Races of Theopetros: Elves

Elves

Beautiful Children

Appearance

Elves possess a graceful, fragile physique that is accentuated by their long, pointed ears. Their eyes are wide and almond-shaped, and filled with large, vibrantly colored pupils. Elves who dwell in a region for long find themselves physically adapting to match their surroundings, most noticeably taking on coloration reflecting the local environment. Elves are generally the height of humans. Forest elves and sea elves tend to be slightly shorter while plains elves and shadow elves are typically taller. Skin tones vary depending on region. Elves typically come in various shades of tan to brown, dark grey or ebony , even green and the occasional blue. While elven clothing often plays off the beauty of the natural world, those elves that live in cities tend to bedeck themselves in the latest fashion.

Personality

The long-lived elves are children of beauty, similar in many superficial ways to fey creatures, yet different as well. Many elves feel a bond with nature and strive to live in harmony with the natural world. Elves have a curious attachment to their surroundings, perhaps as a result of their incredibly long lifespans or some deeper, more mystical reason. Elves are emotional and capricious, yet value kindness and beauty. Elves prefer to indulge in the finer arts, with their inborn patience making them particularly suited to educational pursuits and crafts. Performance art is held in high esteem among elves, particularly the arts of storytelling and dance.

Elves have found defeat often when venturing beyond their lands. As a result they value their privacy and traditions. They have become loathe to enter into conflicts that are not their own, preferring instead to lend material support if necessary. While they are often slow to make friends, at both the personal and national levels, once an outsider is accepted as a comrade, such alliances can last for generations. Those elves that spend their lives among the short-lived races, often develop a skewed perception of mortality and become morose, the result of watching wave after wave of companions age and die before their eyes.

History

The Beginning

Elves are the children of the god Arun. When creating his beautiful children Arun chose the temperate northern land of Carak. The center of the land is filled with large forests, home to towering trees so massive that entire homes are found inside. Most of the rest of the land is taken up by vast sweeping plains. The western coast is home to seaside cliffs. Beyond the southern coast is the largest coral reef in the world.

The elves were one of the first races created. Arun created them as embodiments of beauty. While his children were still young, Arun saw that they needed helpers. To match the elves in lithe beauty the god created the first horses from the sea waves and the blowing grass of the plains.

The elves followed Arun during the divine war, fighting alongside their patron across the plane. Many elves perished, and the weakened Arun fell into a coma after a blow from a rival deity. The elves retreated with their god to their homeland and fortified themselves. Removed from the rest of the war, the elves regained their strength while watching over their injured god. When the Demon Lord conquered the plane the elves tried to stop him. Without their divine backing the elves were defeated. Many were taken prisoner and those who survived fled to the elven lands where Arun’s power still protected them.

When Arun finally awakened the elves were emboldened to try again, much to the same result. After their second defeat the elves rarely left their lands, focusing instead on keeping the demonic forces at bay as much as possible. A large force of elves would not leave their lands again until the final battle of the free people which broke the Demon Lord’s control.

After the Seal

When the orc armies invaded the elves were one of the first armies to push them back. Their forces followed, harrying the orcs across the seas. Wherever they went the elves took land as their own, setting up small kingdoms. Most of those kingdoms have since bonded with neighboring lands, creating more blended nations.

The most powerful of the founded kingdoms was the land of Shrael. This kingdom grew to prominence almost matching that of the elven homeland. Dariat, the shadow god, set his sights on Shrael. He tempted the leaders with power, eventually setting himself up as an elven deity with the nation pledged to him. Angered by the insult, Valic commanded his loyal followers to attack those of his rival. Valic’s forces led a holy war against the elves of Shrael. The fighting was fierce. Dariat’s forces were stronger than expected. The kingdom eventually fell, but not before many of the citizens managed to flee to the ashen lands. The new Kingdom of Ashrael was founded around the feet of the fire mountains. In the aftermath of the holy way Arun and Valic were forced to accept Dariat’s place among the elven gods.

Culture

Elven culture varies with the landscape of their homeland, but they all pay heed to a council which connects the separate culture groups.

The elves of the forest live and hunt in the treetops, rarely venturing to the forest floor. They make their homes inside of enormous trees that have been cared for and guided to grow into dwellings. Forest elves revere these forest so much that a rare few form a permanent bond with the trees, becoming something of a sentient tree themselves. Forest elves are patriarchal. They tend to live in large groups with entire cities stretching among the treetops.

The elves of the plains are nomadic. They move about following the natural migration patterns of the largest prey animals in their lands. A few permanent towns exist, supported by farming. These are established meeting places for the different nomadic groups. Except for the larger populations in their few permanent towns, the plains elves live in smaller bands consisting of a few families. These bands change often, with members joining and leaving when bands come into contact with one another. Their family structure is matriarchal.

