Ibelilar
Your books always referred to the ibelilar as "the graceful ones", so you were utterly unprepared for the look of your guide through Kaldin Forest. His arms are thick, the dark brown of aged tree bark. His eyes seem to glow a soft orange light as he looks over the wound you sustained on the borders of the forest, and he cooes softly as he looks at the wound. He is wearing a tangled mess of twigs until you realize the twig-sized strands are, in fact, his hair.
You yelp as he pokes at the wound, and he jumps back and bumps into a table. A faint green liquid splashes across the floor, and you hear him say something that sounds suspiciously like a curse. He frowns and turns back to you. In an instant, his rude demeanour switches to a passive, matronly gaze.
"That is going to hurt for a few more days, my friend. But the village elders say it is time for you to leave. We can't take care of you forever." He places a hand above the centre of his chest in a gesture of calm. "I am Quinër Sol'shanron, and I will be your guide through to Kahari." You get the feeling that this is going to be an interesting journey.
Appearance
The appearances of the various types of ibelilar make it difficult to make generalizations, but there are a few generally accepted traits that all ibelilar share:- Pointed ears: the ears of the ibelilar (and their mixed race with the tepilar, the astanlar) come to a soft point. It is the most easily recognized trait among them, and even small Orkanisan children know to identify the ibelilar from their ears.
- Slanted eyes: the eyes of the ibelilar are also, to a degree, pointed, being slightly tilted towards the upper sides of the face rather than flat like many other races.
- Thin physique: a strong and buff-looking ibelilar is so rare that it almost never exists. Thick-armed fighters rarely do well among the ibelilar, who have a penchant for finesse rather than force in combat.
Common Traits
All ibelilar have a few basic traits that cross racial boundaries. First, they live incredibly long. It is said that there are ibelilar alive today that lived when the Star Empire fell nearly a millennia ago, and maybe even older. Second, they evolved with a resistance against the magical nature of the Fay, as the two species often were in direct competition in the forests of Orkanis. Charms and sleeping spells often have little effect on them, and they often have intrinsic magic that they can use against others. Third, their love of the starry nights means they gained the ability to see in the moonlit dark as if it were day and the darkest reaches always have a little light for them.Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
The Kingdom of Loria is ruled by a dynasty of caldilar, just like the Star Empire before them. It is unsurprisingly the nation with the largest amount of ibelilar, followed by The Republic of De’ari-Bomsi.
The Starshine Academy is mostly for the caldilar, but they promote the elven race throughout Orkanis. Some would say they do this to an almost fanatical degree, but these criticisms are becoming more commonplace.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
If there is one thread that ties the disparate cultures of the ibelilar together, it is the love of community. An ibelilar feels strongly grounded in the world through their local commune, and it is often hard for them to leave that behind to explore.
History
The Hymn of the Eselar claims that the elves were the first race to be created by the gods in the First Era. Each of the four kinds of ibelilar was watched over by one of the four mother goddesses: Seshani'er for the caldilar, Xartas for the xertilar, Zëga'coldar for the zëganilar and Beri'ways for the berilar. Each adapted to their native environment over the millennia of their existence.
Their peaceful existence with the land was shattered when the Corrupted Ones began their attack on the free world, bringing about the First War. The lar were mainly led by the ibelilar factions, with the main ibelilar city of Rosanri becoming the main headquarters of the Free Ones' efforts in that conflict.
The siege of Rosanri and the Great Sundering led to the deaths and devastation of the ibelilar race. Many believed the gods had abandoned them in their time of need. What few remained retreated to the shadows of the quiet forests and empty central plains of Sedesta and the dense jungles of the Thousand Stars, where they rarely interacted with the world at large. With the exception of the Star Empire and the growing power of the Grand Court of Xarolan, they rarely interested themselves in the affairs of the rest of the world.
That is, until recently. With the increasing numbers of tepilar and other races beginning to enter the woodlands and tamed places, the ibellilar have once again become an important race on Orkanis. Their knowledge and honed magical skills are of great interest to the information-hungry peoples of the world, although they still rarely oblige.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
The ibelilar are highly regarded almost everywhere they go, being considered the wisest and most knowledgeable of all the races. Beyond this general statement, though, many resentments linger due to the harsh treatment of many other races under the Star Empire's rule or racist caricatures perpetrated by many protective ibelilar in other parts of Orkanis.
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
At least 250 years, with many living into their 700's.
Average Height
1.5-1.9 metres.
Average Weight
60-80 kg
Naming Traditions and Languages
The ibelilar stick to the language and naming traditions of their individual communities, which is a dialect of Caldian, Berian, Xertian or Zëganian. There is no pan-elven language like the weddelar or vidashlar; the four languages barely even share a script.Geographic Distribution
The ibelilar stay in communes and small groups throughout the world, the caldilar being an obvious exception. Voldawë and Nollar are the most well-known settlements that are almost completely ibelilar in composition.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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