Ghosts of the Evenacht

A Death immemorial whose true name is long forgotten, made a pact with the Astri, a family with extensive political and social contacts throughout the Evenacht. They agreed to allow Talis ghosts to inhabit their lands in exchange for the Gift of Life.
Talis has five subspecies of faelareign (using Ga Son's name for us, to avoid human-centric and elfine-centric terminology. It translates to "life from sun" in the beyond ancient Talis language of Selsevelene, "the divine tongue"). Each of the five are divided into two populations, typically based on where they prefer to live (Why? It's historical and complicated, but comfortable for most faelareign because it's familiar).
While alive, all faelareign can produce viable offspring with all other faelareign. Physical differences are typically magic-created changes that were passed down to descendants. Cultural differences are quite another story--and are best read about in Infighting, Backstabbing and Love: the Faelareign of Talis by elfine scholar Ewethene Revengellis. She doesn't spare delicate sensibilities, and while entertaining in it's outrageousness, it's a depressing work about the lengths some will go to, to prove their superiority.
I will discuss faelareign in alphabetical order, so no one can claim I favor one over the others. I think it behooves us to remember, that since we can interbreed, we all come from the same ancestor.
We are far more the same than we are different, and arguing over it is a bit tedious when you realize spirits who are from different ages use the same arguments of inferiority to speak of their descendants--and visa versa.

Research:
Ghosts of the Evenacht
by our ghostly Finder hero, Lorgan the Scholar
In this Research Document:

All images by Shade Melodique unless otherwise stated

A Note About Ghosts

As ghosts, we can manipulate our appearance at will. This means that we do not have to look like our living faelareign self. In practice, ghosts choose what makes them comfortable and use that presentation. That's why beings can sport purple hair when they are not born with it, why some prefer a gender different from their birth, why some look like skeletons or rotting zombies, why so many take on the aspect of animals. The descriptions below are roughly based on living appearance, which is roughly based on how faelareign look without plastic surgery or magic enhancements (except for the fauns--see below).
In this sense, divisions based on appearance are fairly useless. Culture plays a greater role.
Speaking of culture, the faelareign of disparate eras believe and practice different things. Contemporary Talis sensibilities may seem barbaric to older ghosts, and visa-versa. Always keep this in mind, when dealing with any ghostly population.
Also of note: this brief isn't about living faelareign. I'm not going to talk about traditional foods or other living-specific things.

Magic

On Talis, 20% of the population is born with magic, and 5% or so are strongly gifted. While spells are not specific to one faelareign population or another, there are a few propensities.
Dryans, nymphs and sprites of all stripes are very good at water magic. Fæelfines and undivila have an affinity for wind magic. Fauns and dryans do well with plant and animal-based magics, while humans lean towards earthy spells. Nymphs cast phenomenal shield spells. Elfines and humans tend to make the finest healers.
Upon reaching the Evenacht, due to essences being inherently magical, all ghosts develop the ability to wield magic; it is no longer a divider. Spirits can use syimlin-related magics, elemental magics, magic items and specific prayers. All can use Touch, though Mental Touch is heavy in beings born with magic.

Dryans

Dryans are aquatic beings from the Dozen Lakes region of Talis. Their ancestral environment is freshwater swamp, though many live near rivers and streams, as well as along the western seaboard, calling the ocean their home.
Dryans live longer than humans but far shorter than nymphs and elfines, so they have a larger population of ghosts. Average life expectancy is around five hundred years.
After death, dryans who grew up in the swamps congregate around Dryanthium and north into the Parley Mountains. Coastal dryans prefer to live on the eastern coast of Uka's Lament, south of Distory Bay and north of Gapp's Reign. While these places have the largest populations of dryans, they live everywhere where there is access to water. You will find them on the coasts of the Evenacht, and around the giant lakes and the larger rivers. The Forest of Requiem has larger population in the swampy areas.
Need to Know:
Dryans are very sensitive to being compared to nymphs--especially the older generations. After a group of dryans turned the Snake Peninsula rainforest into a desert over twenty thousand years previous, their people have suffered ridicule and dismissal in some circles. It's a shame: dryans have a vibrant culture with a lot to offer the other ghostly beings.

