Description
Calelis is a high elf with impeccable, waist length blonde hair and a broad build. His hazel eyes are a brilliant contrast to his pale, pinkish skin. His expression is naturally disarming and pleasant, with a warmth that invites feelings of comfort and peace.
Even for a timeless, ageless elf, he looks old; a reflection of his advanced years at the time of his deathbed Inaethrid. Regardless, he moves as nimbly as he ever did in his prime, with the strength and resilience of a tree in the gale. In combat, his shield and weapon are often fully extended in counterbalance, flashing in arcs of brilliant silver like the crescent moon.
Personality
The Grandfather of Gylidder elves is ancient even by elven reckoning; some elves insist that he was one of the very first true elves born in the Inaethrite Era, which would have made him over 10,000 years old
before his Inaethrid. If this is true - and the mystery of how he managed to live so long has many possibilities - then before he became immortal he was old enough to have seen over twenty generations of his family grow up and have children of their own. Among the elves of
Hynfaol, the story goes that "Calelis' family tree is the root of the Verdant Mesa, and its boughs are his line."
Despite this, Calelis has
never lost his love for the elven people, and by extension all of those who live among them and have their blessing as friends or adopted family. Even among other cultures, Calelis is known as the example by which all other fathers are measured. He encourages growth through hard work, community through communication, empathy through love, and celebrates even the smallest victories. He comforts those in pain and helps them work through loss, reminds them of what is important, and encourages play.
Calelis is also a staunch supporter of living in perfect harmony with nature; to give back selflessly as much as you take, and to take only with thanks. He is one of the very few Inaethri who
Vrokíva has consciously ignored. Likewise it's a common theory that if Gylidd ever falls to the Brume, Hynfaol may well be one of the only places in Gylidd where the mist will never go... and Calelis' careful cultivation of that spirit of balance is likely why.
Abilities
In his mortal prime the Inaethri of family and community was a paladin of the ancient oath, and unlike many divine warriors was an expert with magically agile heavy armors and dextrous weapons. His skill at arms declined in his last few centuries, but since his Inaethrid Calelis has become a whirling dervish once again. Oaths taken in service to nature and the balance of life have granted him access to not only paladin but also druidic magic, and he was well known for taking prisoners with his spells.
Among the elves of Gylidd, Calelis is regarded as a nearly tangible presence that binds sylvan cultures together, a affection and patience that suffuses the soul and watches over plant, beast, spirit, and aethrin alike. The Hacharwyddic 'Toch' - the name for the wreathlike symbol of his faith - is nearly omnipresent in Hynfaelic architecture and designs. Calelis is the binding agent, the glue, the peacemaker, ever with outstretched arms like a warm embrace.
Worshippers
"It is just as important to indulge our wants as it is to meet our needs. Grandfather teaches us to work hard to earn the right to play, and to share what we've earned so we never forget that we're all family."
— Coscolalia, a parishoner of Hynfaol
Calelis' order of devotees are known as the Alevallin (ah-LAY-vah-leen), crusaders whose primary function is to defend sylvan ways, protect the home, and retrieve family who have been lost afield. Calelis' followers practice and teach a fighting style called Aleval (ah-LAY-vahl) that focuses around the twisting, flowing course of a falling leaf, defending and advancing at the same time with whirling motions of equal offense and defense. Holy sites dedicated to the Grandfather are known as Llochoed ("cho-KESS-ed", literally "shelter of boughs") Temples, and the greatest of these is found at the heart of ancient Hynfaol - the Cranllochoed ("gran-cho-KESS-ed," literally "grand shelter of boughs") - a multi-story building fashioned of ageless tree trunks with a roof made of canopied leaves. The Copperblade River runs directly through its roots, making the building itself a span between both halves of the city - much the way Calelis is seen as a bridge between his people.
