Embereki
The Embereki, commonly known as Jungle Elves, are the original Elvish inhabitants of the Sikherrit Jungle. They are short compared to other Elves, and unique in their head growths- male Embereki grow bison horns on their heads, and female Embereki grow deer antlers. Embereki have animal-like eyes that vary randomly in individuals, though cat eyes are the most prevalent. They are the only known race of Elves to have fangs, though these are significantly smaller than Orcish tusks and are very rarely strong enough to make efficient weapons. They are renowned as masters of the wild and feared for their mastery of arboreal warfare and druidcraft.
Nomadic Warriors
The Embereki live in nomadic tribes, each named for a different creature native to the jungle, but especially dinosaurs. These creatures are known as Beast Patrons. Most Embereki tribes travel with their namesake beasts, sometimes rearing them for food, protection, or companionship. Many Embereki and their Langite overlords believe that an Elf's personality can be generally summed up by their Beast Patron. This is true to an extent, as Embereki tribes can be broken into a few major groups based on their Patrons, and these groups share cultural values with others within it. For instance, the Predator Clans are far more aggressive than the Treetop Clans. The dangers of the jungle have led the Embereki to become a race of warriors, each trained from birth to hunt silently and kill with their famed thornwood bows. They do maintain cities and smaller settlements, but these are used for only a few weeks, maybe months at a time before cleaning up and moving on, leaving the place for the next tribe to wander through. It is customary for a leaving tribe to leave gifts for those that come afterward. See also Embereki Tribes.Militant Isolationists
The Embereki almost exclusively hold faith with Lelia and Vadaszat, the twin gods of nature. Oral tradition tells that the Embereki were made to be guardians of the jungle, and in exchange the jungle would always provide for them. Until the Sylvan War, the Embereki killed any trespassers immediately, only rarely simply firing a large barrage of warning shots. On rare occasions, they did venture out of their lands for trade missions or to attend Elvish councils, and of course some young Embereki left the jungle as part of their coming of age ritual. After the Sylvan War, when the Embereki allowed the Langites and Braithstrom to inhabit portions of their jungle domain, they have been forced to become more social among other Elves at the very least. However, the tribes each maintain a specific area that outsiders are not allowed in, and the Confederate government takes full advantage of the Embereki traditions by setting them to guard the northern borders along the Embereki-designated part of the Confederacy known as Emberek Rai.Saviors of Elvenkind
Though the Langite-dominated Confederacy does not acknowledge the fact as much as most Embereki would like, the Confederacy's very existence is a direct result of Embereki intervention during the Sylvan War. The Embereki maintained their strength throughout a majority of the conflict by not involving themselves even after the Langites united the rest of Elvenkind under the Atcandeun Accords. It was not until the tail end of the war, when the rest of the Elves had been fought back to the Sikherrit borders, that a coalition of tribes joined the battle under the leadership of Great Kandun, who according to legend had a vision of the jungles burning if the tribes did not come to the aid of their fellow Elves. Known to the bards as the Revenge of the Elves, the battle that took place following the Embereki joining the war was the largest in all known history, spreading across the entire length of the jungle and rarely pushing into it as the fresh blood threw themselves at Skaldor's army, bringing with them their beasts of war. The Confederacy to this day utilized heavy dinosaur cavalry, and even the Empire's official reports call the Embereki one of their biggest threats. This single battle shaped the course of history and defined the modern borders between the Empire and Confederacy. Afterwards, the Embereki joined the Accords and with the Langites and Braithstrom formed the Confederacy of Elvish Tribes. Though the leadership of the Confederacy today does not take the jungle elves very seriously, their pivotal role in the war is taught to all young Elves and a massive marble statue stands in Veeracht honoring the four tribes that lost the most in the battle: the ape-riding Tree Striders, the poison-using Vibrant Death, the panther-worshipping Night Claws, and the tree-herding Wood Shepherds. A warrior of each tribe is depicted in a fighting position with their Beast Patron.Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Effie, Lael, Yulie, Karael, Shael, Tinane
Masculine names
Melko, Freidrim, Alamel, Toraro, Yndel
Unisex names
Gren, Umi, Raefi, Lolko, Jerun
Family names
Embereki do not practice family names. Instead, they identify themselves by their tribal lines. The most well-known tribes to outsiders are the Tyrant Skull, the Club Tail, and the Silent Wing tribes.
