Elves

A community expelled from their homeland long ago, the elves are a people without a true home. Much of elven culture is descended from the sylvans of the seelie realm. Much of the elven traditions and cultures stem from their ancestors of the Elven Congregation, and due to the extended lifespan of the elves, these traditions remain in the memories of the oldest members of the species. This causes the culture of the elves to be largely similar, even across continents and over oceans.

Naming Traditions

Family names

Elves have, for the most part, kept the naming traditions for given names of their sylvan ancestors. However, some elves of the Material Plane - more specifically, those born after the God War - have begun to adopt the surname traditions of other creatures native to the material plane. Elven surnames consist of the name of one of the elf's parents, along with one of three suffixes: -ar or -lar for male elves, -el, -elle, or -ele for female elves, and -ol or -rol as an additional gender-neutral suffix that can be used for any gender. Old Elves, however, do not have surnames - and there are few enough of them remaining in the world that one name is enough for them. Instead, Old Elves have titles.

Relics of a Bygone Era

There are still some elves alive, though few in number, who were born before the events of the God War. While not physically different from younger elves, these Old Elves have seen times of distraught, destruction, and horror more than any other events in history. During the times of the God War, these elves saw firsthand the gods forsaking their creations, only worried with their own survival. There were very few gods that cared at all to try to prevent the Material Plane and Dulūn from falling entirely, and the majority of those gods are long dead, killed in minor skirmishes.
The Old Elves saw the end of an age filled with magic and prosperity, and watched the world be thrust back into dark ages when people were too scared to leave whatever scarce shelter they could find. The elves that survived the end of their era have been solidified into legends, their stories told in books collecting dust in the back of libraries, murals painted or carved of them in the crumbling walls of ruined building built soon after the end of the war.
These elves each acquired a title, a suffix after their name denoting their place in history: examples of this being Sha'Ren the Lost, Alianna the Haunted, or Morvel the King. These elves, though they do not all necessarily know each other, are able to recognise one another easily: they can see the horrors they have experienced reflected in one another's eyes. Many of these Old Elves have died in the centuries after the God War, and only a handful remain today, as their number slowly dwindles.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

One of the most important aspects of elven culture is their connection to nature. This is reflected in where they make their homes, how they interact with animals, and how they dress. Through connecting with nature, elves believe that they can connect with themselves. It is a core part of elvish belief that, since their originally fey souls have been removed from the Feywild, their souls will become a part of nature wherever they live. As such, elves attempt to connect to nature in their lifetimes, taking care of their souls' future homes.

Art & Architecture

Elvish architecture heavily features arches and curves, the most common building material being wood or stone. Most elvish buildings are an extension of the landscape around them, making elvish cities difficult to detect from far away. Where many human settlements focus their energy on bending the environment to suit their communities, elvish settlements adapt to their environments.
One of the most common forms of elvish art is wood- and stonecarving. They create murals depicting things ranging from abstract shapes to landscapes to events in their history, but regardless of the subject matter, all art is considered sacred. The act of creating any form of art is seen as a meditative task, a form of connecting to the material which one is using for their art.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

Elven birth is incredibly rare. The species is largely infertile, and around 50% of them completely sterile. As such, the birth of an elf is seen as a blessing and a great honour to the parents. Elven children often grow up surrounded by multiple adult elves raising them.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Elves value long hair, sharp features, and long limbs. Their fashion is remniscient of nature, a remnant of the religious beliefs and holy garments of the Elven Congregation. This includes leaf-like patterns, bronze detailing and embroidering, a green, brown, yellow, and orange colour palette, and branch-like jewellery and headpieces.
Elves place a particularly large amount of importance on their hair. Elven hair is sacred, something that must never be touched except by the elf themself, their immediate family, or their closest friends and loved ones. It is also considered bad luck to cut one's hair. Due to the long lifespans of the elves, the hair of an older elf can get incredibly long. They tend to wear their hair in intricate updos to get it out of the way, these updos often featuring braids, ribbons, jewellry, flowers, leaves, and branches.

Other Information

Major organizations

Despite the elves' nomadic origins, there are a few nations that have been founded by elves since their migration to the Material Plane. The oldest of these, found on Ansara, is Relana. The second, located in Vehasi, is Khastoro.

Elven vs. Elvish

The terms “elvish” and “elven” are often confused for one another. Both are words and are correct in their own right; the difference, however, is the context of their usage. The term “elven” is used to describe people - an elf who is a woman is an elven woman. The term “elvish”, on the other hand, is used to denote objects or places associated with elves. A city inhabited by elves is an elvish city, and a blade crafted by an elf is an elvish blade.

Encompassed species

• Elf