Lake Dryan
orig background by Tom Fisk, Pexels

Lake dryans:


• skin tone is a pale rose to a medium teal
• hair can be a variety of shades, from light blond to light black, pale lavender to amethyst, and light spring green to dark forest green
• eyes are usually a shade of purple, green or blue, but can stray into grey and black
• average height for a faelareign
• average weight for a faelareign

Sea dryans:


• skin tone is a dark rose to a dark teal
• hair can be a variety of shades, from light blond to light black, violet to amethyst, and light spring green to dark forest green, but tend to lighter shades
• eyes are usually a shade of purple, green or blue, but can stray into grey and black
• have developed webbed fingers and toes, and skin with a scale-like sheen
• average height for a faelareign
• on the thinner side for a faelareign

Elfine
orig background by Quang Nguyen, Pexels

Elfines

Elfines first lived in the rich forestlands of Talis, but spread far wider. They are typically thought of as a southern woodland people, and many tend to migrate to places with an abundance of trees.
Elfines have large pointed ears and wider eyes, both of which are considered defining features.
Elfines live long lives; the record for an elfine is just over five thousand years, though the whizan who did so had a great deal of healing magic to get him to that age. Typically elfines live for two thousand years or so. So elfines, when they reach the Evenacht, are older, and there are fewer of them because they don't produce as many children as dryans or humans or sprites.
While the Elfiniti Rainforest houses a lot of fæelfines, there is no specific region a majority of elfines call home. Unlike dryans and nymphs, they have no preference for a watery environment, so exist not only in the forests and mountains, but in the plains and drier regions of the Evenacht. They do show a preference for places with trees, which explains the large communities in Carewelde and Csdarling. There is even a group that resides in the Sunderlands! Their habitation is underground, and it's very nice. They even grow a variety of plants down there.
Need to Know:
Elfines consider themselves the faelareign that every other faelareign comes from. There may be truth to that, since the elfines share physical traits with all other faelareign, in some form. They also claim Ga Son is elfine. Ga Son remains mute on the matter, lending to millennia of speculation as to who, exactly, our Sun syimlin is.

Elfines:


• skin tone is a pale rose to a deep tan
• hair can be a variety of shades, from light blond to dark black, some with purplish, pinkish or bluish highlights
• eyes can be any color on the spectrum, though lighter hues are more common
• a tad taller than average height for a faelareign
• average weight for a faelareign

Fæelfines:


• skin tone is a pale rose to a deep tan
• hair can be a variety of shades, from light blond to dark black, some with purplish, pinkish or bluish highlights
• eyes can be any color on the spectrum, though lighter hues are more common
• have humongous butterfly wings, and yes, they can fly (if they have enough aerial magic)
• a tad shorter than average height for a faelareign
• on the thinner side (for flight) and prefer that presentation as a ghost

Humans

On Talis, humans have no preference for environment. They live in some of the most inhospitable places there, making them, as a whole, hardier than the other faelareign. Adapting to their surroundings is something they share with the elfine, and delight in creating homes and businesses from materials found where they choose to dwell. This is one of the reasons humans make exceptional healers; they delve into their surroundings and root around until they find ingredients with the properties they wish, rather than wait for shipments from larger population centers.
Humans are the most ubiquitous ghosts in the Evenacht. They have the shortest lifespans, so produce the most children, and so outnumber all other ghosts, though they tend to grow weary of existence before other beings and seek the Final Death in larger numbers.
Humans tend to congregate in Evening. In general, they are the least adventurous when they first arrive in the Evenacht, hence their larger population in the first city they encounter. Some humans prefer the far-reaches, however, and one can find communities in the highest Crescentshine mountains, the driest plains, the almost-hottest parts of Gapp's Reign. Fauns do prefer mountainous regions, and often settle in cave systems.
Aside: Isn't it funny, how faelareign tend to gather in places similar to the ones in which they lived in life. We're ghosts! We can live anywhere we wish!
Need to know:
Humans are the backbone of Evenacht ghostly trade. Most of the caravans are owned by humans. As a Finder, you'll be asking humans for rides. Stay on the good side of the caravans.

Human
orig background by Jason Wong, Unsplash

Humans:


• skin tone is a pale rose to a deep tan
• hair can be a variety of shades, from light blond to dark black
• eyes range from light to dark blues, greens, browns, greys and golds, though darker hues are more common
• average height for a faelareign
• they tend to be heavier than other beings, but rarely present that way in the Evenacht

Fauns:


• skin tone is a pale rose to a deep tan, with thick hair running from their hips to their feet
• hair can be a variety of shades, from light blond to dark black, with lots of bright and deep reds and oranges
• eyes range from light to dark blues, greens, browns, greys and golds, though darker hues are more common
• have a fluffy, flat, short tail and cloven hooves, with two toes and two dew claws. Unlike other modifications, we know fauns originated by Nature magically altering human acolytes of the Moon (true name Sevenderous, two Moons before our current syimlin, Daquio Mistark. He asked Nature, Klao, to honor his most faithful.)
• average height for a faelareign, though they are double-kneed. If they stretch, they are a head taller than other humans
• tad on the heavier side for a faelareign

