Appearance
Wood elves were easily identifiable by their coppery skin and green, brown, or hazel eyes. Wood Elven hair was usually black or brown, although hues such as blond or copper red were also found. Wood elves tended to dress in simple clothes, with fewer bold colors and a greater number of earth tones that blended into their natural surroundings which tended to change with the seasons. They largely eschewed fancy and elegant clothing and armour in favour of functional clothing and jewelry which can blend into the forests they call home. The general exception for Wood Elves is for nobles and ceremonial purposes, when their attire can certainly match that of their normally more gaudy cousins. Accustomed to a harsh, naturalistic lifestyle, wood elves loved to wear leather armor, even when they were not under immediate threat. Wood elves were roughly identical to other elves in height and build, with males larger than females.
Demeanor
As a people, from the outside; wood elves were largely seen as hot-headed in comparison to their aloof and cold
High Elven cousins. This is in part because they choose not to follow "The Path" in the same way, or at all. Most Wood Elves do have a strong aversion for large cities, having lost the passion for urbanization after The Fall. To wood elves, the trappings of civilization, including the mightiest of fortresses or tallest walls, were transient and impermanent things that would eventually be overcome by the long processes of nature. To many, this attitude seemed condescending, weakening the bonds between wood elves and other races. Additionally, wood elves could sometimes seem off-putting compared to other Elves, with a gruff manner that made them less charismatic, despite their avowed compassion and humility. Wood Elves, in part due to their nomadic nature, also are prolific adventurers who suffer strongly from a wanderlust to see the world and eventually return to their homes stronger and wiser.
Society
Wood elves consider themselves the heirs of the ancient Elven empires established in the Epochs gone by, but they share very few of the cultural characteristics that marked such early realms. Although a proud people, wood elves felt that compassion was a greater virtue than strength and wood elven realms were less concerned with expansion than they were with maintaining amiable relations with their neighbors. Wood Elves also share a particularly strong kinship with
Firbolgs, who often share the wild spaces of their woods in harmony.
Wood Elf society is very fluid, and is divided into two rough portions; the few large cities and the large migratory majority. In the largest of the Wood Elven realms, such as
Argolwyn, the Ardenweald, or the Autumn Glade; there exist permanent cities based around cultural sites or just for convenience of trade, cultural exchange, etc. Outside of these few small urban centers, the majority of Wood elves remain largely nomadic or migratory. Staying in one place for perhaps a week, a month, or a season before moving onto another place. The largest Wood Elven realms are a matriarchy, with the Arbor Queen being the ruler. Outside of the Arbor Queen, the vast majority of social elements are governed under a gerontocratic hierarchy composed of councils selected from the most oldest members the community, or distinguished families' eldest. This is most often the Matriarch of the family and only the male if the Matriarch has passed away. These councils were often advised by local druids or even forest spirits, whose influence played no small part in wood elven politics and who frequently served as the webbing that bound any number of villages together as one realm.
Compared with other Elves, wood elves had a notable disinterest in the arcane arts. To a wood elf, the wizard's spells were little different from the mason's castle walls or the tiller's plow—a means of controlling the natural world, which was contrary to the common ethic of living in harmony with nature rather than trying to dominate it that so many wood elves espoused. As such, wood elven adventurers were more likely to take on careers that did not require the use of arcane magic. In particular, many were drawn to the path of the fighter, the ranger, or the rogue, relying on their natural-born skill to overcome obstacles. Compared with other Elves, very few wood elves went on to become spellsingers or bladesingers. The one major exception to the wood elven taboo on arcane magic was the arcane archers, who counted among their number several wood elves. Other wood elves from more remote areas were drawn to the ways of the barbarian while many religious wood elves became druids with clerics often seen in much the same light as wizards.
Religiously, Wood Elves follow the same
Pantheon as their
High Elven counterparts, but emphasize
certain deities far more than others. For Wood Elves,
Keranos and
Ghyran represent their Alpha and Omega. These two are then ringed by four gods;
Drakira - God of Nature's Wrath,
Selûne - Twin Goddess of Illusion, Moonlight, Night,
Ioun - God of Magic, Knowledge and the Arcane, and
Heliod - God of Justice, the Sun and Summer. These six are worshiped largely to the near exclusion of all others, who are considered to really only have minor roles in Wood Elvish society.
Likewise, the Wood Elves don't follow the rigid Path that the High Elves do. They prefer a philosophy of natural balance, and believe that by not caving to the baser natures that cities and the arcane produce, they have largely avoided the mistakes of their ancestors. But one still can become an Autarch, Exarch, or Archon of one of the Gods, it just tends to be one of the major four.
Wood Elf Realms:
The Ardenweald - The largest and most prosperous of all the Wood Elven realms resides on the far continent of
Tyrean within the Arden Wood at the base of the Baratok Range. In this deep expanse of forest resides locations such as the King's Glade and the Oak of Ages currently lie, thus the realm has also been known to be called the "Groves of Eternity."
Argolwyn - Argwylon is a land of light and wonder, where the rivers are alive with sprites, and the waterfalls sing with ghostly voices. This is a realm of mages and magic, of daily deeds that would be thought miraculous in other corners of the forest. It is nearly entirely surrounded by the
Kingdom of Tiriande along the Southeast side of the Throndak mountains. Argolwyn is believed to be among the closest to the Fey Wild, and it shows in the magical forest wonders, the number forest spirits like Ents and Dryads, and Faerie Glades. The people of Argolwyn live close enough with the forest spirits that it is not uncommon to have a forest spirit as an advisor to royalty or local councils in the stead of elder druids.
The Autumn Glade - A magical wonderland, bathed in the perpetual sun of early autumn, and swimming in rich oranges, browns, reds and yellows of the trees in full autumn year round. This glade, bathed in crimsons and golds, is located at the south end of the Amberwood Peaks in the central
Ondari Dominion. It is home to Dellisandra; the Tree of Eternal Autumn, the Glade of Eternal Starlight, the Mirror Pools Ithorien, and is surrounded by the Fyr Darric; or the Trickster Woods as the Humans have taken to calling it.
The Coastal Realm of Dor'Danil - is a mixed realm, in that it houses several high elf cities, including that of Wy'Drioth on its coast; while its thick pine forests are inhabited by the wood elves of the realm. It is a northern coastal realm, inhabited by shrewd and hardy folk. Battered by chill winds out of the north, icy winter seas and driving rains. But it retains a rugged beauty of deep coniferous forests, rocky shorelines and pristine skies. The Elves from Dor'Danil have included
Kalandrios - God of the Seas, Storms and Rain in their inner circle of Gods due to their proximity to the sea.
Lauloren - Is a smaller forest kingdom, of primarily nomadic tribes in an area of eastern
Tiriande known as the Towering Wood. Druidic magic is a central part of life in the Towering Wood, and for many of the Tirian farmers nearby. Most of the people near the wood seek to live in harmony with the natural world, and its Elven inhabitants. The Elven and many human communities have a druidic advisor who helps with planning, planting, foraging, and general advice. The Towering Woods are also home to tribes of bugbears. The largest sect of Druids found in the Towering Wood, is known as the Wardens of the Wood; they help maintain order and settle disputes. The Great Druid Oalian—an awakened greatpine tree—is the spiritual leader of the Wood Elves in Lauloren.
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