Elf, High

High Elves are both feared and respected in Odach. Earning their names from how tall they appear on horseback, High Elves traditional mix a mastery of animal husbandry with powerful magic, making them the most formidable nomadic people on the continent. Despite their reputation as warlords and raiders, most Elven tribes prefer friendly, peaceable interactions with those they come across, often trading goods from place to place to earn whatever they need. High Elves typically learn magic through oral tradition, possessing no form of written language themselves. Despite this, High Elves are generally fast learners, and often prove to be much more intelligent than appearances let on.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

High Elven tribes generally share a great respect for animals, especially horses. In combat, it is seen as the ultimate symbol of disrespect to kill or wound another's mount. The greatest way to insult a High Elf, generally, is to insult their horse.

Common Etiquette rules

Elves are expected to have control of their horse mounts at all times. A horse's behavior and mannerisms reflect on the horse's rider, and as such if your horse is a coward, High Elves will treat you as a coward as well.

Common Dress code

High Elves typically dress in hide and animal skins. Some tribes herd sheep as well as horses, and as a result these tribes are often seen dressed in woolen clothes. While most High Elves are capable of remembering one or two spells off the cuff, many High Elves cover themselves in tattoos with instructions and material components for spells written in a special script.

Art & Architecture

High Elves generally set up camps that are hidden and camouflaged as best as possible. When inhabited, resources stored in secret locations are taken out and rapidly constructed into perimeters of wood, covered by a large tarp made of stitched hide. The resulting structure is large enough to inhabit a family of High Elves and their horses. Large tribes see as many as 300 of these structures built at a time. When it is time to leave, the resources to build these structures are packed away, buried, then covered with leaves to disguise their location. High Elf tribes move from one of these locations to another constantly, typically moving roughly once every month, with the coming of one Full Moon, and arrive at their next destination within a day or two. In between their stays at the larger, more developed locales, High Elves carry smaller tents that only provide enough shelter for two people each.
As for art, the interior of the tarp ceilings of these elf structures are decorated with images of High Elves and their horse mounts, usually meant to be the ancestors of the Elves residing there, and seen as a symbol of their ancestors watching over them as they sleep.

Coming of Age Rites

High Elves come of age after two things happen: the individual learns their first spell, and the individual tames their first horse. This process takes some time to complete, and varies in length from person to person.

Diverged ethnicities

• Elf, Wood
• Human, Zogiri