Wood elves are those who follow a more traditional sect of the Elvish culture, believing in the need to live in harmony with nature. They are much more seclusionary than their high elf counterparts, often forming towns and villages deep inside more prominent woodland areas - like the Sacae or Konzetsu forest - in order to avoid excessive contact with the outside world. As a result, most towns and villages are very homogenous, the communities consisting almost entirely of fellow wood elves. While there are many factors that contribute to their diversity - or lack thereof - the main one tends to be the level of religious practice in the community.
Appearance-wise, you can usually distinguish wood elves and high elves apart from one another by their build. Wood elves tend to be shorter and more muscular than their high elf counterparts, with adults usually measuring between 5’6” and 5’10”, while adult high elves rarely measure below 6’.
Religion
While wood elves tend to directly worship the
teachings of Yuné, they do not do so in the same manner as most other followers of the goddess. They do not have temples, nor do they pray. In fact, you will be hard-pressed to find any religious symbolism in any of their towns or villages. Wood Elves consider the act of preserving nature to be the best form of worship. In their eyes, Yune entrusted the world to her creations, so maintaining the natural order of the world, contributing to the cycle of life, and preserving the land that Yune left behind is the best way to honor her will.
As a result of this belief, despite their long lives, many Wood Elves will never see the world outside of their territory. Many communities consider it to be blasphemy to venture outside of their home, as doing so is tantamount to abandoning their sacred duty. If an elf in one of these villages wishes to travel to the outside world, It is not uncommon for them to be banished from their home. All of these factors are what contribute to many Woodland Elvish communities' homogenized state.
Of course, not all communities have such an ironclad view of isolationism. There are many groups throughout the continent that allow - and even promote - the idea that members of their community should learn more about the outside world, and many have working relationships with communities outside of their own.
Relationship with Lethe
In
most caseshe race of an individual tends not to influence the way a wood-elf views someone else. A wood-elf sees anyone outside of their community with a certain sense of skepticism. They are simply an outsider, no matter their race. There are however numerous communities that tend to view Lethe an humans in a near identical manner to that of most High-Elves.
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