Wild Elf
"Of all them elves, the wild ones are the least unbearable. Some even know how to have fun."Legendarily, when the first elves came to Sanzeia some chose to side with Calowean and took on his golden appearance to become the Sun Elves. Other's followed the moon and darkness of Lyndranel and grew into Moon Elves. There was a third group that took no sides between the deities, and instead forged a closer bond with Sanzeia itself. So called wild or wood elves, tend to be a richer, earthier skin tones than their cousins. Many groups use ritualistic tattoos on body paint to further highlight their bodies. Their hair is most often brown, but has been known to run the full gambit of normal mortal colors, with some individuals even taking on a naturalistic green hue. Traditional wild elf culture focuses much more on the veneration of nature than the divines but can be equally focused on moderation, and neutrality.
-Traditional dwarven summation of elven subtypes
Naming Traditions
Family names
Most elven surnames are a combination of two or more words in elvish. Wild elves of all the elven groups are the most likely to translate the meaning of the word into whichever language they are expressing their name in.
Culture
Coming of Age Rites
In traditional wood elf culture, a child (prior to the age of 100) is expected to leave their family group and return either having brought something back with them or have fulfilled their wanderlust. Upon return (or of finding a proper place they belong) the wild elf chooses their own name by witch they will be known going forward. Calling a elf by their childhood name is seen as gauche in anything but an intimate setting.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Typical wild elf funerary rites vary considerably, but have a common theme that attempts to preserve or entomb the body (even under the earth) are considered taking away from the cycle of nature. When a wild elf dies, their body is typically burned, used to fertilize plants, or ritually offered to scavengers. Those wild elves that prepare "graves" for their ancestors do so with collections of beloved objects rather than any physical part of the deceased.
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