The Children of Fire are flighty and passionate race, given to grand gestures and towering passions. Among the Younger Races, the Elves are almost worshiped for their grace, beauty, and power. Fellow Elders view them differently, with attitudes ranging from open contempt to wary distrust.
Elves are the most outwardly passionate of the Elder Races, given to displays of emotion and sentiment. Despite their dedication to the here and now, they are a forward thinking race, able to construct plans that take centuries or millennia to complete.
The Elven Calendar displays this forward thinking method in the Elven psychology. It counts the number of days until a given event, rather than the number of days after a certain date. For more information on the Calendar, please see the Calendar Primer.
Elves are a tall, slender people, standing anywhere from 6' to 7'6" and weighting no more than 250 lbs. They have thin, beautiful faces, large eyes that seem to sparkle in the light, and backward swept ears that end in rounded points. Elven hands are usually long and reed-like, and many of them paint their nails.
Most have very fair, almost white skin that does not burn under the sun. A few (mostly from the far South near Minorlathdra and the Land of the South Wind) are slightly darker, with a light golden skin tone. Elven hair is brightly colored, ranging from an almost metallic red to deep purple and brilliant white. A few have two or even three toned hair, a naturally occurring phenomena that awes most humans.
Elves have an average natural life span of two thousand years, give or take two hundred years. For the majority of this span (until two hundred years before their death) they do not change physically, showing youthful vigor in all of their activities. As death creeps upon them, they slowly fade, until they are shriveled wraiths of their former selves. Then, a few days before they die, they flare up suddenly, spontaneously restored to the height of their powers. At the end of this short period they die, leaving behind a beautiful body.
Female Elves are smaller and lighter than their male counterparts. Very few of them reach seven feet in height, or weigh more than 210 lbs. Their ears are slightly more pointed, and their eyes burn just a bit more brightly under direct light.
Pregnancy is a rare condition among Elven females, and something that they greatly look forward too. Most women will bear no more than four children in their two thousand years of life, although they may be pregnant as many as twenty times. Gestation takes a total of twenty years, although the woman does not 'show' her pregnancy until the last year of the process. The gestation period has lengthened in the living memory of the Elves, leading many to suspect that some dark force is at work.
The information listed below holds true for all Elves, regardless of where they lived during their early years. The Elves of Aranathrin, who keep as much to the ancient ways as possible, are described in the Aranathrin primer.
Elves love children. All children, everywhere, all the time. Any child in an Elf's presence is spoiled rotten.
Elven children are carefully watched over, dotted upon, managed, and spoiled without reservation or regret. The parents will often completely give up their ordinary activities for fifty or a hundred years just to spend more time with the child. Elven neighbors shower it with affection and gifts, and would gladly give the parents 'a few days off', if the adults could be pried away.
All of this attention and affection has a strange, three-fold effect on children raised among the Elves. First, most are very, very spoiled. Second, by their thirtieth birthday they are usually ready to run away from home, just to get a little free time. Third, all Elves are deeply, intrinsic, absolutely convinced that the world is a good place where people care about and love each other.
By custom and tradition, a child does not graduate to maturity until he owns his own house. This house may be a hovel or a palace, but it is the first really permanent object that the Elf owns. Most Elves never give up their first house, even if they later move on to larger and more opulent residences.
Most Elves are highly educated, a side effect of the attention paid to them in their early years. Their parents teach them everything that the two of them know about history, poetry, dancing, battle, and magic. Most also get the best tutors money can buy in whatever subject the child may express any interest in.
Elves, no matter where they live, are almost always among the richest people in the land. Their ability to plan and realize the benefits from investments made literally hundreds of years in the past makes it possible for them to accumulate vast amounts of wealth. They use this wealth to insulate themselves from the hardships of the world, living lives of luxury and leisure.
Elves judge each other based on their accomplishments in six areas. These areas, sometimes called the Endeavors, are:
An Elf who is good at only one Endeavor is regarded with a certain amount of contemptuous pity. Elves who are not known to be good in any Endeavors are just regarded with contempt. This contempt is not stigmatized; if the Elf later proves that he actually has some level of skill, his original lapses are never mentioned again.
The greater an Elf's demonstrated skill in an Endeavor, the higher his status with other people who are involved with that Endeavor. Thus, a good musician is well regarded by other musicians.
The more Endeavors an Elf demonstrates competence or mastery in, the higher his personal standing in the community as a whole. Elves who are highly skilled in all of the Endeavors are sometime called 'Princes' or 'Princesses', and looked to for leadership and guidance in times of trouble.
Elves look to those who are skilled in the relevant Endeavor when problems arise. For example, if a question of Lore comes up, the local Elves will ask their highest status Lore savant for help. In times of War, elves skilled at the Endeavor of War are called upon to assist their lesser skilled brethren.
Contests of skill and ability are common whenever the Elves gather. Sometimes these contests are informal, reasonably friendly affairs with little status associated with winning or losing. Others are informal affairs that are carefully watched and measured, with each of the participants struggling for position. On rare occasions, one of the Elders of a House will sponsor a formal contest, complete with ceremonies and multiple forms of contention. These formal contests are usually held on the Day of the Last Battle, the first day in the Elven Calendar.