Nymph
orig background by Eleonore Kemmel, Unsplash

Nymphs

Nymphs lean towards deeper fresh or salt waters, as found in lakes, mouths of rivers, and the sea. On Talis, the Gezedenzen Mountain Range lakes are their ancestral home, but they also live in the deep river Tardozhen, and the largest population of lyricals live in the deeper offshore waters off the Mavij Sea coast.
Nymphs need deeper waters because they build their communities under the waves, which is why Nymphmeer is the deepest giant lake in the Evenacht. Shield domes cover these communities, but unlike on Talis, extra precautions are made for ghostly habitations. After all, a rush of water if a dome breaks can sunder essences.
Nymphs can have round or slightly pointed ears, though there is no preference among them for which.
Nymphs are the longest-lived Talis residents, easily reaching five or six thousand years old, which means they are older than many generations of other beings when they arrive. They also tend to stay longer, avoiding the Final Death like the plague, so their ghostly population is higher, despite a lower birth rate while alive.
Much of nymph identity is bound to water, but there are populations who reject that stricture and live where they choose--they are, after all, ghosts. This is especially true for mafiz, who like to thumb their noses at nymph hierarchy.
Need to know:
For the love of Death, do not call them sirens. Yes, nymphs like to sing. No, they do not lure beings to the FInal Death with their songs. But if you are eager to meet the Final Death at the hands of a pissed mafiz, go right ahead.
Also, nymphs consider themselves the most seeped and powerful in magic. Elfines love to disagree.

Nymphs:


• skin tone is a shade of green, from light yellow-green to the darkest shade of pine to a deep browning-green
• hair ranges from a light yellow-green to tea to darker greens, browns and blacks
• eyes are some hue of green
• taller than average for a faelareign
• average weight for a faelareign

Lyricals:


• skin tone is a shade of green, from light yellow-green to the darkest shade of pine to a brownish-green
• hair ranges from a light yellow-green to tea to darker greens, browns and blacks
• eyes are some hue of green
• have developed webbed fingers and toes. Nymphs of all stripes can have webbing, but in the lyrical, it is more pronounced
• taller than average for a faelareign
• average weight for a faelareign

Sprites

Sprites love water but are fond of land as well. Many live in forests and plains near rivers and streams and are perfectly content with that. The forests along the Elest River are considered their ancestral homes, but some claim their progenitors came from the Black Grass Plateau, because the winds in the area helped non-magical undivila to fly, not just glide. Whether attracted by wind or forest, some sort of body of water is typically near their communities.
Spites have smaller pointed ears, along the same lines as the nymphs.
Sprites live a tad longer than humans, though not by much. Their birthrate is higher, so they have a higher number of ghosts in the Evenacht, and a higher number of beings searching out the Final Death. Those that prefer to stay, however, STAY. The oldest Talis being in the Evenacht is a sprite dedicated to the Arstet temple at Lake Arstet, and hints are, she was around for the Gift of LIfe mythic event. I believe that would make her a minor syimlin, but what do I know?
Most sprites consider Lake Arstet to be their ghostly homeland in the Evenacht, but any type of water will do. They have a fondness for Zibwa's Retreat, and a large population of sprite healers resides there. Undivila sprites inhabit the the Windtwist Islands, but since those are to the west of Lake Arstet in a continuous line, the entire area is considered spritelands.
Need to Know:
Sprites feel their magic and culture has been slighted by other faelareign. This is exacerbated by conflicts over water sources with both dryans and nymphs--and, of course, the nastiness surrounding Daquio Mistark's identity (he claims he is a dryan, not a sprite. Why not take his word for it?).

Undivila
wings by Stephan Keller, Pixabay
orig background by schame87, Adobe Stock

Sprites:


• skin tone ranges from light to dark blues, sometimes with a greenish-blue or grey hue
• hair ranges from white to darker purples and blues, or darker pinkish-reds
• eyes are some hue of blue, purple or grey
• shorter than average for a faelareign
• on the thinner side for a faelareign

Undivila:


• skin tone ranges from light to dark blues, sometimes with a greenish-blue or grey hue
• hair ranges from white to darker purples and blues, or darker pinkish-reds
• eyes are some hue of blue, purple or grey
• have feathered wings that grow just below their shoulder blades; can glide without the use of aerial magic
• shorter than average for a faelareign
• on the thinner side for a faelareign