Delfir
Spanning the upper bounds of the safely traveled roads, the delfir are a nomadic, raiding group of elves. They are a subspecies of elves akin to wood elves, but with propensity to desert and heat. They raid and roam as nomads. No centralized king reigns, but each small tribe has a chieftain, similar to the Gleymorians.
Desert Dress
Delfir males sport wiry, black and brown and auburn beards. They typically have long, thin hair, lighter color than their beards. The females use animal fat to spike their short hair. Filé prefer silken turbans but may sport male or female styles. The camel and chakaraka are their modes of transportation and life. Wandering desert buffalo provide natural resources, but the roving centaur assuage delfir from coming too close. This drives them by necessity south to the thri-krin and desert humans. They harvest and keep silkworms in their possession. These are in privately secured boxes they carry with them on their travels. A master crafter is required to harvest the silk without damaging the worms. They worship draconic aspects of the elven pantheon, being so tightly linked to dragonborn. They do not associate with their cousins, the proud dragons keeping to themselves and prejudicing the lowly elves as criminals. Nonetheless, they trade where they can in the cities and towns before going where the wind takes them. Most are peaceable herders, but every tribe has warriors to raid or defend themselves. Once, a large group of delfir united against the blossoming Evoria, but on their way to conquer it and plunder its vast resources, they turned away and never set foot in again. A sect of clerics of Melora roam, keeping their stark white hair long.Culture
Poetry
The Delfir hold poetry as the superlative medium for lorekeeping. Their rhyming sagas and prolifzerí, a type of couplet poetry consisting of 42 syllables, are the most well known forms of literature from the Delfir. The sages and wisemen write the prose on pulpy paper, perfectly preserved in the arid climate. All literature is in elven, of course, however translators take painstaking time to keep the culturally important 42 syllables of the prolifzerí. Excerpt from The Red Sea, a poem about the center of the Deadlands, "Smoke lulls up to a cloudy roof, blood stone jagged, haggard, powdered rocks above poison pools. Hard beds of choking dirt and stench, a springless, dead land fire-blasted obscene and cruel."Music
In deep pools hidden in the shadows of overhanging rock thick, short reeds grow. Small insects rest on the green scum near the reeds. Delfir scouts pluck the reeds, delicately as to not disturb the other life there. The reeds undergo a tedious process. They are hollowed and heated over a fire. Juniors are set to rotate the reeds and ensure they don't burn. Crafters whittle holes in the sides at precise lengths. To measure they use their fingers, and each sound is unique to each instrument. In this way the master crafters leave their mark or stamp on the reeds. The reeds are threaded with silk string from the silkworms the delfir keep. These threads are attached to a circular disk so that the reeds hang at intervals. These hang outside tents or caravans from evening through early morning. The wind knocks the reeds and whistles in the hollow tubes. The happy thudding of the reeds and the somber tune of the whistles swirl into a gentle symphony to lull the caravan to sleep. Indeed the delfir that visit large cities such as Hlee or even Oasis find the walls secure, but hamper the wind from playing its music.Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Aleka, Alexandra, Amaryllis, Annita, Avra, Christiana, Christina, Dimitroula, Dorothea, Electra,Elpida, Hera, Hermione, Ioulia, Ioulita, Irini, Kyveli, Magia, Manto, Marika, Melina, Nana, Nefeli, Sapfo, Stergiani, Vasia, Vaso, Violeta, Zinovia
Masculine names
Agapios, Alekos, Alex, Alkinoos, Antonios, Apostolos, Argyris, Aristoteles, Christodoulos, Demos, Emmanouil, Epameinondas, Florentios, Fokionas, Iossif, Konstantinos, Kyriakos, Makis, Markos, Nasos, Nektarios, Omiros, Serafeim, Stavros, Stefanos, Takis, Thiseas, Thomas, Trifonas, Yianni
Family names
Anastopoulou, Andreadiades, Andretis, Architsi, Arvanitakis, Athanili, Chondrolis, Christou, Comellis, Demakos, Demetriilis, Elitsi, Fotiades, Gianelli, Hadjitsis, Kalloulis, Kanelalli, Karahaliellis, Katsarakos, Katsarea, Koskoulis, Lambrakou, Lampralli, Lampreas, Loras, Makrotsis, Makroulis, Mallopoulos, Manelis,Manolellis, Marides, Marides, Martakis, Mastroti, Mastrotsi, Matiades, Melloglou, Mellou, Milou, Minea, Minoglou, Miskilis, Miskotis, Mitreas, Monallis, Moniadis, Monoglou, Monopoulou, Monoulis, Moraitidis, Mundakou, Mundoti, Nicolilis, Nicolopoulos, Nicoloti, Palakis, Palamaropoulou, Paleas, Panagilis, Papiade, Pepidis, Petreli, Politalli, Politide, Primakis, Remiadi, Rodou, Romanelis, Rondea, Salidis, Sallatou, Salopoulos, Sarantopoulos, Sideroglou, Simides, Sotiridi, Spiteropoulou, Stamatiades, Tassellis, Tatiades,T avoularoti, Terzelis, Trainellis, Tripoliades, Valloglou, Vidalotis, Vidalou, Zannellis, Zannidi
Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Delfir are naturally inquisitive with keen memory. With this ingrained ability they can navigate the rocks or dune of the desert, remembering animal trails and water spots.
Poetry
The delfir hold poetry as the superlative medium for lorekeeping. Their rhyming sagas and prolifzerí, a type of couplet poetry consisting of 42 syllables, are the most well known forms of literature from the Delfir. The sages and wisemen write the prose on pulpy paper, perfectly preserved in the arid climate. All literature is in elven, of course, however translators take painstaking time to keep the culturally important 42 syllables of the prolifzerí. Excerpt from The Red Sea, a poem about the center of the Deadlands, "Smoke lulls up to a cloudy roof, blood stone jagged, haggard, powdered rocks above poison pools. Hard beds of choking dirt and stench, a springless, dead land fire-blasted obscene and cruel."Music
In deep pools hidden in the shadows of overhanging rock thick, short reeds grow. Small insects rest on the green scum near the reeds. Delfir scouts pluck the reeds, delicately as to not disturb the other life there. The reeds undergo a tedious process. They are hollowed and heated over a fire. Juniors are set to rotate the reeds and ensure they don't burn. Crafters whittle holes in the sides at precise lengths. To measure they use their fingers, and each sound is unique to each instrument. In this way the master crafters leave their mark or stamp on the reeds. The reeds are threaded with silk string from the silkworms the delfir keep. These threads are attached to a circular disk so that the reeds hang at intervals. These hang outside tents or caravans from evening through early morning. The wind knocks the reeds and whistles in the hollow tubes. The happy thudding of the reeds and the somber tune of the whistles swirl into a gentle symphony to lull the caravan to sleep. Indeed the delfir that visit large cities such as Hlee or even Oasis find the walls secure, but hamper the wind from playing its music.Historical figures
Tonlin Shaeresbara. Led the campaign against the Evorians. Retook several Deadland territories and sieged the gates of Hlee. A few weeks into the siege, Shaeresbara called back his troops and they swiftly retreated back to the desert. He was never seen again.
Parent ethnicities
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
Related Locations
Comments