Almidar or High Elves
Overview
One of the most prominent races in Lendil are the Almidar, or High Elves as some may know them. A race of fair skinned Elves that call the Federation of Jörmun their home. The Almidar are just as ancient and storied as the Felidar to their northwest and were once a part of the greater whole of Elven kind, the Solus. Where the difference in their people began is with the school of philosophical thought that was incorporated by the Almidar. While the Feldiar adopted the philosophy of The Conquerors of the Night, the Almidar elected instead to follow The Solus Protectorate Doctrine.
The Solus Protectorate Doctrine was a school of thought that the purpose of the Elves was to safeguard and control the resources and magic of the world. They felt that the only way to make sure that the world remained in constant balance and didn’t fracture apart was to learn all they could about magic and the elements that bound it all together. They became great scholars and sages, built the many Keening Stones that are still seen in the world today and created monuments to all of the Gods, both Aimur and Gandur alike. They wanted to win the favor of every one of the Gods to hopefully better understand the very sources of magic in the world. Through this they hoped to bend magic to their will and use it to instrument a better, more prosperous future for their people.
Their ancestral home has remained the seat of their power since anyone can remember, and believe me the Almidar have a long memory. At the height of their power they were in control of the entirety of Lendils surface, save for the forests of the Wood Elves. They were the largest recorded Empire that Lendil had ever seen and the advances that they made in magic were unprecedented. It was them who helped the Felidar better understand how to change their very being and become more unified and even today they are the foremost mages in the world.
This only changed when Humanity arrived in Lendil and waged a war against the Almidar. The Felidar and Besidar were saved from much of the carnage due to their isolationist lifestyles but the Almidar had to wage this war on their own. They still speak of the first war with Humanity, one force coming from the north and one from the west, and they call it The War of Apollyon, so named due to their myth about the end of the world. The Almidar believed that Humanity was a force created by a rogue God that they had never heard of to wipe them off of the world. Their belief was that this God must be named Apollyon, and these things that had come to their homes were its soldiers. The Almidar were powerful, greater in magic and battle than most Humans, but what they had in power, they lacked in numbers. Due to their long lifespan all Elves are cursed with a lack of virility. Out of every coupling between Elves, only 1 in every 1,000 will bring about a child. They have tried to cure this for millennia and have never once succeeded. In all their power and knowledge, they were to be done in by an enemy who could outbreed them.
After over 150 years of warfare in the year 6780, they sat down with these Humans to negotiate a peace treaty. They gave away much of the territory that had been conquered and in return, they were allowed to live in their original homeland and do trade with Humanity with a non-aggression pact having been signed to last 2,000 years, The Concordat of Vár was signed by both sides, and stood tall as the foundation of a harmonious union for the entirety of it’s 2,000 years. Once it ended, there were many years of peace still before the next conflict between Humanity and Almidar would break out, but still it began. There have been a dozen wars fought between the two sides in their history and as of modern times Jörmun is at an uneasy peace with their neighbors.
Societal History and Governance
The Almidar have always been a people ruled by a King and Queen, currently these rulers are King Turin Ygdris II and Queen Evette Ygdris as they are predominantly a patriarchal society. Though this may make some mistake that they view their women as less-than, this is not true. Within their society the King and Queen rule on matters of the nation but The House of Elders is the main governing body from day to day.
The House of Elders has historically been a group of 5 Almidar, 2 Males and 2 Females and 1 individual known as a Dómari, a judge appointed by the King and Queen to oversee the voting processes within The House of the Elders. Each of these Elders must be an Almidar who has done great service for their people and has been alive for at least 800 years. Through these 5 Almidar, the people can make their voices heard as each of them represents a different city and province of The Federation of Jörmun with the Dómari representing the capital city and the wishes of its people.
If a decision on a national scale needs to be made by The House of Elders, it is brought up to the people of each province and city for a vote. They may cast their vote at guarded Voting Houses. These are then tallied by the Elder who represents them and a law can be made or changed. The power to overturn this process lies with the King and Queen alone.
Even in the modern day and after The Fall, this process of government has continued to hold up for the people of The Federation. However, it is to be noted that decisions about war and the military are solely rested within the hand of the King and Queen.
For Players of Almidar
The Almidar are a very magical and arcane attuned people. They believe in their Gods wholeheartedly and feel that this gives them a slight superiority to the other people of the world. They have had countless skirmishes and wars with other races and are very well aware that the only thing stopping some from invading them is the fear their magic strikes into others. However, they are also limited by their low birthrate and innate lack of ambition due to living for so long. Some Almidar are different though, and wish to venture forth into the world for one reason or another, honing their skills and the pursuit of something greater than themselves. With this in mind, a player who wishes to play an Almidar should embody what they believe to be the core of the Almidar as a people based on their culture and norms.
Almidar Racial Trait: The Almidar elected long ago to embrace all forms of magic in the world, not becoming bogged down in any one element. Thus, they are unable to ever master one element and cannot be Void Mages at all. Some of them are born Null, but this is seen as a curse more than a blessing. This does give them a special set of skills to use in their daily life however. At the start of any combat, and at the beginning of each of your turns, you must use the skill Elemental Shift. This will change your Elemental Stance during each use.
Summon Arcane Weapon: Whenever you choose you may summon an ethereal weapon made entirely of magical energy. It can be any weapon type but its skills and damage will be based on any skills you have invested into that weapon tree. These summoned weapons cannot benefit from Rune Magic or have Runes placed into them. All damage from this weapon is magical in nature.
Imbue Arcane Weapon: Alternatively, you may choose to imbue a weapon in your hands with arcane energy, adding whichever elemental stance is currently active to it. This makes all damage from the weapon magical in nature.
Languages Known: Common, Elven, and 1 of player choice.
- An Almidar warrior fully armored and armed