Other Folk are not judged by the standards of the Elves, unless they involve themselves with one or more contests dealing with the Endeavors. If they do, they suddenly find their status within the Elven community defined just like any Elf's. This can be extremely uncomfortable, especially when the person was unaware of the nature of the contest.
Elves organize themselves into societies called Houses. Each House represents a particular interest or area of endeavor that many Elves involve themselves with. Membership in a House is voluntary and mostly informal - if an Elf claims membership, then he probably is a member.
The origin of the Houses is a subject of myth and speculation. Legend holds that fifteen Princes gathered at the end of the Great War to discuss the growth of the Elven people. They disagreed about the correct path for everyone to take. Rather than fight among themselves, they agreed that each would gather Elves of like mind and try to live their own way. Which ever House was able to survive in the world would eventually come to represent the people a whole. Ten thousand years later, thirteen of the fifteen remain, reminders of disagreements that once shook the Elven world.
Claiming House membership means that other Elves will look to the claimant when issues related to his House arise. If the Elf demonstrated anything other than absolute competence in the area, the others will either ignore or ridicule him. Should this happen often in the presence of other Elves claiming the same membership, they might have a few firm words with the gentleman about making claims that cannot be substantiated.
Most Houses maintain Lodges in the major Elven cities. An Elf claiming membership in the house may take up residence in the Lodge in return for helping the other members of the Lodge in their endeavors. On the Day of the Last Battle, the Lodges throw massive parties, to which all House members are invited. No one minds if outsiders attend as well.
The thirteen Houses are:
For Elves, the Elven language is a vital and important part of their culture. It expresses who and what they are, more clearly than any other tongue. To their ears, it is perfectly adapted to their music, poetry, literature, and wills.
The Language has a number of dialects, each rooted in the area where the elves live. Thus, there is Timro Elven, Lopanese Elven, Eastern Elven, Aranathrin Elven, etc. A fluent speaker of one of the Elven dialects can understand people who speak in other dialects of the language.
Aranathrin Elven is considered the 'purest' of the dialects. It does hold truer to the roots of the Elven language, but time and use have introduced some level of drift.
The Elves are a literate people. All elven children are taught to read and write at an early age. Even in the Diaspora Elves have a 97% literacy rate, no matter where they live or the literacy rate of the people that they live among. Elves who cannot read are regarded as being strangely crippled, as if their mental development were arrested at an early childlike stage.
Elven men and women are considered equals in all things. The only disparity between the sexes is that women are expected to grow up and purchase a house several decades before men. Given the overly protective nature of Elven parents, most women do not disagree with this.
Sexual mores among the Elves are very relaxed as well. They are not equipped with any body consciousness or nudity taboos, at least when among other Elves. Relations between members of the opposite (or same) sex are casual and open, at least before marriage. It is not uncommon for an Elf to have dozens of lovers of either sex, and think nothing of spending time with members of other races. It is important to note that the Elves do not place great weight on these little affairs, and do not
Under Elven law, there are three legitimate kinds of marriage:
Traditionally, a woman may not marry until she owns a house. Men leave their own houses to live in their wives residence, although this custom is sometimes ignored in the case of an Ithelael marriage.
Men propose marriage to the women by offering them an object with the symbols of the marriage (Moon and Stars, Two Spirits, or Two Trees Twining) on it. If the woman accepts the gift, she is accepts the implied proposal. If she does not, the man can at least pretend that she just didn't like the gift.
An Elf's name is a matter of personal choice that he constructs to say something about himself. Only children accept the name given to them by their parents. Many elves go though six or seven names in the course of their long lives, each selected to express something meaningful about the elf at that period of his life.
Elven names, translated out of Elven, can be anything from 'Night Flowers in the Sun' (Dulothanoresse) to 'The Man of a Thousand Lives' (Menecoiadan). They are always lengthy constructions, and are only used in full when someone is trying to be respectful. Most Elves ask their friends to refer to them by shortened versions of their chosen name.
Young Elves (those under five centuries) often take a second name along with their first. The second name is a 'family' name, or the name of the marriage (see below) that birthed the child. An Elf who feels especially close to his parents might keep that marriage name until he is himself married.
Elves can consume without harm a small amount of meat every day. Most are quite happy to avoid eating meat entirely, and do not seem to suffer any ill effects from this choice. They eat more than a human of comparable weight; usually between two thousand and three thousand calories a day. Their reliance on vegetables and grain forces them to consume a large volume of food, sometimes three times as much as a comparable human meal.
Elven psychology is dominated by the following traits:
The combination of Empathy and Pride is especially painful in Elven society. Their pride drives them to compete with each other, to see who is the best, the strongest, the most skilled. Their empathy with others, their deep understanding of how the emotions of others feel, gives them insight into the pain and shame felt be who lose to their fellows.
