Sol'Cari Elves

When the Elves came under sustained attack from the rapidly growing human kingdoms, they made the choice to wall themselves off from the world in order to prevent the destruction of their peoples. In doing so, they also made the fateful choice to abandon a sizeable portion of their own population to whatever fate befell them. The intervening centuries were not kind to those elves left or shut out by their kinsmen. The human kingdoms of those ages viewed the Elves as a rival, or an impediment to their domination, and so the victors did not treat the losers kindly. For generations these elves were treated as vagabonds, criminals, lesser citizens, and even slaves. Cut off from their former homelands, and left to their own survival, they tenaciously held onto their history and culture in small enclaves, villages, neighborhoods, or social communities. This lasted until the grandchild of one of the surviving noble families quietly rallied, and led away the first groups of elves to a new homeland. In the dense forests of Thas'Dorah, in the ruins of a former elven city, a people slowly and secretly rebuilt itself and renamed themselves the Sol'Cari; meaning New Sun or New Dawn.

A Bitterness

The Sol'Cari elves are considered a distinct sub-culture of mostly High Elves found predominantly in the realm of Thas'Dorah. Time and experience has made them bitter towards many who should have been friends, but were not there when the need arose. The Sol'Cari hold a fair amount of disdain for both their Wood Elven and High Elven kinsmen who shut their doors, and hid in their magical forests and cities. They also have little love-loss for Humanity in general for both the destruction of their people, and their subsequent treatment over the many years. They also harbor no small amount of resentment towards their Gods, whom they also feel abandoned them in their times of need. The end result is a people who favor control of their own destiny, power, and self-reliance. As a formal state, they are generally agnostic towards the Gods; they cannot deny their existence, but prefer to not bothering to put much faith in that which can't or won't help its own people. But, while no god is endorsed by the state, they do not prevent people from worship if that is their desire. Having been outcast from their own culture for so long, and re-establishing themselves in the ruins of former city; the Sol'Cari suffer from a historical amnesia; they have no libraries with knowledge dating back generations, no halls of great honor with heroes of the past, or grand archives of artifacts dating back to early history. But they do crave this knowledge and continuously send out bands to recover lost artifacts and knowledge.

Ambitious Survivors

The Sol'Cari are gritty survivors who learned hard lessons about what it takes to survive; including what many might view as unsavory. It is not clear where the Sol'Cari learned some of their practices, and they do not openly share that knowledge. Most obvious of these, is their use of a substance known as Shadeglass, made from refined Shadestone to capture the souls of the most prominent members of society when they die, so that they can become part of the Amaranthine Assembly. The Assembly acts as an advisory body to the Lord Regent and other leaders, who can seek advice from the honored dead whenever the need arises. Rumors also run rampant that they are practitioners of occult blood magics, soul draining, demon summon, and even claims of necromancy; no doubt fueled by the imaginations of those who also see the Amaranthine Assembly as a necromantic abomination. Regardless of what the truths are, the Sol'Cari are known most often for their Bladedancers, Warlocks, Sorcerers, Wizards, Fighters, Blood Hunters, and Rangers.

Personality and Appearance

The Sol'Cari tend to be described as being incredibly nationalistic, prideful, arrogant, dismissive, morose, but at the same time, hopeful and energetic. They are a people for the first time in many generations see a future for themselves, and they want more of it. They are far more aggressive in trying to establish new colonies and recruit other elves to their cause. They energetically seek out knowledge and artifacts wherever they can be found, and will viciously protect the ruins of an untouched elven site from raiders despite having no knowledge of its contents or owners. And they're willing to take risks, some too far. The Sol'cari presently walk a fine line that makes many other elves remember the Fall of their once great continental civilization to many of the very same pursuits they follow today. While the description of morose, humorless, and dark can most certainly be applied to the people as a whole; individually many live their lives happily as any would who has been given a future they once didn't have. Joy, laughter, music, art and more still have commonplace in a Sol'Cari city. Physically, the Sol'Cari match their High Elven brothers because many are in fact immigrants to Thas'Dorah. But those born in Thas'Dorah tend towards eyes of green or purple with blond, white or copper-red hair, and skin either of a pale tan or darker complexion from the wood elves living in the region. Many in the area are of mixed blood from a combination of High Elves, Wood Elves, and Half-Elves. Red, Black, and Gold are the most common colours worn across the land; and symbols of a phoenix or rising sun are common motifs.

A new Kingdom

The Sol'Cari, while a very young kingdom, are also very ambitious; and live in a number of places:
Sol'Cari Realm of Thas'Dorah - In ancient times, Thas'Dorah was a sparsely populated coastal realm, far away from the major urban centers of the grand elven kingdom. But this was not enough to spare its fate, as over the centuries, it's few small cities were either abandoned, or conquered and forgotten. For millenia the woods remained occupied only by small bands of wood elves aiming to keep civilization from their lands. Later the Sol'Cari chose this land to secretly rebuild a kingdom before revealing their presence to the world. Today, Thas'Dorah is awash with life. Elves and Half-Elves from all across the known world have moved here to be part of a rebirth after being left to whims of history.
Thal'Dorah, The Phoenix City- Thal'Dorah is the capital city of the Thas'Doran Kingdom, and the spiritual heart of the Sol'Cari people. Its elegant red roofed, sandstone colored spires see to invoke a majesty of Elven civilization gone past. The streets are lit by strange crystals which glow with an otherworldly light. It is home to such structures as the Grand Sepulcher of the Amaranthine Assembly, The Sunstrider Spire, Court of the Sun, and the Sanctum of Amytok. Outsiders find the city a strange, lively mix of macabre, dour, determination and lively music, culture, and entertainment.
Island of Thal'Anar - The largest Sol'Cari enclave outside of Thas'Dorah was founded as a colony in the ruins of an elven city on an islands south across the Gulf of Thal'Andras. It is used as trading and staging hub for explorations across southern Esseas and has become home to one of the largest libraries in the Sol'cari realms. Its main port has become a regular stop for ships of all types venturing up and down the coasts leading to an incredibly varied and colorful population.
The Colonies - the Sol'Cari have quietly established a number of small outposts and colonies around the Tempest Sea. This includes the frontier outposts of Fort Dawning at the mouth of the Jungles of Xeti, Farstrider Post on the island of Ishkahlah, and Sunrock Retreat at the tip of the Ixaocan archipelago. Each of these outposts on the fringes of the world is home to at most several hundred colonists, explorers, adventurers, archeologists, soldiers, and more. They represent the first wave of the Sol'Cari plan to rebuild their kingdoms.