Introduction:
Elves are a magical people of otherworldly grace, living in places of ethereal beauty, in the midst of ancient forests or in silvery spires glittering with faerie light, where soft music drifts through the air and gentle fragrances waft on the breeze. Elves love nature and magic, art and artistry, music and poetry. Elves are credited with developing the first system of written language, though some Dwarf scholars dispute this.
Sub-Ancestries:
Below are the various sub-ancestries that may be found across Thinia. While these sub-ancestries share physical characteristics they are cultutrally varied. For example, a Dark-Elf community in the Heartlands will differ from a Dark-Elf community in Marzana.
Dark Elf (Drow): The Dark-Elves, also known as Drow, are those Elves that broke away from the High-Elven communities in order to uncover the secrets of the earth. The Drow mined the hills and mountains of Thinia and founded impressive subterranean cities. Within these cities the Drow mastered metalurgy and developed a formidable understanding of metal work. Drow crafts people are celebrated across Thinia and some contend the works of the greatest Drow artisan surpass even the works of Dwarves. This comparison has led to some ancestral animosity between the Drow and the Dwarves, particularly the Duergar.
Eladrin (Fey Elves): Eladrin, also known as Fey-Elves, are those Elves that settled in Fey touched regions of Thinia or even the Fey Wilds themselves. Although the Fey-Elves bear the name "Eladrin" they should not be confused with true Eladrin that are lawful neutral celestials from the upper plains. Of all the Elves the Eladrin exhibit the most wanderlust. Travelers, explorers, and innovators are celebrated amongst the Eladrin and many Eladrin feel a call to a life of adventure.
The Eladrin come in four varieties, Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer. The variety of Eladrin is determined based on the season the Eldarin was born in. Each variety has dispositions toward certain character traits, however, they are still varied and unique individuals. The following traits are associated with each season;
-Autumn: the season of peace and goodwill, when summer's harvest is shared with all.
-Winter: the season of contemplation and dolor, when the vibrant energy of the world slumbers.
-Spring: the season of cheerfulness and celebration, marked by merriment as winter's sorrow passes.
-Summer: the season of boldness and aggression, a time of unfettered energy.
- Ability Score Increase: Your Charisma score is increased by 1.
- Fey Step: As a bonus action, you can magically teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. Once you use this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest. When you reach 3rd level, your Fey Step gains an additional effect based on your season; if the effect requires a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier. The effects are as follows:
-Autumn: Immediately after you use your Fey Step, up to two creatures of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by you for 1 minute, or until you or your companions deal any damage to it.
-Winter: When you use your Fey Step, one creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you before you teleport must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn.
-Spring: When you use your Fey Step, you can touch one willing creature within 5 feet of you. That creature then teleports instead of you, appearing in an unoccupied space of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you.
-Summer: Immediately after you use your Fey Step, each creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you takes fire damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 damage).
High-Elf (Sun-Elf): The High-Elves, also known as the Sun-Elves, are the direct descendants of the original progenitor Elves. This is the most numerous Elven ancestry. The Sun-Elves are what people think of when they think of a typical Elf. Sun-Elves can be found across Thinia but the largest communities can be found in the forests and plains of the Heartlands. Sun-Elves value tradition and knowledge. They celebrate scholars, story tellers, and archivists who work to maintain and pass on the histories of the Elven people and Thinia.
Sea-Elf: Sea-Elves are those Elves that settled along the coasts or in some cases formed underwater kingdoms through the use of impressive magical artifacts. Sea-Elves love the open air and navigating the water ways of the multiverse. Sea-Elves celebrate captains, pilots, navigators, map-makers, and anyone else who takes to the water for a living. The exception to this is pirates. Many Sea-Elves revile pirates and piracy because they add another danger to sailing and discourage people from experiences the wonders of traveling across the sea.
