Tairnadal
The lives of the Tairnadal elves are shaped by those of their patron ancestors. When an elf comes of age, the Keepers of the Past read the signs to determine which of the patron ancestors has laid claim to the child. From that point forward it is the sacred duty of the child to become the living avatar of the fallen champion, mastering his or her skills and living by her code. The people of the Five Nations know little about the Tairnadal, and their general assumptions often don’t make sense. Ask ten people in Sharn, and you’ll hear that the Valenar are bloodthirsty brutes who love to pillage the weak; that they seek glory in battle and won’t fight a weaker foe; that they are bound by a strict code of honor; that they have no honor; that every Valenar is bound to a horse; and so on. In fact, no one rule applies to every Tairnadal, for every ancestor demands a different role of his or her descendants. A child chosen by Maelian Steelweaver will spend his or her days forging swords instead of wielding them. One chosen by Silence will spend life in the shadows, never touching a horse. War is the common thread that unites the Tairnadal, because the wars against giants, dragons, and goblins were what produced these legendary heroes. As such, the Tairnadal seek conflicts that will let them face the same odds and fight in the same style as their ancestors. Nowadays a child of Vadallia can’t fight giants, because the Cul’sir Dominion has fallen, but he or she must search for a foe that is equally challenging and then defeat it in the same way Vadallia would, thus creating new legends in Vadallia’s name.
Naming Traditions
Family names
The Tairnadal eschew family names. A Tairnadal will take the name of his patron ancestor as surname.
Culture
Shared customary codes and values
Tairnadal society is relentlessly martial. As noted before, war is the lens through which the Tairnadal view their patrons. These legends arose in conflict, and so the Tairnadal seek to maintain a constant state of conflict. Preferably this involves an actual, true threat – and this touches on the Valenar, which I’ll discuss in more detail later – but when there is no true threat they will create challenging scenarios. They hunt wild beasts and engage in complex wargames. This isn’t just frivolous behavior; they believe that through these actions they are preserving their greatest souls. They must keep going, or those spirits could be lost.
Common Dress code
Valenar typically wear loose, silk clothing and light armor decorated with elaborate engraving and embroidery. One unusual tradition is the use of red or brown patterns mimicking blood spatters or stains so that the gore of battle will blend with the elf's clothing. A common accoutrement is the zaelta -- "spirit mask." This veil is practical in the harsh environment of the Blade Desert, but it also helps the wearer submerge his identity within that of his ancestor. A Valenar warrior usually wears the sigil of his ancestor on his helmet or as a brooch; thus, those looking at the elf see his ancestor, not the mortal warrior.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
People often have the sense that all the Tairnadal do is fight… that they are hotheads who are always looking to start trouble. There’s a solid grounding to this: the Patron Ancestors forged their legends in battle against terrifying opposition, and so it is in battle against a challenging foe that the elves have the best opportunity to emulate the deeds of their ancestors. But let’s look to that quote again…
Ask ten people in Sharn, and you’ll hear that the Valenar are bloodthirsty brutes who love to pillage the weak; that they seek glory in battle and won’t fight a weaker foe; that they are bound by a strict code of honor; that they have no honor; that every Valenar is bound to a horse…
The point here isn’t that the people of Sharn are wrong; rather, ALL of these things are true… about different Tairnadal. There are Tairnadal who abide by a strict code of honor, and there are those who act in a relentlessly dishonorable fashion. There are those who won’t fight a weaker foe and those who seek out the weak. There are those who will draw blood at the slightest provocation and those who will never strike an innocent regardless of how severely they are provoked. Because they will do their absolute best to act as their patron ancestor would act. And there is a VAST SPECTRUM of ancestors. While we often call them “heroes”, the real point of the Patron Ancestors is that the are legends; some are infamous as much as they are famous. These are the people who defined the elves during their greatest struggles. So in thinking about a Patron Ancestor, the key things to bear in mind are:
Coming of Age Rites
At coming of age, a patron ancestor is identified through a carefully guarded ritual. This allows the Tairnadal shaman to determine which ancestor has chosen the child and create a bond that will last a lifetime. After this point, the newly adult Tairnadal is sent to train under a warband alongside other elves with compatible patron ancestors.
