Races: The Elves
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The Elves look passingly human but that observation overlooks a host of unusual characteristics which are described herein. The Elves speak a language they call Enara. Adventuring Elves can be Warriors, Mages, Specialist Mages, Clerics and Thieves.
Description
Fully grown Elves are between 4'8" and 6' tall and weigh 76-200 pounds. They are gracile compared to humans and have 'finely chiseled' faces which include distinctive gently pointed ears. They have long soft hair growing from their scalps but all body hair is incredibly fine and transparent. Hair and iris colour changes as an elf ages. In youth they have coppery-brown hair and green irises. In maturity they have golden-blond hair and blue-grey irises. In old age they have silvery-white hair and violet irises. The overall look of Elves is deemed enchanting by many but creepy by some. They can live as long as 360 to 500 years. They have exceptional resistance to infection. Elvish temperament ranges from frivolous to serene. They prefer temperate lands of meadow and woodland.
Culture
The Elves are a race with an intense sense of belonging to the world in which they live. Elvish religion venerates the Universe as a whole and the Elves regard themselves as a fundamental part of it. Elves hold that the spirit following death becomes one with the spirit of the Universe. As such the concept of separate and aloof gods and goddesses is an alien one to Elvish culture. This perspective grants most Elves a sense of humility but in some it becomes a kind of arrogance.
They live in small family groups that nonetheless are well aware of how they are connected by blood and marriage to many other such groupings. There are two classes in Elvish society - nobility and freeborn. Entry into the nobility for a freeborn elf is a matter of simply marrying into nobility which any well-regarded elf can do over time. As such the nobility are a significant proportion of the population and the distinction is regarded as a small one from day-to-day. There are trappings of nobility however such as the service of a household Pixie (a diminutive and enchanted race that only Elves can understand). Loyalty to the lord or lady of a household is important and a directive from such a person is binding (if rare). All the Elves owe allegiance to the Elvish Monarchy and (once more) a royal decree is sacrosanct. Nonetheless the life of most Elves is one of freedom of movement and life-decisions.
The Elves nowadays live in two distinct nation-states which tend to be isolationist. Haven is what is left of the original Elvish empire and is located on the shores of the Great Ocean. Its territory includes Haven Island, Greenwood and the south-western portion of the Hills of Fog. Its size was reduced by royal decree and to this day only the monarch has a full understanding of that decision. The inhabitants of Haven are known as the Eldenari (Ley Elves). The Woodland Realm is located in the Greatwood Forest and owes nominal allegiance to the monarchy of Haven. It was founded by those who most objected to the ceding of territory to humans who had once been guest-workers of the Elves. Its inhabitants are known as the Evenari (Wood Elves).
Technology
Elves draw on what natural mineral and plant substances they can from the territory they rule. They are renowned workers of wood and sandstone. They can also persuade trees to grow in particular shapes and the standard Elvish home is produced by a twisting together of several trees into an elegant dome. However they lack natural reserves of metals or harder stones. They have a distinctive solution to this lack - rather than get these from other races they prefer to magically transmute (say) wood to stone and glass to steel. Such magic is done sparingly and its products are then cherished for generations. Elvish designs emphasise natural lines and curves. The motif of ivy occurs in much art and craft. Elvish music is improvised and meandering. It utilises vocals, wooden flutes and ceramic wind chimes.
Clothes
The Ley Elf troops of Haven wear Elvish chainmail and wield long sword and short bow except for the unicorn-riders who also carry spears. They wear grey uniforms. Elvish clerics accompanying the troops wear golden Elvish chainmail and green garments decorated with white flower while Elvish mages wear silver Elvish chainmail and blue garments decorated with stars. The Wood Elf militia of the Woodland Realm wear iron-studded bark-fiber jerkins along with garments of natural greens, browns and russets. They wield long sword and short bow except for the griffon-riders who also carry spears. The long swords of the Elves have a distinctive one-bladed design.
In civilian life Elves will wear clothes similar to those described sans armour. As self-sufficiency is an Elvish value there is a tendency however for all adult Elves to carry some arms. Mottled grey cloaks are popular for travel. Clothing emphasises the lines of the body in motion. Jewelery is delicate and worn sparingly but clothing itself has elegant decorative patterns worked into it.
Food
Elves only consume things taken from living things that allow those living things to continue living. Death is something Elves are happy to bring only to those who deserve it. So Elves will eat fruit and berries but not root vegetables, nuts but not ground nuts, grass seeds but not grass stems, mushroom caps but not mushroom stems, eggs and milk but not flesh, honey but not bees. Elvish food emphasises delicate flavours and textures and is nourishing but never overfilling. One exception to this is the famed and very decadent omelette made from griffon eggs and unicorn cheese. This is the centrepiece of any Elvish feast. Elves also enjoy a sparkling wine bottled under starlight (star wine) which they find helps them contemplate things far away and long ago. Elves are much more likely to gather wild food rather than cultivate crops.