Other names
Embereki in leadership or ceremonial positions fully replace their names with their titles, essentially believing that a title is like a name that you get later.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Atcandeunel, or Elvish, is the traditional language of all Elves. The Embereki speak a dialect of Atcandeunel that is inflected to mimic the sounds of the jungle, considered to be difficult for outsiders to understand and nearly impossible to master.
Shared customary codes and values
The Embereki as a whole despise those that waste resources and tend to feel a little uncomfortable in cities. They place great value in being prepared and mock those who behave recklessly. An Embereki without their bow might as well be naked.
Common Etiquette rules
Curiously, the Embereki share a custom with the Olona, that of Tooth-Bearing. When two Embereki meet, they hiss or growl at each other and show their fangs, so as to establish that they believe the other is dangerous enough to be taken seriously. Many Imperial citizens believe that the Embereki are calm and emotionless, in reality this is a deliberate insult, directly stating through lack of display that the Empire is not a threat to be taken seriously. It is also customary to work a compliment into every conversation, even with hated foes, though no one is certain how that tradition started. To the jungle elves, it is good manners to offer something you don't want to eat or use to the closest person to you immediately, and sometimes cause problems in Langite and Human cities by simply taking food off of plates that have been pushed away so as to prevent it from going to waste.
Common Dress code
Emebereki, especially young unpromised ones, decorate their horns and antlers with flowers, bells, and ribbons. True fashions vary from tribe to tribe, but all Embereki paint themselves in stripes of green, brown, and black. Clothing is typically made of leather and plantmatter.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
When an Embereki is born, their parents immediately choose a name by each throwing one out to the tribe and seeing which one is more popular. Considering that pregnancies' and birth are especially dangerous and brutal for the Embereki, usually the other parent "wins". If a tribe is especially prosperous and the timing is right, they might gift the infant with a newborn Beast Patron. Such partnerships are usually lifelong, and it is extremely common for these bonded Elves to become Druids.
Coming of Age Rites
When an Embereki believes they are ready to be treated as an adult, they are banished from their tribe in a ritual known as the Tel'Semka. The one to undergo trial leaves behind all mortal possessions except for their thornwood bow and a single arrow, both of which are crafted for them by the tribe as part of the ritual. They then enter a hallucinogen-induced trance before the tribal elders, and describe whatever vision they are granted by the jungle itself. The elders interpret the vision and send the young Embereki, called at this point the Somk, to fulfill whatever quest they've decided must be completed. The Somk must return fully clothed, with a full quiver of arrows, and a trophy from a dangerous beast in addition to having completed their quest with some sort of proof. Before leaving, they are marked with a special paint that tells the world they are Somk and not to be helped by other Embereki on their journey. They are not welcome back in any Embereki tribe until they have had the markings removed by a tribal shaman who judges the quest complete.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The horns or antlers of a dead Embereki are taken and put to use the same way they would any horned beast. The body is burned to prevent scavenging, and the ashes are taken to the Tree of Souls in Karora, where it is mixed into the earth at the roots of the great tree. The Embereki believe that so long as their remains are returned to the Tree, they will live forever as part of the jungle. Anything that prevents an Embereki from fulfilling this sacred mission is grounds for killing the obstacle as far as most of them are concerned.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
Embereki are generally compared by their head growths. Males are idealized for large, sharp horns while females are more beautiful for sturdier antlers. Aside from that, fitness is very important to the Embereki, and unusual eyes are prized as a standard of exceptional beauty.
Gender Ideals
The Embereki make little distinction between gender roles due to their dangerous wandering lifestyle. The Sikherrit jungles are deadly to those unprepared for it. All Embereki are trained as warriors and hunters and are expected to gather food and supplies for their tribe.
Related Organizations
Related Locations
Comments