Elf

> *"The Children of Vari are elegant, lithe and have exceedingly long lifespans. The elves come in a very wide array of interesting, frightening and incredibly beautiful appearances. They are often sensitive, kind and wrathful when provoked. Though they appear to have adapted well to city life, it is clearly impacting their population. It is truly sad that their people cannot find a way to flourish, the world needs their beauty now more than ever." -* Domigo Thundergong
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## The Fael'vannor

   The *Fael'vannor/***The Fey-Folk** are a number of closely related, long-lived fey races commonly known as **Elves**. They are a long-lived species, once found most commonly in forests, shrublands and other wildernesses before they were force to settle with other species. The various elf sub-races once organized strong separate nations and in some cases adopting even nomadic lifestyles. The Elves born of Vari are specifically referred to "V*elthala'vari*/**Children of Vari".**

After The Severance, many elves flocked to the protection of walled cities and banded together with everyone that would stand with them, those that did not take shelter behind these city walls likely died en masse as natural disasters caused by The Severance shattered the landscape and Horrific Entities of the Void scoured the land in search of life to consume. Dwarves and **Elves** bonded during this time, giving rise to *Half-Elf/Half-Dwarf* kin known as Dwelves. The Elves now regard Dwarves as *Bror'yama/***Our Brothers of the Mountain** and the **Dwelves** as *Veletha'yem/**Children of the Mountain** (or Elves of the Mountain-Born/Dwarf Elves)*

## Religion and Ancestry

Almost all elves, except most **Drow** & **Echo Elves**, worship The Rime Song in some way, along side other deities of their choosing. This connection is a spiritual and ancestral one. As descendants of early elves that once walked between the Vari and the Feywild, they have a close bond to the Feywild, which may also play a part in their connection to the weave around them. **The Elves** of Vari can 'see' or ' feel' the weave, much like a sixth sense, they are born with a natural innate bond to it, granting them enhancements to their perceptions through their ability to hear or feel subtle changes around them. This presents as their features such as darkvision or an **Echo Elf's** weave-echo blindsight.

## Maturity, Age, Fertility and Future

**Elves** mature at roughly the same rate as humans, though they are not usually considered past adolescence until they reach 110 years of age, as such an elf that is 70 may still live a life of childlike wonder. Unlike humans, elves do not age dramatically as their lifespan comes to a close, with the most obvious changes being a change in hair colour, alternatively greying or darkening. Most elves remain healthy and full of life up until their death, which, if age-related, is usually between two and nine centuries. *Newly Silvered* (or light blue eyes) once marked the final year of an Elf's life, from which they are called to sail to the Frozen Havens. Sadly however, many elves live lives of great sorrow and mourning beyond this final year time, as sailing to the havens is no longer possible.

   Though elves are incredibly long lived, only young elves are fertile, thus elven populations tend to reproduce at a slower rate than humans, half-elves and dwelves. The fertility of **Elves** has always been a reason for their declining population throughout recorded history, as other species arose that were able to bare children much more efficiently, such as humans and halfling, the **Elves** were unable to contend with booming populations of other species.

Following a three year pregnancy an Elf baby is born, which is a moment of great celebration for their people. However the fertility of Elves is rather a complex topic and sensitive topic. Research on the matter has been collected by the Consortium over the ages. The results are have given rise to the belief in the following facts:

* An Elf woman is only fertile for around 100 years after reaching adulthood,
* An Elf Male is fertile for around twice this time, but traditionally pairs with a single female in their lifetime.
* An Elf couple is only likely to successfully birth two elven children together in this window for a variety of reasons, some of which are that they:
	+ *Find it difficult to become pregnant.*
	+ *Miscarry more often than others.*
	+ *Have no parental instincts or no desire to have children.*
	+ *Have other duties that take precedence over having children.*
	+ *Have missed the window of fertility.*
	+ *Have been born infertile.*
	+ *Are waiting for a sign from Vari to begin the path of parenthood.*
	+ *Are negatively impacted by environmental conditions. (such as city life)*
	+ *Are possibly negatively impacted by influences of The Weave.\**

\*Research into The Weave's influence around Elven fertility is ongoing by The Consortium and the Vauxmire Institute. Some believe there may be a way to positively impact elven pregnancy by manipulating the weave. Results are inconclusive.