Reproduction
An elf can consciously inhibit his or her fertility. Thus just by thinking they can ensure that a sex act is purely recreational. As a result some humans think that Elves will be totally promiscuous (itself just wishful thinking on the part of the humans) while in truth Elves are very selective of partner and will only sleep with someone they love. An elf may well have a number of concurrent lovers, from co-habiting partners with whom they have children to occasional flames they visit every now and then. The only ban on this polyamory is the taboo of incest (extending to first cousins). Elves will generally only have one or two reproductive partners as they are very selective in choosing the right inherited characteristics for their children – in a sense these partnerings are ‘self-arranged marriages’ which take into account political and cultural factors.
Gestation for Elves takes 18 months but birth is quick. The elfling is very small at birth and can only breath in water. It is instantly submerged in a liquid consisting of spring water and amniotic fluid that is held within a ‘birth pod’. Traditionally these birth pods are bowls made from half of a hollow nut of massive size (1’6” to 2’ long) but now they are frequently made of carved wood or clay. The infant spends the next 18 months in the pod as the composition of the fluid is slowly changed and its level lowered so that eventually it is sitting in only inches of pure spring water and can now begin life as an air-breathing toddler. During that time it is only removed from the pod for suckling (which somehow overcomes its need to breath). Elvish nature and culture is such that the Elvish population has been static for all of history.
Half-Elves
Elves can mate with humans but such matings are rare. Matings between existing mixed-bloods are much more common - allowing for more normal lives together - and the majority of Half-Elves are the children of Half-Elves. Half-Elves lack the ability to control fertility. However they still have a tendency towards polyamory.
Half-Elves are the same size as humans and otherwise have much diluted Elvish characteristics. They lack the infection resistance of Elves. They have a life-expectancy of between 180 and 250 years. It is the marked difference in longevity between the two races that has made Half-Elves rare and likewise makes most Half-Elves seek fellow mixed bloods with which to form relationships and have children. The majority of Half-Elves live in human society. Half-Elves can be Warriors, Rangers, Mages, Specialist Mages, Clerics, Druids, Thieves and Bards.
The Elves look passingly human but that observation overlooks a host of unusual characteristics which are described herein. The Elves speak a language they call Enara. Adventuring Elves can be Warriors, Mages, Specialist Mages, Clerics and Thieves.
Description
Fully grown Elves are between 4'8" and 6' tall and weigh 76-200 pounds. They are gracile compared to humans and have 'finely chiseled' faces which include distinctive gently pointed ears. They have long soft hair growing from their scalps but all body hair is incredibly fine and transparent. Hair and iris colour changes as an elf ages. In youth they have coppery-brown hair and green irises. In maturity they have golden-blond hair and blue-grey irises. In old age they have silvery-white hair and violet irises. The overall look of Elves is deemed enchanting by many but creepy by some. They can live as long as 360 to 500 years. They have exceptional resistance to infection. Elvish temperament ranges from frivolous to serene. They prefer temperate lands of meadow and woodland.
Culture
The Elves are a race with an intense sense of belonging to the world in which they live. Elvish religion venerates the Universe as a whole and the Elves regard themselves as a fundamental part of it. Elves hold that the spirit following death becomes one with the spirit of the Universe. As such the concept of separate and aloof gods and goddesses is an alien one to Elvish culture. This perspective grants most Elves a sense of humility but in some it becomes a kind of arrogance.
They live in small family groups that nonetheless are well aware of how they are connected by blood and marriage to many other such groupings. There are two classes in Elvish society - nobility and freeborn. Entry into the nobility for a freeborn elf is a matter of simply marrying into nobility which any well-regarded elf can do over time. As such the nobility are a significant proportion of the population and the distinction is regarded as a small one from day-to-day. There are trappings of nobility however such as the service of a household Pixie (a diminutive and enchanted race that only Elves can understand). Loyalty to the lord or lady of a household is important and a directive from such a person is binding (if rare). All the Elves owe allegiance to the Elvish Monarchy and (once more) a royal decree is sacrosanct. Nonetheless the life of most Elves is one of freedom of movement and life-decisions.
The Elves nowadays live in two distinct nation-states which tend to be isolationist. Haven is what is left of the original Elvish empire and is located on the shores of the Great Ocean. Its territory includes Haven Island, Greenwood and the south-western portion of the Hills of Fog. Its size was reduced by royal decree and to this day only the monarch has a full understanding of that decision. The inhabitants of Haven are known as the Eldenari (Ley Elves). The Woodland Realm is located in the Greatwood Forest and owes nominal allegiance to the monarchy of Haven. It was founded by those who most objected to the ceding of territory to humans who had once been guest-workers of the Elves. Its inhabitants are known as the Evenari (Wood Elves).
