History Main / HiddenElfVillage

* Attilan (Hidden Inhuman Village) in the MarvelUniverse, which had the extra fun of getting moved about to stay hidden ? it began as a faux {{Atlantis}} in the {{Backstory}} which later became a ShamgriLa, and then alternated between that role and being placed ''on the moon''.

** Talking to the residents of Exire, the hidden ''half''-elf village confirms that the children of two half-elves is also a half-elf.

* In the webcomic ''QuestOfCamelittle'', Elfdust City is a mgaical [[TreeTopTown Tree Top Town]] hidden within the Elven Forest.

This is a SmallSecludedWorld populated by a tribe or group who comes to the pragmatic decision that what goes on outside their borders [[BystanderSyndrome no longer is or has never been their problem]], and choose to hole themselves up in some distant or inaccessible location because of some ancient evil or out of general disgust of others. If the villagers aren't outright xenophobic, they're only as polite as they need to be once they suggest you not stay very long. Especially isolationist villages may even consider outsider to be "Not OfThePeople". Just as often, they manage to become a fantastically rich CityOfGold, harmonious GhibliHills, or at the least a pretty decent place to live (just [[TownWithADarkSecret mind the dark secret]]), A recent interpretation of the trope is that even if you can keep your isolation from destroying you, the rest of the world will judge you by the few they encounter: those you cast out. You'll be judged by your garbage. OhCrap. Compare CityInABottle.

May be justified if the setting is PostApocalyptic and hiding out allowed them to escape TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. In this case, expect much in the way of WhatIf angst and a running debate of MyGodWhatHaveIDone vs IDidWhatIHadToDo. Depending on where the story is on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism, the protagonist may choose to MustMakeAmends or [[BystanderSyndrome just shrug]].

If the village is well planned by the writers, there's a good chance that [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy someone]] in the main cast is a member, especially an exile, of this group. There's also a chance that a [[HeelFaceTurn reformed villain]] might shack up here in the epilogue, as he'd be rejected elsewhere. Of course, this could also be an AssPull.

Although the moral is sometimes about respecting other people's opinions and [[ActualPacifist pacifist approaches]] to violence, this trope is usually tied into AnAesop about evil happening [[SuicidalPacifism when good men do nothing]]. Expect the inhabitants of the village to turn around their opinions and slowly reintegrate themselves into the surrounding culture. In video games, this usually happens just as one of the villains [[WatchingTroyBurn burns down the village]] after its airtight defenses naturally go completely to pot. Don't expect them to be [[HufflepuffHouse that big of a help]] afterwards, though.

This is OlderThanRadio: it was well enough known in the 18th century that both Swift and Voltaire could satirize it effectively (the island of the Houyhnhnms in ''Literature/GulliversTravels'' and El Dorado in ''{{Candide}}'', respectively).
This is also somewhat TruthInTelevision. Japan, for instance, was mostly cut off from the rest of the world by government policy, as were Burma and Tibet at different times. See NeutralNoLonger for when the people in this village can no longer stand by quietly.

Inhabitants are not required to be [[OurElvesAreBetter Elves]], but you can expect SpaceAmish or SpaceElves of the ProudScholarRace sort and especially PerfectPacifistPeople to reside here. Can be a CloseKnitCommunity. May contain a SuperweaponSurprise.

TreeTopTown is a common subtrope. If they're highly advanced, see AdvancedAncientAcropolis. If supposedly mythical creatures live there, it's a FantasticNatureReserve.

* [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Forest of No Return]], which is the home of the elves of Lodoss in ''RecordOfLodossWar''. To ward off any visitors, the forest changes shape and traps them inside with the intent that they die trying to escape. While most elves try to stay, several have left to see the world for themselves, namely Deedlit and Pirotess.

* Comic book examples:
** Themiscyra, a.k.a. Paradise Island (Hidden Amazon Village) in TheDCU.
** Attilan (Hidden Inhuman Village) in the MarvelUniverse, which had the extra fun of getting moved about to stay hidden ? it began as a faux {{Atlantis}} in the {{Backstory}} which later became a ShamgriLa, and then alternated between that role and being placed ''on the moon''.

* Equestria in FanFic/TheSonOfTheEmperor uses a magical barrier to completely isolate itself from the rest of the world. No one on the outside knows anything about it.

* ''StarWars, Episode 1'', has the Gungan city, which meets all the requirements easily. Hidden apart from the rest of the world (underwater), main character ([[TheScrappy Jar-Jar]]) comes from there, and later they return to get the gungans to fight alongside them in the final battle.

* [[LampshadeHanging Subverted]] in Terry Brook's ''{{Shannara}}'' collection, where it's pointed out in ''Elfstones'' that while the Elves and other Faerie creatures used to live by this standard, it aided in [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt general apocalypse]] and thus when humanity started to rebuild, they joined the newly formed races.

** RomancingSaGa2 had the Village of the Ancients.
** RomancingSaGa 3 had Snow Town, a village of snowmen.

* The ''entire'' Wizarding World in ''Literature/HarryPotter''.

* ''ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'' contains three - the city of the normal elves, the even more hidden city of the dark elves, and Tullia[[hottip:* :Home to the masters of each school of {{Magick}}]] is the most hidden.

