Arcane Elves

[Nazerine]

"It's a fallacy to think that you can simply wander into a human town and expect fairness. You'll be a fool if you forget to doubt, and an even greater fool if you forget your place." - Zenalden Friar, Councillor.

Name: Indoli’drivyr. Pronounced 'Ein-doul-lee-driv-yer'. Nicknames: Arcane Elves, City Elves, Pointy-ears. Lifespan: 500 - 700 years. Reputation: Secluded and solemn. Common Classes: Magi, Bards, Wizards. Racial Gods: Fal'darra. Racial Attributes: +5 Knowledge, +5 Intelligence. * Able to Gain a lesser familiar as a companion. * Weapon Specialisation with Staves. * Specialisation against Fey. Capital: Not avaliable.

Origins

All the elves used to be the children of the Sun and Moons countless ages in the past. They sung songs in the dead of night as well as during daylight. They hunted and thanked nature for her gifts. But as with any creatures that possess keen intellect and higher understanding, they too eventually became curious about the true nature of things. It wasn’t long until the esoteric arts of magecraft were discovered. In fact, it came easily to many.

It was no surprise then that a portion of the elves interpreted their acute talent for magic as a gift from the Goddess of the Moon, and that it should be used to honour her. Thus, the pursuit for knowledge began. After many centuries of hard work and conflicts, marvellous cities of magic were erected, and a new empire was established. However, not all elves were fond of magic. Many decided to remain in the quiet seclusion of their homeforests to worship their old gods. Those that did not follow the ways of the arcane were assured that it was a sure road to perdition.

As the new civillization grew, so did the elves distance themselves from their cousins that remained in the forests. The capital built by the elves at the time was the mightiest seat of power among all the known realms. Yet by some mysterious cause, all of the elven cities began to crumble as though something was destroying it from the inside. Their days of prosperity were few.

Some say it were the envious human warlocks who the elves, in their foolish pride, led too close to their secrets only to be sabotaged during their height of power. Or at least that is what the elven people themselves choose to beleive to save themselves from shame. At present, only one city remains, and as expected, it is completely secluded and unavailable even to many of its own kin that were not inherently its citizens. The rest are spread throughout the human realms, mostly inhabiting the more cosmopolitan cities where they are accepted and where they can form their own small circles.

Biology

An average city elf is shorter and slimmer than a human. What mostly sets them appart are their slightly elongated ears and sharp features which could be considered beautiful by most standards. Most elves sport long hair though in case of city elves, they often tie them back into ponytails or form other haircuts that would give them a more civillized and formal look. It is not too rare to see one with loose hair, however, albeit it is more prominent among females.
Their skin colours vary little. City elves are more often than not quite pale, sometimes with a tinge of blue or gold. Their hair often matches their bluish skin tones but may vary from silvery to dark brown and black. Hair colour can also take a more blue tone, giving them a soft metallic appearance.


Age and Reproduction

The average lifespan of a city elf is hard to measure due to the scarcity in population too spread to properly assess though it was said that during the prosperity of their kingdoms they could reach up to a thousand years, with a few sources mentioning a few successful sorcerers that managed to prolong their life through magical means without having to go through the transformation of undeath or with unholy pacts.

Elves age much like the humans, their body grows rapidly at first yet stops at around 18-25. However, while they reach their physical maturity just as fast as humans, they are not yet considered to have reached their adulthood at such an early age. An elf becomes a full-fledged member of his or her small clan at around the age of 40 but only at the age of 200 can he or she be considered eligible to become part of a Council.

Just as their lifespan covers the breadth of many ages compared to man, so does the search for a perfect soulmate within the elven society. While it takes elves a while to actually fall in love and form a close bond, it is harder to break appart just as well. Usually when two elves decide to live together, produce offpsring, and marry, they stay together until the end of their lives. Cheating among the city elves is highly taboo nor does it occur often if ever. When someone’s mate dies, the widow or widower usually remains alone for the rest of their life. Elves are known to mourn and look after the memories of their loved ones for hundreds of years, their loyalty extending far beyond the grave. Few accounts of an elf marrying again exist, and even fewer that have had children with more than one partner.

In richer houses, the prime family rarely has more than three children while in poorer families usually have more, perhaps five to six. These families often stick together for many centuries, often until their eldest members die, before the ’children’ finally decide to marry or beget their own houses which is often frowned upon as well unless the said elf can offer an ample explanation for his or her actions.


Psychology

City elves are reserved and calm individuals who rarely display emotion, especially to outsiders. However, it is presumed that they prefer to keep everything inside, embittered by the past failures. And while human kingdoms have gifted elves with their own districts and even towns, they still bear a grudge and will not hesitate to show their distaste towards other races if their position allows them to do so. The elves know that they escaped banishment only due to the fact that they could bring great advantages to the human empire which accepted them. Thus, they are mostly free to travel anywhere and yet they are rarely welcome anywhere. Their hearts have been hardened by past experience, and this bitterness they, inadvertently or purposedly, pass on to their children.

