River Elves

When most humans hear "elf," the image they have is most certainly a River Elf. As their nation is predominant force of the Elven Continent, and they are wont to travelling and exploring, they are the primary type of Elf found on the Rhoda Continent. Often seen as haughty and elitist, their strict and stratified social hierarchy does little to dispel this stereotype.

Basic Information

Anatomy

They are relatively thin and toned, but have a wide variety of heights. They have blue eyes, and but can have white eyes. Their hair colors range from white to black, tinted blue, purple, and cyan. Their skin tones range wildly, but then tend to lean on the tanner side. Their ears are long and pointy, and hug close to their head, pointing upwards.

Genetics and Reproduction

Like all Elves, River Elves are hermaphroditic, and are able to both sire and give birth. River Elves only give birth to twins. Their pregnancy length is around a year long.

All River Elves are born without sexual characteristics. There are three distinct reproductive roles for River Elves: Retainers, Leaders, and Concubines.

• Retainers never develop sexual characteristics and remain sterile. Their role is to attend to the Leader and Concubines of their group, as well as earning money and gathering food. However, it is possible to mature without permission, as the process is triggered by the absence of specific hormones and outside pheromones.

• Leaders monopolize the group's reproduction and sire all children. The children directly birthed by the Leader, blood children, are considered higher rank; their sire is considered unimportant. They are designated as the head of the household, and are the ones to seek out jobs for Retainers, and introduce children into adulthood. Their blood children are most likely to succeed them as Leader.

• Concubines are responsible for the vast majority of reproduction. They arise when certain young Retainers are designated to become Concubines, thereby undergoing maturation and becoming fertile. Upon maturing, they will be sent away to be "bound" to another group's leader. This is a tactic to avoid inbreeding, and culturally, is seen as way of cementing ties between two groups. Concubines manage the household, but the lower class may have working Concubines. They are also in charge of vetting new Concubines when a new Leader takes over the group.

Growth Rate & Stages

They take about 40 to 50 years to mature, and the legal age of maturity is designated as 40+.

Ecology and Habitats

They typically dwell near water.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

As is typical for Elves, they exhibit a special skill for mastering magic. They can hold their breath underwater for a longer period of time and have better underwater vision.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

For River Elves, their names are as the following:
(Personal Name) (Carrier Name)+“ova/ov” (Family Name)
“-ova” is used for blood children of the leader, whereas “-ov” is used for everybody else. There’s a strong emphasis on soft sounds with easy flow, and harsh syllables with abrupt breaks are not seen. It’s especially common for them to end in “n” sounds. Typically have two syllables for personal and family names.

Major Organizations

River Elves share a nation with Forest Elves, and it's the predominant force on the Elven Continent.

Beauty Ideals

Dark blue is associated with Leaders, whereas light blue is associated with Concubines.

Gender Ideals

Concubines

• There is great emphasis placed on fidelity between a Leader and their Concubines, especially for the latter. If a Concubine is unfaithful and has children sired by someone else, it's considered extremely taboo. Bastards and unbound Concubines are considered at the bottom of the social ladder.
• It is considered desirable for Concubines to not take on work outside of the home, and instead primarily manage the household.
• Once their bonded Leader has died, it is common practice for the Concubines to take on a vow of chastity and not re-bond, particularly amongst the upper class. They continue their duties maintaining the household.

Courtship Ideals

Among the upper class, marriages tend to be arranged. As you go up the social hierarchy, the practice of dating becomes more and more rare.
It is common practice to offer Concubines to young Leaders of other households both as an act of goodwill, as well as to tie two families together, but a few are advocating to freely choose one's concubines.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

They share a language origin with Forest Elves, and some consider their languages to be actually dialects of one another. There are some accents associated with certain cities, classes, neighborhoods, etc.

Common Dress Code

Concubines, especially those of the upper class, tend to wear concealing clothing when out in public.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Marriage ceremonies vary widely, especially depending on context. The first Concubine(s) joining the household will have a ceremony on an auspicious date, where they and their accompanying family members are welcomed by the Leader and Retainers. Any subsequent Concubine(s) joining the household will be welcomed in the same fashion, and their fellow Concubines will take a chief role in welcoming them.

Traditionally, the Leader's blood children would compete to become the next Leader of the group. However, the Leader’s non blood children have also been known to compete and even win. This process often resulted in deaths and forcibly exiling losers. Nowadays, the heir is usually selected by the Leader ahead of time. Upon designation or winning, the heir will begin developing sexual characteristics. If the Leader dies unexpectedly, and there’s no heir, one of the Retainers can be elevated to the place of Leader.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Elves

Lifespan

~200 years

Average Height

4-6 ft

Geographic Distribution

• Elven Continent