Sylvan (Elves)

Elves have long been seen as one of the most 'exotic' of races in the world of Veska, if only due to their ability to maintain both unerring beauty and grace throughout the many years of their long lives. An Elf may be 80, and yet still they will look as if they had aged a day over thirty. This, combined with their strong preference for finery, use of magic for conventional needs, and aestheticism leads to the Elves often being looked upon as an intrinsically fascinating race. They desire perfection in presentation, something that their very long lives allow them to devote far more time into than the other races.
Only recently, have the Elves been known as the Sylvan. Named so after their old Elven queen, the Elves adopted their name in honour of their former queen whom died along with the countless other Elves during the Elven Crusades.. Elves like to write down their history, and spend a great deal of time finding every means necessary to remember every event in their lifetime. As a method of remembering the harrowing slaughter of their people, the Elves have chosen to remember themselves as Sylvan to honour the death of Queen Sylvannas.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Having descended from a race of ancient men, the Elves have changed very little compared to the humans; their blood is notably magical by nature, and is said to be the reason for their long lives. Why Elven blood provides such a long lifespan has always been a subject for scholarly debate.
Elven ears are also notably elongated compared to other races. Far more sensitive to outside stimuli in exchange for their advanced hearing.

Growth Rate & Stages

The Sylvan reach adulthood during varying ages. This is due to them taking up similar rite of passage oaths to the Elafi. Unlike the Elafi, however, the Elves determine readiness to embark on this rite of passage on their ability to harness basic magical energy from their environment. Thus, some Elves can wind up reaching their 20s before they're considered an adult, while others may only be 14 before their rite of passage is taken.
In terms of biological growth rate: The Elves generally reach adulthood at roughly 25 years of age. They reach an elderly age at around 100 years old, and usually show signs of aging at around this age.

Ecology and Habitats

Elves generally prefer to live in areas that make use of their ability to perceive Fae and their extra sensitive hearing. As a result; many Elves typically prefer to live out in the wild, where Fae are both prevalent, and their ears aren't overwhelmed by a constant stream of noise. Mother nature provides just enough ability to detect and locate things that are far off, and allows for them to be expert hunters when tracking or hunting.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Elves are an omnivorous race but are known for making complex dishes and cuisines. Much like everything else, Elves have a deep appreciation for fine cuisine and treat cooking as an art form.
Sugar is an important part of Elven meals; they are very fond of sweets, and use sugar to flavor many different meals. Pastries and candies are a very common thing found within Elven cuisine. With wheat and grains also common within their diet, pies are very popular in Elven culture; the equivalent to 'fast food' to them is a good meat pie, stuffed with sweet meats. Vendors are known to form stalls that sell these delicacies to anyone wanting a quick meal on the go.
Hunted Game: Elves rarely use livestock with the exception of cockatrices and the occasional cow. They seldom raise an animal for slaughter, reserving that kind of right only for nobility; the people that can afford the luxury of sacrificing their own livestock for slaughter. They are deeply appreciative of hunting their food rather than raising it, for it generally comes with a larger amount of food due to their location; Elves literally hunt dinosaurs and sauropods, forming vast hunting parties that trap and bleed out the giant creatures so that they may bring them to the village to distribute among the local fooderies.

Additional Information

Social Structure

The Elves are a monarchy, ruled over by Sergyn and Thalia Yelsandrel; their king and queen, respectively. Elven nobility is different from human nobility in the sense that marriage is not arranged and typically left up to the monarchs in question. It is thus possible for the lower class to suddenly ascend to rulership. Under this rule, the Elves are divided into two sects, one half for the monarchy, and the other for the patriarchy.
The Monarchy is entrusted with the complete control of the Elven cities; Thalia appoints several guilds and guildmasters to maintain the order within Elven civilization. She is also charged with the protection, economics, and general direction that the Elven people.
The Patriarchy is entrusted with the outside sources of Elven culture; they are not just diplomats, but they are, most notably above all, in charge of the druids and mages that are found within Elven society. It is Sergyn whom guides and commands aspiring druids and helps maintain the Elves' relationship with the Fae. Furthermore, Sergyn is also in charge of the Hunter's Guild; which by default, places him at the front of the hunting parties that leave their homes.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Kalni is the primary homeland of the Elves, and is where most of the Elven population resides. They can be found scattered throughout places within the Chain of Fire. Still more can be found within the Vank kingdoms, the only human kingdom known to accept their kind as their equals.

