Alvur

Ahh, what can I say about dear old dad? What can't I say about him is probably the better question. Him aside, alvur in general are... hard to describe with any level of brevity. And I'm a half-alv, so I'm at least 50% of an authority for once. By the way, important grammar lesson: singular Alv, plural Alvur, adjective Alvurn.

So, for starters, the alvur originate from Sylvanis, supposedly migrating from there around roughly 7000-6500 PM give or take, and that goes a fair way to explaining a lot of their anatomical differences from human. Though they've been in the material plane for so long that Silvylia's aether has dissipated a fair amount from their bodies through gradual adaptation. They're tall and lanky compared to the stockiness of the dwarves, or the more well-rounded builds of the human, and their ears are very long and pointy compared to other races, which leads to the racist slur of "knife-ear", which you should never say among alvurn company or else you might get punched.

In truth, the alvur of the material plane are only a subset of their original species who left Sylvanis, and the ones who stayed... Well, Silvylia's aether is said to do weird things to life around her, and Sylvanis is basically made of her aether, so it's no surprise that "true" alvur, also called wildevur, are frightening. I once got stranded in Sylvanis for a week after a freak accident involving the severed head of an owlbear, an errant fireball, and an entire crate of vitricite, and when I first saw a wildevur I thought for sure I was in Nakar! They're about 10 ft. tall, thin as a rake, and are practically bursting with fey aether. It's a miracle I survived that particular escapade...

And that brings me to another point about the alvur, they're kind of always in danger. You see, their bodies start to produce excess fey aether at a certain point in their lives, and if that gets out of hand they actually risk mutating into wildevur. They mitigate this by bonding with little weird fey creatures called fey nymphs that eat aether, but if they're separated from their nymph for too long, an alv is completely boned, and it's not pretty. I've seen the mutation in progress first hand, it is absolutely nightmarish. I still think about it sometimes. I wouldn't even wish that fate on dad, that's how awful it is!

Anyway, enough about the wildevur. The alvur as they are now are actually very civilized compared to their feral counterparts. They're still pretty in tune with nature, but they're more sophisticated in their tree-huggery. They've got art and music (quite good music, if I may say so myself), and their language is beautiful, but their architecture and craftsmanship through anything that isn't natural is rather limited to say the least. Most alvur don't know a stone pillar or an anvil from a hole in the ground, but they're wizards with wood. To put it another way, they're rather whimsical. They're also nigh-immortal from the perspective of most other races, able to live for close to a millennium. I've even heard legends that say there are alvur who were around to witness the Great Conflict, but that sounds like lunacy to me. Even I can't suspend my disbelief that far, and I've seen some shit!

As a result of their longevity, the alvur can be kinda snooty. They see a lot of other races as children compared to them, which I suppose makes a certain amount of sense, the timespan during which they're still considered children by other alvur is just shy of the average human lifespan. They're not necessarily unfriendly though, at least on a general level. I know one alv in particular that I'd like to punch someday, but every race has a few especially punchable faces mucking up the place. A lot of people also think that the alvur are pretty too, but I guess I'm a bit biased against that considering I'm half-alv and don't quite like the guy that supplied the supposedly pretty part of that equation, so who am I to judge.

Point is, alvur are alright. Except for dad, he's a dastard.

— An extended excerpt from the memoirs of Venyur Chase

Basic Information

Anatomy

The alvur are a humanoid race with thin, elongated limbs. Their bones are fairly thin and delicate, but this allows for greater dexterity and speed of movement.

Biological Traits

Alvur possess greatly elongated and pointed ears. The tips of a female alv's ears will curve slightly upward, whereas the ears of a male alv will remain straight throughout the length. In addition, alvur possess long fingers, with the pinky fingers being longer on females than males.

Genetics and Reproduction

Alvur reproduce the same way as human, though the birth rate is significantly lower, as their longevity does not leave them very inclined to have abundant amounts of children.

Growth Rate & Stages

An alv reaches physical maturity at an average age of 15 years, but they are considered children mentally by their race until a minimum age of 70, at which point they are allowed to declare themselves adults.

Ecology and Habitats

Alvur are most at home in lush forests and other wooded areas. They are very talented craftsmen when it comes to wood, and their ancestral homes are constructed beautifully from the great trees in the forests of Equis.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Alvur are expert hunters, having little to no trouble obtaining food, and being able to rule over the forests as the apex predator with few exceptions. They are omnivorous, and their diets can be quite varied, individual tastes not withstanding.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Alvur tend to have very slender, almost gaunt features, with somewhat long faces.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Alvur make their homes in forests and other wooded areas, though as they are a rather common race, they can be found in many civilized societies.

Average Intelligence

The intelligence of the alvur as a whole is slightly above average compared to hyun. That being said, most alvur have little aptitude for things such as stonework or metallurgy, but they make up for that with above average aetheric reserves and magical aptitude.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Alvur have enhanced sight in the dark, and they possess a keen sense of survival in forests, able to discern the nature of their surroundings fairly easily with little investigation. In addition, their long ears give them slightly enhanced hearing compared to human, though as a consequence their hearing is also more sensitive, and they can feel great pain from loud, high pitched noises.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

From the time they physically mature, the bodies of alvur begin slowly generating excess fey aether, the buildup of which threatens to mutate them into wildevur. To prevent this, alvur establish symbiotic relationships with small, floating creatures commonly known as fey nymphs. These creatures appear as tiny, furry creatures with big ears, insectoid wings, and long tails. When an alv forms a bond with a nymph, the nymph implants their tail into the back of the alv's neck, just above their shoulder blades. The tail then merges into the spinal cord, and the nymph begins feeding upon the excess aether, attuning itself to the specific aetheric signature of their alvurn companion.