The union of **Elf** and Dwarf results in a considerably improved fertility match and as such many more of these instances occur. Over time, Dwelf children have become much more common than either **Elf** or **Dwarf** children. In conclusion, Most **Elves**, while solemn on the topic, understand that their time as a dominant species within the world of Vari may have come to a close. **Dwelves** may actually be the future for both their and that of Dwarves.

## Description

An **Elf** stands on average 5′4″‒6′0″ and weigh 130‒170 lb. They are fair and beautiful, handsome, with delicate yet angular facial features, pointed ears and no body hair except eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair. They are a naturally slender, nimble and athletic race. Some elves have a similar range of complexions to humans, high elves often have a pale or golden skin, while other variants have white, grey or even silver skin, wood elves typically coppery or pale skinned, echo elves are often greyscale in colour with cloudy eyes and feature large ears, while the drow have darker pigmentation, almost charcoal, dark purple or deep blue with white or black hair. Elven hair comes in various colours across the species, either brown or black, with copper red or blond hair also found amongst wood elves and high elves, although orange or even green hues are not completely unheard of. Most elven eyes are commonly brown, hazel, or an emerald green, though again colours do vary across the species and within their sub-species.

## Trance: Antecedent Reflection

Most elves do not sleep, instead finding their rest in a meditative state called **The Antecedent Reflection**, which is as restful as true sleep but leaves them aware of their surroundings. During this state of meditation, elves conduct a series of mental exercises that refresh their bodies and minds. During this meditation, elves are aware of the outside world, though breaking meditation in response to external events has an effect similar to disturbing the sleep of any other humanoid.

Though elves are highly resistant, or even immune, to magical sleep effects and spells, this does not mean that they are physically unable to sleep. Elves are sometimes able to sleep if they desire, though they almost always rest in **The Antecedent Reflection**, which took half the time for the same benefits of sleep, and also acts as a memory tool.

Once a year a Lunar event known as *Amhrán'Eira* / **The Rime Song** occurs. Vari, The Life Mother sings the Rime Song, causing a beautiful aurora of colours to fill the skies in the north, over the **Frozen Havens**. This beautiful sight can be seen and heard from Silver Song. This was once a great celebration for the Elves, as the elves that had lived a full life true to the Rime Song would be called to the Havens, a moment marked by the individuals eyes turning a pale blue or silver, this marked the final year of an Elf's long life, and as such they were expected to travel to the Havens. This is true for all elves except Drow. For the elves, the final trip to the Frozen Havens was like an ascent to heaven, as the next Winter Solstice, they would hear the Rime Song once more, and become one with Vari herself, marked by new stars in the sky. Some believe *Amhrán'Eira /* **The Rime Song** to be a god in itself, birthed by the Life Mother to shepherd the Elves to her side.

## Language

**Elven** (commonly called **Elvish** and sometimes referred to as **Faelish**) is the language of the **Fael'vannor**, unique to Vari.

Translation: *Elven* = **Common**
* *Abor* = **Trees/Woodland/Forest/Growth**
* *Amhrán* = **Song/Singing/Peaceful/Heavenly**
* *Amhrán'Eira =* **The Rime Song/Winter Solstice/Heavenly Call**
* *Árel =* **Sun, Golden, Warmth**
* *Atal'ai* = **The Devoted**
* *Bror* = **Brother/Friend/Close Kin/Bonded**
* *Dael =* **Deep-kin/Underdark/Subterranean**
* *Eira* = **Cold/Frost/Snow/Winter**
* *Fael* = **Fey/Fey Creature/Fey Magic/Fairy**
* *Fuin* = **Dark/Shadow**
* *Ekin* = **Stars/Spark/Beauty**
* *Eqir* = **Echo/Echolocation/Weave Sense**
* *Haf* = **Summer/Heat/Fire**
* *Host* **= Harvest/Autumn/Stockpiling**
* *Hostlleád* **- Harvest Moon/ The Start of Autumn**
* *Lleád* = **Lunar/Moon/Night**
* *Mater* = **Mother/Maternal/Protector**
* *Milain* = **Beast/Feral/Wild**
* *Nat* = **Nature/Druidic/Natural**
* *Tari* = **Light/High-kin/Bright/Noble/Pure**
* *Tahet* = **Spider/Ancient/Crawling/Ensaring**
* *Tayen* = **The Void/The Darkness/The Devourer/The Vacuum**
* *Vannor* = **Family/People/Race/Species**
* *Velatha* = **Beloved Child/ Descendant/Elven Birth/Born-of/Elf Child/Children (When elves refer to "Children of" with V*elthala* they mean Elven Children.)**
* *Venari* = **Hunted People/ Hunted Creature/Studied Prey/Quarry/Hunted/Target**
* *Yama* = **Dwarf/Mountain/Sturdy** *(Yem = Pural)*

