Lunar Elf

Iah Koray, a lunar elf

## Common Knowledge

Lunar Elves make up the increasingly small population of Everspring. They rarely make contact with the outside world, although those few who have spoken with Lunar Elves have found them to be friendly and curious, if not wary as members of a culture used to constant attack.

## Residence

Lunar Elves reside in the nation of Everspring. It is a small country located between Zondros and the Apotheosis desert, with the Siren Sea on its shores to the East. The majority of the land in the East Everspring is made up of small agricultural towns, with slightly larger pseudo-cities scattered between them. In the West lies a large forest. The capital and only particularly large city is Aphelion.

All of Everspring is protected by a magical barrier, erected in a ritual by the original Umbra Clerics. No one can teleport over it, and it prevents the borders from simply being stumbled upon. The border is heavily patrolled; Non-Lunar Elves are not allowed entry unless accompanied by a diplomat or presenting highly regulated paperwork.

## Biology

Lunar Elves look similar to Dark Elves-- typically tall and slim, possessing long pointed ears in the 4-6 inch range. Unlike Dark Elves, their skin comes in a range from dark indigo to icy near-white, and it sparkles under moonlight. Their hair tends to stay in a darker range, in shades of black and dark blue. Lunar Elf eyes come in a similar range to their skin tones. It is worth noting that in certain genetic pools, more turquoise skin tones are not unheard of, as well as rare brown or gold eyes and brown or blonde hair. All of those colourings are extremely unusual, and those possessing them often face social scorn, as they are considered signs of Solar Elf ancestry.

Like other elves, Lunar Elves mature by age 25. However, due to a need for able bodied soldiers, most Lunar Elves believe it to be 17.

To receive the racial benefits of a Lunar Elf in-game, a player must wear 4-6 inch elf ears.

## Culture

### War

Everspring is being invaded by Solar Elves, who they have been at war with for thousands of years. Once they reach the age of maturity, almost every single person is drafted. Individual opinions may differ on the war, but the government and the church are staunch supporters of its continuation.

### Emotional Expression

A high degree of emotional openness is not only accepted but actively expected and encouraged. Families, friends, and coworkers are all expected to communicate regularly and be open about any problems so they can be solved more quickly. Mental health is treated equally as important as physical health-- hospitals and churches both practice mind healing, which is open to their local communities. Part of this is because the Children of Lün’e, who are trained to be very close and emotionally expressive, in order to cope with the stress of their job. Because the Children of Lün’e are important cultural figures, the general populace practices a sort of abridged version, with a similar intent of coping in an unstable nation.

### Creativity

Performance, particularly at night, is considered holy because it is a way of giving thanks to and worshipping the moon. Artists of all sorts (singers, musicians, visual artists, storytellers) are sponsored by either the church or one of the noble houses. Typically the artists come from one of the more powerful noble houses, since they have more leisure time to hone their craft, but anyone with a natural talent is given the space to pursue it.

### A Caring State

It is expected that the Church of Lün’e, and accordingly the government of Everspring, will care for the citizens. In order to keep citizens loyal and the population alive even as the war kills off thousands, every Lunar Elf life is considered sacred and deserving of preservation. Petty criminals are rehabilitated, the destitute are given food and shelter, children are educated to whatever level is needed for their chosen profession.

Criminals accused of more serious crimes, particularly murder, desertion, or any indication of potentially betraying the nation, are still rehabilited. They are rehabilitated by being sent to the front, or to community service. Strangely, they rarely return, or last particularly long at those posts.

### Clothing

Because Lunar Elves believe their skin is a gift from Lün’e, it is considered highly sacred. Accordingly, it is expected that everyone should completely cover their skin outside of the home, except on particular holidays. Showing skin to someone is a sign of deep trust.

Children have some more allowances because they're small and rambunctious. They wear kid clothes that cover down to ankles and wrists and kid shoes, but no gloves and no headscarves. When out on the town (ie not at church or school), they wear shawl/scarf type things that are semi translucent and can be draped over them by their parents.

