Zëganilar

Your first meeting with elves that you can remember is when you were little. You couldn't have been more than seven or eight, still a young child. But you remember the ambassadors as clearly as if you saw them a few days ago.
Your father's lands bordered a tribe of zëganilar or field elves. Every once in a while, they would have a small dispute with him, or a favour to ask of or demand from him. When they did, they made sure that they were not ignored. A significantly large group of them would walk into his main audience chamber and demand to speak with him immediately. To the surprise of everyone, your father always made them feel like honoured guests, even when some villagers would grumble about the preferential treatment of the delegation.
The figures were not much taller than you back then, but you'd likely tower over them several years later. Their skin looked like polished gold, and they were dressed in all kinds of colourful furred clothing. You remember one older one that had a slightly chewed-off left ear and wore elaborate armour, but you were fascinated by their grace and their interesting appearance.
Their dispute was about some wandering sheep that had desecrated a holy site of theirs, and the old one got very heated about it. It was all in their high, whistling tongue and you couldn't understand it, so you had to hear about it from your father later that night. But you went to bed that night dreaming of golden-skinned people wandering the plains, chasing the monsters that usually haunted your nightmares.
Maybe that's why you always wanted to see the world. To find them and follow them over the horizon.

Appearance

The golden skin of the zëganilar is their most memorable characteristic, as it allows them to blend into the grasses and fields of their homelands. They often have long, brown hair and green or blue eyes. Their limbs often seem lanky, but adult zëganilar often are the strongest among the ibelilar.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Most zëganilar attach themselves to bands that wander the plains. Nomadic and with few personal possessions, they tend to keep to themselves and stay away from civilization. When bands get too big, they split off and form smaller groups that find their own paths. A zëganilar without a band is like a human with no family, in that they have no role models or attachment to their home culture.

Shared customary codes and values

The hunt is the key ceremony or custom of the zëganilar. In order for their community to continue to exist, they must go out and hunt the wild beasts of the plains. A child is considered an adult when it can go on a hunt without being closely guarded by the other hunters.
Curiosity is also heavily promoted among the zëganilar bands. Explorers are heavily encouraged, and some of Orkanis's best cartographers have been field elves who have explored much of the world themselves.

Art & Architecture

Acrobatics, dancing and sports are the main recreational activities of the field elves when they are not hunting. Archery is one of their most beloved sports, as it is necessary for the hunt and also something requiring a great deal of skill.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

A marriage among the zëganilar is one elaborate gift-giving party. To show how much the two families love one another, they will often try to outdo one another with intricate trinkets, small favours for every guest, and providing the best food to the ceremony. The ceremony itself, by contrast, is a rather simple affair presided over by the band's priest of Zëga'coldar.

Funerary and Memorial customs

The zëganilar have a very elaborate funerary custom. It is known as nömelas'zëgan, or "shining fields", where the band's priest of Zëga'coldar will craft a large tent out of yellow and white grasses. The body is placed inside for ten days of lamentation, and then the building is collapsed and ignored while the band moves on to another location.

Common Myths and Legends

Biltakash is a well-known figure among the zëganilar of southern Sedesta, as he once killed an ancient golden dragon that had attempted to burn down a large segment of the plains that now bear his name.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Beauty itself isn't particularly valued by the zëganilar, but they do find someone attractive if they are strong and dextrous. Coming from a race were travel is constant and life is hard, they find graceful but forceful people to be desirable.

Courtship Ideals

The zëganilar love giving gifts, and new lovers engage in incessant gift giving. It is not uncommon to have a pair of zëganilar who have fallen in love exchange multiple small gifts a day. Of course, a marriage is the ultimate gift-giving event of them all.

Major organizations

The Grand Councils of Polias is the main congregation of zëganilar tribes that meets every year. Within that ad-hoc council, each individual tribe has its alliances and factions that maintain a semblance of order among the elves.

Also known as

Field elves

Encompassed species

• Ibelilar

Related Locations

• Sedesta

Naming Traditions

Male Names: Abanë, Acaldë, Beri, Caldwë, Cölmamë, Dösar, Eldar, Frëwon, Lamesi, Lordë, Milnar, Norür, Slishar, Scanë, Viriwë
Female Names: Älani, Biri, Ciltranë, Colfanë, Fistralë, Gilsë, Hildawë, Larinë, Malë, Rotanë, Sölti, Tiranë, Visinë, Waldi, Yodanë

Languages

Among themselves, the zëganilar prefer their own tongue, but many of the traditional wandering bands of field elves now live near tepilar settlements or other elves. For that reason, knowledge of many languages has become highly prized among the zëganilar.

Geographic Distribution

The Lorian Plain is home to the vast majority of the zëganilar bands and communes, but large numbers also wander the Great Grass Sea and The Plain of Biltakash. A few are found in all major Lorian cities.

Art Credit: emperorcharlesii (me!)