Ornhini

"The Ornhini are peerless protectors of the woodland realms. Their druids sing the Nar'felas, the Ballad of Creation, and the trees grow tall and strong. Since their disappearance, there is an unnatural silence in the forests. A foul omen of things to come, I'm sure."

~ Olari Teldris Firbolg Druid of the Emerald Circle.

The Ornhini, or Wood Elves, arrived with the second migration of the Elves from the Feywild. Where the Elenhos claimed the nexuses of Ley Energy on the continent, the Ornhini claimed the forest domains. They would come to be protectors of the woodland realms and the only beings, at the time, to learn the Ballad of Creation from the Thae'delas, the Spirit Tree. As a result their druids would sing to the trees and the animals, infusing them with wild nature magic and helping them grow strong. The Ballad would encourage their wild and chaotic nature. Over time the Ballad would give sentience to the trees and the nature spirits. Which would spawn the creation of the Treefolk and the dryads who would come to join the Ornhini in their stewardship of the forests.

The Ornhini are harsh to those that would do harm in their domains. But to their friends they are warm, welcoming, and happy to shelter those who require it. During the height of the First Age, they would teach the Ballad of Creation to many aspiring druids among mortal kind. Their teachings would ensure that the Ballad would continue to be sung long after the Wood Elves would fade from mortal memories.

The Ornhini were particularly close to the Firbolgs and the Tabaxi that would come to rest within the woodland realms of Vanigraad. Their relationship with these two races becoming extremely close in the years leading up to the Planar Confluence.

According to salvaged records of the Monarch Courts, the Ornhini were ruled by Aluriel, the Mage Queen. The Queen is described as a lesser Archfay that graced the Ornhini during their time in the Feywild and elected to travel with the Elves through the Fae Gates. She is described in records as a woman of otherworldly beauty, her evergreen skin partially grown over with bark and flora. Her seat of power would come to reside within a hallow inside of Thae'delas where she would sing the Ballad of Creation to the Spirit Tree. Her lilting voice carrying on the wind to soothe the hearts of all those who would hear her song. It is said, from the descendants of the Ornhini, that the Mage Queen communed for 32 days and nights with Thae'delas when the Elves first settled in the Irristal Timberland. It was from the Spirit Tree that she learned the Ballad, and blessed the Wood Elves with its magic. During the calamity of the Planar Confluence, the Ornhini were the first, and the most ardent, defenders of humanity's right to practice magic. Advocating that even the shortest lived of races respected the natural world with a fervor that even the High Elves lacked. The Ornhini would stand against their kin's assertions that humans were the cause of the calamity. Claiming that it would take more than the mortal dabbling of one race to trigger such a cataclysmic event. As such, the Wood Elves would come to form an alliance with the human kingdoms of old and Ornhini warriors stood shoulder to shoulder with the empire as the hordes of Chaos broke against their walls. However, as the conflict continued the Wood Elves would vanish from the battlefields. Causing some scholars to wonder if their Elenhos kin forced their retreat, or if the Mage Queen herself no longer saw the virtues of humanity and withdrew her support.

Now, in the fledgling years of Vangiraad's Second Age, one can find the decedents of the Wood Elves in many places across the world. Many are a part of the druid circles who still sing the Ballad of Creation, while others have taken to farming, crafting or military service within the Elenhos kingdoms. Since the migration of the Shets'Doma many Ornhini have joined the Marta ten'leitha either by picking up their weapons and joining the growing forces of fae fighting the darkness of the Elenhos or sharing their knowledge and observations while remaining within the kingdoms. Some regard these Ornhini with a cold suspicion seeing their work as a breach of the natural order, holding to the old grudges of their forebears. Others have pledged their support in what seems to be an ultimately futile endeavour to bring down the near god-like powers of the Elenhos.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

All of the Ornhini still revere the natural world and their place within it. Many keep overgrown gardens or greenhouses in cities where nature has fallen to mortal progress. Most will decide on an occupation that keeps them close to nature so as to better protect it, and to hopefully hear the Ballad echoed on the wind.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

The Ornhini take time during the transition of the seasons to give thanks to Garrow and his Faecourt for the blessings they receive throughout the year. As well as to celebrate the cycle of death and rebirth between the winter and summer seasons.

Playing an Ornhini

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Elenhos

Genetic Descendants

• Shets'doma

Scientific Name

Elfenus Commonus

Origin/Ancestry

Created by Elenhos