Elven
The Elven, the spiritual children given mortal form.
They are said to come from across the barrier that keeps spiritual forces separate. That is where their true homeland, Alrayai, stands. It is in the afterlife, the aether, beyond the veil, whatever one may call it. When they die, they may return to that plane to find Alrayai again. Even knowing this, they still held power and land in Xanthiri.
Before the Scourge, the Elven were among the few races to stand to fight the mighty Dragons, each vying for power over the continent. Although they were nearly defeated thousands of years ago, Elven culture is still around after all those years.
Centuries of war and conflict have done nothing to dampen the resilience of the elves, ensuring the survival of their culture. Although Thandava is the last true elven nation, it has fended off invasion after invasion. Even those elves who live within the boarders of other nations, those elves who do not know their ancient culture, or even language, are welcome to Alrayai if worthy.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Elves are humanoid, with varying heights and body types that skew towards androgynous.
Biological Traits
Elven hair is always white, believed to be the result of spiritual beings living on the mortal plane. Another characteristic is that they have long, pointed ears. They tend to have little sexual dimorphism. Eye color varies, but are typically bright and reminiscent of an elemental affinity.
Sylph
Sylphs tend to have more ice and air type affinities, resulting in blue and grey eyes, sometimes with silver or white rings. They have fair skin, a result of their northern environment and close proximity to humans.Nymph
Nymphs have light olive to brown skin with wavy to curly white hair. They have an affinity for earth and plant based magic, so their eyes are brown or green most of the time.Naiaid
The Naiads are the tallest elves, and very slender. Their dark skin has cool undertones. Their affinity for water magic results in blue to green eyes.Hesperide
The elves of the west have medium to dark skin, warm or cool. Fire magic is common for them, so they have golden, amber, and red eyes.Genetics and Reproduction
They can reproduce with the other sentient species. Half elves tend to take on a lighter hair color of the other parent, never having fully white hair. Their ears are only slightly pointed.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Elves are more likely to be mages or have some connection to magic than any other race.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
Thandava, Valaris, Maena'ha, Guardians of the Pyre
Gender Ideals
Elven culture has never had a concept of gender. Sex traits are simply random physical traits one can have with no assigned meaning. Having certain sex traits, such as fat distribution, body hair, or genitals, are akin to that of eye shape, height, or skin type. That being said, there is less sexual dimorphism in elven populations. They typically appear more androgynous than other races, but body types can still vary.
Physical sex is only really important in animal husbandry. There is male, female, and intersex classification, athan, athar, and athaz. It is in poor taste to refer to a person in this way, it would be comparing them to an animal and reducing them to genitals. It is a common mistake for non elves to refer to themselves in this way, much to the horror of native speakers.
Instead of referring to someone as masculine, feminine, or androgynous, they use comparisons to the closest thing they can think of. For example, a very feminine person would be referred to as “very moon-like” or “moon-touched.” Very masculine people would be called “earth-born” or “loved by the earth.” Androgynous folks may be referred to as “sun-like” or “sun-touched.”* There can be any combination to describe presentation, and sometimes applied to gender, being the closest they have. They may say “that moon-touched person” when referring to a woman, to get the point across, or simply use Common words with an Elvhen accent.
Relationship Ideals
In ancient times, there were no genders to be attracted to, and thus was never an issue about who could love who. As the elves began to interact more with other races and were exposed to other genders, that began to shift. Nowadays, elven societies tend to be pansexual in nature.
In more strict elven households, mainly in Thandava, it is ideal to marry other elves. In cases where reproduction is desired or necessary, surrogate parents are easy to find if the couple can't have their own children. There are also magical practices that allow same sex couples to reproduce, but these practices are experimental, and mage doctors that specialize in it are less common.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Marriage
Traditionally, arranged marriages were dictated by astrology. Those with comparable signs were said to have prosperous marriages. The stars are still consulted in general, but arranged marriages are less heard of in modern times. The couple makes a journey to a temple of Yanonia, Elvhen deity of love and marriage, to be wed. These temples are located outside of cities, for the journey together is meant to be part of the ceremony. At the temple, the couple's hands are bound together by rope. The ends are burned in a flame blessed by Aljaan, then they are doused in water. Being washed over by specially blessed water ties their souls together in the stream of fate.Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Elves have a long, ongoing feud with the Draconic, who were their enemies before the Scourge. To this day, they do not trust each other, and tend to place blame on the other. On the flip side of this, only the Draconic understand what the Elven have gone through, and vice versa.
Their relationships with humans does not fare much better, as they also took advantage of the weakened Elven forces in the aftermath of the Scourge. Antagonism against humans is especially heated in the west.
Dwarven actually do get along well with the Elven, prominent Dwarven forces often allying with them.
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