Eltaa (El-tah)

There's an old saying that an Eltaa can cure a hangnail with a leaf. I've seen them work. I believe it.

— Skyfarer Thrynea Galell

The Eltaa are a people that make their home deep among the fog-trees and wetlands of the Great Northern Swamp. A clannish people that date back to the 3rd Age, they hold to ancient traditions. Some of which date back many thousands of years.

Quiet as the swamps they call home, the Eltaa are friendly but reserved. Their history is thick with stories of conflict, struggle, and would-be conquerors that sought to use the Eltaa for their legendary knowledge of herbal lore. Today, the Eltaa are seen as teachers instead of potential spoils of conquest.

An ancient people with long-held traditions. They may seem a bit reserved but you try living in the shadow of a Lich Lord that had half the Worldspace under his boot. You'd be a bit stand-offish, too.

— Skyfarer Thrynea Galell

Mastery of the Herbal Runes

The Eltaa are renowned for their knowledge of healing enchantments and lore. They collectively call this body of knowledge Herbal Runes. For generations across the ages, the Eltaa believe that each plant, every aspect of nature, has a specific rune or sigil. The sigils can be combined like pieces of a puzzle to create miraculous or devastating effects.

In the devastation of the Final War, much knowledge and learning was lost. Healing magic and medicines in particular. But the illnesses those medicines countered? Those are a worse problem than ever.

Today the Eltaa are consulted for ancient recipes, lore, and medicines to handle outbreaks of problematic illnesses. One in particular is the Rotting Shock, that harasses Kindamire almost yearly.

Contents

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Languages spoken

• Qaesian

Related Locations

• Dead Swamp
• Great Northern Swamp

Demographics

The Eltaa are not as diverse as other cultures. This is in part due to the remote and difficult regions they call home.

Ikroden (40%)

Human (35%)

Arkanae (22%)

Other (3%)

Customs of the Eltaa

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Names and Naming

Eltaa use a simple view of names. To them, the name should reflect the “bloom” and the “root” of a person. This takes the form of a person's name, a family prefix, then the family name.

The family prefix is an identifier that indicates if they are a son or daughter and connected with either the person's mother or father. If the person is male, then the prefix, Nis' , is connected with the mother's name. But if the person is a female, then the prefix, Dai', is connected with the father's name.

Examples

Kakual Nis'rair Laupe

Zas Dai'nzael Bawae

Common Family Names

Baelao, Mtfael, Nzas, Waemāi, Oin, Mkis

Common Female Names

Zaimai, Uhiɾ, Nwunai, Āmeʻe, Vāul

Common Male Names

Upol, Paloi, Mwoud, Dois, Mvai

Language

The Eltaa have a rare, if not unique language of any people in the Worldspace. Like most cultures, they have a spoken, and a written language. But they have a rich sign language as well. What makes this more interesting is that the spoken and sign language are interconnected.

A listener who understands either the Eltaa spoken language of Qaesian or their sign language of Gai Nzun can converse with the Eltaa with no problem. But when Qaesian is used interchangeably in a sentence with Gai Nzun, the Eltaa can express a wider range of emotion, feeling, and even concepts. Especially with their Herbal Rune lore since use of plant runes requires precise measurement and control.

It is quite common for the Eltaa to use Qaesian in part of a sentence and Gai Nzun for the other part. This way they use the parts that convey the more accurate concept, or strongest emotion if necessary.

Clothing

Eltaa clothing is a basic shirt and trousers. Over this they wear a colorful belted tunic, vest, or both. They sew all clothing from material made from the cotton or Yelm plant and Kynou wool.

The trousers are often a natural color that reflects a similar hue as their surroundings. Shirts are slightly more colorful but are dyed a solid color that compliments the local plantlife of a particular Eltaa clan. It's the tunics and vests that show the most color of all.

Tunics are a brightly colored patchwork design with a finger-width, solid color hem. Vests are similar in that they have the same type of hem. But with the vests, the majority is a solid color found among the swamp area around the clan. Woven through this solid color are single or double lines of colored thread.

Footwear is much more utilitarian. For the Eltaa, it is a lowcut pair of shoes and calf-wraps. Both are usually made from leather, but it isn't unusual for the calf-wraps to be made of canvas.