Average Intelligence

Quite literally, longer lifespans mean that the Elves have a longer period of time to process and understand things. They are generally more knowledgeable than the other races as a result.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Elves are notably far more perceptive than others; their hearing is capable of discerning specific noises from specific directions far better than the other races within Veska. Further more, much like Elafi, Elven eyes are capable of perceiving Fae.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Males: Sergyn, Virion, Kasefon, Talthan, Ivaran, Cannus, Salanar, Jandar
Females: Delsanra, Farryn, Luria, Nesterin, Thalia, Shalendra, Arryn
Unisex: Venali, Tarathiel, Elluin, Adresin, Galen

Major Organizations

The Lucid Circus:

Also known as the 'Children of the Masks', the Lucid Circle is a guild that outwardly serves as the primary source of entertainment and spread of Elven plays and folktales. This renown guild travels throughout the Chain of Fire, and on some occasions, across the world. Outwardly, they're a guild of minstrels that dress in ostentatious uniform. Those who join the Circus shed off their true personality, instead earning a permanent stage name that identifies with their appropriate performance. Proceeds are gathered and shared among the guild, which acts much more like a family than a true circus.
Unbeknownst to many, the Lucid Circus is also a place where assassins-for-hire can be met. Every single actor within the circus not only takes the stagename was a means to erasing their identity, but also serving as means of protecting themselves when performing assassinations. Everyone within the Lucid Circus knows each other by their stage name; what they are most known for, however, is what they refer to as the 'Grand Game';
The Grand Game, is quite simply, life itself. To them, life is just an enormous, complex game that everyone is forced to be a part of, and to fully act it out, they adopt different stories and identities from their travels to both cover up their tracks and entertain those who attend their shows. Living out these complex lifestyles is a part of playing the 'Grand Game', and due to many members of the Lucid Circus consisting primarily of Elves, their long lifespans allow for them to wear dozens of different faces before they retire.

Hunter's Guild

Very few guilds are revered as much as the Hunter's Guild; an organization dedicating to both protecting and providing the Elves. They leave their homes in massive parties to hunt and bring down perceived threats to Elven communities, and bring back the spoils on massive wagons dedicated to carrying the great beasts. A full sauropod is usually more than enough to feed an Elven city, while captured raptors serve as loyal enough companions that make valiant guard dogs.
Forever Hunting: Those who contract themselves to the Hunter's Guild often receive a permanent brand or tattoo that marks them as members for life. The only way to truly 'leave' the guild is through death; joining the guild is thus a very serious commitment, with many of its members being drafted out from prison as a form of punishment. It is their way of repentance; to accept the Hunter's Brand, is to repent for all past crimes by providing support to the Elven people.

Beauty Ideals

Elves are a very aesthetic race; they value beauty in all forms. From their sloped, carefully smoothed marble architecture, to their carefully crafted dishes and cuisine. Everything to the Elves must be perfected in a way that leaves a lasting memory upon them. For their long lives makes the extraordinary seem ordinary, only perfection can truly captivate the Elven senses enough. Being remembered is a very important part of Elven society; claiming that something is 'forgettable' is one of the greatest insults to their people.

Gender Ideals

True to the split system of Matriarch and Patriarch, women are generally expected to be architects, laborers, artists, and other general workers that generally focus on building up and keeping Elven society flourishing and thriving.
Men, on the other hand, are generally hunters or druids; they're often diplomats, and are generally the ones trusted to leave their home when handling foreign affairs. Despite that, there's no 'true' ideology for genders within Elven societies; both woman and man may choose to follow whatever path they desire.

Average Technological Level

The Elves blend magic with their every day lives to make things easier; it would be next to impossible for them to construct their spiraling architecture without the aid of otherworldly forces. Magical tools are not unheard of in Elven society.
Frostflame: One of the most well known inventions in Elven society, Frostflame is a magical liquid that creates a bright, cyan coloured flame that burns eternal. Water only feeds Frostfire, while smothering it is the only true way of putting it out, the flame will inevitably freeze anything brought over it. Frostflame is a weapon used only for the most extreme of measures, illegalized by Queen Thalia only months after its discovery due to the potential damages it may bring. Quite simply, the fire freezes, rather than burns. It feeds off heat much like regular fire would off of oxygen. Thus, the only way to truly 'quench' Frostflame is by allowing it to meet an equally cold substance to cancel it out.
Runic Grids: Runic Grids serve as the Elven equivalent of an electrical system. Runes are etched throughout special pipes or wires that are ran throughout homes. These runes are filled and pumped from a source; typically a tower dedicated to serving as a power station. Mages willingly sap their magical energy to supply the runes with the magic needed to function, allowing Elves to light their homes so long as they have the correct runes in their homes. This allows for both plumbing and electricity.

Common Etiquette Rules

Elven Etiquette can be located in this article in terms of table manners.
Overall; Elves hold themselves to ridiculously high standards. They try their best to please, and generally work their hardest to be overtly polite to those that they provide their services to. Every single action they take is made with utmost care and calculation. This high standards way of life tends to lead to Elves scorning mistakes or the ways of outsiders.

