Half-Elf
A half-elf is the hybrid offspring of a Human and an elf. With traits of both parents, half-elves walk between two worlds and are rarely fully accepted in either. Among humans, they age far slower and often outlive their peers, causing lives marked by grief and sadness. Among elves, they are often considered the product of sinful temptation and struggle to find companionship in a seemingly aloof and timeless society.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Half-elves have share many of the same traits as elves and humans. Their ears are tapered and come to points, but are much shorter than elves. Unlike elves, they can grow facial hair, though most that live in elven communities choose to shave them. They are more gracile than most humans and much more robust than many other elves. They appear to be roughly the same size as humans, though they often weigh far less compared to a human of similar size.
Genetics and Reproduction
Elves have long lifespans and similarly long gestation periods when compared to mortals. Additionally, female elves often cannot conceive or cannot advance their pregnancy without meeting certain esoteric environmental conditions. As a result, it is far more common for a half-elf to be born to a male elf and a female human, though the reverse has been attested to. Humans do not have nearly as many gestational requirements in order to birth a half-elf and their embryonic development is roughly similar to those of true human births.
Growth Rate & Stages
Half-elves mature at the same rate as humans, reaching sexual maturity at around 16-18 and true adulthood around age twenty. However, half-elves can live much longer than humans, often exceeding 180 years. Thanks to their fey heritage, half-elves do not show the true signs of old age until they are over 150 years old. This discrepancy in age between half-elves and humans is the root of much personal strife for half-elves and a recurring factor in their desire to live in communities dominated by elves or other half-elves.
Ecology and Habitats
Like humans, half-elves are highly adaptive to different environments and can persist and thrive in harsh conditions across Holos. Some claim half-elves retain an affinity towards the wooded, arboreal habitats of wood elves and their eladrin ancestors, but sizeable populations of half-elves have continued to grow in more arid places such as the Mashiq for generations. Overall, half-elves appear to seek out urban or large population centers, likely as a result of their inability to be fully accepted in high elven and human societies.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Half-elves are fully omnivorous, having diets similar to humans. Unlike elves, half-elves do require the same caloric intake as humans and receive more nutrients from cooked or prepared foods.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Some large communities of half-elves exist, such as in Savia, Placidia, northern Faleret, Kanesh, and even the Mashiq. Here, half-elves are able to find acceptance from their peers and have largely replaced full-blooded elves in the area, much to many elves' ire. Those true elves that still retain power in these areas often try to curtail the growth of the half-elf population through fearmongering and legislative ordinances, though there is little evidence that this tactic has had any success.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Like elves, half-elves have remarkable sensory abilities thanks to their fey heritage. They can see in dim light up to 60 ft. and in total darkness as if it were dim light. Like elves, they also are much more resistant to charms and bewitching spells than humans. However, unlike elves, half-elves do not have the same ability to go into a trance-like state instead of sleeping.
Civilization and Culture
History
Half-elves first appeared following the Grand Exodus of Man, when humans crossed the great seas and finally during the Palladian Era. At the time, many elves considered humanity to be an infestation, and resolutely worked to ensure blood purity amongst their kin. Others saw humans as an opportunity to ensure that the elven race would not fade in the face of the younger races and their faster reproductive cycles. Half-elves became caught between these two ideologies, and as the Palladian Empire crumbled, many on both sides blamed the half-elves for the collapse of their society. Even today, half-elves are considered by many elves to be a sign of weakness by their fore bearers and an enduring symbol of humanity's corrupting influence. And while many humans have no problem with half-elves in their communities, many half-elves struggle as they watch their human friends and families die decades before them, leaving them lost and alone in an already turbulent world.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
As stated before, half-elves often find themselves caught between two worlds. Many elves, particularly high elves, see half-elves as evidence for the corruption and failures of their ancestors, a persistent reminder of what—in their minds—caused the downfall of their great Palladian Empire. Many societies still led by high elves, such as the Kingdom of Faleret, have strict caste systems based on fey blood, making both humans, wood elves, and half-elves all socially subordinate to the high elf nobility.
Wood elves are less explicitly hostile to human-elf unions, with any fears about the offspring being wrapped up in concern that the child will lack a connection to their fey ancestry. Half-elves can often achieve higher status in wood elf societies than in high elf societies, though their shorter lives often means their accomplishments are overshadowed by their longer-lived peers.
Most humans have no problem with half-elves but half-elves frequently struggle to remain in human societies as humans age so much faster than half-elves, often leaving half-elves widowed or without familial ties. Some half-elves choose to live more closely with their elven kin, believing that whatever hostility they face pales in comparison to the grief and loneliness that comes from living in a human settlement. Because of this inner conflict, many half-elves live semi-nomadic lives, moving between the two societies as bards, merchants, diplomats, or even vagabonds.
Origin/Ancestry
Fey
Lifespan
150-180 years
Average Height
1.5-1.9 m. (5-6 f.t)
Average Weight
45.4-81.6 kg (100-180 lbs.)
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
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