City elves value intellect and wisdom beyond anything although they can adapt to any role like humans if given enough time, naturally excelling at tracking, archery, riding, and various arts. Their true calling is science and magic, however. Recognized elven magicians are highly sought for and looked upon with reverence throughout the populated and civillized lands. However, despite their intellectual capacities, which are deemed to be higher in comparison to an average human, they take little interest in science that involves technological advances, prefering to adhere to their old ways.
Elven scholars prefer to be philosophers, philologists and promoters of natural remedies rather than technology. This is most likely due to their roots and the vestigial connection and love for nature that they have still retained, much alike to their forest cousins.

Humans often consider city elves to be humourless and glum. In truth, elves are simply much more tactful, and to their ears, the crude jokes humans make, especially the ones relating their race, sound so horrid they slowly came to hold prejudice against humans. And while elves might not be the most cheeriest folk at this time, they do tell anecdotes to each-other.


Racial Traits

Due to their light and frail bodies, elves are physically weaker than humans in general. Neither can they endure as much hard labour. However, elves are quite quick on their feet, and their hands are dexterous. They are among the best crafters in the land.

Their true strength lies within their powerful intellect. They love riddles and can easily outswit a human with their quick tongues. In addition, due to some unknown circumstances, their minds and bodies have come to be more attuned to magic naturally which makes them superior magicians and spiritualists in general. Although while their attunement comes naturally to them, the more experienced elves have known to comprehend the process and teach it to a select few students among the humankind.

Social Structure

Presently elven societies each have a Council of the Nine, traditionally consisting of 9 elders from different houses although some smaller societies have been known to reduce that number to 7 or even 5. In any case, the uneven number must be maintained in order to eliminate the possibility of a draw during voting. Two members of the same house are not allowed to reside within the Council of the Nine under normal circumstances.

Since elves have always trusted in the wisdom of their elders, the 9 men and/or women chosen stay within the Council until they are no longer capable of fulfilling their duty either due to sickness, transgressions, death, or other matters. Unless the Council member chooses someone specifically to continue their duty, it is passed on to the next oldest sibling or their eldest child.

Whenever a member of the Council is needed elsewhere due to pressing matters during a meeting, they are required to be replaced by their wife, husband, oldest sibling, or the oldest child be it daughter or son since genders are equal within the elven society. Unless the council member appoints somebody else specifically. At this point it should be noted that favouring anybody outside of one’s own family is usually highly frowned upon by the rest of the elven society. One’s house and family are the most important things, loyalty and trust must be maintained.

An elven house usually consists of a presiding family and its workers that belong to the lower class. In addition it can serve as a haven for smaller families that have sworn allegiance to the said house in order to share their dining tables and a roof above their head.


Art, Clothing and Industry

Elven art is much more exquisite than that of humans. Whenever they are involved in pottery or woodwork, they rarely leave things without decorating them with intricate patterns or runes that are often meant to grant luck or simply warm words. When something is left blank it is usually done so due to the request of their human employers.

Otherwise, when given free will, elves will always feel compelled to leave their special signature which is often a clever pattern of markings, challenging even other elves who’d dare to try and imitate that form of art. In fact, the delicate detail is more often than not left unnoticed by humans whose eyes can rarely discern the subtle differences that the elven artists distinguish themselves with within their own societies.

In addition, the few rare elven smiths are rather priced and renowned for they can make thin bodysuits of armour precisely fit for the right person, adhering to any specifications requested by the customer. Nobles of the nations often turn to their services, not only due to the aesthetic appeal but also because of the effectivness of the said armour. While it is not the sturdiest, it offers as much freedom as a full body armour possibly could.

Elven weapons are quite similar in nature. The blades are often thin and unbelivably light, depending on the metal. They are sharper than anything human-made, and rumour has it that the very masterwork elven swords become even sharper the more they cut. However, the downside is that the weapons are prone to be shattered easily with enough force, thus these weapons not only cost a fortune, they also require its handler to be knowledgeable and practiced in the art of the chosen weapon.

Elves generally prefer light clothing that can compliment their slender figures but they tend to keep themselves wholly covered. Elves make their own clothing, and frown upon the latest fashions of humans which often subtly follow in their elven footsteps. Both male and female highly favour robes. The most frequent tones met are blue, lilac, white, and violet. The calm cold tones symbolise the solemnity which presides within elven societies.

Elves are famed for their poetry, music and dance. The latter is a very intricate art which the elves take pleasure in learning. Their naturally plastic and agile bodies give them an excellent base to work upon. Their dances can be either very fluid or explosive depending on the occasion. In either case, great control is exerted as every muscle and fibre must be dedicated to continuous motion.
Elven musicians are talented people. Like with any other art, elves pay attention to much detail. Most of their work is melancholy though, meaning that very few city elves become bards due to their mournful nature. Their voices and fingers work wonders whenever they do choose that profession, however.


Religion

The Indoli’drivyr have turned away from their old deities that they used to worship and dance for every night during the rituals with a few exceptions. It is not forbidden to pay respects to the old gods that they once held in reverence albeit it is no longer required either.
The general consensus of elves bears great respect for the Goddess of Magic, however, she does not truly require anything but silent admiration and practice of magic itself.
As a more knowledge driven society, elven individuals can be quite open-minded if not pressured. Elves that dedicate themselves to deities of other races are not unheard of, for whatever reasons.