Elves
I will protect my clan at all costs. I will put the clan before myself. My own desires do not matter, only that of the clan, so I will keep it in check. Every step I take, every breath I make I will make with unceasing loyalty to my clan- to my family. My clan is my only family in this world, and I will protect it. I will protect it with my life. If there is danger, I do not run. I protect and even sacrifice myself for my clan. From now to my death, I will uphold these promises to the highest degree.Elves are the most secluded of the races. They live high in the sky, constantly migrating and shifting through the air with their huge airships. Duty-bound to their clans, they do not stray far from their homes. Because of this, many wonder if they carry egotism, which some do, but most do not. Just like all races, the elven stereotype is a stereotype. There are countless clans and countless individuals, from young, brave, and impulsive warriors to wise old sages. Most, however, carry an unceasing loyalty to their clans. When an elf leaves their clan, it is a sign of incredible disobedience and disrespect, so they are often exiled forever.—The Elvish Oath, taken by adolescents after they formally enter the clans
CURRENT STATUS
In the Upper Region, elves run rampant. Their clans fly past in airships, docking at islands to hunt and gather resources. Much of the resources they gather are plants and sometimes minerals exclusive to the Upper Region, which are then sold to the rare merchant which has contact with them. Most of the coin they receive goes towards weapons and repairing their airships if need be. Besides this, they don't have contact with other races as much. Sometimes there will be a rare elf in a human city, but usually there are only a small scattering of them.Basic Information
Anatomy
Elves have the same specific body structure as humans, with two arms and two legs. Elves are leaner and taller than humans on average, and their pointed ears often differentiate them. Their ears get pointier as they age. Elven hair also starts out as any color, but similarly in humans, fades to light gray in old age. By the time an elf is 350, their hair is completely silver and their ears have stopped getting pointier. However, 350 year old elves are still healthy. Over time, however, the few defenses elves have against iusnian sickness will begin to fade. Most elves die from this, as they are immune to most other diseases.
Biological Traits
Elves have quite the variety, just like humans. The average elf, though, is tall and slender. Of course, not every elf is the same body type, but they tend to be thinner and taller than humans with less body type variation. Their skin can range from pale to olive colored, rarely darker than this. Male elves, like humans, also tend to be more muscular than female elves, although still less than other races. Both females and males are the same height on average, however.
Genetics and Reproduction
Elven females are fertile for only 20 years of their lives, around the ages of 35-40. Because of this, the desire to marry off young females is strong in elves. But, even with this limitation, most females can only have a maximum of 12 children in their lifetimes, and once that 20 year period is over, they are infertile. This results in tightly knit generational groups of 12 siblings, with the age difference between them and their closest younger or older sibling being less than 2 years. These population explosions often occur at the same time, even across different families and clans.
Because of concern regarding population, most women don't get to have 12 children unless permitted to by their Clanmasters. Having twelve children then is seen as a great honor.
Growth Rate & Stages
As children, elves develop similarly to humans. Young elves, however, do not have the signature pointed ears of older elves. Their ears become more pointed with age. By the time they are around 20-30 years old, elves have reached physical maturity, similar to humans. Their ears will still grow more and more pointed as time passes, only stopping once an elf reachers the age of 350. Despite reaching physical maturity, elves are not considered adults until the age of 50, since they lack experience. When an elven woman's fertility period is over, she and her husband will then be considered adults.
As elves continue to grow older, their hair also fades to silver. This is often seen as a sign of possessing great wisdom and knowledge. By 350, elves's ears are at their pointiest and their hair is completely silver. It is at this point that most elves retire to become Elders. As they continue to age, the little defenses elves have of iusnian sickness begin to weaken to the point where living in their normal environments becomes toxic. This is often what claims them.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Almost all elves live in the Upper Region, where they roam with their clans. A couple of times they might visit the Upper Middle Islets, but they do not stray much further down. A rare elf might be found in the human cities of the Vast Isles, but usually on the highest altitude cities. This is because elves are not accustomed to the iusnian-filled middle and lower aeraei, so doses unlikely to kill a human will be fatal to an elf.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
Almost all elves are part of one of their elvish clans. There are currently seven of them, the Vaergus, Toris, Yintris, Dageiros, Lathar, Thenorin, and Reynelis clans. Often within these clans, the more powerful families will form organized groups called Houses. Just as elves take an oath to their clans, they must also take one to their Houses as well, if applicable. Not every elf has a House, and are usually poorer ones or orphans left over from the conflicts from centuries back.
