Dem'Alfar the Half Elves

On the South and Eastern borders of the settled lands of Valenica lies a thick and wild forest that the humans call the Endless Green. While the periphery borders of this vast and uncharted forest provide Valencians with game, foodstuffs, lumber and more rich natural resources, few have dared to venture more than a few days travel within its bounds. While some believe that the Alfar are a mere legend, the foresters and trappers of Valalfar, the Vale of the Elves, know full well that the lands are claimed and inhabited by the mysterious and feared elves, the Alfar. with both races extremely wary of the other, and strife occurring more than peace, there is little interaction between the two. However, over the centuries some tenuous relationships between the Alfar and humankind have developed. Likewise some humans have even developed somewhat trusting trade and social relationships with individual or small groups of elves.

Even rarer than interactions between humans and the Alfar is the romantic pairing of the two. Culturally the two races are almost at odds; physically the differences between life spans make the deep bond of love almost impossible from the elf's perspective. As the Alfar live for centuries, they tend to not relate well to humankind, whose lives flash by in the blink of an elfin eye. It would be akin to humans meeting an adult of another race and trying to give all of their heart to them all while knowing that they will grow old and perish in the span of just a few of our human years. Despite these differences, the occasional Alfar and human do have romantic or sexual relations. While the Alfar are not very fertile and reproduce at a much slower rate than humankind, an occasional half-human, half-elvin offspring has been born. These Dem'alfar, literally translating in the common tongue to Half Elf are the result of such unions. Called Dem'alfar by polite human society, mongrels or muds by the banal, and Pherfren by the Alfar (half-human), the half elves are scarcely seen in Valencia, and a half elf openly showing his heritage beyond the borders of Valalfar or Greenwood is an almost unheard of scandal.

Dem'alfar tend to be slightly shorter than the average human, lighter in build and complexion, and more lithe and graceful. Not unlike their hybrid cousins the leatumaor (half-orcs), the life of a half elf is difficult. While they look more like a lithe and graceful human, there is enough elf in their features to immediately set them apart, most notable of which is that their ears tend to be slightly pointed unlike humans' rounded ears. Other than physical differences with humans, the Dem'alfar live roughly two and a half times as long as they typical human being. While this lifespan is considerably shorter than the longevity of a true Alfar, the differences in rates of maturity can be stark, and cause much upheaval socially. The Dem'alfar raised among the Alfar grow into physical adult maturity much faster than true elves. While the half-elf has the body and physical abilities of a fully gown being, they are, at least by Alfarian standards, still a child. To the Dem'alfar this is also painfully obvious as their childhood acquaintances are still children when they are fully grown. Mentally this is also evident as the half-elvin youths still haven't learned the nuances and florid details of elven ways. Their intricate art, complex grammar, and lifestyle in general is barely known and not at all mastered.

Conversely, Dem'alfar raised among humans have the related problem of their human counterparts maturing at a much accelerated rate compared to them. Not only do human children reach their full maturity while the half-elven is still physically a child, but the Dem'alfar are obviously of a different ilk than humanity. The half elves find themselves to be much more sanguine than the typical human youth. They are more sensitive, more in communion with nature, more prone to being fascinated by the hidden and underlying causalities of things than the things themselves, and their tendency to intellectually analyze everything makes them seem aloof and distant to humans. While the Dem'alfar are human enough to be somewhat accepted amongst humans, and elvish enough to be accepted within the ranks of the Alfar, they are likewise just different enough to always feel out of place, alien, and never as part of the community as a whole.

Because of their disassociation from both humankind and elves, most half-elves tend to choose the life of the loner. Unlike their hybrid half-orcish counterparts, they are not ostracized as vile violent monsters, but while still subjected to the prejudices of humanity, they are typically treated with caution and mild suspicion in lieu of outright contempt and hatred. Despite this near-acceptance, most Dem'alfar tend to settle within or wander the more remote outskirts that border between the wilderness and human lands.

There they typically find the solace of nature that appeals to them while still being close enough to human civilization that they can strike a sort of balance between their human and Alfarian sides. Frontier humans tend to be more friendly and easy-going than their urban counterparts and the Dem'alfar that inhabit the border lands between the frontier settlements and the wild lands are often seen as protectors of both humanity and the wilderness, protecting humans from the monsters of the unknown. However some of these elf-human offspring discover that their sensitivity to matters of the soul and heart makes them adept artists and musicians. These sorts of creative professions are something the half-elves excel at, living longer than humans do they can spend decades instead of years honing their artistry and crafts. Such half-elven artisans and minstrels can make a comfortable and even affluent living utilizing their creative skills.

Being in the group, but not of the group, can be lonely but it does have its advantages. The ability to go wherever one's heart guides them allows the likes of me, a meager minstrel, to see wonders and mysteries beyond the keening of simple folk that live their days chained to their plows. For instance, did you know that the Endless Green is not endless? Let kem tell you about what is beyond its Alfar-patrolled borders...

— Geldaolan GrayCape, famous Dem'Alfar minstrel

The Dem'alfar speak no individual language, their tongue being determined by the people and area within which they were raised. Those raised among the Alfar tend to speak a less-than eloquent version of their native language. The can speak it properly, but the nuances of the inflections ad the multiple forms of tenses tend to be beyond their grasp. Those raised by humans tend to have easily mastered the much more primitive and banal speech of their local region. Most Dem'alfar raised by humans speak several human languages with perfect mastery and an eloquence that few nobles can match. On the peripheries of human lands the Dem'alfar often find their place as wandering minstrels, scouts, lone protectors, and often act as traders peddling human wares that the Alfar can use in exchange for Alfar-manufactured luxury and art items. It is also rumored that the muds (a derogatory term for those of half Alfar blood) make great sorcerers, their dual heritage allowing them to walk the line between logic and emotion with ease.

by Dirk Reznik

Typical Dem'Alfars look very much like fair-complected lithe and smaller-built humans but with pointed ears, fine and beautiful features, and a zeal for life that combines the nuanced and expansive mastery of the Alfar with the energy and curiosity of the human.

Never truly accepted by either line of parentage, the Dem'Alfar are almost always initially viewed with trepidation.  However, they are just human enough, and just elven enough to garner acceptance in either society; but never feel at peace in either.