Elf

A Timeless People

Elves, known collectively as the Umman Manda (meaning "The horde from who-knows-where" in Lustrian) to the rest of the world, appear to other races as hauntingly beautiful and lithe Humans. Their complexion is anywhere from peach to pale white. Their hair color also tends to be lighter, usually blonde or silvery white, but darker colors are not especially rare. They stand taller than humans, around 6 to 7 feet, but are naturally slenderer and have an easy grace to their movements. Since being exiled to the northern tundra, the Elves have become bulkier as they fight and hunt daily in impossibly brutal conditions for their continued survival. No Elf has ever died of old age and some living claim to be over a thousand years old.
This lifespan gives Elves a broad perspective over history - some still recount with firsthand experience the Elven Wars and hold personal grudges against men 600 years in the grave. They would be excellent sources of historical knowledge if only they hadn't been exiled into the Wuthering Wights after those selfsame wars. Now, they are a hardy people who spend every thought on surviving the brutal northlands but they dream of the day that they can reclaim their lost lands.

The Freezing North

The Elves once inhabited the area of modern day Hymbra and northern Qemt'Or. Ruins of their cities can still be found in the Dolem river basin and the Hungering Lands. During the period of the Schism and the Great Human Migration, many kith from Lustria headed north into Elven territory. The Elves, always few in population, were outnumbered within centuries and were nearly annihilated in the Elven Wars. The survivors of these wars were forced north into the Wuthering Wights, the frigid, windswept desert that extends from the tip of the Skulls to the Gelid Sea.
All Elves now live in the Wuthering Wights. Existence is a daily challenge: the freezing temperatures, the blasting and biting wind, the paucity of food; all combine to make an inhospitable land where only the hardiest survive. The Elves spread themselves thin in this tundra, a people shattered into myriad independent tribes who eke out an existence hunting herds of giant elk.

A Disparate People

The Elves split into nomadic tribes by necessity - there is not enough food to maintain any sort of settlement. Now, centuries after the split, the Elves are a fractured people. No one but the Elves know how many tribes there are in the Wuthering Wights. The tribes don't generally cross paths, but occasionally two tribes will being following the same herd of giant elk; when this happens, there can be a territorial dispute. Sometimes this can be settled peacefully with a drinking contest or a test of might or skill between the tribes' champions, but sometimes it leads to a bloody war.
Once a year, though, the tribes all meet on purpose. This is called a Great Moot and it is held during midsummer, when the weather is as nice as it gets and there is enough food to feed every Elf - at least for a single day. On this day, tribes intermarry their sons and daughters, share news and gossip, feast and drink, compete in contests, and pray to the gods for the quick coming of the hero. Each year a different tribe hosts the Great Moot, and that tribe is given preferential treatment for hunting until the next Great Moot.

Faith in a Future

The Elves consider themselves to be demi-gods. They pay grand propitiations to Hades and Artemis, but most of all to Zeus, whom they consider to be their father. One day, they believe, Zeus will lead them on a jihad to reclaim their lost lands.

The Teachings of Wise Nalomanterys

Student: Mentor, why do we live in the cold?
Nalomanterys: Because the gods are testing our devotion.
Student: Mentor, why do the gods test us?
Nalomanterys: To make sure we will not break when they use us.
Student: Mentor, for what will the gods use us?
Nalomanterys: To punish the heathens.
Student: Mentor, why will the gods punish the heathens?
Nalomanterys: For stealing the lands the gods gave to us.
Student: Mentor, when will the gods punish the heathens?
Nalomanterys: When Sister Artemis sends us great herds of elk, and our hero rises from the snows, then we will know Sister Athena and Brother Ares are ready.
Student: Mentor, how can I prepare.
Nalomanterys: Give yourself over to the gods. Live like they live. Be ready to fight.
Student: Thank you, mentor.

Excerpt from "Stories from the Tip of the World: Umman Mandan, Leonin, and Hymbran Cultures." by Dromdorrian explorer Rauta Stonekeg.

Allegedly performed for Mr. Stonekeg during the Great Moot, with the tribal chiefs collectively playing the part of Nalomanterys and everyone else playing the part of the student.

Cursed by Aphrodite

Elven myths variously describe Aphrodite as either a jealous goddess or a pretender, who is not a goddess at all, but tricked the other gods into believing she is. For what other reason would their supposed Sister bestow upon the Elves such a cruel and wicked curse as that of the hollowborn? The Curse of the Hollowborn has been with the Umman Manda for as long as they can remember, and no other race suffers from it. Once in a while, Elven mothers will give birth to "hollowborn" - children without souls, according to the Elves. The children "live" and breathe, but they do not speak, they do not listen, they do not react to anything around them. The hollowborn can survive and grow, but they are more like dolls than people and most mothers feed their hollowborn children to the Wights rather than burden the tribe.
This curse comes and goes, affecting many families over a short period of time before disappearing. While the Elves are cursed, as many as 95% of births result in a hollowborn. The oldest Elves attest that the curse was more common before the Elven Wars, and they have discovered that the curse can be suppressed by raiding the southern lands. When the curse is active, a moot is called, and a tribe volunteers to attack Hymbra. Only a few members of these tribes return alive to bring back spoils and recount the legend of their fallen tribe in immortal song. These facts lend further credence to the Elves' conclusion that the gods want them to take back their former lands.