The organ of a fey nymph which extracts an alv's excess aether is attached not to the body of the nymph, but to a bulb with four pincers at the tip of the tail, which is the part that actually attaches itself to an alv's flesh. The bulb can then be disconnected from the tail of the nymph, allowing the nymph to move around separately from the alv. The nymph must be attached to the bulb for 4 hours each day in order to consume the necessary aether for the survival of itself and the alv. A nymph can survive for no longer that one span without consuming aether, but depending on how long it is separated from its host, it must remain attached to the bulb for a longer amount of time until it regains its health.

The bulb can store up to one span's worth of aether, at which point the excess aether will begin to build up, causing adverse effects. The first sign of aetheric buildup is a mild case of aether poisoning, which steadily becomes more severe as time goes on. After suffering from this kind of aether poisoning for one span, an alv begins mutating. Their fingers begin to grow long and sharp, their bones become longer and more resilient, they begin to grow taller and their bodies more emaciated, and their mental faculties begin to deteriorate. Before the point of no return, the changes can be reversed if the alv is allowed to be connected to and maintain contact with a fey nymph for an extended period of time, but after one span the changes become irreversible. After that, the alv will either die or become a feral wildevur.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Alvur are referred to by a childhood name until they declare their adulthood after reaching age 70, at which point they choose a new name to use for the rest of their lives.

Beauty Ideals

Alvurn beauty is found in nature, grace, and elegance. They hone their crafts to a razor's edge, and the graceful beauty of their culture is difficult to match within the fields in which the alvur excel.

Gender Ideals

Alvurn women are seen as the caretakers, both in nurturing the children, performing upkeep on facilities, and in procuring food. Alvurn men are seen as the leaders and performers of important rites, such as the fey nymph bonding ceremonies, but they are also more inclined towards adopting more knowledge-based careers, such as historians and archaeologists. Both men and women are equally inclined towards the arts and hunting.

Relationship Ideals

Because of their long lives, committing to a relationship is one of the most important and long-lasting decisions in an alv's life. It is not to be done frivolously and without thought. Even if both parties are equally enamored with each other, it is customary to allow for at least a decade or two of unbound companionship between the two before they are ready to consolidate the relationship.

Common Etiquette Rules

Most alvur are typically very dignified in their mannerisms. This tends to come off as politeness to those whom an alv respects, but haughtiness and superiority to those whom an alv dislikes.

Common Dress Code

Alvurn dress is composed of natural materials. Some alvur wear plant-based clothing, some wear furs. Some even split the difference, as a particularly popular fashion is to weave feathers into leaf dresses, or particularly vibrant leaves into fur tunics.

Common Taboos

Committing any level of violence upon a fey nymph is seen as the highest taboo, and harming another alv's nymph under any circumstances is punishable by death in alvurn culture.

History

Around roughly 7000-6500 PM, a small group of alvur found themselves outside of Sylvanis. It is assumed that the fey nymphs were responsible for allowing the first alvur to exist at all in Sylvanis, but regardless of how it happened, these alvur were of sound enough mind to be able to form their own society in the land where they ended up. The land in question was a vast and lush forest on a peninsula in the southwest of Occida, a land which eventually came to be known as Equis.

To their surprise, the land was already occupied by the centaur tribes, who had been there for centuries already. Instead of attempting to conquer or simply ignoring each other, the two races decided to join forces and work together to thrive in Equis rather than just survive. For thousands of years since then, the alvur and the centaurs have coexisted in a shared society, slowly expanding their territory to reach slightly out of the peninsula and into the greater continent. They have ceased expansion for the time being, wisely deciding that encroaching too close to the territory of the Sana-Domin Empire would be a poor idea. And so they contently exist in their vast forests and wide open plains.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Because of their longevity, alvur have a very timeless perspective on the world and its many inhabitants. They tend to respect other races' individualities while acknowledging their flaws at the same time. Some alvur see themselves as superior to other races, but the general consensus is one of appreciation for each race's uniqueness.

Scientific Name

Dryadalis Luminare

Origin/Ancestry

Fey

Lifespan

900 years

Average Height

6 - 7 ft.

Average Weight

100 - 130 lb.

Average Physique

Alvur are notably thinner and taller than other races. Their bones are thin and somewhat brittle, but the resulting increase in dexterity helps them to mitigate this physical disadvantage. For this reason, Alvur are very light, and their metabolism does not lend itself well to excessive weight gain. The maximum weight ever recorded for an Alv was 200 lb.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

All alvur are born with tattoo-like markings scrawled across their bodies, the intricacies of which vary on an individual basis. Additionally, the alvur are so in-tune with nature that their very bodily coloration reflects this, as well as the coloring of their tattoos. One can identify when in the year an alv was born by the color of their skin and eyes. However, unlike their skin, their tattoos gradually change color with the seasons. It can be assumed that alvurn markings are a visual manifestation of their aetheric levels, as the tattoos begin to disappear when an alv dies as the aether leaves their body.