Midori Elves

Also known as Wood Elves, Wild Elves, Copper Elves, or Tuatha Dé Danann, Midori Elves are the first elves to call the material plane home. Many of them connect their history to the The Song of Three Sisters and as such try and live as much they can in line with their god Shika, previously known as Danu and the first elf. They differ from other elves in that the males retained their seasonal antlers, and they have coppery skin and typically darker hair.

Midori Elf Features:

Ability score increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old.
Size. Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.
Trance. Elves do not sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semi-conscious, for 4 hours a day. The Common word for this meditation is "trance". While meditating, you dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive after years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit a human would from 8 hours of sleep.
Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Elf Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.
Fleet of Foot. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.
Mask of the Wild. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write a variation of Common and Elvish.

Naming Traditions

Family names

Most Midori Elves consider their entire clan or tribe their family. Therefore a Midori elf family name is typically the name of the elder they were born under. Though few ever give out such names, it's a way of identifying when one was born, and to what clan they belong.

Other names

Most Midori elves have a "child name" which is the name they are given by their parents. It is usually a simple or short name that is used until their first coming of age rite. During this rite, they often add a suffix to their name, of some sort. For example, if a wood elf was given the name Aki at birth, they might add to it, to seem more mature, like Akimi. (typically a 2 syllable name). After their 2nd coming of age ritual, when they return after their walkabout, elves will often return with a new name that they have chosen for themselves, through their experiences, significant people in their lives, and goals. Therefore Akimi might return Himawari. Very close or informal family and friends might still use childhood names, but it is considered extremely disrespectful for someone unfamiliar to use such a name. Additionally, trusted individuals might be permitted to shorten new names (like Himawari to Hima), however, honorifics are still expected to be used.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Elves are typically conservative in expressing values, emotions, and feelings. They tend to be expressive of love openly, but little else. Elves reach physical maturity at the same rate as humans, but they haven't reached "adulthood" in the elvan sense until they've stopped dreaming of their past. Since their birth, Elves do not dream, but instead, enter "dream like" trances. During this time, they often have vague dreams of past lives, past emotional connections, and visions of the feywild. This continues until they begin to make their own connections and relationships. When they have done enough in their life that they no longer dream of their past, or past relationships (usually around 100 years of age), they are considered mature enough in this lifetime, and adults in the eyes of elves. These dreams are usually considered extremely private, and not spoken about, as they often share images and ideas of history with old loved ones and enemies. Some will actively seek out close relations with past family relations. Those that do not have old memories of past lives often have dreams of the feywild and Shika. This is unique to the wild elves. New Hoshi Elf tend to have more visions of future events or events they will experience before they become an adult. This isn't often realized until later for these elves. Despite a common lack of expression, many elves will personalize themselves with tattoos and piercings as a means of telling stories.

Common Etiquette rules

It is considered extremely rude to touch another's hair, almost as a personal attack, unless in an intimate setting. To cut someone else's hair is ultimate humiliation on the person whose hair is cut and total disrespect. Additionally, respect among elders is extremely important for their experience and wisdom. Many elves even use honorifics to denote elders, teachers, peers, etc.

Common Dress code

Elves favor natural plant-based fabrics that can endure the intense humidity of the rainforest. However, they have an abundance of color variations due to the plant diversity and often wear brightly colored clothing adorned with beads or brightly colored feathers. Hunting parties will wear more subdued clothing, where tribal leaders will be far more flamboyant. The higher class might have more silk from silkworms, but those tend to fair better in the Hoshi elf territories.

Art & Architecture

Elves in the lower reaches of the forest grow elaborate wooden homes with platforms and bridges forged from the trees themselves. There are even "tree forger" professions for those that can "sing" the trees to the necessary places. They tend to favor organic architecture with floral decorations, garden architecture, and beautiful functionality.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Elves don't require a lot of meat in their diet and rely heavily on high fructose and plant-based foods. They eat a lot of sweet, sour, and tart dishes and are known for their jams, jellies, preserves, and canned foods. They have also found ways to harvest various insects and bugs or frogs as a source of protein, often also put in forms of jellies, or fried with fruit spreads on top. It's often very flavorful. They also are well known for their abundance of fruit wines. Most of the forest elves' "hunting parties" are used to defend themselves from predators, invaders, or occasionally hunt to provide food diversity for visitors, which are not all that uncommon. Some might eat game for celebrations, in small portions with a fair amount of sauces and fruity toppings.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

When a child is born, people will often have a tribe-wide celebration where all come together to meet the child. Each individual will gift a toy to the child, carved from their own antler horns most commonly, or by gifting their parents anything they might need from blankets, fabrics, or child food jars. The child is then formally named and cared for by the whole community, staying mostly with the parents. Marriage is not a formal idea among the elves, therefore two people will come together to raise a child, and remain positive and supportive even if they no longer remain together as partners.

