Aen Faeinne

## Aen Faeinn

**Aen Feainne** (Elder Speech: *People of the Sun*, or *Sun Folk*), or **Aen Feányn** in the Zerrikani dialect, are a subgroup of elves that occupy the Firey Mountains and their lower steppes in the east and far north of Zerrikania. They migrated to the east after humans landed on the Continent, in a bid to protect themselves from the infighting they rightfully predicted would eventually break out.

They are easily identified by their darker complexions, bright fiery eyes, and intricate facial tattoos, often mirrored by Zerrikani Free Warriors. They have a fruitful alliance with the Faithel, and are themselves best known for their staunch guardianship of the Markhor.

## Appearance

Sun Elves are comparatively darker in complexion than their Aen Seidhe cousins. Due both to environmental factors and to their willingness to mingle with the human populations of Zerrikania, the Aen Feainn range in skin tone from dark olive to bronze-copper. Their hair vary from black, to brown, to red and occasionally, though rarely, blonde and silver. In terms of eye color, they are often described as having 'firey eyes' in the vein of amber, topaz, and even ruby, but other jewel-tones such as amethyst and emerald are not uncommon. They are physically taller than most humans, as well as naturally quite muscular due both to their harsh environment and their unique genealogy.

## History

When humans first landed on the Continent in the early 230s BR, a group of Aen Seidhe numbering in the few hundred decided to venture east in anticipation of future conflict. Upon arriving in the Great Korath Desert, many of their number perished due to the harsh conditions, the rest returned to the mountains where life was still difficult, but palatable. There they established clans in the steppe plains of The Fiery Mountains, laying the foundation of what would later become the Aen Feainn. They kept to themselves and their clans, ignoring the humans who eventually migrated to the east to form what would later become Zerrikania. They learned to survive by following herds of Markhor, a hardy wild mountain goat native to the region. A symbiotic relationship formed between the Markhor and the elves. The elves would follow and protect the herds from predators and in return the herds provided understanding of the land, meat, milk, and materials for weapons and clothing.

Later, after Aelirenn's Uprising in the 1060s more Aen Seidhe fled east into the Fiery Mountains and reunited with the original migrant elves, now considerably changed by their environment. These refugees joined the now established elves of the mountains and, in an effort to learn from their forebearers' mistakes, pushed to establish positive connections with their human neighbors. The Aen Faeinn obliged and formed an alliance with the human refugees, who in turn spread the word to the other human populations of Zerrikania. This in turn eventually spawned regular trade between elves and humans. Prior to this, the only interaction the sun elves had with humans came in the form of an old Free Warrior tradition which consisted of leaving an offering for the 'fairies' who guarded the markhor herds as a bid for permission to hunt one. This tradition carried on even after the trades established, as a rite of passage for young Faithel trainees and steppe clan hunters.

At the turn of the 12th century Queen Merineaevelth officially issued royal protection to the Aen Faeinn, which not only protected the People of the Sun as a sovereign nation under her Queendom, but also made it illegal nationwide to harvest or sell markhor meat without the direct approval of Clan Leaders. This law also protected any elves fleeing into Zerrikania from the Northern Kingdoms, if they sought asylum with the Aen Faeinn.

## Demographics

Due to their proximity with the humans, the Aen Faeinn community echoes the human populations of Zerrikania more than their Aen Seidhe cousins. Among their numbers can be found human refugees, half-elves, and quadroons in equal number to elves. They do not possess the same afflicted history with humans as the Aen Seidhe, and so they often welcome human traders, hunters, and runaways as temporary guests.

There are a number of clans, each of whom follow and care for a specific herd of Markhor. They often take their names from the variant of markhor they follow or the lands their herd often migrate to and from. Example clan names include Flat Horn Clan, named after the Flat Horn Markhor, and Lower Falls Clan, named for the markor's migration to and from the river sources of the mountains.

## Culture

The Aen Faeinn practice most of the traditions passed onto them by their Aen Seidhe forebearers. They continue to follow the elven calendar and celebrate the elven holidays in accordance with all eight savaed. They have no formal religion, but in keeping with Zerrikani traditions also offer aid and shelter to Faithel, and will assist in the care and protection of dragons if they are present in the area.

Above all else, however, the Aen Faeinn venerate the Markhor, a species of mountain goat whose habitat encompasses the mountainous ranges of western and northern Zerrikania and their lower steppe plains. The Aen Faeinn follow the herds and their migratory patterns and look after these magnificent creatures, whose meat and milk are a cornerstone of Zerrikanian steppe cuisine. The Zerrikanians give offerings to the elves and in exchange the elves allow Zerrikani clans to take from the herds. These animals are sacred to the sun elves for the role they played in maintaining their survival, and any human who is caught poaching from a herd is killed on sight.

### The Legend of the Markhor

*According to accounts by Steppe Clanswomen, the Sun Elves proport the following as their history;*

> When the people who would become the Sun Elves of Zerrikania first arrived they could not cross the Korath toward the promised land of Zerrikanterment. They were not his people. The sun charred their skin, the whipping winds of sand ripped their delicate flesh, and the earth drank their tears as they fled back to the mountains without relenting even a single drop of water.
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> In the mountains those who were not chosen found succor, they found shade amidst the tall spires, the wind came cool through the peaks from the land they left, and they discovered water in the wellsprings. But they lacked food. Plants to do not grow tall and lush in the Fiery Mountains. Their valleys are still scorched by Zerrikanterment’s fire. They began to starve.
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> To stave off the hunger, they ate the leather of their shoes, their clothes, and those who had managed to save their horses from the Korath’s claim ate them as well. It was not enough. When all hope was lost, when those who had nothing left but the skin of their bones, when even the hair of their heads had fallen, they found him.
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> An old markhor, a goat from the mountains, the king of the steppes, approached the people who would one day become the Sun Elves. They saw on his body the marks of a duel lost, for he had once been the head of a proud herd. He was old, but not yet long from his prime, and had lost his battle in the mating season to another who was younger and more virile. He had come to them, himself an exile, himself ready to die, and gave his last breath before them with pride.
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> The old markhor had lived a long, healthy life, and had fathered many among the herd. His duty to his own kind had been done, and so his gift to the elves was his final cherished act. They honored his gift to them. They ate of his meat, they drank of the marrow in his bones, they warmed himself with his fur and fashioned weapons of his horns. Everything was used. His tendons, his blood, his entrails, and even the ground herbs and grass that still filled his stomach.
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> Through him the elves became strong again, and they followed the trail left behind by the markhor to the rest of the herd. Sure enough, the new king stood among them, his crown even larger and more impressive than the old king’s. They followed this new king and his herd through the mountains. They learned to scale the rocks to find minerals, water, and hidden greens. And they came upon another herd, with another king who faced down his contender. Then, other herds still, more and more.
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> The elves watched until one was defeated or killed, and then made a pact with the markhor; that of their herds they would only take those who had lived their lives long enough to propagate and become kings or contenders. They would not claim the sick or the young, those were for the lions that filled the caves and the eagles that flew the skies. They took only the males who had tasted defeat during the mating season, and only those who had at least once become kings.
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## Trivia

* Faeinn in Elder Speech means "sun", hence Aen Faeinne meaning "People of the Sun".
* The cultural veneration of the markhor by the Aen Faeinn is based on a Pakistani legend surrounding the real life markhor, which is said to be guarded by elf-like faeries.
	+ The region the markhor generally populates is also filled with other cultural mythos involving fae creatures and elves.

* The Aen Faeinn are not "dark elves".
* Many Zerrikanians in The Oasis believe the Aen Faeinn to be nothing more than myth, as they do not venture from the Fiery Mountains.