Half-Elves

Half-Elves are not an strange thing in Yeia. Hostile relations between elves and humans weren't common at least in some places like the continent of Teria. So due to the contact between both races couples began to be formed in some cases between a human and an elf. In the past, these unions were not strange but they were very infrequent in comparison to recent times, as the elves didnt want the humans to get access so easily to the magical powers of the elves.
Nowadays, due to the annexation of some elven territories the birth ratio of half elves has increased. As one half elf author once said:

We, who were few in ancient times have grew in numbers and became a common sight in the realms inhabited by men and elves. And as many have stated, we're not an abbomination, we're the fruit of the love between people of two races. This doesn't or shouldn't make us feel superior to others, but proud of our legacy. Sure we are smarter than most humans, but also we are as stubborn as some elves . Sure we can't live for many centuries like our ancestors, but this  two centuries and a half or so that we live, we live it intensively, full of emotions, of love, sadness, tears and smiles.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Anatomically speaking half elves are very simillar to humans although a bit taller. Also they have pointy ears although smaller than those of the elves. their skin tends to be lighter than humans although half elves with darker tones of skin can be found.

Biological Traits

Half elves life span is around 150- to 200 years. That sounds like a lot of time in comparisson with humans, but is almost half of the lifespan of elves. Of course the sons of a union of two half elves are considered half elves themselves, with the same powers and traits as their parents. But as the half elves mix with humans, the further they do so, the less elven blood their descendants have and thus they became humans again and loose their magical capabilities. The opposite happens when the half elves mix with elves, if that happens, there will be a point were after generations their descendants would end up becomming full elves again.
Their elven ancestry also influence their appearance, the color of their skin and of their hair. For example, half elf children of moon elves usually have lighter skin color and white hair, the sons of sun elves would have darker skin tones etc. ... .

Genetics and Reproduction

The reproduction and gestation of the half elves is the same as humans and elves.

Growth Rate & Stages

Half elves tend to grow and get older slowly than humans but faster than the elves.. A half-elf is considered as an adult when he or she reaches 45-50 years old, and even at that age they tend to look like they're 16 or 18 years old. So it's not usual that most of them reach adulthood when their human parents (either father or mather) are elderly or had passed away while their elven parent keep taking care of them, as elves could live for centuries .

Ecology and Habitats

Due to his common ancestry, they can live either in the woods, snowy places (if their elvish parent is an snow elf), near the sea or even in the desert)., but most of them tend to live in the cities alongside humans and fellow half elves. This is a proof not only of the adaptability of the elves but also of their mixed offspring and also of the acceptance into the human society.

In the desert, half elves live mostly among elves, as they inhabited most of the desert in Karia. And as their relatives they live in cities near oasis. In snowy, cold climates elves live either in cities in the mountains or in cities built entirely in the interior of caves , where they spend the coldest days and almost the entirety of winter, before exiting them when spring and summer arrives.

In case of they live in the forests, due to the size of the trees, its not strange to find cities on the top of the trees, or in the forest glades.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Their position in society depends on the regions they live and the States where they were born into. For example in the Seris and Blatian Empires, as well as in the Elvish-Oronai kingdoms they enjoy the same rights as the rest of the population, and you can find half elf nobles and also half elf commoners, what matters is the class you're born rather your race.
On the contrary, half elves in some regions of Northern Karia are considered an abomination, and are either persecuted or enslaved, usually employed for the most despicable works.

Facial characteristics

The most caracteristic feature in half elves are their pointy ears. They are similar to human ears but pointy as their elven relatives. They usually have long noses and  slighly bigger eyes than humans.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Half elves are common in the South territories of the Seris Empire and in the South of the Continent of Teria (the  Elvish-Oronai peoples )and in the frontier regions of the Blatian Empire.

Average Intelligence

Half-elves are more intelligent than humans, they excell at diplomacy, strategy, they learn magic and alchemy faster than humans and have access to powerfull spells only elves can perform.
Because of that they're highly appreciated by any state or army that relies on magic; or to every hospital or adventurer's guild. Due to their intelligence half elves are very useful as diplomats or ambassadors.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Half elves have a more developed sight than humans thanks to their elvish ancestry and also due to this they are capable of having very powerfull magic skills . In fact, alongside their elven relatives they are the only ones in Yeia that can reach the highest levels of magic and produce the most powerfull spells.
It is said that the half elves can feel the magic power that surrounds them and use it if needed. Also depending on the elven "race" of their parents they can extract different magical energy from various objects or places. So, for example, half elves born from a forest elf, would extract their energy from the trees and the spirits of the forest, while the descendants of moon elves might extract their magical powers or energy from the light of the moon, sun elves, from the sun etc... .

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

It depends on the kindoms and cultures that they belong to. Half elves may have Oronai, Seris or Blatian names depending of the kingdom where they were born.

In Blati  half elves might have names such as: Eutychius, Flavianus, Claudius, Verus, Sabinus, Heraclius, Niketas, Eudoxia, Memmia, Yocasta...