Common Dress Code

The Elves typically dress in clothing depending on the situation. Casual wear is generally a little on the revealing side; women will freely show their stomachs, while men sometimes leave their homes shirtless. This is mostly in part to the fact that some Elves favor having tattoos that are openly exposed, proud of their heritage and successful Rite of Passage. Scars and blemishes are often hidden or covered by cloth or makeup.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

The Midsummer Flight: Midsummer Flight is a very important Festival to the Elven People; it marks their appreciation to the Vanks for their efforts in protecting them during the Crusades. During this time, Elves were persecuted and unfairly judged by the Church, hunted and slaughtered, until the Vanks lead a raid on the various checkpoints set by the Templar. With their combined efforts, the Elves saved countless lives and managed to flee overseas.
Many things are done to commemorate this pilgrimage. Firstly, hunters capture Kalnese Monarchs; scarlet-winged butterflies that glow with bio-luminescence at night. These monarchs are captured and kept within their cages until midnight. Before this time, a gathering begins from noon to midnight; food is served and the local leaders of the Elven community attends the service for the sake of giving a speech. Families construct cranes as well, which are placed upon wicker rafts. During midnight, these cranes are set upon the rafts and lit aflame while the caged butterflies are all set free, in order to honour the souls of the lost reaching their new home, and their families that have managed to fly free, respectively.

History

Long ago, there was an empire known as the Sahali For centuries, this empire flourished across the Chain of Fire, before a great collapse occurred within its political system that lead to the complete change and reformation. Those that chose to leave the Sahali homes in ruin would later come to evolve into the The Elafi over time, while those who had embraced the blood of the Sahali, yet still left their homes, would later evolve into the Elves. Their primordial bloodline may have diminished, but it left them unable to absorb as much latent magical energy from their involvement with the Fae. While the Elves have long lost their immortality, they still maintain exceptionally long lives. Many Elves actually fled their home of Kalni in hopes of finding a new home, where they settled alongside humans in Tregaron.

Time in Tregaron

A dark period in Elven history, the Elves sailed to Tregaron in hopes of finding protection from the Sahali loyalists that would have them slaughtered for their treachery. And yet, they landed in a feudal land, heavily divided by the many human empires. As time went on, the Elves began to become renown sellswords throughout Tregaron. Living long lives means they have an exceptional amount of time to train and better themselves, and their latent talent for magic lead to many Elven caravans selling mages-for-hire to local kingdoms, until they were later unified into the three kingdoms. This period of time had fortunately remained peaceful, until the three kings requested them to bring their long lives and immortality to them.
Relenting to give up such a powerful secret at first, the promise of coin, along with threats of combined violence, had lead to the Elves offering their long life to them. Such a method was simple; to drink their blood, one would effectively be bestowed the same gift that they had received from their ancient, now forlorn god. Unfortunately, what happened instead was a sick form of punishment: Reasons why the ritual went bad have long been up for scholarly debate, with some claiming it to be a form of punishment for their hubris, but the blood corrupted itself during the ritual, leading to the creation of the first Vampires.

The Crusades

The nobles did indeed earn immortality from the Elves, but unfortunately, were left with the vampiric curse. While it provided them a longer life than the Elves themselves, it had to be supplemented with mortal blood. This horrific truth was unveiled by the Church in time, whom chose to set a crusade to drive all Elves from the human kingdoms. During this time, merely being an Elf was enough to warrant an arrest -- or worse. This persecution all eventually culminated when Sylvannas, their queen at the time, was captured during a hapless attempt to escape the Templar. She was executed in an imprisonment camp, set aflame in front of her subjects for her refusal in giving away the whereabouts of her people.
And yet, the Vanks, whom were known for being the most extreme in their religious beliefs, later denounced the Church for their wicked ways and chose to instead side with the Elves. This alliance was enough to ferry the Elven people overseas, back to their ancestral home in Kalni.

Historical Figures

Thalia Yelsaan: The so called 'Iron Serpent' is the Queen of all Elves; she is known for her very stern and direct approach to solving situations. Despite that, she keeps the Elven people hidden and isolated from most outsiders in favor of building their people back to their former strength.
Sylvannas: Former queen of the Elves, Sylvannas, often named 'Mother Sylvannas', is seen as a martyred figure whom sacrificed herself to protect the Elven people. She was infamously burned at the stake at the harbor, dying in a valiant attempt to protect the locations of her people from the Holy Church.
Sergyn Yelsaan: The current Elven King. Sergyn is renown for his druidic skills, said to have re-directed the winds themselves into powerful monsoons that battered away pursuing Templar ships.

Common Myths and Legends

The Hollow Man: Is a myth that attempts to warn children not to leave their homes at night.
Architects: Ancient Elves, whom still carry the ancient Sahali blood within their veins. Scholars debate as to whether or not the Architects still live, but sightings within the Pit of Llyne have been constant. Architects are essentially Elves that still carry immortality, which leads credence to the potential of them still wandering out somewhere in the world.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Elves find interspecies mixes to be rather strange, primarily due to such trysts always ending with the Elven partner inevitably outliving their lover. Despite that, Elves hold no real taboo in regards to courtship with other species; with the exception of humans, whom are deeply scorned and resented for the crusades committed by the Church.

Origin/Ancestry

Sahali

Lifespan

Up to 200 Years

Average Height

5'10~6'6 feet

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Elven rites of passage are celebrated through markings and body paints that are placed upon them. When an Elf completes their Rite of Passage, they are given special markings to symbolize an animal that they believe they identify with the most. These markings are tattooed upon a part of their body; typically chosen by the Elf in question, though some families are adamant about marking the face to proudly display their heritage.

Related Myths

• Of Hags and Crones
• The Fae
• The Norns