Wood Elf

Marc Lee

**Wood Elves** are a race of Fae that live with in the province of Aurora.

## Features

Wood elves are about average height and build for elves. They typically have medium to medium dark skin tones and typically have faces that resemble that of Native Americans. The tend to had strong, distinct facial features.

### Special Skills

It's said that wood elves have sharper vision and better hearing than the other races, which make them excellent hunters. It's also believed that wood elves are more attuned to nature and are more spiritually enlightened than other races, however skeptics believe this is simply due to the heavy use of recreational drugs.

## History

Wood elves, like many of the fae races, formed after generations of mixing of fairies and humans, which caused them to lose their wings and acquire more human skin pigments.
Wood elves were originally a tribal race with their own religion and traditions. Particularly, they believed that there were hundreds of gods, whos spirits existed with in certain objects, and animals. A group that would soon become the Empire of Fanentous arrived in their territory, with tales of the 'true gods' arriving to the Fantasme. Over time many tribe were able to be converted to Dualism, but some were a bit more stubborn.
When plans to merge Aurora Forest with the Empire were being made, these same tribes would be the ones to push back, causing infighting in the country. It ended with a peace treaty that allowed the countries to merge while still allowing for Aurora forest to keep it's own form of government. This made Aurora Forest the first province of the empire.
Over time the wood elves would grow their cities with the help of the Empire, with the largest of these, Nemekadi, becoming their capital.

## Culture

Wood elf culture is visually similar to the native tribes of the americas, such as Native Americans and the Aztecs, but with a bit more of a modern touch. This is evident in the designs of their homes and cities.
Smaller villages of wood elves tend to be very close, tight knit communities. Everyone is respectful to each other and does that part to help benefit the entire village. Outside of the capitol, many wood elf villages have not modernized or expanded much, as to not want to destroy any natural habitats.
Hunting is also important to wood elves, both a pastime and a job. Meat, animal hide, and other byproducts are their most profitable resource for trading. As a past time, many young elves will spend their day hanging out in the forest, and occasionally hunting some game when they have the chance. The most common and useful tool of the trade is a bow and arrow or a crossbow. Bows are an iconic weapon of wood elves.

### **Etiquette**

Wood elves are probably the most relaxed culture when it comes to etiquette. They are pretty accepting of all types of people. They only rule they have is to respect others and to respect nature. To take more than you need is considered in poor taste, so excessive destruction of the forest, or abuse towards animals is especially insulting to them.

### **Beauty & Dress**

Wood elf clothing is usually made from cloth or animal hide, and often decorated hemp rope or animal teeth. They tend to where clothes that are free and loose fitting, but also not a hindrance during travel or hunting. Their clothes are usually neutral or muted colors as to not stand out to much, to help with stealth.
Most of their clothes are hand made by family members, meaning this clothes often have imperfections, and look less professional.
A common garment in wood elf fashion is a short cloak usually no longer than the chest of torso, occasionally dyed with a specific pattern.
Wood elf men tend to have longer hair. Having hair long enough to put into a pony tail is considered attractive. The act of braiding one's hair is also a popular way of styling their hair.

In wood elf society, long hair is considered a sign of masculinity, so most wood elf men have long hair that they often braid or put into a ponytail.
Women with thick, muscular arms and legs are considered to be beautiful as well.

### **Customs**

#### The Warriors Quest

When a young wood elf is in training to become a warrior, they are given the opportunity to take 'The Warriors Quest' which is a test in which the elf is given a week to try to survive on their own and complete a task. During the test, the elf will be escorted to a starting point in an area far from any village, usually the deepest part of Aurora Forest, or on one of the ruin islands on the Lunar Archipelago.
From that point, the elf is given a goal of reaching a set point and completing some sort of task. Often this involves retrieving some object that was placed there by the instructor. After the instructor leaves, the elf has a week to complete this task and survive. If the elf doesn't get back with in this amount of time, a search party will usually have to be sent after them.
This is an intimidating test for many young elves, due to the risk of death, or the shame it would bring if they failed.Thankfully if they do fail they will always have the opportunity to retake the test.

#### Mindshroom

Wood elves are known for their heavy use of psychedelics and other recreational drugs. The most popular drug being mindshroom. Mindshrooms are often boiled into tea, where it becomes a tasty tea to relax and improve mood, with out the nastier psychoactive effects that consuming them raw would have. Some elves, like shamans or mages, will eat them raw, as the trip from them is said to bring one spiritual enlightenment.

### **Myths**

While most modern wood elves believe in Dualism, traces of the old hundred gods theory still comes up in their folklore. Wood elves still tell stories of certain objects and animals being possessed by ghosts and spirits. Many of these tales are told to children in order to teach them an important more value.

### **Memorial Customs**

Wood elves follow the more common Fantasmian tradition of casting the dead off the island. This involves the body being wrapped in a cloth bag tied to a parachute, usually with their family crest on it. The family and loves ones, as well as a Fanentous priest, will gather around the body near the edge of the island and have a prayer, before dropping the body off the island, where the parachute allows it to gently drift down into the abyss.