"I was still awake when they came. One second the night was nice and quiet with cricket and - and you know - frog songs and such, the next and doors were being kicked down - WHAM! WHAM! - and then people just started screaming. I tore outta there afore even lookin'. I knew what it was - I knew it was the Umman Manda - I heard 'em singin' their death songs while they butchered my neighbors."

John Calsson, sole survivor of the Yarnis massacre. 615 AS.

Waiting for a Legend

Every Elf knows the prophecy foretold by Snurri Snowsong, shaman of the Foxtail tribe. It is cryptic, but most chiefs and shaman over the centuries have agreed that Snurri prophesized the coming of an Elven hero who will unite the tribes, destroy Hymbra, and reclaim the Elves' lost lands. The rest of the prophecy is generally interpreted as the hero betraying the queen or the sister of the king of Hymbra and killing the heir of the nation.

"[There comes a day when a hero shall rise from the snow, and speak as one the breath of many.
-------------------
There comes a day when a sister shall lose her child to a broken oath
-------------------
There comes a day when a vicious act shall bring an age of prosperity.
-------------------
It shall be then that the forgotten ones shall reclaim what is theirs by right.]"

At leasht I think that'sh how it goes... hic! It rhymesh in Elvish too... pretty... pretty pretty it is... hic!"
- Rauta Stonekeg, 11 ales in, regaling a fellow tavern-goer with an Elven prophecy [edited for clarity].

Names

Each Elf's name is a unique creation, though it might reflect the names of respected individuals or other family members. Little distinction exists between male names and female names; the groupings here reflect only general tendencies. In addition, every Elf bears a family name, typically a combination of other Elvish words.
Male Names: Adran, Aelar, Aramil, Arannis, Aust, Beiro, Berrian, Carric, Enialis, Erdan, Erevan, Galinndan, Hadarai, Heian, Himo, Immeral, Ivellios, Laucian, Mindartis, Paelias, Peren, Quarion, Riardon, Rolen, Soveliss, Thamior, Tharivol, Theren, Varis
Female Names: Adrie, Althaea, Anastrianna, Andraste, Antinua, Bethrynna, Birel, Caelynn, Drusilia, Enna, Felosial, Ielenia, Jelenneth, Keyleth, Leshanna, Lia, Meriele, Mialee, Naivara, Quelenna, Quillathe, Sariel, Shanairra, Shava, Silaqui, Theirastra, Thia, Vadania, Valanthe, Xanaphia
Family Names (Common Translations): Amakiir (Gemflower), Amastacia (Starflower), Galanodel (Moonwhisper), Holimion (Diamonddew), Ilphelkiir (Gemblossom), Liadon (Silverfrond), Meliamne (Oakenheel), Naïlo (Nightbreeze), Siannodel (Moonbrook), Xiloscient (Goldpetal)

Traits

Population: low
Location: Wuthering Wights
Recommended Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom
Common Classes: Barbarian, Cleric, Ranger
Age: Elves can live forever. They are considered adults at 14, which is when they must begin contributing to the tribe. Many Elves do not make it to adulthood, and many more do not make it past 100 before the wilderness claims them.
Size: Most Elves are between 6 and 7 feet tall. They are born more slender than Humans, but because of their circumstances, most end up quite a bit bulkier than the average Human. Your size is medium.
Speed: Your speed is 35 ft.
Brutal Home: You have proficiency in survival and athletics.
Trance: Elves cannot sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. Because they cannot sleep, Elves cannot dream. They describe the sensation of their trance as like being spun around in the blackness of their own skull.
Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Elvish. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Elven literature is rare, most of their stories and histories are sung aloud in a group instead of written down.
Weapon Training: The Elves are a martial people. You start with 1 more weapon mastery than normal. Homebrew: Weapon Mastery
Dreamless Nature: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
Mask of the Wild: You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.

Forgers of Gromril: Elves are one of two groups of people who control a supply of Gromril (which the Elves call "Mithril"). The Elves consider this metal to be the bones of the gods and therefore sacred. Elves wear this armor in battle against the beasts of the arctic wastes, but take it off at the cost of their own safety when they raid Hymbra so the Hymbrans cannot get their hands on the metal. No one knows where the Elves get their Gromril from.

Bards: Elves have always been a musically inclined people, so it is no wonder that bards have begun cropping up among them more often than in other groups of people.
Shaman: The Elves are an especially religious people and the shaman are the middle men between their people and the gods. While not actually magical in any way, the Shaman memorize and recite the stories of their people, create special rituals using poisonous plants and funguses, and spiritually guide wayward souls. There is a single shaman for each tribe and they answer only to the chief.