatures of the forest are known, and from their words that maps are made.
But recently, this status quo has been disturbed. For strange men have come, from across the seas, and have landed on the shores of Meahccis. They come from the continent of Niwegan, and there, there are no elves to protect the trees. So they have started cutting down the trees, to make an outpost for themselves. And so, they have come into conflict with the elves.
The elves are strong, and fast, and magical. The elves know the forest like it was a part of them. And the elves have their Muorrae allies to fight with them. But the strangers, though they have no magic, have strange weapons which spit hot lead, and tubes which billow fire. And more and more of them are arriving, in their strange vessels, whilst the elves and their Muorrae are few in number.
The continent of Niwegan is a far different place than Meahccis. As has been noted, there are no elves there. Indeed, there is no magic there. And so, humanity has developed without hindrance, clearing the great trees that once covered their continent, too, and building great cities in their place.
The nation which the explorers come from, Vendra, is not a power of the world - it is simply a moderately sized nation, which has sent out explorers, hoping to find new lands into which it can expand, and so enrich itself. It has numerous stronger neighbors, but they themselves are threatened by the Arthurian Empire which covers more than a quarter of the continent. The emperor (who is curiously named Alexander) has declared his claim to the entire continent, proclaiming that although the countries outside of his direct control are free to continue to govern themselves, he will step in and assume more direct control, if they declare an unjust war, or break any other of the Sacred Laws.
The only other nation worth mentioning is Suolu. Suolu is a nation spread out over several small islands, and the people there are excellent sailors - maybe they do have a touch of the magic that is otherwise unknown in Niwegan.
They are notable, because they have been at war with the Arthurian Empire for decades. Though they are a small nation, their fleet has humiliated the emperor’s time and time again, and though they would be no match for the armies of the empire in a battle on land, no such army has ever been able to set foot on the islands, and the fleets of Suolu have continued to harass and raid the ports and ships of the empire.