## Sub-species

Many different sub-species of elves now live among the many other races of Vari. Their names are displayed below as **Common**/*Elvish*.

### Sea Elves

**Children of the Sea***/Veletha'allear*

* **Aquatic Elf**/*Dael'allear*: An aquatic race of water-breathing elves. Most of this sub-species of Elf is presumed to have been wiped out during The Severance, as the oceans became incredibly dangerous and teeming with Void creatures.

### Dark Elves

**The Children of the Dark**/*Velatha'Fuin*

* **Drow Elf**/*Dael'fuin:* A dark-skinned subrace of elves that once predominantly lived in the Underdark. They are on average a foot shorter than the other sub-species. They have black, grey or blue skin, white or red eyes, and usually white or black hair. Of all the Elven sub-species, Drow are the most susceptible to fall to the temptation of evil.

Many **Drow** have an affinity towards the mysterious Mother of Spiders. Through her, they also have a connection to the **Z****ahn-tahet**. Zahn comes from the Elven word *Zhandri*/**Hybrid People**, and *Tahet/***Crawling, Scheming Spiders**. It is thought that these people were originally given their name by ancient Drow.

**Drow/Zahn-Tahet** half elves do exist and are known as *Dael'dri*/**Drow Spider**. These reclusive hybrids are the most uncommon form of Half-Elves in Vari.

* **Echo Elf**/*Dael'eqir:* A subrace of elves quite distinctive by their pale skin, cloudy eyes and overly-large ears. Once a species close to moon elves, they were forced to abandon their home city of Aerilaya during The Severance, due to disaster in the form of something they described as 'a laughing and screaming energy that tore at our very souls.' Forced underground, they found an isolation section of The Underdark they were able to seal behind them. Here they were able to rebuild and self sustain. They changed over time, living underground away from all light for centuries following the destruction of their home. Due to their time in their enchanted underground exile, the Echo Elves are blind when faced with direct sunlight. In order to compensate they rely on their magically evolved senses which have advanced their hearing to collect information from the weave around them in order to build a mental picture of their surroundings, however, as the weave is manipulated to mask information with illusionary magic, it has *limited or no* effect around magical darkness, invisible creatures and objects. Some have taken to calling these elves **Velatha'Tayen**, or '**Childre****n of the Void'** - based on a superstitious belief that they were actually created by The Severance, alongside the Void itself.

*The Echo Elves are a subrace unique to Vari and have the following three features:*

**Echo Elf Features**

### High elves

**Children of the Light***/Velatha'Tari*

* **Sun elves**/*Tari'árel**:* Also called gold elves, sun elves are highly civilized elves with a natural gift for wizardry. Often found with golden hair and pale, golden skin, spending much of their time in the higher echelons of society.
* **Fire Elves**/*Tari'haf**:* Also called red elves, fire elves are often more aggressive than their related kin and are much more likely to enter combat than diplomacy. They usually have a wicked streak, which results in them having coming into conflict unnecessarily. They are usually quite warm to the touch. In most cases fire elves have red, golden or orange hair, peach, bronze or ebony skin, with yellow, amber, red or orange eyes
* **Moon elves**/*Tari'lleád:* Also called silver elves, night elves or lunar elves, moon elves were one of the most common subraces. They once lived a nomadic lifestyle and often interacted with other races, now the moon elves are fewer in number than the rest of their kin, as adjusting to living behind walls has been difficult. Often found with white/grey hair and pale blue, white or purple skin.
* **Star elves**/*Tari'elin:* Also called mithril elves, the star elves were are first recorded having been seen after The Severance, there is an assumption that they were created during the severance, or much more likely during The Forgotten Age. Often found with White, Purple and Blue hair, and shining purple eyes.

