The Sun Elves

High Elves are a magical people of otherworldly grace, living in the world but not entirely part of it. They live in places of ethereal beauty, in the midst of ancient forests in silvery spires glittering with faerie light, where soft music drifts through the air and gentle fragrances waft on the breeze. Elves lave nature and magic, art and artistry, music and poetry, and the good things of the world.

High Elf Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom increases by 1, Your Intelligence increases by 2.
Age. Although elves reach physical maturity at the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 50-80, usually live to be 300 years old, although cases of High Elves over 500 years old do exist and is not unheard of.
Alignment. Sun elves are most often lawful or neutral, with personalities ranging from good to evil. Extremely arrogant however, many Sun Elves, especially the ones of noble birth or of Avariel heritage look upon the "lesser" races as inferior to themselves.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet
Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and High Elven. High Elven: (https://lingojam.com/TheTelQuessirOnlineTranslator)
Vision: Normal
Favored Time of Day: Morning and Midday. Evenings are reserved to rest and study.
Favored Climate: Temperate, Sunny
Favored Terrain: Plains, Grassland, Forests

Bonus Proficiencies (pick 2)

Mind for Magic: You have proficiency in the Arcana skill.
Historian: You have proficiency in the History skill.
Smooth Talker: You have proficiency in the Persuasion skill.
Culture and Faith: You have proficiency in the Religion skill.
Keen Eye: You have proficiency in the Investigation skill.

Elf Weapon Training⁠:

Most young elves go through vigorous training before they can be considered adults, you have proficiency with the simple weapons: Javelin and Spear. And the Martial weapons: Glaive, Longsword, Shortsword.

Arcane Knowledge:

Due to your people's history with magic and your own keen mind, you know one cantrip of your choice from the wizard list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.

Sun's Radiance:

Blessed by the sun's light, you learn the Dancing Lights cantrip at lvl 1, Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.

Divine Ancestry:

You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed and sleep spells. Elves do not sleep. Instead they meditate deeply, remaining semi-conscious, for 4 hours a day. The Common word for this meditation is "trance". While meditating, you dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive after years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit a human would from 8 hours of sleep.

Trance:

Elves do not sleep. Instead they meditate deeply, remaining semi-conscious, for 4 hours a day. The Common word for this meditation is "trance". While meditating, you dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive after years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit a human would from 8 hours of sleep

Appearance

With their unearthly grace and fine features, elves appear hauntingly beautiful to humans and members of many other races. Sun Elves are a bit taller than humans on average, averaging at around 180cm for females and 190cm for males. They are more slender than humans, with males being only marginally heavier than females.
Size and build. Sun Elves have slender builds. Your size is Medium.
Skintones: Sun Elf skin tones are most usually light, and often golden, giving off an ever so slight glow and radiance. Some Sun Elf are born with dark skin tones, but this is pretty rare and is considered less attractive in their society.
Haircolor: Sun Elf hair colors are most often a shade of blonde. Though brown and red hair isn't completely unheard of.
Eye color: Sun elf eyes are usually gold, amber, green or blue, but the warmer colours like gold and amber are considerably more normal. Their eyes are sometimes described as sparkling pools of liquid colour, and they are often clear and bright in colour.
Ears: Sun Elf ears are long in length. They are often turned more upwards than the ears of the Wood Elves, and they are often quite thin and delicate.
Clothes and adornments: Sun Elves value elegance, aesthetic, bright but appropriate colours and exquisite fabrics, their clothes and adornments reflect this. With flowy robes, silky jerkins, big gowns and suits, and armours imbued with magic and carved in beautiful designs. Sun Elf Armor is as elegant and exquisite as their casual wear, their metalwork especially can rival any other race when it comes to beautiful and intricate designs.
Manners are very important to most Sun Elves, and this also reflects in their clothing choices. All Sun Elves are expected to dress appropriately and stylishly, especially if you are of noble birth.
Sun Elves are rarely found with any kinds of tattoos on their bodies or faces, and if they do it is often related to a criminal gang, a mercenary group or a band of thieves. As such, many Sun Elves have negative views on tattoos and on the people wearing them. Most Sun Elves adorn jewellery, and they are often found wearing earrings, necklaces, bracelets or hairpieces, usually in gold or silver with an array of beautiful gemstones to complement the sophisticated designs. Piercings are less common among Sun Elves, as they also often indicate that you belong to some group or another of notorious criminals.

