Veca (Vec-ah)
Also known as blood elves, the veca are brown-skinned elves native to the hot jungles of Ixuil, the Fire Realm. Known well for practicing blood magic, the veca tap into the power of blood to harness the "fire of the soul." Utilizing such dark magic has allowed them to gain greater control over their own bodies, and have built up a resistance to heat, their bodies healing faster after being exposed to flame.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The veca speak Ignan instead of Celestial.
Shared customary codes and values
The veca are the most free-spirited and passionate of the elves, caring little for most stringent rules and codes. The veca are a diverse people, as they are encourage to pursue whatever interests catches their passion.
Average technological level
The veca rely little on conventional technology, instead turning to ritual magic and blood sacrifice. They often craft ritual daggers out of bone, and never waste parts of their kills.
Common Etiquette rules
Traversing veca territory uninvited is unwise, as they are territorial and happy to utilize trespassers in their many rituals. If one wishes to travel veca territory, it is wise to bring some sort of gift or offering, and one must be willing to blood-let and offer some of their blood to the tribe as a sign of trust.
Common Dress code
The veca often only wear simple loincloths and light clothing, as to help avoid the jungle heat. They are often found wearing jewelry and clothing crafted from bones and leather, usually from ones family members.
Art & Architecture
The veca craft buildings out of jungle reeds and burnt wood, forming tribal villages hidden deep in the jungle. Such villages often utilize thorny or spikey plants in their construction, so to better draw out the blood of trespassers. Many veca become artists and painters, often mixing blood into their works to further connect it to the primal world.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
It is common to cauterize any wounds taken in battle, as exposer to fire causes a veca's natural healing process to temporarily speed up.
A common greeting in veca culture is to place ones wrists onto each other and offer them forward together, as a symbolic gesture of a willingness to shed blood.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
A newborn veca has its family symbol of its mother carved into it shortly after birth, so that they may share their blood with the earth and accept the blood of their family.
Coming of Age Rites
A young veca must prove themselves in various ways, depending on their life progression. A medicinal man in training might have to treat wounds unaided for a day, while a young warrior might need to slay a mighty beast in a hunt. Female shamans in-training, as well as young matriarchs' are not considered full women until they have undergone the painful process of childbirth; the pain and shedding of blood to bring new life into the world granting them a true understanding of their leadership role.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The veca harvests the parts of their dead, utilizing their bones to make weapons, gear, and ancestral masks so that they wear to easily channel the power of the departed. The veca drain the blood of both their deceased and their defeated enemies, utilizing the blood of their ancestors to empower their spellcasting and the blood of their enemies to make deadly poisons.
Common Taboos
A male veca cannot become a true shaman, no matter how spiritually gifted, though they can become aids and assistants to other shamans. A veca that refuses to shed blood for its tribe will be branded a traitor, and cast out into the jungle to die.
Common Myths and Legends
A majority of veca worship Xaddel, the elven god of Fire and Blood, but can sometimes be found worshipping other members of the elven pantheon.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
The veca don't shy away from pain, as pain is involved in birth and death. Thus, the veca are far less stringent with their beauty standards then other elves, often viewing scars and signs of bloodshed as an accomplishment to be celebrated.
Gender Ideals
Woman hold the leadership roles in veca society, as they shed the most blood for the tribe, and birth new members through blood and hardship. Veca men are expected to shed blood for their tribe through combat, acting as warriors and bodyguards for the matriarch shamans.
Courtship Ideals
The veca are passionate people, and thus often seek the courtship of others. Half-veca are one of the most common types of Half-Elves, and the veca often celebrate pairings with dances and festivals.
Relationship Ideals
The veca are more loose in their ways then the stricter societies of other elves, and thus often have much better relationships among families than the formal stiffness of other elven cultures. Many other elves view the veca as savages, while the veca view other elves as hypocrites, want to venerate the beauty of nature while ignoring its more primal and vicious sides.
While territorial and frightening to outsiders, the veca are one of the most open to other races when the acceptance is mutual. However, other races have a hard time getting past practices they view as barbaric, and thus tensions among the veca and certain races run hot.
Major organizations
The veca have a good relationship with the Tribe of the Eternal Way, and many veca and half-veca are members of the tribe.
Random Veca Homelands
| % Rolled | Homeland | Trait Gained |
|---|---|---|
| 01-30 | Jungle Village | Tropical Botanist |
| 31-60 | Tribal City | Precise Treatment |
| 61-85 | Swamp | Wild Stride |
| 86-94 | Blasted Plains | Planar Escapee |
| 95-00 | Unusual Homeland | (Roll on Unusual Homeland Table) |
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