Wood Elves
Basic Information
Anatomy
Wood Elves are the most humanlike of the elven races. Aside from their pointed ears and lithe forms, they resemble humans with light skin, either with dark or red hair, and green or brown eyes.
Biological Traits
Ability Score Increase: Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Fleet of Foot: Your base walking speed increases to 35.
Apex Predator: You have proficiency with all ranged weapons.
Darkvision
Keen Senses: You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Ecology and Habitats
Wood Elves call the lush woods of Claedwen home. Wood Elves are natural hunters, and are most at home in the trees or grass of meadows, or in areas where there is an abundance of nature in general. While it is not uncommon to see Wood Elves living within city walls, many find themselves more at home in the wilds and rural areas of the world.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Wood Elves often require sunlight to survive. If Wood Elf goes without sunlight for extended periods of time, they may become gravely ill, and experience a great deal of physical fatigue and atrophy, potentially leading to death.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Like other elven races, Wood Elves have heightened senses compared to humans.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Male: Caern, Freadan, Glear
Female: Tirwe, Gladwyn, Cernona
Beauty Ideals
Wood Elves prefer slim, athletic builds. They also value bronzed skin, and having a large portion of the body covered in traditional tattoos is a sign of great accomplishment and may be considered attractive.
Courtship Ideals
Arranged marriage is not very common among the Wood Elves, but it does occur, especially between noble families. The practice of consulting druids to find the right partner occurs in Wood Elven society like it does among Wild Elves, but it is usually more conservative families who participate in this. Many Elves take their partner on a hunt as a common courtship ritual.
Relationship Ideals
Wood Elves believe that both partner's happiness is most important in a relationship. Relationships with non-elves are typically accepted, although a relationship between a Wood Elf and Jorn may draw persecution due to the racial tension between these peoples. Prostitution, while not socially acceptable, is legal. Incest is illegal. Most "deviant" relationships are accepted, except among more traditional families.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Talevan (Wood Elven), Tusali (Snow Elven), Common
Common Etiquette Rules
Wood Elves are held to be generally kind to most people, with the exception of Jorns, for whom they hold a mutual racist sentiment. They are an amicable people known for their generosity. While respectful, they have little use for the formalities practiced by many other cultures in social interaction. The Wood Elves also do not typically drink, as they are known for not being able to hold their liquor.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Wood Elven culture is descended from the same culture practiced by the Wild Elves. Like the Wild Elves, they greatly value the natural world, and some of their cities are not built, but grown from trees and plants. However, unlike the Wild Elves, they do not shun more modern technology and lifestyles. Most large settlements within Claedwen are made from conventional materials like stone and wood. Their architectural style is somewhat similar to that of the Snow Elves, with elegant archways and larger buildings taking the form of spiraling towers.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
The Wood Elves have a custom of tattooing their life's accomplishments in artistic symbols on their bodies. An elf with many accomplishments may be covered from head to toe in a webwork of tattoos. To outsiders, these symbols may seem meaningless, but many wood elves know how to read this unique language. They also have burial practices similar to that of the Wild Elves, in which the deceased is buried and a sapling is planted over the grave as a marker, so that the body can nourish the new life. Wood Elven graveyards take the form of forests rather than a plot of stones.
History
The Wood Elves, Sunlight People, or Talevani were among the first elven peoples to split off from their Feyfolken ancestors. As the Feyfolk pushed deeper into the heart of Forgosia from what would become Tynera into future Sapphrian land, they came across countless hostile environments, ruled by the warring Dragons and Seraphs, which challenged them as they ventured forward. Aryavada and her mage-priests first split from the group, returning to the coast and traveling north to Sitala, an uninhabited frozen island. These people would become the Snow Elves, Starlight People, or Aryavani. The remaining Feyfolk pushed northward across the mainland, as to the south there was nothing but sprawling desert, and within was the kingdom of the Angels, who were hostile to the foreign Feyfolk. Eventually these travelers would come across a great forest, ruled by feral beastmen, but so dense that neither Angel nor Dragon cared for it. Here, Talevil and his followers, mostly woodsmen, huntsmen, and commoners, decided to stay, as it showed more promise than anywhere else they had yet been. It is said in legend that in a single song, Talevil tamed the forest for the Feyfolk, and the beast folk were changed as well. Who exactly these beast folk are is unknown, as no surviving record holds an account of there being a sentient people living within Claedwen prior to the arrival of the Feyfolk. Perhaps it is simply an extended metaphor for claiming Claedwen, or perhaps is nothing more that hyperbole told for dramatic effect. In any case, the Talevani settled in the upper boughs of Nach Talonne, where food and sunlight was abundant. They became dependent on the sun over time, and found they could hardly live without it for long. It is said their appearance changed as well, although as it is unknown how Feyfolk looked, none can say as to how drastic these changes were. They gradually developed their own culture, and emerged fully as the Wood Elven people. Near the end of the Age of Firstborn, a splinter group of elves would leave Claedwen and establish their own, small domain within the Augurwood in Sapphria. At some point in the late Formation Era to early Blood Age, one particular clan of Wood Elves was banished due to the amount of power they were gathering, which scared many of the other clans. This group was exiled into dark Jirbant Forest, and they were ousted underground, far from the warmth of the Sun. Many elves died in this exile, but those that survived gave rise to the new race of Dark Elves. The Wild Elves are also believed to be related to the Wood Elves, but the exact nature and cause of their divergence is unknown, as they are depicted and referred to relatively early in the Age of Firstborn. The Wood Elves themselves would maintain rule of their kingdom for hundreds of years, with a few interruptions, such as the Great Sapphrian Empire's conquest of Claedwen during the First Forgost Age. It was during this time that Claedwen underwent a great cultural change, and converted from their native pantheon to the Deretil Cult of the Sapphrians.
Common Myths and Legends
The Wood Elves follow the Deretil Pantheon, but also revere the spirits of the land. They have temples in devotion to their gods, but have no strict organization within the faith. They also worship the deities of the Ardsaidh faith, but revere them as saints, not true gods.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Out of the Elven races, Wood Elves overall have the best relations with foreign peoples. They are well accepted among both humans, as they generally live among them, and elves, with whom they share kinship. The main nation with which they have conflict is Rokara, as the borders between their two nations have never been well defined, and has led to a great deal of conflict throughout the years. Today, their is a certain degree of racist sentiment between the two peoples.
Genetic Descendants
Origin/Ancestry
Elven
Lifespan
120 years
Average Height
5'5"-6'
Average Physique
Due to fast metabolism, many Wood Elves are on the thinner side.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Fair skin, often adorned with a webwork of tattoos.