Fengari Elves

## **The Ancient Fengari**

The Fengari are the darker counterparts of their other elven kin and are often found deep within jungles or dense wooded areas with a hatred for the outside world and its people, though there have been those to leave their ancient homes in favor of city life.

### Appearance

Fengari have dark grey or black skin with black or silver hair and white or gray eyes, their features are fuller than the average elf with full cheeks and large hooked nose, their lips are typically turned down in a frown at all times except when only accompanied by close companions or family members. Bodies lean and honed to move through the native jungles they live within, the Fengari have always been seen as a formidable, if savage, foe. Distictions of the Fengari elves are their double canines, almost resembling that of a vampire thought to be developed due to their largely meat diet, also their runic birthmarks glow a pale white not bright enough to illuminate their face or the area around them though.

### **Simple But Effective**

The Fengari have one single and dominant rule in their society, “One’s dagger must be faster than thine sword.” a common saying among elder Fengari which expletives the trickery and feinting Fengari use in their fighting.

All Fengari, at the age of 10 being where it begins, train in the art of dual wielding, more specifically, dual wielding a shortsword and a dagger. While they are trained in other weapons like the crossbow, blowdart, and concealed blade. This time of training in the art of what the Fengari lovingly call, Pa’ati Ziso, is known as a childs failing years as many children do not fully grasp the art of Pa’ati Ziso and; in such cases are given the job of a lesser Fengari (like slave, servent, or animal handler).

### **Like Father Like Son**

Fengari have many beings within their camps that are revered as blood-gifted; one who has even but a drop of the divine and holy’s blood; these blood-gifted become the Tribe chiefs, Holymen, and Midwives who perform the most sacred of duty in the name of the tribe.

However, there are times when the blood-gifted is a warrior, thus named the Musvani of the tribe; holy warrior of the chief and divine, saint of the tribe and slayer of all those who oppose the tribe’s rule.

### **Fengarian Traditions**

The Fengarians have many traditions from those that are spoken of to those that are simply taught through a child's mimicry of the adult figures in their life. There have been many traditions lost to the ages, these are some that still ring true among many Fengari tribes.

* **Naming of the Child:** The naming day of a child is often a day of celebration for the whole of the Tribe as it means that one more has joined their ranks, though in the case of a failure of the Pa’ati Ziso it is simply acted out as tradition.

The Date of a child's naming day often coincides with one graduation of the Pa’ati Ziso rather than the day they were born, as when one passes the test that is the Pa’ati Ziso it is a defininent marker of a sproutling ready to take a proper place in the tribe.

During the naming day the naming ritual occurs at mid-day when the sun is at its peak, the child is blessed by the sacred elven goddess, Luelle, and given his Pa’ati necklace (made using the teeth and bones of their first hunt) it is then that the child stands before the tribe and declares their name, the tribe then chants their name back at them.

It has been known that if a child does not like the sound of their name that they may change it however many times it requires before the right one is found, because of this a child will often come prepared with many names to choose from.

### **Fengari Deities**

Deities of the Fengari Elves are the embodiment of their customs and beliefs, it is unknown which truely came first and while the deities are few, the cultural impact and importance of their presence is not something to joke about.

**Tinc:** goddess of silence, darkness, assassinantion, and chaos

**Enelik:** goddess of motherhood, family, honesty, and creativity

**Atalik**: god of fatherhood, parenthood, tradition, compassion, and family

**Mergenci**: god of hunting, animal husbandry, cattle, and archery

**Oumdu**: god of gardening, plants, farming, and milk