Elf
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"S'mae?" (s-my?) - Elven word used both as a greeting and asking another if they are well.

Elves, (dwarven: elben) or Gwerin, are one of the major races found on Nora. The modern Kingdom of Tir'Ein is home to indigenous elven culture.

Ethnicities


History


The Elven Cycles
Elven history is divided into five epochs, or circles.
* First Circle (Music)
* Second Circle (Creature)
* Third Circle (Winter)
* Fourth Circle (Scythe)
* Fifth Circle (Two Poets)

Music Cylch

Life in the Twilithe

Mythic Origins

The Elf-Queen Triduana is considered the Mother of All Elves. Her three sons are the ancestors of the three elven peoples. Dungadr, the father of the Cwdry, Matadín, the father of the Cicryf and Eòghann, the father of the Elidyr.

Creature Cylch

In the material plane. The elves entered the world from Greatstaff Island.

The first Druid King of the elves picked five Rangers and gave them each a staff made from the wood of Gadanbalad, the world tree. He told them to range far and wide and to find homes for their people. When each had found a home they should plant the staff in the ground. The staff would then become a warden tree, connected to the world tree. The treesingers would be able to travel the magical connection between these trees in a network now called the Old Path.

The Druid king and his court remained on the island to become the winged elves.

The first elven battles were in what is now called the Ashwood between the Cwdry and Elidyr elves. Followed by battles between the Elidyr and Uchelyn, and also between the Cwdry and Cicryf.

War with Minotaurs, driving them south.

Winter Cylch

Scythe Cylch

Moonfall

Two kingdoms emerged, Tirdulan in the west and Tiranau in the east.

Two Poets Cylch

Entering into alliance with humans.

Culture


Elves have organized themselves in a loose confederation of tribes found in each of the Great Forests. Most tribes are settled hunter/gatherer communities with little use for agriculture as well as artisans who celebrate the interconnectedness of nature through story and song. Animals are commonly kept and are highly respected semi-spiritually. They have adopted these creatures as totems and have learned to harness their spirits through Anadlism.

Little political organization occurs within or in between the tribes. Tribes joined only for repelling large scale orc invasions and disband soon after. Even so, trading, communicating and even marriages between tribes are common.

Elven children are raised in a communal nursery. They call all adults aunt or uncle.

Prominent elven tribes are:

Cicryf

Cwdry

Elidyr

Seryth

Uchelyn

Rhythid

Central to the elven mindset is the concept of rhythid, or independence. It is a concept that combines aspects of fate and chaos together to mean that no one is responsible for another's destiny. The elves fiercely defend their freedom from oppression and consider it a great insult and dishonor to give orders to someone as if you owned them.

War

The elves developed deadly fighting styles that utilized twin blades and guerrilla tactics.

Cuisine

Elves enjoy eating food with minimal preparation. Fruits and vegetables are served whole and unspiced. Meat is cooked and flavored with fruit juice and blood from the animal. Hunting is considered a spiritual endeavor and is done only with the bow or sword.

Architecture

Architecture usually accomplished one of two ways. Either tarps made of animal skin are hung from trees to create tear-drop shaped cocoons for sleeping, or elven druids shape the roots of the large trees to form underground dwellings.

Mheintio and Clothing

Elves often use temporary ink to give themselves tattoos called mheintio. Spiral motifs are common, and all have certain significance. Elves prefer to wear their hair long and adorned with small decorations such as feathers or beads, lacquered rope knots and ironwood leaves. Hides, leather and wool were used for clothing.

The Dream Hunt

This rite is one of many rites of passage that the elves take. In this perticular rite, a young elf must select, capture, and bond with a beast of the forest. As they seek this spirit animal during a chemically induced trance, they express themselves musically as the spirit moves.

During this Dream Hunt, songs are especially interesting. While under the chemically induced effects that mark the Dream Hunt, an elf may utilize any kind of expression: standard social song structures, imitations of domestic cascading vocal style or children's songs from deep in their memories, wildly improvised songs, or chants. The only type of songs not heard in this context are personal songs and the ritual songs of mourning.

The Death Hunt

Every five hundred years or so, the elves go on the Angau Helfa, or death hunt, where all the orcs and goblins in the area are remorselessly slaughtered.

Religion


While most elves revere Dhanni as a true god, elves believe she has three aspects; Naearu (the land), Môr (the sea) and Awyr (the sky). They also recognize the hysbren, or wood-fairies, to be her spiritual servitors. In this, they have a very reverent view of dryads.

The elf druid (drwyd), leads religious ceremonies and often leads tribal communities. Village druids usually have servant bodyguards called rangers or thynians.

Owls

Elves hold the belief that owls are the spirits of their ancestors given form by the gods to allow them to once more enjoy the world.

Giant owls are seen as the spirits of truly great elven kings, warriors and mages. Since the giant owls have intelligence, the elves take great pains to divine who the owl was in his previous life. This includes magic divination, tests of spiritual memory and deep meditation on both the owl's and the elves' parts. The owls themselves are glad to have been such proud elves of ages past.

Health


Elves have a susceptibility towards genetic diseases, such as sickle cell. It is also not uncommon for mothers to have miscarriages during pregnancy.

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