Humans stand in awe of the Elves, an effect of the Elves beauty, power, and wealth. Many human children, exposed to Elven adults, wish that they could be elves. Sometimes the awe Humans feel towards their long lived neighbors shades into anger, envy, jealousy, and lust. When the more negative emotions begin to appear, the Elves tend simply to move away for a few hundred years, then return with the grandchildren of the people who hated them are long dead.
Wolven nearly worship the Elves gods, although most will never actually meet one of the "Shining People". Elven characters are intricately bound up with every positive aspect of Wolven mythology. A tremendous amount of Wolven technology came from a ruined Elven city. The Wolven written language uses a combination of Elven and unique characters. The almost reverent attitude of the Wolven annoys many of the Elves, who think that the awe is somewhat misplaced.
Gnomes maintain an open relationship with the Elves, especially those in the Diaspora. The two Folk are friendly with each other. Sometimes the Elders of the Gnomes come to the older Elves for assistance in times of trouble.
The Ogres have not yet forgiven the Elves for the insanity of the Rune War. Given a choice, Ogres avoid Elves entirely. When forced to interact with them, they keep the contacts brief and shallow. While this rule applies to Elves in general, certain of the Houses (most notably the Collorandir and the Lothlach) have much better relations with the Children of the Mind. Individual Elves may, by spending more time among the Ogre than other Elves would be willing to, find that their welcome increases over time.
Relationships with the Dwarves, long strained by the destruction of Baldordra and the Balgor Mountain Range, have recently taken a turn for the better. The Dwarves as a group are slowly coming to regard the Elves in a slightly more positive light. The Elves, at least those in Aranathrin, are following the lead of their beloved King and Queen in extending an open hand to the Children of Earth. Among the Elves of the Diaspora, though, the Dwarves are still regarded as being just a few steps better than animals. This contempt is often returned by the Dwarves, who regard Elves as spiteful children.
The Elves are found in several places in the world of Sedena. These settlement patterns are unique to the Elves and reveal a great deal about their personalities and culture.
The Kingdom of Remembrance was founded just after the Rune War, as a safe-haven for the Children of Fire. Over the millennia, the country has become a world power, trading with both Timro and the people of the East on a regular basis. The cities of Aranathrin are the oldest in the world, and some of the most beautiful.
Other races, even the Ogres, are uncomfortable in the predominately Elven cities. Elves in Aranathrin have free reign to be themselves, following their ancient ways. Of all the races, Humans are probably the best suited for the constant and subtle struggles for status that occur on every street corner.
Aranathrin is perhaps the richest country in the world. They possess a level of magical sophistication matched only by the Ogres. The standard of living in an Aranathrin city is far beyond what human nobles or merchants could dream.
Many Elves, scattered during the Rune War, live among the Humans in small (single family) groups. These Elves interact with humans on a daily basis, rather than spending time among their own kind. Their long life spans and remarkable planning abilities enable them to secure positions of luxury and privilege. Over the centuries, many Elves become icons within their communities, constant parts of the background.
Elves in the Diaspora grow up under intense pressure. Their parents are almost always important figures in the human community. They are sought after, almost form birth, as desirable companions by the parents of human children who hope to profit by the association. As they grow, they learn that nothing, ever, will be denied to them.
Occasionally, a community in trouble lashes out at the Elves. The beautiful and powerful Elders make excellent targets for unreasoning hate and rage. These uprisings are temporary, but do result in the death, rape, or torture of small groups of Elves. These events are one of the primary 'examples' that the Delothfir point to when arguing that Elves should stay among their own kind.
Diaspora Elves feel snubbed by their cousins in Aranathrin. They also feel a certain measure of envy; no matter how rich or powerful they become among humans, Aranathrin is always more powerful, possessed of greater wealth. Even if they are masterful craftsmen honored in a dozen countries, Aranathrinath treat them as though they were complete unknowns.
Some groups of Elves, sickened by the excesses of the Rune War, retreated from the world entirely into sealed communities called Holdings. Powerful Spirits and magical powers unknown in the later world guard many of these places from the rest of the world.
Each Holding is a unique world into itself. Some are small villages, others are almost complete other worlds filled with forests and sunlight. All of them share a quiet peace that forbids violence, rage, or hate.
There are no more than two hundred Holdings in the entire world. One is known to exist somewhere in the Deep Forest, just above the human Eastern Terratories. Another was in the city of Minyanarbar, lost in the Spine of the World. The Elves of Minyanarbar returned to mainstream Elven society of their own accord in the year 2942.
Some Elves leave the Holding of their birth to experience the outside world. Most of them do not return to the insular world of their birth.
Within the Sedenan system, being Elven gives the following advantages and disadvantages:
When rolling Attributes, Elves may use:
|
IQ |
15 |
MA |
15 |
ME |
15 |
|
PER |
15 |
PB |
30 |
PE |
15 |
|
PP |
20 |
PS |
15 |
SPD |
20 |
The Elves do not have any noticeable disadvantages within the system. They are, however, often the target of the attentions of the Old Ones.