Courtship Ideals
Elves hold courtship as less about emotion and more about proving honor and loyalty. Courtship of individuals outside of an house if one elf is a house member, or inter-clan courtship is extremely frowned upon. Often it is the most common reason for exile. This is why elves are usually found with a significant other in human cities. Also, courting outside of one's species is often considered a blatant disrespect to elves, so they are often exiled. This means that Half-elves most likely live among humans, because most elves would recognize them immediately and exile them.
Average Technological Level
Elves rely a lot on the technology of other races. It was the human's airships that changed their lives, after all. They have developed traditional metalworking techniques which often result in unique weapons found nowhere else. Often times they don't use iusnian, which is used a lot for weapons outside of elves. Due to their resistance to change, elves are not innovators and will rarely except technology of foreign influence.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Each elvish clan speaks a dialect of elvish, which some may consider separate languages. Either way, these dialects are pretty mutually intelligible, which is one of the main arguments against claiming they speak different languages. However, significant grammar differences in certain dialects are significant enough that nonnative speakers struggle understanding them.
Either way, most elves learn the dialects of the other clans as a sign of their unity.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
A common custom all elves share is their hair. Elves grow their hair throughout their entire lives, almost never cutting it. Younger elves wear their hair down, with little to no styling. As they age, elves will wear their hair in many different hairstyles to symbolize their age, marital status, position, and others. Each clan has different hairstyles, but all of them are quite similar.
Cutting hair is considering a monumental moment in one's life. Elves will cut a portion of their hair while grieving, or when entering wartime, to symbolize the loss of part of themselves. Often times exiles will cut their hair extremely short as a rejection of the culture that exiled them. Sometimes spiteful and subversive half-elves will do this as well. When elves die, their head is shaved of its hair and strands are given to loved ones. The hair is kept in small lockets and treasured dearly, as having it is considered a way of ensuring the deceased will always be there.
History
When they were first created by Mithra, the elvish god of unity and respect, they were bound to their islands, unable to develop further. On these islands they formed groups, which after years of fighting and treaties, slowly merged into one group per island. Then, the then-powerful Teryths Empire launched expeditions into the upper regions of Caladon. One of these ships passed by the island of Ulyra, where the Clanmaster of the Thenorin Clan, Rennyn Thenorin, saw it in all of it's glory.
I was staring out past my island to the faint shapes of the land beyond, my bow in my hand, the wind blowing gently. A slow hum. Unusual. As I was watching, a strange thing emerged from the mist below. An airship. A strange cylinder rose. Below it was a strange shape that I couldn't decipher that looked like it was made of the wood that surrounded me. Later, I learned what it was. I then realized, I wanted it. If my clan could traverse the skies just like them, think of the places we could explore? The land we could conquer!Through some negotiation, Virven left his clan with the visiting Terythsians to study how airships worked. There, he learned its inner workings for 7 years. Comfortable with his knowledge on airships, he decided to buy a class five commuter airship, which had a capacity of around 300 people and Terrain-Adaptable Landing gear, allowing it to land on any sufficiently large surface. With a short escort crew, he took the ship back to his home island. There, his clan marveled at the strange but beautiful invention. Reluctantly, they boarded the ship and left their island for the first time.—Clanmaster Rennyn Thenorin recollecting seeing airships for the first time
For the next few years, Virven's clan shook the elven world. His airship allowed him to reach places previously unreachable and assimilate many of the other elven clans. Soon, demand for airships exploded among the elven clans. This boom, known as the Elven Airship Explosion, offered huge opportunities to the airship business, whether huge conglomerates or humble, family owned companies. With the access to airships, elves could access more of the rare materials almost exclusive to the Upper Region, so the demand for those materials grew as well.
But the elves had not forgotten their traditions. They feared these new developments would destroy their culture. As a compromise, the clans formed a council which would represent them to foreign nations. They agreed that they would like to remain separate from the rest of the sentient races by almost exclusively interacting with them for business purposes.
Now, the elves are still isolated from the ordinary citizenship as much as they were before, seemingly. They still hold their ancient traditions to the highest esteem, and thus are reluctant to meddle in affairs with the nations below them. So, they keep out of it.
Scientific Name
Daon vardonis
Lifespan
500-750 years
Average Height
5'6"-6' 6"
Average Weight
140 lb
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