The Allsong
Elven custom insists that the
World is, at its root, a single, vastly complex work of musical art. The Steadfast call this the Allsong, the Vagabond the Tale of the Wind and the Flowing the Canon with No End or Beginning. The Kindled, viewing it slightly differently, call it the Dance of Flame and Seedling. Regardless of the name given to it, the principle is the same and underpins all insular forms of elven
Magic that the World operates on a pattern which can be discerned, understood and manipulated.
Theories of the Allsong are holistic - changes to any one phrase of the song can cause disruptions in far distant chords - and this informs all other
Elvish philosophy. Legacy is the echo an individual, family, or lineage leaves in the song, but echoes have their own echoes and elven thought is always concerned with consequences, both intended and otherwise.
The Steadfast aim to create still point of order from which consequences can be mitigated, while the Vagabond choose preservation because they consider all transformative actions to be too consequential to control. The Flowing opt to control the consequences of actions by adding their own words to the Canon and so guiding its vicissitudes. The Kindled favour a narrow focus, striving to control consequence in a limited area, either the development of their sziszeri or the defence of an Abyssal or Colossal rift.
Astronomy and Astrology
The
Elves are noted as pioneers in the study of the heavens. While the ash elves are better at metallurgy, surface-dwelling elves see the
Stars and the Divine Twins,
Soraes and
Doraes, as the root of understanding the nature and purposes of the celestial and the divine. In general, they view the divinatory aspects of astrology as a curiosity compared to its philosophical implications.
It was the
High Elves who mapped the stars, and the
Sea Elves who named the
Constellations. It was the
Wood Elves who mapped the precession of the
Fixed Stars, and the high elves, again, who charted the appearance and influences of the
Transient Stars. The first known sidereal calendar is said to have been elvish, and to have been the first calendar to break from the draconic convention of treating the world as if it still ran according to original harmony.
Since the stars are set in the celestial dome of
The Firmament, astrology and astronomy vary little, and are both related to celestial cosmology. The elves assign constellations to each of their
Gods, although they recognise that other deities may make the same claim.
The high elf sages of the
Sacred Republic associate the stars with the
Eightfold Gods, dividing the sky into eight octos instead of the usual twelve signets. They also deny any other associations, as part of the Republic's exclusionary theology.
The Lore of Naming
Elven lore maintains that the true name of any person, animal or thing grants power over that entity. Even magical teaching focuses on learning the names of things, along with arcane formulae for controlling them. Because of this, elves are very careful to protect the right names.
In all kindreds, an elven child is given a secret name at birth. Among high elves, three astrologers read this name in the stars. Among wood elf communities, three wind spirits are called upon, while sea elf names are brought by three ocean spirits. Ash elf children are given their name by three relatives. In all four cases, the child is given three names which are kept secret, known only to the child's parents or guardians, and even those who know can never know which of the three names has actually taken.
Throughout their childhood, an elf is referred to by a child's name. This is a short, simple name given by their parents, entirerly unrelated to their secret name. During this period, the child is referred to using the pronouns they/them.
When an elf is ready to assume an adult role in society - by tradition, somewhere around their fiftieth birthday, but children in mixed lineage communities may assert then readiness as young as sixteen to keep pace with their peers - they undergo a naming ceremony. In this ceremony, the newly-recognised adult is told their secret name, taking responsibility for their own life. They also choose their own adult name, and their adult gender presentation. An adult elf may, after a period of reflection, opt to undergo a renaming, changing their adult name and/or gender if it no longer feels suitable. This does not change their secret name.
In the rare instance that those who know an elf's secret more are all killed before the elf reaches their majority, they will go through life without ever knowing it. Such individuals are known as the veiled or the obscure. Received wisdom says that they are wild sports, never fully at peace with themselves, but also difficult to bend to any other's purpose.
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