Coming of Age Rites

Elves have 2 coming of age rites. When they reach "physical maturity," an elf will drink a special liquid, and partake in a ritual with the elders, often with special herbs, drinks, and the like. In this time, they "open their minds" and walk about, leaving the safety of the village. This is usually a 1 to 2 day long "high" essentially, that in its effects cause them to "see" better and be more susceptible to finding portals to the Otherrealm. They are supposed to cross this barrier, find a single flower from the feywild portion of the Otherrealm, and return back to the village with it. The type of flower often says a lot about the type of person they will be, but only the Elders know the "language of the flowers."
The second Coming of Age is when they reach "mental maturity" which they often claim themselves by choosing to leave on walkabout. After they have gone a month without a trance involving their past lives, and only dream of their current life, they can declare their independence and begin their walkabout. Their family will braid their hair, typically to keep it out of the way and as their first of many. At this time, they do not return home or to their tribe for 1 year. When they return, they tell of all the news they have learned during their time apart. Those that do not return are considered "lost." If they return and confess that they chose not to return, this is often considered dishonor, for leaving their family worried. Their hair might be braided and cut. While on walkabout braids don't need to be kept in, but there is an intricate braid culture among elves among the number of braids, parts per braid, and ornaments. They typically represent battles, obstacles, and social ranking.

Funerary and Memorial customs

When an elf dies, they are the most susceptible to undeath than any other race due to their connection to the fey, and the Otherrealm. To protect against this, cremation is the most common form of burial among elves. They will typically do a pyre of the dead burning them with carved or grown offerings to pass with them. They believe the spirit goes into the ether until it can be reborn. Loved ones will often take a small section of hair if they wish to remember their loved ones. These are often kept in trinket boxes or lockets.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Hair is very important to most elves. They typically have very fine, illustrious hair that can grow to incredible lengths, though it tends to grow slowly and is very strong. Hair is often used as a way to see the age and gauge respect for an individual as well as a way of showing disrespect or humiliation. Among the Midori elves, antlers are also a gauge of beauty and status. Because elves, especially the Hoshi Elf variations, tend to be considered so beautiful that they often look alike to other races, tattoos and piercings have become especially common forms of self-expression. Many elves will get tattoos to tell stories or personalize themself, show strength and endurance with intricate tattoos in sensitive places (such as faces), and even get many piercings to show wealth or status. These are also commonly used as expressions of beauty.

Gender Ideals

The Midori elves are the most gendered of the elven cultures, due to the clear distinction between men and women. Most men begin to grow antlers when they reach physical maturity near the age of 16. Until they grow antlers, they are considered children. Females tend to be hunters, scouths, and martial leaders of the Midori elf cultures, providing for the community. They see this as their duty as caregivers. Children from the age of 10 to their first coming of age ceremony (around the age of 16) are brought along on these missions to learn necessary skills for the society. Once an elf reaches adulthood, women typically chose to become a tribe mother, having children and staying with the youngest children of the tribe, or a tribe hunter. These are the ones that go out and provide for the tribe or protect it from surrounding threats. Because elves do not require a lot of meat in their diet, the number of hunters is typically rather small, usually made of less than a handful of adults and a couple older children. When they do eat meat, or hunt for game, they only hunt herbivores, greatly preferring its taste. Men who are old enough to no longer hunt with the tribe hunters may chose to become druids, shamans, or craftsmen. Those that take on the religious duties of druids or shamans also tend to the growth of food, act as healers for the tribe, and help care for the children with the tribe mothers. Another option for both men and women is to leave their society and join the imperial military. This is often frowned upon among the women since tribe mothers are needed to prevent a population decline. Therefore many are asked to cut their hair before they leave.

Courtship Ideals

Elves of all kinds tend to be very sex-positive. They wish to encourage the creation of children which are rare among elves. Most only have 1 or 2 in a lifetime and many don't start until midway through their life. Children are seen as precious and extremely protected. They don't have a standard sense of marriage, but it isn't uncommon for two elves to come together and stay together for the entirety of their lives. Homosexuality is accepted, more so with males. Women frequently have close sexual relationships with the same sex, however, this does start to become frowned upon if they make no attempts in having children around the middle of their life.

Relationship Ideals

Relationships are often casual, with a great deal of personal independence. The community comes together to raise children, so relationships become more like partnerships or choices to live together. There is often little distinction between friends or partners among elves, aside from the amount of physical expression.