The elves of the seacoast make their living from the bounty of the sea, plying the dangerous waves of the western cliffs and the tranquil waters of the southern reef. Beneath the water, particularly in the reef itself, can be found dwellings for the less common aquatic elf families. The seacoast elves maintain close relations with the aquatic elves, often cementing bonds by marriage. These elves maintain coastal villages, each of which has a small dock for boats. The larger coastal cities have ports capable of keeping ships in safe harbor.

The shadow elves of the ashen lands live a hard life among the fire mountains. They farm the tough vegetation that survives in the volcanic landscape. The fire mountains contain many rifts to other planes, among them the plane of shadow and the plane of fire. The shadow elves make a profit by hunting the creatures that cross over and selling the wares to interested parties. Despite being followers of Dariat, the shadow elves are not inherently an evil society. They are unwelcome in the elven lands simply because of their choice of patron. Elves outside of the elven lands are more accepting.

Relations

The racial tension between elves and dwarves was once a longstanding fact. Relations have improved immensely since the ascension of Valic and Calus. The two deities have made great strides connecting the two races in friendship. While elves as a whole still do not prefer the company of dwarves, there are enough close friendships between the two races that it is no longer a rare occurrence.

Elves view humans as a curiosity. Their shared heritage is enough to make many elves willing to accept them, but the orc heritage of humans just as often causes distrust. Elves still remember the losses they suffered at orc hands during the demon lord’s reign, and in the centuries following the breaking of the seal.

Architecture

As with their culture, elven architecture depends on the landscape. The forest elves build almost exclusively with wood and other plant material. They have mastered ways of coaxing still living plants to grow into usable forms. They make homes and other buildings out of hollow pockets within the giant trees of their homeland. They prefer to build in line with the natural world, leading to cities that blend in with their surroundings.

The nomadic plains elves craft homes which are easy to transport. These homes are built from wooden poles and animal skins. Permanent dwellings utilize mud brick and stone.

The elves of the seacoast build with stone and wood, crafting cities that would look more familiar to the rest of the world. These cities lie in close proximity to the coral cities of the aquatic elves. These cities are crafted from living coral that has been guided and grown to create amazing underwater structures that would be impossible on land.

The shadow elves construct their cities surrounded by walls and canals designed to direct the lava flows which are common in the ashen lands. Stone and clay are the preferred building materials.

Religion

The elven gods are Arun, Valic and Dariat. Most elves pay homage to these three, but choose a favored deity. Elves native to their homeland rarely acknowledge Dariat. Elves revere Arun as their creator. He is the highest god in their pantheon, an ideal of beauty and wisdom. Valic is the ideal elven warrior. He is strong and just, a master of bow and sword. Valic is also honored as a creator of bonds. His friendship with Calus has led to a closer relationship between the elves and dwarves than there ever was before.

Calus is worshiped by many elves, particularly those who claim Valic as their patron. Cerewen as a fey goddess is also worshiped by many. The elves have always had a close connection to the fey. Many elves worship Farlen. As the one time squire of Valic, and the lord of mounted warriors, elves find many reasons to respect the human deity.

Bloodlines

Elves have a strong demonic bloodline due to the many elves taken as prisoners during the Demon Lord’s reign. Only Humans and Orcs have more demonic blood.

Fey have a strong connection with elves. House Ivy of the forest elves has such a strong fey bloodline that they are essentially fey themselves.

Shadow elves, despite appearances to the contrary, have a strong celestial bloodline. They also manifest frequent connections to denizens from the planes of fire and shadow.

Government

Elves in the elven homeland are overseen by a council made up of representatives from the forest, plains, and seacoast. Strong elven nations in other lands will often send an ambassador to participate in the council. The shadow elves have petitioned for a seat on the council, but have so far been denied entry.

Military

The elven lands do not have a standing army. Most members of the community have some training with weapons, bows being the most common. This training allows the elves to call up militias when needed. Cavalry is common, as the elves turn their connection with horses toward the protection of their lands.

Elves in other lands are as likely as any other race to have a standing army, or to join the army of the nation they find themselves living in.

Technology

Elves focus on sustainability with their technology. They possess the means to work iron and stone just as the other advanced races, but they are less likely to destroy what existed before to create something new. Elves often try to use the natural world while allowing it to still exist as close to its original form as possible. This is the impetus behind guiding the growth of trees, coral, and other building materials which remain alive even while the elves use them. When plants are harvested and animals are hunted, elves do what they can to use every piece.

The elves along the coast craft canoes, large and small, to ply the waters in and around the elven lands. Longer voyages require ships, which are more rare.

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Stephen Mayo lives in Montana with his wife, daughter, and three cats.

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