### Wood Elves

**Children of the Forest***/Velatha'Abor*

* **Forest Elves**/*Nat'abor:* Also called copper elves and often confused with wild elves, forest elves were once a populous subrace that lived in vast woodlands. Now forced to live behind walls, the **Forest Elf** population has significantly reduced in number. Some say that some forest elves do exist within the wilds, though unless they wander with The Iron Herd, their rate of survival would be slim unless they were in hiding.
* **Snow Elf**/*Nat'eira:* Also called ice elves, they have alabaster skin varying amongst white, pale pink, ashen or grey. Were once native to The Frozen Havens. With tinges of blue, pink, peach, purple or mint green. Hair coloration tends to be quite commonly white, grey or pale blonde.
	+ (You can use the D&D Statistics of a Winter Eldarin to represent a Snow Elf. See below.)
* **Wild Elves***/Nat'milain:* Also called green elves; feral, reclusive elves who scorned civilization and its trappings, preferring a wild existence close to nature. Often seen with green hair and lime green or olive skin. Most of these elves are now extinct.
	+ (You can use the D&D Statistics of a Spring or Autumn Eldarin to represent a Wild Elf. See below.)

### Half-Blood Kin

* Drow-tahet**:** Many **Drow** have an affinity towards the mysterious Mother of Spiders. Through her, they also have a connection to the Zahn-tahet. **Drow-tahet** are born of an ancient dark union of these two species, though few in number, they do exist and they are startling to behold.
* Dwelf: *Veletha''yem/**Children of the Mountain** -*Born through the union of a dwarf and an **elf**, they carry within them both the innate honour of the mountain-folk and free spirit of the **elves**. Many different kinds of Dwelf exist.
* Half-Elf**:** The very rare result of a human and elven mating, frowned upon by many other races of Vari, the life of a **Half-Elf** is considered more difficult than that of any other species. Half-elves are seen by many traditional elves as an abomination to be shunned or ignored.
* Half-Orc: Born of both **elf** and orc ancestry by a multitude of means. Having the combined physical power of their orcish ancestors with the agility of their elven ones, half-orcs are formidable individuals. There are very rare instances of Half-Human/Half-Orcs, but these are
* Taurling**:** Sometimes Tauren interbreed with **elves** or orcs, producing horned half-elves or half-orcs which are both commonly mistaken as Tiefling (known by some as a 'Taurlings')

### A meta side-note on Eladrin

**Eladrin** as a species are not a playable one in of itself. It is still possible to use an Eladrin character but it instead comes under one of the following and cannot change its "season" as it is an **Elf**, not an Eladrin.

* **Autumn Eladrin** = Wood Elf **->** Wild Elf
* **Spring Eladrin** = Wood Elf **->** Wild Elf
* **Summer Eladrin** = High Elf **->** Fire Elf
* **Winter Eladrin** = Wood Elf **->** Snow Elf **or** High Elf **->** Moon Elf

**A important note on Echo Elf:**

These elves are intended to add a new and interesting roleplay dynamic to the game by introducing a race that is almost entirely blind in daylight. The blindsight feature they have been given to help them see is considered a 'gift' from Vari, the goddess, mother nature, the world itself.

There may be combinations of class features, feats or other things that, when taken with an echo elf's blindsight, have the potential to create a game breaking situation. These things may not be immediately obvious but, in the interest of fairness, those options will be unavailable to the echo elf. The DM therefore has the final discretion regarding this matter and will discuss with the player any concerns. Please do not attempt to abuse this feature or it will simply be removed from the character and they will instead just be blind in daylight. This will present in-game as the character simply losing their close connection to the weave. This is a matter of trust and cooperation. If you're unsure, speak to the DM.