Common Myths and Legends
Leraje, The Green Betrayer
Among the Tairnadal elves, there are rumors of one ancestor spirit that has never chosen a successor. Whispers speak of a great betrayer of the elven people, that the other ancestor spirits have exiled beyond the cosmos, so that none may follow in her footsteps. Nearly forty millenia ago, the elven people rose up against their enslavement by the giants of Xen'drik. It was a long and costly war, and Leraje was counted as the most successful assassin amongst the elven rebels. Her prowess was such that she needn't even see her quarry to fell them with a single arrow through the eye. Along with the other heroic ancestors of the Tairnadal, Leraje was winning the war... until the continent was torn asunder with dragonfire. It was then that the elven people turned to Leraje's beloved sister, Aeren, for guidance. Aeren, a great visionary, foresaw a way to escape the destruction of Xen'drik, and all hailed her as the greatest savior of the elven people. And Leraje's heart grew black with envy. As the exodus grew closer and closer, Leraje saw her own legend diminish. She was the Green Herald, architect of hundreds of victories against the giants, and she could save the elves from dragonfire as well, if only her armies would stand and fight, instead of fleeing with her coward sister. And she knew only one way to make that happen. Coating her arrow in a deadly poison, she knocked it and took aim at Aeren from the shadows, ready to kill her sister during one of her inspiring speeches. And then she loosed the string. None are quite sure exactly what happened that day. Some say that Leraje finally saw the madness of her pride and, in an act of atonement, adjusted her aim at the last instant possible. Others say that the twist of fate was the Sovereigns punishing Leraje for her sins. All that is known is that Leraje's poisoned arrow only grazed Aeren as it flew past her, ricocheted off a series of giant ruins, and finally sunk into Leraje's own heart, killing her instantly. Whether it was penance or punishment, it proved to be too late for Aeren as well, as the visionary savior of the elves died from the arrow's poison on the journey to the elven promised land, which was named Aerenal, or "Aeren's Rest", in her honor. Now none but a few remember Leraje for anything other than the murderer she was.Major organizations
The Valaes Tairn
There is one branch that will be familiar to Khorvairian scholars and laypersons alike. The Valaes Tairn, the "Warriors of Glory," left Aerenal for the shores of Khorvaire where they were able to establish a foothold thanks to chaos within the Dhakaani Empire of the goblins. They landed in what is now Valenar and established territories known historically as the Green Kingdoms. Unlike the other branches described below, the Valaes Tairn do not have a specific agenda or enemy that they are pursuing. Instead, they try to seek out new horizons for battles which honor the ancestors and offer the chance to forge new legends. The largest portion of the branch of Valaes Tairn are those warriors who roam the plains of Valenar but not all of the Warriors of Glory hunt in that nation. Some wander farther afield in Khorvaire, particularly the warriors of the Kyrdol Celaes and Vodaes ail Jhol, but others are in farther corners of the world. Small bands can be found in Syrkarn and even one in the trade-city of Dar Jin in eastern Riedra. The Warriors of Glory go wherever the horizon is open and worthy enemies exist to offer challenge.The Sileus Tairn
The Giant Slayers have one direction of focus: the ancient past. They look to the roots of the elven peoples, to their captivity milennia ago in the jungles of Xen'drik in the empires of giants. While they were slaves then, the elves at least had a homeland and the Sileus Tairn see this vast continent as their right. Camps of the Giant Slayers dot the eastern coast of Xen'drik and the warriors launch raids far into the heart of the continent, killing giants and drow tribes as well as more exotic opponents. Some of the Sileus Tairn have not seen Aerenal in centuries and the branch has seriously distanced itself from the other Tairnadal.The Draleus Tairn
In the war with the dragons, some of the Tairnadal felt that leaving Aerenal was abandoning their duty to the ancestors. While the other branches left for other parts of the world to find battles with which to honor the ancestors, the Dragon Slayers stayed in the island nation and trained. When the fighting resumed, the Draleus Tairn were in the vanguard once more and their patience afforded them a place of great honor in the battle. Now the war is done but the Slayers have only taken their fight farther. Some travel to the shores of Argonnessen to fight the dragons in glorious battle, though more die there than return. Others scour the world to find the agents of the Chamber wherever they are hiding or they seek out clues to the Prophecy to stay a step ahead of the dragons. Some still defend the shores of Aerenal, pledged to not leave its shores until the world crumbles.The Toralaer Tairn
In the ancient texts this branch is called the Mys'Shalaer Tairn, the Storm-Wracked Warriors. When the war with the dragons became the purview of mages and seers, they left for the shores of Sarlona to find adventure and battle. As the Valaes Tairn sailed for Khorvaire and the Sileus Tairn for Xen'drik, the Mys'Shalaer Tairn sailed to the east… and were lost. No one knows what happens to the Mys'Shalaer Tairn once they landed on Sarlona, even magical divinations give confusing and contradictory results. The Tairnadal hope that they died in glorious battle but some warriors whisper that they may have faced far worse than death in that alien continent and that the Toralaer Tairn, the Vanished Warriors, will come back to punish their brethren who have left them unavenged for so long.
Diverged ethnicities
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
Related Locations
Common Alternate Race Traits
- Born in the Saddle (Valenar): Elves with this racial trait gain a + 1 bonus on damage rolls while mounted, do not take a penalty on Ride checks for riding bareback, and Ride is always a class skill for them. This racial trait replaces Elven Magic.
- Horse Whisperer (Valenar): Elves with this racial trait speak only Elven and do not gain any bonus languages from possessing a high Intelligence score. In addition, they learn only one language per 2 ranks of Linguistics they possess. However, they may speak with horses as if under a continuous speak with animals effect. This racial trait replaces an elf’s normal languages.
- Memories Beyond Death: Some elves are born with sensitive souls that absorb insight from others and from the spirits of the deceased. These elves gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear effects. They also choose two Knowledge skills and always treat those skills as class skills. If they take a class that grants either or both of those skills as class skills, they gain a +1 racial bonus on the overlapping skill or skills. This racial trait replaces elven immunities and elven magic.
- Valenar Weapon Familiarity (Valenar): Elves with this racial trait are proficient with scimitars, falchions, longbows (including composite longbows) and shortbows (including composite shortbows). They treat double scimitars, as well as any ranged weapon with “elven” in its name, as martial weapons. This racial trait replaces Weapon Familiarity.
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