Half- Elves
Half-elves aren’t the diplomats described in the Player’s Handbook and Monster Manual. They are instead individuals trapped between two worlds—human and elf—neither of which entirely welcomes them.
Except in a few places in Fiore, half-elves do not appear in great numbers. Each is the result of a union between elf and human, but such relationships often come to sad ends as an elf outlives the other parent or when cultural differences drive parents apart. Some half-elves are the result of briefer encounters between elf and human or between two half-elves, but this is extremely rare.
This means that although there might be similar themes of prejudice, tragedy, and of homes and friends left behind in youth, the upbringing of each half-elf is unique, and the way in which the half-elf emphasizes the qualities of one parent race or the other differ. One half-elf might think and act more like an elf due to being raised among them, while another might act more like a human, and still another might act more elven than an elf in order to separate himself from the humans he grew up with.
Half-elves have at least one elven parent or grandparent, or two half-elven parents. To put it another way, the child of a half-elf and a human will be human, unless the half-elf parent was the child of a full-blooded elf. Unless a half-elven line marries into other elven or half-elven families, their elf characteristics fade in a couple generations. On occasion elven traits can reappear in otherwise human children born several generations later, but half-elves of such remote descent are very rare.
While elves and half-elves are respected and admired in many parts of Fiore, humans in lands where elves are not commonly encountered can be resentful of elven blood. Elves are graceful, attractive, long-lived, mysterious, and skilled with mighty magic, and humans who do not know them well can easily come to regard elves—and, by extension, half-elves—with envy and fear. In places such as Drassua or Onaka, a half-elf’s race is nothing remarkable, and she faces little or no bigotry. In lands where there is a long history of elven-human conflict, such as the southern continent of Meyar, her elven blood marks her as different and dangerous, with all the fears and suspicions one might expect. On the other hand, half-elves born in elven communities almost always experience patronizing prejudice instead of fear. A half-elf will not live as long, nor be as nimble, and elves expect half-elves to be unwisely brash and impatient.
Most half-elves are a bit distant, used to being cast in the role of outsiders. Many half-elves respond to the suspicions and slights of their human neighbors by staying well away from human civilization, preferring a solitary life in the wildernesses of Fiore. Others instead take up a life of travel, never staying in one spot long enough for racial prejudices to distance them from the folk around them.
Except in a few places in Fiore, half-elves do not appear in great numbers. Each is the result of a union between elf and human, but such relationships often come to sad ends as an elf outlives the other parent or when cultural differences drive parents apart. Some half-elves are the result of briefer encounters between elf and human or between two half-elves, but this is extremely rare.
This means that although there might be similar themes of prejudice, tragedy, and of homes and friends left behind in youth, the upbringing of each half-elf is unique, and the way in which the half-elf emphasizes the qualities of one parent race or the other differ. One half-elf might think and act more like an elf due to being raised among them, while another might act more like a human, and still another might act more elven than an elf in order to separate himself from the humans he grew up with.
Half-elves have at least one elven parent or grandparent, or two half-elven parents. To put it another way, the child of a half-elf and a human will be human, unless the half-elf parent was the child of a full-blooded elf. Unless a half-elven line marries into other elven or half-elven families, their elf characteristics fade in a couple generations. On occasion elven traits can reappear in otherwise human children born several generations later, but half-elves of such remote descent are very rare.
While elves and half-elves are respected and admired in many parts of Fiore, humans in lands where elves are not commonly encountered can be resentful of elven blood. Elves are graceful, attractive, long-lived, mysterious, and skilled with mighty magic, and humans who do not know them well can easily come to regard elves—and, by extension, half-elves—with envy and fear. In places such as Drassua or Onaka, a half-elf’s race is nothing remarkable, and she faces little or no bigotry. In lands where there is a long history of elven-human conflict, such as the southern continent of Meyar, her elven blood marks her as different and dangerous, with all the fears and suspicions one might expect. On the other hand, half-elves born in elven communities almost always experience patronizing prejudice instead of fear. A half-elf will not live as long, nor be as nimble, and elves expect half-elves to be unwisely brash and impatient.
Most half-elves are a bit distant, used to being cast in the role of outsiders. Many half-elves respond to the suspicions and slights of their human neighbors by staying well away from human civilization, preferring a solitary life in the wildernesses of Fiore. Others instead take up a life of travel, never staying in one spot long enough for racial prejudices to distance them from the folk around them.
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