Half-Elf

Half-elves are one of the most common races found on Azimuth. They are a diverse race of humanoids, having either one elf parent, or two half-elf parents.

Description

Appearance

Half-elves are the natural result of the communion of human and elven societies. As the kingdoms of these races interact and citizens travel between, it is only natural for some to fall in love or lust, and half-elven children are the result. Half-elves are most commonly born of human and elf heritage, or from two half-elves of such ancestry. Most distinctly, they have pointed ears, though often not as large as their elven progenitors.
To humans, half-elves look like elves, and to elves, they look human.

Statistics

Half-elves tend to be slightly taller than elves, being between 5 and 6 feet tall, and weighing between 140 and 175 pounds.
Half-elves mature at the same rate humans do and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than humans, on average living around 180 years.

History

Early history and supposed creation

The first races were formed from the ether by the gods. The lines of elves, dwarves, and humans were crafted, and these races were gifted places of holy significance. The elves were given the World Tree so that they might be tied to its energies and receive long life. Indeed, the World Tree is where all of elven ancestry draw their longevity from, and without it, their race would wilt away.
Unlike some of the other races of the world, half-elves were not necessarily created by the first gods in the First Age, but rather came to be after those other races came into the world of Azimuth. Half-elves are the natural result of the communion of human and elf societies.

Additional History

In previous ages, the appearance of half-elves was a cause for alarm in elven society, for prejudiced elves saw the union between elves and humans as a symptom of impurity in their blood and culture. From the events of Esturk, The World's End’s attack on the World Tree and its near destruction, many elves felt an instinctual pull to return and protect the homeland. This caused elven society for many centuries to be xenophobic and isolationist. As such, half-elves and elves that still wished to explore the world or take human lovers were often cast away from elven society, set to wander the lands of the other kingdoms instead.
In the recent age, such attitudes have cooled across the continent in recent centuries as a result of the efforts of the Zenethian Heroes, and most elven societies now feature a slowly diversifying array of people, including the half-elven children of those that choose to pair with humans.

Society

Though they are welcome in human cities, they are somewhat less welcome in high elven cities of Soretta, the Undying Aristocracy, despite the cooling of prejudices in recent ages. The habits of those elves that lived before this cultural change are slow to shift due to the nature of their extended life. This is steadily changing and even the oldest elves can admit the benefits they can see with the changes of their populations in the high elven cities like Gaerna Ambar and Soretta.
However, like all “outside” races, half-elves are actively pushed, and even forcibly repelled, out of the forest civilizations of the wood elves and drow. These truly isolationist peoples reject half-elves wholly.
Half-elves have no kingdoms of their own, but they occupy all lands where humans and elves gather. In large cities in regions where elves and humans interact often, half-elves are sometimes numerous enough to form small communities of their own.

Half-elves in Gimora Major

Half-elves are most common in human lands, including those of Branca, the Kingdom of the South. In particular, the line of Aoth Stormwind, Vassal of the Platinum Dragon, has long (in human terms) married elven individuals.
Due to their elven ancestry, they are also actively sought after by some organizations for their innate skills and keen senses, such as the Brancana Rangers.
Half-elves tend to be less common in Burland, the Kingdom of the North.

Half-elves in Gimora Minor

Half-elves are most common in human lands, including those of Konenbur, the Theocracy of the Sea, where their proximity to elven lands increases the chances of commingling. The nation of Konenbur is physically the closest region to the lands of the elves, and as such, interactions are common. However, tensions have been steadily rising in the region after the Invasion of Sinatold and the events of the Manslayer War affected the dynamic balance of influence here, which has had a negative impact on race relations involving those of elven ancestry. Even still, due to their elven ancestry, they are sometimes actively sought after by organizations like the Greenscales for their innate skills and keen senses. In the drow society of the Durnur Forest of the southern Ruined Coast, half-elves are actively pushed, and even forcibly repelled.

Half-elves in Haradren Gaer Arnad

The land of Haradren Gaer Arnad is the ancestral home of all elves. As cultural taboos and prejudices cool in recent years, half-elves are a more common sight in the western half of the continent as high elves and humans interact. However, half-elves are actively pushed, and even forcibly repelled, out of the forest civilizations of the wood elves of the eastern half of Haradren.

Half-elves in Tarteria

Half-elves can be seen throughout the Orc Highway as traders and adventurers. As both their home cultures are so different from those of Tarteria, they tend to group in more diverse locations, or closer to the elven colony, Calen Estel.

Half-elves in Northwest Seas

While most common in other human lands, half-elves tend to be less common in the Santeem Republic in the lands of Iluvitar, where the elven colonies were long ago abandoned. However, groupings of elves in these areas cause an increase in the half-elven population as well as these societies intermingle.

Notable Half-elves

Campaign One: Zenethian Heroes

Player Characters

• Joseppe, the Shadow Mage: One of the prophecized Zenethian Children and member of the Zenethian Heroes.

• Petra D'Silva, Emissary of Beasts: Member of the Zenethian Heroes and emissary of the Parthenian Federation.

Non-Player Characters

• Angioletta, Wielder of the Zenethian Cloak: Zenethian Champion and mother of Joseppe.

Type
Humanoid
Size
Medium
Age of Adulthood
Around 20
Lifespan
Around 180 years
Average Height
Between 5 to 6 feet
Average weight
Between 150 and 175 pounds
Skin color
Like that of either parent
Planes
Material Plane
Primary Locations

• Soretta, the Undying Aristocracy

• Calen Estel

• Durnur Forest

• Veldrinus

2022 Character Art by J Pleshe

2022 Character Art by J Pleshe