The Dharlur

The Dharlur are a group of people that can be found in the south of the country Trü'en on the continent Asteria. The population size varies from source to source between 800 and 1000 people, which are divided into several clans along the southern border of the country.
The most commonly known thing about the Dharlur is their knowledge and control over the different kinds of elemental magic. They are known for producing some of the most powerful sorcerers of all of Trü'en only matched by the most studious of wizards or naturally talented people. The Dharlur are mostly elves and dryads, though some other races can also be found frequently.
The power of the Dharlur isn't based on nothing though, even with their great knowledge and power most others that study the Arcane avoid the clans due to their cruel, bloody traditions that lead to the amazing sorcerers known across the land.
At the age of 5 the training begins for all those born in one of the Dharlur tribes, they are consistently trained in the use of the elements Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Shadow and Lightning. Additionally they all learn how to read and write at least two different languages depending on their heritage and the tribe they grow up in.
When they turn 9, the element they have the greatest affinity for is determined by using ancient stone each representing one of the elements. The kid decides on their own what element they feel they have the most affinity to, if they choose wrong the stone releases a shocking blast of energy of the element it belongs to. This results in horrific wounds and sometimes even death of the child. The reasoning behind this is the principle that a sorcerer who can't even see what they are most connected with will never be truly powerful. People that failed this test are banned from continuing their training if they survive and will always bear the mark of their failure in the form of wounds and scars.
Those that pass this first test are faced with another at the age of 15. Having studied the different elements and their affinity-element in particular they now have to compete in a tournament against the 15 year old from their own and the other tribes with the same affinity. For this all tribes journey once a year to the Great Plateau, a landmark to the north of the tribes with great open fields. The fights in the tournament are brutal and often result in serious injuries or death, though that isn't the worst a Dharlur can face in the tournament. At the end, only the best 3 of each element receive the honor of an affinity-name, a name that replaces their old name and represents the power and control over their affinity-element. Not being among the top three is a reason for shame in the eyes of many of the Dharlur tribes and even though no one is cast out because of it, a lot of the surviving people leave the clans for at least a few years in search of restoring their honor.
In the eyes of the Dharlur one can only restore their honor by mastering the elements better and never ceasing to improve and become more powerful. This is why most of the traveling Dharlur can be found in mercenary groups or in the armies of countries across the lands. Some decide to search for knowledge in books instead but most of them crave to use their powers without restraint too much to stay captivated by reading alone.

Naming Traditions

Geschlechtsneutrale Namen

The affinity-element names given to the most powerful of the Dharlur are all gender neutral only differentiated by the element they represent.
Water Glacis, Monsun ,Glayce, Meere, Azure
Fire Zinder, Lavis, Kindra, Fuego, Feua, Blaze
Earth Core, Dune, Kiesel, Grav, Soile
Shadow Heinios, Hayes, Finis, Exan, Obscuras
Air Spirus, Aeros, Breyze, Wolco, Vox
Lightning Fulgo, Flash, Fara, Blitza, Donnus

Andere Namen

The few Dharlur that win in the tournament at the age of 15 receive a special name related to their affinity-element, that replaces their old name.

Ideals

Schönheitsideale

The Dharlur are a versatile group of people with a lot of different races and therefore different understanding of beauty in the physical sense. However the Dharlur admire magical power and knowledge, they are curious to a fault. Therefore the most common beauty ideal that can be found throughout the different tribes is knowledge and magical power coupled with the knowledge of how to handle it.

Umwerbungsriten

There are no special customs for a normal courtship. However when a person wants to propose to their significant other they produce a special object that reflects the persons personality as well as their affinity-element. The object has to be made by the person themselves without the help of other people. This results in a lot of people learning the basics of different manufacturing processes to ensure that they'll be able to produce the perfect proposal object for their loved one.
When a person is proposed to and reciprocates the emotion they have time to produce the special item for their significant other. After the ceremony the two objects are tied together with a rope the color of the color blend their affinity-elements create.
Common colors for the different elements:

• water: blue

• fire: red

• earth: green

• air: white

• shadow: grey

• lightning: purple

The shade of the color differs depending on the people.

Related Items

• Unique Artefact Prompt// Dharlur Elemental Stones