Diet

Most Sun Elves follow a mainly plant-based diet like their ancestors. Vegetables and fruit is what they eat most of, but many also enjoy baked goods. Most Sun Elves are skittish to eat anything that moves or has moved. This includes more or less any living being, though some can tolerate insects or the occasional shellfish. Eating is a highly personal and private affair for a Sun Elf, and as such they often refuse to eat meals with anyone else than their closest friends and family, as eating among other people, and watching other people eat in return, is considered rude and disrespectful. If a Sun Elf invites you to dinner, it is considered a great honour. When it comes down to it however, Sun Elf food is quite exquisite and delicate. They like their food to taste good, and look even better. Food is also used as decoration at Sun Elf parties, where beautiful sculpture-like dishes are presented. This is just for decoration however, and eating from it is considered preposterous, and can get you kicked out or even killed in some circles.

History

Sun Elves consider themselves divine creatures blessed and created by the God of Light, Lukhas, and thus honour him in name and in custom. They were originally created by Lukhas to serve as his winged consorts, but due to their arrogance and pride they were cast down on the planet to live as incomplete beings, forever craving his light. This divine ancestry is apparent in their appearance, long lifespan and aptitude for magic, but much of Lukhas’ gifts have been lost to them.
Among the Sun Elves there are those who are born with the wings once taken from them by their creator however. These extremely rare Elves are called Avariel by their brethren and are considered holy and perfect beings which are destined to guide their people to the light once more.
The Sun Elves who live on Antreia today are the survivors of the Elves of the Ancient High Elven Empire which ruled most of Northern Antreia in the First Age. Despite this former glory however, The Sun Elves have remained low in numbers ever since the fall of The High Elven Empire to the Human tribes. Contributing to their eventual downfall was the Lunar Cataclysm at the end of the second age. After waging a doomed war on their Moon Elven cousins for decades, the Sun Elves became desperate and decided to magically split the moon in two as a last resort. This resulted in the decimation of the entire Moon Elven population and a scar upon the planet which to this day has not healed. After this incident caused the emergence of the Drow, the Sun Elves have struggled to hold what little power and territory they have left. Most now live in complete seclusion on their floating city above Everfall; Anar Tal, and rarely interact with anyone but their own.

Personality and Reputation

Elves can live well over 300 years, giving them a broad perspective on events that might trouble the shorter-lived races more deeply. They are more often amused than excited, and often disdainful rather than angry. They tend to remain aloof and unfazed by petty happenstance. When pursuing a goal, however, whether adventuring on a mission or learning a new skill or art, elves can be focused and relentless. They are slow to make friends and enemies, and even slower to forget them. They reply to petty insults with disdain and to serious insults with vengeance.
Sun Elves are viewed as the most arrogant of the High Elves, the stereotype being that they considering themselves and their culture superior to other races, even other elves. This is mostly true, but with exceptions.
The High Elves had a very close relationships with the dwarves during the days of the elven kingdoms, but this has changed in recent centuries. The relationship between them is currently neutral, as most dwarves find them to be obnoxious and arrogant.

Society

The only remaining Sun Elven state is that of Anar Tal, located above the Shimmerlake south of Callimoria and west of Karamorn. Their city of Anar Tal is their largest settlement as of this time, but several smaller outposts and villages of Sun Elven origins also exist below the city, situated throughout the Everfall Woods, away from prying human eyes. Anar Tal and Everfall remains an independent state as of yet, but the last decade their control over the area has waned as Callimorian humans have encroached closer and closer to their territory. Despite having a considerable military, their numbers are nothing compared to the joined strength of the human-led Northern Alliance, or even the armies of Callimoria in itself. The rulers of Anar Tal know this well, and are therefore careful whom they make enemies with.
The society of the Sun Elves is highly structured and follow strict rules based on birth and hierarchy, this is especially true for the Sun Elves living on the floating city of Anar Tal. Most Sun Elves are still extremely devoted to the idea of bloodlines and nobility. Since they are the descendants of the noblest of the High Elves, a heritage they are quick to remind everyone around them of, the individual’s position of power in Sun Elf society is often based around which High Elven noble family they can trace their lineage from. If you are of mixed blood or have any known members of another race somewhere in your bloodline, even (and sometimes especially) that of Moon Elves, your family name will have lost more or less all its credibility. Because of this, Sun Elves shun Half Elves, especially those of Sun Elven heritage.
Magic also holds a very elevated place in Sun Elf society. All Sun Elves are religious, following the old faith and the prince of light Lukhas, in particular. They believe that magic is the gods gift to elvenkind, and that all races that practice magic apart from the elves have merely copied or stolen the noble High Elven art. If you are a skilled Sun Elven magic-user, your family and bloodline might be overlooked, so in this way it is possible for a less fortunate Sun Elf to work his or her way up through the ranks and become an esteemed member of society on magical ability alone.

