Besidar or Wood Elves
Overview
Last but certainly not least are the Besidar, or Wood Elves. This offshoot of the Elven race are possibly the most reclusive compared to all of their brethren and have taken to their chosen philosophy quite well. Their skin is slightly tanned and their eyes are often green or brown in color. Their hair is often brown as well, sometimes green or blonde even. As of today they are currently residing in an area on the southern part of Lendil, inside The Great Forest of Matsuhisa.
You see, the doctrine by which the Besidar branched off from the Solus is The Arbiters of Nature. They believed early on that the mission of all Elves was to protect the world that had been created for them. To do this, they felt it was their sacred duty to worship nature and the bounty that it would give them, and to help the natural order along in its pursuit of complete balance. They sought to bring order and peace, not by force or conquest, but by harmonious living and a lifestyle of self-sustaining balance with nature.
The interesting thing about the Besidar is that they have forgone the possibility of having a coordinated “Kingdom” in favor of a more free and open lifestyle. While this may convince some outside forces that the Besidar are weak and easily able to be taken over, they would be very wrong.
There have been numerous attempts to invade and conquer The Great Forest, and in every single case of an invasion, not only has it been a colossal failure, but in the case of the last 4 attempts not a single soul has returned alive from these warbands. Now, the Besidar are not an antagonistic group and in fact, are quite docile and loving of those who wish to meet them on an equal and understanding foot. Diplomacy is something they take very seriously and any attempt by outside forces or people to enter into The Great Forest are usually met with a singular Besidar near the beginning of their borders. Take note of this as, even though you are only speaking with one of them, they are most assuredly another 30 to 40 with their bows trained upon you. They do have open trade with their neighboring nations, both Human, Orc and Almidar and are overall a friendly and peaceful bunch when it comes to people who meet them with an open mind.
When it came to their old magic and the worship of the Gandur and Aimur, the Besidar were different from the rest in that they did not worship the Gods directly but rather worshipped them through acts of preservation and love for their creations. This took the form of possibly the most odd practice that the Besidar partake in, even to this day.
In an effort to not misuse life or death, they sought balance with the world and to reach that balance they believed that none of nature's bounty should go to waste if it could be helped. Thus, they are one of the only races that practices ritualistic cannibalism. This has never been something that they restrain for only their people either. Besidar Rangers will often eat the flesh of enemy soldiers that they have killed, so long as the soldiers fought bravely and with honor, and will use this as a method of worship to the Aimur and Gandur.
Their homeland is not very large but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in the sheer resources they have at their disposal. They refer to the forest they live in as Mikoshi and there is only one place inside of the entire forest that could be called a city, that being Treetop. For when they split from the Solus Elves long ago, they had taken with them a seed from Yggdrasil and brought it to their forest, planting it in the deepest reaches of the forest and building their one and only city around it. Don’t let this fool you though, as they have dozens upon dozens of outposts built high into the trees all around their homeland and not a single twig moves in their home without them knowing about it.
Societal History and Governance
Thankfully the Besidar have a very simple and straightforward style of government within their homeland. They answer to a singular monarch whom they refer to as their Urdin, High Lord of Nature. He or she is the guiding voice within their government and all of the Besidar answers to them. This form of governance is older than most other nations around them and has only worked so well due to what is perceived as a low population count on the part of the Besidar. For you see, the Felidar and Almidar have populations numbering into the hundreds of thousands, while the Besidar have the lowest population of the Elves numbering only in the tens of thousands. This has made governance by their monarch much easier than other such nations might have been.
Their main military and militia forces are the Rangers, a group of Besidar whose sole purpose it is to deal with threats to their people, both foreign and domestic. The Rangers are responsible for internal conflict resolution in a policing manner and are also the main branch contracted for the hunting of Monsters spotted within Besidar lands. Their terms of service are marked with bands on their ears. A bronze band signifies 100 years of service, a silver band signifies 200 years of service and a gold band is used for 300 years of service. There is a special band worn that hangs with a golden chain for any that have reached 400 years of service. The Rangers are proficient with weapons such as the Double-Edged Sword, the Polearm and Bo Staff as well as the Bow. The Rangers are well known for their ability to track monsters through any terrain, but they also are unique in that they make use of the Monsters found in their forest as a bulwark for intruders from the outside who are unwanted. Often there have been reports of stampedes of Beasts coming out of the forest at night whenever invading forces have camped near its edge.
Religiously speaking the Besidar are also unique in their relationship with the Fae, beings created after The Fall to reside in the world of mortals. These Fae are often seen by other races as annoying at best, or openly hostile at worst. However, the Besidar have a different relationship with them that is more cooperative and through this relationship many of the old worlds magic that would normally have left the lands of others, have remained with the Besidar in some capacity.
For Players of Besidar
Though the Besidar do not have the most loud and ostentatious history to recount, there is grace in the quiet contemplation and bond with nature that they show. Their ritualistic cannibalism of the fallen warrior who died in honor may seem barbaric to some, but it is an honored custom among the Besidar. They are a people of patience and honor, of warriors and alchemists. This is something to take into consideration when playing as a Besidar.
Besidar Racial Trait: Due to their innate bond with the Fae and their love of the natural world, the Besidar are blessed with the innate ability to Speak with Animals. They believe that all animals have a spirit and are able to communicate, this is not true for Monsters however.
Languages Known: Common, Elven, and 1 of player choice.
