Ascian Elves

The Ascian people are known for their boat building and sailing expertise. Since long before the Empire took control of their lands, these people's lives have revolved around the sea. It is said that an Ascian spends more of their life on the water than on solid ground. Although they have now been absorbed into the larger Elven Empire, the people of Ascia managed to maintain a significant cultural identity. Those living in their ancestral lands are able to live lives very similar to their ancestors. However, their knowledge of shipbuilding was deemed vital to the empire, and skilled shipwrights are sometimes forcefully relocated to other regions so that their skills might more directly aid the Empire. This forced diaspora led to a significant minority of Ascian elves in port cities and the capitol.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Despite the Empire's attempts at stamping out all disparate traditions, the nation of Ascia managed to retain their cultural connection to the sea largely because their shipbuilding expertise is of great value to the empire. That they are able to maintain this most central of their traditions is something Ascians take great pride in.

Average technological level

Ascian knowledge and skill in shipbuilding was unparalleled at the time of the Empire's founding. Although they have been forced to share that knowledge, Ascians are still considered the greatest of shipwrights in the Empire. Ascian sailors are also skilled astronomers. By necessity their culture charted the stars, often with greater accuracy than even the scholars of Laintera.

Art & Architecture

Ascian ships are as beautiful as they are functional. They are recognizable by the smooth lines of their hulls, whose wooden slats fit so perfectly and closely together the seams between boards are nearly invisible. Every ship, from the simplest of kayaks to the mightiest of warships is built with the same elegance and precision.

Common Myths and Legends

Although Ascians are required by Imperial law to acknowledge the same pantheon of gods as the rest of the empire, their culture and traditions focus on the gods of ocean and weather. They believe that, in ages long past, a servant of the ocean god came to their people and taught them the arts of ship building and sailing. In return for the god's favor and in thanks for her teachings, Ascians make small offerings to the sea with each voyage, and larger ones on designated holy days. It is believed that so long as these offerings are made no Ascian will ever be lost at sea.

Encompassed species