Snow-Elf: Snow-Elves are those Elves that settled in Fensalar, north of the Heartlands. The Snow-Elves seperated from the Sun-Elves in an event known as the Exodus. The original Snow-Elves were fearful that the mixing between Elves and other humanoids would lead to a watering down of Elven culture. In an effort to avoid this the Snow-Elves set out to the north and founded a kingdom where they had minimal interaction with other humanoids. The realities of the Snow-Elves new home have made them value endurance, stength, resourcefulness, and survivability. Snow-Elves are often considered to be very pragmatic and direct by other ancestries. Some consider this off putting.
Wood-Elf: Wood-Elves are those Elves that settled in the deepest woods and swamps across Thinia. The original Wood-Elf communities broke from the Sun-Elves on religious grounds as the Wood-Elves began to venerate the earth and the supreme creativity and artistry of nature. Many Wood-Elf communities are ruled by Druids or Druid Circles. Even in those that utilize other forms of government, those that commune with nature are highly respected. Wood-Elves attempt to live lives that place a minimal strain on nature. Wood-Elves are sometimes seen as simple or provincial by other Elves due to their simple way of living.
History:
Culture:
All Elven cultures value art and crafts. Whether it be the fine metal works of the Dark-Elves, the incredible wooden cratfts of the Wood-Elves, or the intricate poetry and tapestries of the High-Elves, and so on. Beauty is an ideal in itself and many Elves spend their lives attempting to master a craft in order to add the most beauty to the world. Still, there are other Elves who bounce from calling to calling, never able to settle on one project or profession. Elves despise destruction, especially wanton destruction. This made them early enemies of the Orc Tribes of Hartha when the Orcs were still firmly under the sway of Gruumsh and his clerics. Elves desire to build things that last so that generations of elves may admire these works. This love of preservation has led to Elves establishing some of the greatest repositories of knowledge in all of Thinia. Those who study and honor the past are often admired within Elven cultures.
Sub-Cultures:
- Kelonen: The Kelonen are the Wood-Elves in the southern regions of the Shifting Badlands. They tend to have varying shades of tan or dark skin and dark hair. These Elves are noted for their unique combination of animistic and theistic beliefs. Due to their beliefs Kelonens abhor waste and go out of their way to share what they have with others.
- Larethi: The Larethi are the Sun-Elves of the Heartlands. These Elves are generally considered to be descended from the original Elves that were born at the begining of recorded history. The Larethi are named after Corellon Larethi, the creator of the Elves, and the leader of the Seldarine. The Larethi are undergoing a shift in their culture as they join the Capsan Empire and become more influenced by Human and Half-Elven cultural practices. Some among the Larethi see this as a betrayal of their ancestors who were the original creations of Corellon and thus perfect.
- Nereids: The Nereids are the Sea-Elves of the Crescent Reach. The Nereids believe in Elven supremacy and even discriminate amongst their own. They are unique amongst Elves in that they worship both the Seldarine and Dark Seldarine. Nereid traditions are aimed at restoring the Seldarine age guided by the Sea-Elves. Nereid culture values being direct and pragmatic.
- Onari: Onari Elves those that call Onarion home in northern Utican. The Onari include every sub-ancerstry of Elves. The culture is unified by the belief that the Elves need a kingdom to call their own so that they may pursue Elven interests and goals. This belief is partially informed by the longevity of the Elves and the tension this creates with shorter lived humanoids. The Onari venerate the Seldarine and attempt to live up to the ideals of that pantheon. While Onari believe there is a need for an Elven kingdom and domain for the Elves, they do not try to actively discriminate against other ancestries. However, the very nature of their culture can create tension between the Onari and non-Elven humanoids.
- Svarta: The Svarta are the Drow that inhabit the mountain kingdoms of eastern Lokkheimer. The Svarta traveled to Lokkheimer after a calamity collapsed their home in the mountains along the coast of the Heartlands. Those that survived the calamity petitioned Sea-Elves to carry them to a new home across the ocean. The Sea-Elves agreed after entering a convenant promising the Sea-Elves access to Svartan crafts forever. The Svarta and their Sea-Elven allies made landfall in eastern Lokkheimer. The Svarta established several communities throughout the mountains and the Sea-Elves founded the kingdom of Hyrus. The Svarta have many interactions with the Onari to the south.
