High Elf
High elves are a subrace of Elf associated with the Winter Court. They are shrewd and highly diplomatic, with the ability to make peace between extremely disparate nations.
Naming Traditions
Family names
- Archavietto
- Avrigard
- Bérendor
- Cithireth
- Dalanthan
- Gilberto
- Hodeárdis
- Keóndathar
- Latarion
- Laurelin
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
High elves tend to speak Elvish whenever feasible. However, the benefits of being multilingual are well-known and highly prized among high elves, and nearly all speak at least one language beyond Common and Elvish, with Sylvan, Draconic, and Celestial being the most common third languages.
Shared customary codes and values
High elves are the eldest of the elven races, and were once the most numerous, with grand cities spread across the northern reaches of the world. Bjália, the Crown of the North, was by far the grandest of them all. However, their homelands were destroyed and their population decimated in the War of Great Sorrow and a number of subsequent Quoluvë outbreaks in northern Scalados. Traditional wisdom among the high elves holds that their culture will inevitably rise again through careful diplomacy (or, perhaps, less peaceful means).
This belief in their heritage and destiny as leaders, combined with their natural charisma and cunning, has allowed high elves to rise to the top ranks of many institutions, from school boards and guilds to religions and even governments. Some take leadership as a solemn responsibility to all they govern, believing that the gifts of their ancestors must be used to usher in a golden age for all peoples; others use their positions to hoard power, only sharing with other high elves they deem worthy (typically their own family members). A few high elves, passed over for leadership positions because of the reputation of the greedier members of their tribe (or because of their own actions and allegiances), rise through the ranks of the underworld instead, seeking to topple those who have shunned them. The most infamous example of this is the Verdini Family of Cantonova.
Art & Architecture
High elven architecture emphasizes a combination of clean lines, rich materials, and intricate craftsmanship. The tradition has been equally forged by academics, commercial artists, and guild craftsmen. The high elven technologies of creating fabricated wood and (especially) fabricated stone heavily influenced the malleable geometric shapes of this architectural style.
Tin-glazed earthenware, called faience in Elvish, is commonly seen in tableware, home goods, and personal effects. Its delicate patterns and complex relief molding typically depict fey or natural themes and can become quite intricate. 
Foods & Cuisine
Use of herbs and spices in high elven cuisine is typically quite restrained; balance between complex, delicate flavors is prized over high levels of spice. Unlike wood elven cuisine, which prefers to adhere to seasonal produce, the feasts of high elven nobles often showcase out-of-season ingredients as a display of the host's wealth. These can be served as preserved or fermented foods as well as magically produced or preserved vegetation.
Funerary and Memorial customs
When possible, high elven funerals are conducted almost entirely within the home or the family estate. Once the body of the deceased is brought into the main room of their home, it is washed, prayed over, dressed in fine clothes, and placed in a wooden casket by the immediate family. The home's hearth is lit immediately, and burns continuously until the following sunrise. This is to draw the Soul of the deceased towards the warmth and light, as opposed to the darkness of the Lower Realms. The hearth must be extinguished as soon as the light of the sun breaches the horizon; otherwise, the soul might become confused about which direction it will go when it finally leaves the home. This is repeated over the next three days: the hearth is lit at sunset and tended all night long, and extinguished immediately at dawn, so that the soul always has some form of guiding light to draw it towards the Upper Planes. At no point over the next three days may anyone be allowed to pass between the body and the hearth; it is believed that any remnants of the soul that have not left the body, or any stories of the dead that may help the soul's journey, will use the hearth as a gateway to travel to the gods.
For the next three days, the deceased must never go unaccompanied. The closest loved ones (spouses, children, parents, adventuring parties) will often take their Trance in the same room as the body, which will often have pillows, blankets, and even full couches and beds moved into it to accommodate family and friends. Friends of the family stop by at all hours, bringing food, liquor, and bouquets of peace lilies and cypress to show their mourning. It is expected that anyone who valued their relationship with the deceased brings a small token of some sort to give to the family (such as a piece of jewelry or cloth doll) while telling a story that warmly remembers them. The next-of-kin keeps these tokens in a chest that sits at the foot of the coffin for the entire wake.
At the third sunrise after death, the body is carried out to the cemetery by the deceased's closest family members. If the family owns an estate, the cemetery will be located somewhere on its grounds; otherwise, the casket will be carried out to the local temple's cemetery. A hole is dug, and the body is buried in a standing position, so that the brain (the seat of the soul) is as close to the heavens as possible. In a private cemetery, the chest of remembrance tokens is usually buried between the body and the headstone; in a public or shared cemetery, it is typically taken home with the next-of-kin. Either way, the chest will be bequeathed to the next of the deceased's children to marry; if the deceased is childless, it will be given to another family member to pass down as they wish.
Historical figures
- Corellon Latharien, first of the elves, recognized today as a saint
- Vecna, the first Lich, a servant of Morigana and tyrant of Bjália during the Age of Anxiety
- Alcaïna Verdini, a paladin of Bahamut who defeated Lord Vecna and restored peace to Scalados
- Jovanaius Verdini, the last Steward of Gold, killed in the Siege of Bjália
Ideals
Gender Ideals
As with all elves, high elves have recognized the fluidity and complexity of gender since time immemorial.
The semi-mythical first elf, Saint Corellon Larethion, was a high elf whose gender was said to fluctuate with the cycles of the moon. The ancient Elvish word for nonbinary people, Istyima (plural: istyimar), originates with them. The istyimar are considered by superstition to have a wider and more complex view of the world than someone who resides within a traditional gender role. The temple-campuses of the Wild Dynasty often have scribes' towers that have traditionally been populated primarily by istyimar mystics.
Parent ethnicities
Diverged ethnicities
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
Related Items
Related Myths
Languages spoken
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