* In ''LegendOfDragoon'', the Wingley village in the forest of Mille Seseau qualifies, complete with main character who was exiled.

** Come to think of it, the batarians have a similar problem; their withdrawl from the Citadel (hub of interstellar diplomacy and trade) means that only the pirates still interact with the galaxy. Galactic Interpretation: All Batarians Are Pirates.
*** Less of an example because calling the batarian government [[RecycledInSPACE North Korea IN SPACE]] would probably justify the butchers of Pyongyang asking for an apology, and said batarian government intentionally allows the scum to leave the inner planets purely to wage war on the humans.

** More to the point, in the ''MassEffect3'' [=DLC=] ''Leviathan'' [[spoiler: the race of Leviathan that actually indirectly built the reapers hid under water for literally billions of years to not get involved in the eternal galactic struggle.]]

* The ''entire'' Wizarding World in ''HarryPotter''.

* In the novel {{Theatrica}} the [[spoiler:city of the same name transpires to be perfectly hidden from the outside world, its people the Theatricans xenophobes.]]

** VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas has Nellis Air Force Base, populated by the Boomers, a highly isolationist faction obsessed with firepower and all too willing to use it upon outsiders who get too close to them. There's also Jacobstown, a small ski resort populated by mostly peaceful Super Mutants that isn't exactly a secret (though it is fairly remote) is generally left alone by the populace.

* In TadWilliams' ''MemorySorrowAndThorn'' series, the [[TheFairFolk Sithi]] city of Jao é-tinukai'i is one of these. To be fair, they had plenty of justification: they were on the losing end of a catastrophic war and had been [[HumansAreBastards hunted by humans]] for centuries thereafter. That doesn't stop their AlwaysChaoticEvil counterparts, the Norns, from taking advantage of their isolationism to wreak all kinds of havoc, up to and including [[SealedEvilInACan unleashing]] an unstoppable [[UltimateEvil undead]] [[EldritchAbomination horror]] on the land. Furthermore, both the Sithi and Norns are exiles from a mythical land far to the west of Osten Ard known as the [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Garden]].

* Creator/KevinJAnderson's ''Literature/GamearthTrilogy]]'' has a female player sneak into the game room at night paint a Hidden Elf Village on a single tile of the hexagonal world map, then paint over it. Since the game is magic and their [=PCs=] are rapidly becoming self-aware, when the party lands on the seemingly blank space the next morning, the village is there, waiting for them.

* Creator/KevinJAnderson's ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamearth_Trilogy Gamearth Trilogy]]'' has a female player sneak into the game room at night paint a Hidden Elf Village on a single tile of the hexagonal world map, then paint over it. Since the game is magic and their [=PCs=] are rapidly becoming self-aware, when the party lands on the seemingly blank space the next morning, the village is there, waiting for them.

*** There's also Exire, a floating city made up of half-elves trying to escape [[FantasticRacism racial persecution]].

* Many from JRRTolkien's works. [[TheSilmarillion Gondolin]], Doriath, Nargothrond, [[LordOfTheRings Rivendell]], and Lothlórien are all examples of this trope, if this trope allows for very large populations, advanced technology (for the setting), expeditionary armies, and large political ambitions. That said, some of them (especially Gondolin, Doriath, and Nargothrond) do have periods of isolation along this trope's lines, and two of them (Gondolin and Nargothrond) meet horrible ends at the hands of the Big Bad they were hiding from.
** The Shire, however, is a classic Hidden Elf Village, apart from the dumpiness and furriness of its inhabitants (and the fact that there was no actual ''policy'' behind it -- the inhabitants were just homebodies that were missed by the general collapse of civilization in the area rather than people that actually went out of their way to hide); and Valinor is a Hidden Elf Village the size of the universe.

* Subverted in the case of the ''original'' Buddhist kingdom in Tibet commonly identified as [[ShamgriLa Shangri-La]]. It was indeed a peaceful and enlightened place that welcomed and made peace with visiting Jesuit missionaries in the 1600's... until the kingdom was ''invaded and burned to the ground by a rival Buddhist Tibetan group that was angry at them for tolerating Christians.''

* Amish, Old Order Mennonites, most orders of monks (Christian or Buddhist) and other "non-wandering" ascetic or mystic sects usually abide by the "non-subverted" version of this trope. The Amish in particular pledge to "live in this world but not of it." They do let their kids live on the outside world for a time before deciding to stay in the order.

* Many from JRRTolkien's works. [[TheSilmarillion Gondolin]], Doriath, Nargothrond, [[LordOfTheRings Rivendell]], and Lothlorien are all examples of this trope, if this trope allows for very large populations, advanced technology (for the setting), expeditionary armies, and large political ambitions. That said, some of them (especially Gondolin, Doriath, and Nargothrond) do have periods of isolation along this trope's lines, and two of them (Gondolin and Nargothrond) meet horrible ends at the hands of the Big Bad they were hiding from.

* In [[TheDarkTower The Dark Tower: The Waste Lands]] by Stephen King, Eddie hopes to find this in the devastated city of Lud. Even saying, "Bring on those wise f*** in' Elves."