Religion:
Most Elves worship the Seldarine in some manner. Although different sub-ancestries place different value on each member of the Seldarine, all venerate the creator god of the Elves, Corellon Larethian. There are some Elves that venerate the Dark Seldarine, a pantheon standing in direct opposition to the Seldarine. Rumors claim that all Dark Elves worship the Dark Seldarine and the Spider Goddess Llolth, but these are vicious lies born out of jealousy and ignorance of the reclusive and secretive Dark Elves. Finally, there are Elves who worship dieties outside of the Seldarine. This is exceedingly rare because the orthodoxy among the Elves is that an Elven soul that does not go to Arvandor in death cannot be reincarnated and thus reduces the number of souls available to inhabit newborn Elves.
Reincarnation and Elven Souls:
When the war between Lolth and Corellon occurred in the heavens, Lolth committed a unthinkable act. In her malice and rage she sabotaged the soul forge used by Corellon to shape and craft new Elven souls. While the forge is still usable to a degree the difficulty, power, and time needed to craft a new elven soul increased drastically. For a time this resulted in Elven children being born "hollow" or without a soul. Hollow children often live short lives plagued with complications and sickness.
Corellon and the Seldarine were unable to repair the forge and instead choose a different path. Corellon continued to craft new souls while also recycling the souls of departed Elves. This created a cycle of reincarnation unique to the Elves of Thinia. When an Elf dies their soul goes to Arvandor unless another plain or entity lays claim to that soul. The soul stays in Arvandor for a time before Corellon sends the soul back to Thinia to join with a newborn Elf. Once the soul joins with the flesh of the newborn it loses access to its previous memories. However, when the Elves slip into their trance and "dream" they see the memories from their previous lives.
Lolth and the Dark Seldarine have attempted to create their own soul forge but the orthodoxy states they have been unsuccessful. Lolth used the method of her hated enemies and likewise reincarnated the souls of those Elves who worshipped her and the Dark Seldarine. Lolth also uses the souls of non-Elves who worship her in the reincarnation cycle. The faithful who follow the Dark Seldarine argue that this process is a means of Elven expansion and supremacy that captures the souls of the lesser humanoids and uses them to expand the Elven peoples. Identifying an Elf who is reincarnated with a non-Elven soul requires the Dream Walk spell. Some Elven cultures aligned with the Dark Seldarine use the "purity" of an Elf's soul lineage as a determining factor of the Elf's social status. It is believed that the mist faithful families will always give birth to "true" Elven children.
Elven societies are generally aware of the issues facing their people and have implemented a number of solutions in an effort to avoid bringing "hollow" elves into the world. This has resulted in lower birth rates among most elven cultures. Additionally, it is agreed that when an Elf has a baby with another ancestry, the soul of the baby comes from the non-elven ancestry. The half-elven offspring of an Elf and an Orc is beleived to have an Orc soul slated for an afterlife with the Orcish pantheon. Some Elven cultures view this as the slow death of the Elven people while others argue Half-Elves are the stewards of Elven culture allowing for an expansion of Elven culture that would otherwise be impossible.
The Shroud:
While Elves are more long lived than any other ancestry, with an average life span of about 400 years, this has some drawbacks. Being longer lived Elves are more susceptible to deteriorating mental conditions. The most prominent among these conditions is known as "the Shroud." The condition manifests itself first in the trance state Elves enter when they "sleep." In this state a healthy Elf will "dream" and relive moments from their past lives.
An Elf impacted by the Shroud will see these memories get hazy or fuzzy. At first the edges of the memory will appear to be in a fog, then people will appear as formless shaddows, and finally the Elf will cease to "dream" at all. This coincides with loss of memeory of their current life and difficulty processing mental tasks. Fortunately the Shroud does not impact all Elves, but it does become increasingly common for those entering into their 300s and beyond.
Cases of the Shroud are significantly less common among the Snow-Elves who have average life spans of about 250 years due to the harsher conditions of the northlands in which they live. Clerics and the faithful of the Dark Seldarine claim that Lolth has the knowledge to combat or even cure the Shroud. Elves who turn away from the light of the Seldarine often due so in an effort to combat the Shroud impacted themselves or a loved one.