In the Oronai and the elvish-oronai realms the most common names among the half elves are: Menander,  Triphon, Epander, Antiochos, Puppa and Golaria. 

Major Organizations

They are a significant part of the population in the Elvish-Oronai Kingdoms as well as in the  The Kingdom of Steplia and 10% of the population of the The Blatian Empire . They are also a very visible minority in the southern territories of the Seris Empire

Relationship Ideals

Half elves are usually heterosexual, but relations between people of the same sex are not rare, and of course are tolerated in many of the countries in which they live.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Half-Elves speak the language of the kingdoms in which they are born. Most of them speak Oronai as this is the place where most of them live, but there are also Blatian speakers and Seris speakers. Note that when they came across other half elves from a different country they tend to speak "the common tongue" that is the elvish language, or at least his "classical" form, also known as common elvish, that is also used to talk with their elven relatives.

Common Dress Code

It deppends on the region, culture and kingdom they belong to. For example half-elf seris would dress as their seris human counterparts while the elvish- oronai dress is a mixture of both elvish and oronai fashions.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Half elves are attached to both worlds, human and elf, and, because of that their culture and way of thinking is shaped by the heritage of both worlds. As it has been stated with many other aspect, there is no a single "unified" half elvish culture. There are certainly common features among all the half elves across Yeia, one of them is this hybrid human-elf way of live. But in terms of culture, of being part of a cultural group, the "human" side of this culture is determined by the country in which this half elves lived or have being raised.

For example a half elf born in Blatian territory would certainly behave and think as a Blatian, he would speak Blatian, worship the Blatian Gods, and share the same culture as their fellow human blatians. The same would happen if the person has been born in a Oronai realm, on in the Seris Empire.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Elvish is the language that half elves used when they encounter fellow half elves from another realms. Half elves across the world seem also to follow or at least have very good knowledge of the Elf Calendar as most of them participate in the elven religious festivals and also pay tribute to the elven gods, either their native elven form or as a syncretic religion identifying the elven gods with the human ones .

Half elves also worship the elven Sacred Trees and usually are more respectful towards nature than humans.

History

The first half eves in mythology:

According to the oldest texts, both human and elven ones, the first half elves attested in mythology are some of the legendary kings and characters of the epic tale The Siege of Dorstulon, the city of the Ten Walls, in which some human characters marry elves. This has been used by both the elves and humans, specially the Davidovian Peoples, the most friendly of the humans towards the elves, to explain why half elves are just a "normal thing" to their societies. Centuries of cultural and technological exchange and trade have made this societies very close together.

There is a period for the half elves known as the Great Birth Era in which the number of half elves in many states increased exponentially. For example in the Seris empire after the annexation of the elven territories to the south, or the most widely known example, the Oronai conquest of the elven petty kingdoms in the South of Teria and after that the formation of the Elvish-Oronai Kingdoms of Brire and Stormitia.

According also to some legends some of the first monarchs of some of the states formed by the Davidovian peoples (such as the Kingdom of Oronia or the Ikarian Empire), either mythical or historical were half elves.

Historical Figures

• Amyntas I of Steplia: Second king of the Kingdom of Steplia
• Zoisos III, king of Brire
• Vanish of Kush: seris adventurer
• Euthychius of Morium : Blatian stadists and general. 

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Half-Elves can marry either Humans, Elves or other Half-elves. In the territories inhabited by the Davidovian Peoples (Blatians, Seris, Oronai and Crorai), they are consider equal to humans and they don't suffer any kind of discrimination. As for the Elves, they consider them as if they were full blooded elves, although some half-elves have stated that some elves view them with compassion as they wouldn't become as powerfull in the magic or live longer as the elves.

Origin/Ancestry

Offspring of an union between a human and an elf

Lifespan

Around 250 years

Average Height

Their height is similar of that of humans, the tallest a half elf can be is 2'10m high.

Average Weight

Half elves are thiner than humans, and as many observed, most of them never tend to be fat. This perhaps is due to not only their physiology but also their diet as many of them consume less meat than the average human.

Average Length

1'80 m to 2 meters high.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Colouring is a typical feature of some elven tribes, the sun elves, forest and snow elves usually display facial and body painting. This feature can also be adopted by their half elf descendants either because they think its a tribute to their elven origins or just because they think its "fashionable"
For example, half elves in Seria can display body and face painting in their daily lives or during the religious festivals, or in some ocassions such as a marriage, a child's birth or a funeral. In contrast the half elves of Stormitia tend to paint their faces when they go to war, to show their elven ancestry and also to scare the enemy. But at the same time, their half elf brothers to the north, at Brire, closer to their human Oronai relatives considered this practice of facial painting for war as something only barbarians would do, as they only paint their faces at certain religious festivals.

Related Organizations

• Kingdom of Brire

Related Ethnicities

• Elvish-Oronai peoples
• The Blatians