Technology
Elves draw on what natural mineral and plant substances they can from the territory they rule. They are renowned workers of wood and sandstone. They can also persuade trees to grow in particular shapes and the standard Elvish home is produced by a twisting together of several trees into an elegant dome. However they lack natural reserves of metals or harder stones. They have a distinctive solution to this lack - rather than get these from other races they prefer to magically transmute (say) wood to stone and glass to steel. Such magic is done sparingly and its products are then cherished for generations. Elvish designs emphasise natural lines and curves. The motif of ivy occurs in much art and craft. Elvish music is improvised and meandering. It utilises vocals, wooden flutes and ceramic wind chimes.
Clothes
The Ley Elf troops of Haven wear Elvish chainmail and wield long sword and short bow except for the unicorn-riders who also carry spears. They wear grey uniforms. Elvish clerics accompanying the troops wear golden Elvish chainmail and green garments decorated with white flower while Elvish mages wear silver Elvish chainmail and blue garments decorated with stars. The Wood Elf militia of the Woodland Realm wear iron-studded bark-fiber jerkins along with garments of natural greens, browns and russets. They wield long sword and short bow except for the griffon-riders who also carry spears. The long swords of the Elves have a distinctive one-bladed design.
In civilian life Elves will wear clothes similar to those described sans armour. As self-sufficiency is an Elvish value there is a tendency however for all adult Elves to carry some arms. Mottled grey cloaks are popular for travel. Clothing emphasises the lines of the body in motion. Jewelery is delicate and worn sparingly but clothing itself has elegant decorative patterns worked into it.
Food
Elves only consume things taken from living things that allow those living things to continue living. Death is something Elves are happy to bring only to those who deserve it. So Elves will eat fruit and berries but not root vegetables, nuts but not ground nuts, grass seeds but not grass stems, mushroom caps but not mushroom stems, eggs and milk but not flesh, honey but not bees. Elvish food emphasises delicate flavours and textures and is nourishing but never overfilling. One exception to this is the famed and very decadent omelette made from griffon eggs and unicorn cheese. This is the centrepiece of any Elvish feast. Elves also enjoy a sparkling wine bottled under starlight (star wine) which they find helps them contemplate things far away and long ago. Elves are much more likely to gather wild food rather than cultivate crops.
Reproduction
An elf can consciously inhibit his or her fertility. Thus just by thinking they can ensure that a sex act is purely recreational. As a result some humans think that Elves will be totally promiscuous (itself just wishful thinking on the part of the humans) while in truth Elves are very selective of partner and will only sleep with someone they love. An elf may well have a number of concurrent lovers, from co-habiting partners with whom they have children to occasional flames they visit every now and then. The only ban on this polyamory is the taboo of incest (extending to first cousins). Elves will generally only have one or two reproductive partners as they are very selective in choosing the right inherited characteristics for their children – in a sense these partnerings are ‘self-arranged marriages’ which take into account political and cultural factors.
Gestation for Elves takes 18 months but birth is quick. The elfling is very small at birth and can only breath in water. It is instantly submerged in a liquid consisting of spring water and amniotic fluid that is held within a ‘birth pod’. Traditionally these birth pods are bowls made from half of a hollow nut of massive size (1’6” to 2’ long) but now they are frequently made of carved wood or clay. The infant spends the next 18 months in the pod as the composition of the fluid is slowly changed and its level lowered so that eventually it is sitting in only inches of pure spring water and can now begin life as an air-breathing toddler. During that time it is only removed from the pod for suckling (which somehow overcomes its need to breath). Elvish nature and culture is such that the Elvish population has been static for all of history.
Half-Elves
Elves can mate with humans but such matings are rare. Matings between existing mixed-bloods are much more common - allowing for more normal lives together - and the majority of Half-Elves are the children of Half-Elves. Half-Elves lack the ability to control fertility. However they still have a tendency towards polyamory.
Half-Elves are the same size as humans and otherwise have much diluted Elvish characteristics. They lack the infection resistance of Elves. They have a life-expectancy of between 180 and 250 years. It is the marked difference in longevity between the two races that has made Half-Elves rare and likewise makes most Half-Elves seek fellow mixed bloods with which to form relationships and have children. The majority of Half-Elves live in human society. Half-Elves can be Warriors, Rangers, Mages, Specialist Mages, Clerics, Druids, Thieves and Bards.
posted by Daniel | 8.5.06
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