Religion

Most Sun Elves follow The Faith, more specifically; they revere what they consider to be their patron god, Lukhas, the prince of light. The Faith and its other gods also hold a special place in the hearts of Sun Elven society however, but it is always Lukhas that is at the forefront of religious ceremonies and worship.

LOST ELVEN GLORY

Sun Elf society is but a former ghost of what it used to be. During the great fall of the elven kingdoms, the High Elves lost a lot of territory to the newly empowered human tribes, led by the human hero and demigod; Thalon. In 1A 1824, the High Elves lost a decisive battle where their most powerful settlement of Elanas fell into human hands, and the reign of their empire was officially over. In the later centuries this led to infighting between the Moon and Sun High Elves, which again lead to the Lunar Cataclysm in the end of the second age. Today, Sun Elven power is but a ghost of what it once was. This does not stop the Sun Elves from striving to rebuild what was once lost however, and the ultimate goal for their people is to ascend to divinity as the winged consorts of Lukhas once more.

KEEN MAGISTERS

Magic is but an extension of themselves for Sun Elves, and more than 90 percent of their population has an inner proficiency for learning magical spells. The ones who are unable to practice magic are looked down upon by the rest of the Sun Elves, and often get reduced to servants and laborers. They feel that the magic that exists in their very beings are a blessing from the gods, a testament to the ancient elven kingdoms and their glory, and also proof that Lukhas still favour them above all the other races. So as to be born without magic potential is to be shunned by the gods. As such many aspects of Sun Elf society reflect their magical potential in one way or another.

BORN ROYALTY

Sun Elf society is highly hierarchical, with family name and ancestry meaning most everything. Two things decide your worth in Sun Elf culture; one being your ancestors and your family name, which noble High Elf family you can trace your lineage from, the other being your skill in casting spells and your magical potential. Thus gender means less to Sun Elves than it does the average human, although a patriarchal system is still in place. As a general rule male Sun Elves hold higher positions of power in their society, but there are plenty exceptions to this rule to be found.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

Dwarves are generally known for their creation of magical and non-magical items of extremely high quality, and though most dwarves would disagree with you if you told them that High Elven armour and weapons could rival their own creations, it holds a lot of truth. High Elven architecture is among the most beautiful, complicated, artistic, and sturdy of all the races, and their swords, armour, bows and magical staves are of the highest quality. Dwarves however, make items that survive longer and hit harder, but the elven ability to make something both deadly and beautiful out of new and complicated materials, is completely unrivalled in the rest of Antreia. The ancient elven ruins scattered across the lands is a testament to their former glory, and the Sun Elves are still working hard to re-establish themselves as the most powerful race on Gaea.

Classes

Magic: All Sun Elves are born with magic in their veins. And as such, they learn wizard spells very easily. Clerics are also extremely common, as many are priests and worshippers of the faith. Some are also sorcerers, though wizardry is far more common. (draconic sorcerers are extremely uncommon, while sorcerers of the phoenix line is a fairly common sight) Druids are more or less non-exstent in Anar Tal, and generally rare altogether.
Mix: Some Sun Elves prefer to play on the strings of the weave, becoming potent and skilful bards. Paladins are also quite frequent among their ranks.
Non-Magic: Most Sun Elves are magic-users, but some also chose to follow the path of the ranger, the fighter or the rogue, though the latter is less common as it is seen as a thief and poor man's occupation.

High Elf Names

High Elves names use a combination of first and family name. The family name is life-long, while the first name changes as you reach adulthood. All adolescent names end with "il", so an adult elf with the name Caisys, would have been called Caisil when younger. In addition, every elf bears a family name, typically a combination of other Elvish words. Some elves traveling among humans translate their family names into Common, but others retain the Elvish version.
Female Sun Elf names: Kerelia, Ayla, Lyre, Selphie, Ashryn, Celha
Male Sun Elf names: Ayluin, Faylen, Caiser, Lukhas, Delsaran, Elisar
Sun Elf last names: Dawnbinder, Silvergleam, Phoenixhope, Goldstrider, Azuredagger, Sunstalker

Related Organizations

• The Aspects
• The Fate