Runeshadow Isle Elves

## What Players Know

The Aelfryn-Lóna
(A-elf-rin Loe-na)

* They are a matriarchal culture
* Males are treated as breeding stock with "trophy" males

## What The GM Knows

Worship Oradruhn (oh-Rrahd-rune), the god and volcano both,  Acknowledge his twin sister, Ninniach (Neen-ee-alkh) who wept the mhuls into life from mud and betrayed her First Daughters by loving men more than she loved them.

### Matriarchal Culture

* '*Aeryn'* **(A-erin)** is an (island) elvish title for means means "master" and is used by the males and subservient females (generally daughters and fosterlings) belonging to a ***Aerth* (A-earth)** aka "household" which is both a dynasty and the physical property/territory they control.

* An aeryn of noble rank is called an ***aemme*** (**A-em-me)** by her lessers as well as "Your magnificence" in **common**. She calls those female elves that she has affection/trust/favor for her **aelyn** (**A-el-in** singular) amd **aelyni** ( **A-el-in-ie** plural) and her especially prized males are called ***eondo/eondon*** (**E-on-doe, E-on-done**). Noble elf women of equal rank refer to each other by ***aeslyn*** (**A-es-slin**). The Queen herself is called The ***Aetryn-Luyn*** (**A-et-rin Lui-in**) and "Your Resplendency" in common. Off-island elves are called the ***ald/aldi*** (ald, al-die)\*female' or ***eldo/eldon*** (**el-doe/el-done**). They have no better status than subservient females and less desired males aka ***eono/eonon*** (**E-on-o, E-on-on**)

### Trophy Breeder Males

* brilliant blue eyes,
* blue-grey skin
* a supple but chiseled physique
* useful magic
* a great talent for music, dance, art or literature
* the "right" mix of seductiveness combined with perfect manners and humble deference towards females.
* Males are tattooed with marks that represent their heyrin (pronounced her-in by females, her-on by males).
	+ They dress in ways the show off their tattoos
	+ Some males are trained to wield blunt weapons such as batons, bolos, crooks and staves
		- These weapons are used on plants and animals (and in harems? Other males)

### Humans

Humans are called **mhuls** (**mules**) and they are a slave race as far as the Elves are concerned. Most of the humans on Runeshadow Isle consider themselves a slave race too.

## Magic

All Island elves possess magic; children who fail to demonstrate magic by the time they are five years old is sacrificed to Oradruhn (oh-Rrahd-rune) using the Temple of Oradruhn which is build into the central volcano. Every Aerth makes an annual sacrifice; if they don't have a magic-less child of the household to sacrifice, they will use a five year old **mhul** child instead, purchasing it if they don't have one on hand.

## Culture

The island elves are complete vegetarians. They are forbidden to eat balboa fruit, however, until they have a special maturation rituals during their 15th cycle at the holiday known as The Gala (in common) and the Aelynwa ceremony (A-el-in-wah) or Elynwo ceremony (El-in-woe) dependent upon participant's gender. Girls go through special rituals of mental and spiritual purification before a grand feast (which includes balboa fruit) where the boys (who went through special baths and grooming) preform for them and the other women present. The highest ranked girl is allowed to pick whichever boy most pleases her. Unless she's challenged by another of the girls within her caste (a sorcery battle will ensue if she does, the loser will lose their rank and become the winners bondswoman for 15 years). She will publicly subdue the boy and demonstrate her power of command over him and put her first mark upon him. When she's done, the next girl gets to go and so forth. Girls who become bondswomen get a 'second pick' but only after everyone else goes first. If there aren't enough male elves to go around, the girls with the lowest rank have to settle for eldo or even (gasp) mhul boys who've been brought in.

### Bondswomen

A bondswoman serves her Aeryn for at least 15 years.  At the Gala of that year, if she is aelyn, she might be released and allowed to start her own *aerth* with gifts from her mistress.  It is more common, however, for bondswomen (***aendi* A-en-die**) and daughters (***aeli* (A-el-ie**) to remain in service to thier aeryn/aemme for closer to 45 years, because of the sheer cost of creating an aerth of their own.  Only the head-of-household bears children, gestation lasting typically a year.  Island elves cannot get pregnant by accident; at the annual Festival there is a special begetting (aepyhta) ritual with special food/drink involved and it generally takes place on the same day but after the sacrifice (aedyga) ritual. Birthing or (aenys) rituals take place in between.

### Reproduction

Island elves are monotreme; they produce 1-4 (usually 2-3) eggs at the end of the aeyhta ritual which are kept in the temple admist special nurse-plants to be hatched in a year's time. Three is considered the auspicious number of children to birth at a time; a girl and two boys. Generally but not always one of the two boys that proves to be a magical 'dud'. Sometimes it is more than one. Sometimes it is none. Aeryn secretly prefer to have only a few daughters even if there's prestige in having many. Having a big blue-eyed harem is even more prestigious, as is having an Aelf child vs. a mhul child to sacrifice.