As an Inaethri, Calelis is
loved by Gylidd, even by those who are not sylvan in nature. The 'Toch' is found all over the city, especially in places devoted to the service of others such as orphanages and houses of healing. The concepts he represents - duty, loyalty, fairness, compassion, protection, and acceptance - are intrinsic to Gylidder culture and it is unlikely his Inaethrid will ever fade short of the complete destruction of said culture. If even one Gylidder survives,
they will remember Calelis.
Activities
Calelis' energy has always been focused on maintaining the sylvan communities of Gylidd. He staunchly opposes the violent methods and unscrupulous goals of his Inaethric sister,
Tahlisal, but recognizes her uncanny ability to energize the hearts of the elven people. He disagrees with the blanket neutrality of his Inaethric cousin,
Kethisarqueya, but he respects her ability to inspire focus and expertise in his grandchildren. As one of the three great powers of the Hacharwyddic ("huh-SHAR-wid-ick," literally "the magic of life and light") Triumvirate, Calelis' aim is to help others see the paths laid out before them and make educated choices about their future with their eyes wide open.
Grandfather encourages his grandchildren to provide aid and succor to each other, as he would do, and to listen to the wisdom of the elder while respecting the fresh perspective of the young. He quests his Alevallin to seek those sylvan souls who are lost, whether alive or dead, and bring them back into the fold for healing and closure. On rare occasions, he encourages a proactive stance of offensively seeking out darkness which threatens to envelop life, and charges his devotees to use his lessons to make bold new decisions in the troubling and confusing times mortals must endure.
Divine Realm
Calelis' outer plane is the one he shares with the rest of the Hacharwyddic Pantheon, a coterminous realm with the
The Mhelydraud's singular aspect, "Achar." Rather than burning heat and crushing weight, the power of the Inaethri have transmuted light and solar forces into a habitable realm split spiritually in thirds - the surface of raw energy - Ignimr Ydd ("ee-gnee-MEER ED", literally "the weight of raw emotion") to Tahlisal, the cold starlit sky above - Alamscera ("al-um-SERR-uh", literally "the veil of starlight") - to Kethisarqueya, and the cloudlike realm between - Hachar yn Adul ("huh-SHAR een ah-DOOL", literally "the shelter of life and light") - to Calelis.
Calelis' territory is fashioned to feel as solid and substantial as the memories of family honored by those who have come to pass. Those who were unable to balance their vices and resist their selfish urges at the cost of their people pass through it and are swallowed up by Tahlisal's realm. Meanwhile, those who were too selfless and lacked the conviction to be with their people are carried aloft on solar winds and deposited in the cold, unfeeling dark skies above, which belong to Kethisarqueya.
Possessions
Calelis' Inaethrid only speaks of a nimble, powerful warrior wielding an 'arc of flashing silver' as a weapon, and a 'plate of shimmering silver' as a shield. Not only are the stories purposefully unspecific about what exactly the Inaethri uses to do battle, but the priests of Calelis actively resist the idea that any story about Grandfather has only one set of specifics. What is important - and most likely true - is that Calelis' silvered weapon and aegis are mutable and respond to need, reflecting the strength of one's born talent, while leaving room for nearly endless transmutations of skill and experience. Together, the shield and blade are known as Elveddiaeth ("the Inheritance" in Gylidder elven). In exceedingly rare circumstances they may find their way from Calelis' side to someone who is both worthy and in great need.
History
Calelis was an elf who spent most of his years moving from one vocation to the next, living in relative obscurity. It was only in the twilight of his life that he began to shoulder more responsibility, undergoing arduous challenges in defense of the generations of sylvan races to follow. As a capable swordsman with the will to master divine magic, he spent many centuries fighting for what he loved, but his true calling was as a sage advisor for his people, many of whom were related to him over several generations or through marriages by the time his story ended.
He very nearly avoided godhood, as he went to his deathbed denying an Inaethrid fueled by the love and faith of his people. But a last minute plea to his spirit, which had nearly moved on, reminded him of his eternal promise of protection and guidance. And so, after centuries of life among them, Calelis ascended to become a symbol of the importance of family and the wisdom of old age.