Older teenagers and adults wear full coverings. This typically includes an under layer that goes down to wrists/ankles, then a variety of tunics, robes, and scarves over top. Hair and face is covered with wrapped headscarves. Tight lower arms, calves, and waists and loose everywhere else is traditional.

Jewelry is one of the main forms of individuality and telling people apart. Members of the same house will have signature house pieces passed down between generations. A lot of jewelry is old and the main way of getting it is from your family-- lack of trade means metals that are rare elsewhere are practically impossible to find. Jewelers carry a high social rank, and must prove themselves as craftsmen for years before they are allowed access to the limited supply of metal that is not used for weaponry. There isn’t a great deal of gender differentiation in dress, but women wear more hair jewelry and men wear more arm jewelry. Higher ranked people wear more layers, because they can afford the decreased mobility.

### Marriage, Family, and Sexuality

Children are one of the most important parts of Lunar Elf society. Due to the declining population, it is crucial that children are protected and that as many people have them as possible. As such, even soldiers on the front are encouraged to have affairs. It is a common joke among soldiers that if you’re not enjoying your service, you can get pregnant and go home. Divorce is allowed, as are gay marriage and polyamory, so long as all of the above result in more children.

## Social Structure

Including both secular and religious groups, the basic social structure of Everspring is as follows:

### Zenith Council

The High Zenith is both the leader of the council and of the church. They are elected within the church itself. They are the tie-breaking vote on the council. There are 8 other seats on the council, one for the General of the military, and the seven others that are held by members of the prominent noble houses or by charismatic military leaders. When a sitting member dies or resigns, there is an election. The votes are counted by the High Zenith, who then pronounces the new member. Whether this is a fair election is anybody’s guess, but a great amount of effort is put towards making it seem that way.

### Great Houses

The remaining primary houses of families that date back to pre-Division of the Lunar and Solar Elves. Aside from political ties to Council members, the prominent Houses wield heavy social power. There is a fair amount of infighting through competing over which house can sponsor the best artist, or host the most magnificent gala. There are also trends of historical alliance/marriage within these houses, thus the slightly web like social system. ‘Alliance’ here mostly refers to the social aspects, and in some cases in terms of wealth or class.

Children of the highest ranking families tend to marry or have babies with each other, but it's not unheard of for a higher ranking family to marry in with a lower ranking one, or for a high ranked person to marry a talented artist. It helps keep the genetic pool healthy, and children of such unions typically take the name of the higher ranking family and are treated like any other member. Their children all attend the same private academies, so that they can socialize with their peers and train in history, oration, and the arts.

### Umbra Clerics

Leaders of the church, made up of highborn religious scholars and the sa imar Children of Lün’e. Supposedly the ones who are speaking to Lün’e and interpreting her messages.

### Children of Lün’e

They possess no real political power, but very high social status. They're considered holy and are involved in spreading religious doctrine. They preach during holidays, teach religious classes in schools. Divided into two groups, clergy and holy assassins. The clergy are some of the few Lunar Elves who never fight in the war, and are raised with record keeping and public service. The assassins spend their whole lives enlisted, but live and work separately from the main militia.

### Branch Houses

Most Branch Houses choose to put down roots just outside of the capital city, where they have more freedom than inside where they would contend with the Great Houses. They often partner with local churches to protect and look after the common people. Sponsor some farms and agriculture-- a more wealthy family might have an estate with 2-3 lowborn families living on and farming their land. The wealthy family provides the land and equipment, and takes a small cut of the profit.

### High ranking military officers

Because so many Lunar Elves spend so much of their time at war, high ranking military officials actually have a decent amount of power, although less than the Umbra Clerics. Tend to marry into branch houses and hope that their children will elevate their political status. Involved in a slightly suspicious amount of policy creation.

### Average families

Normal folks. Farmers, artisans, career soldiers, etc. Not a lot of political power unless they marry into the more powerful families. Many of them receive support from the government when crops run short or raids destroy their homes. Ostensibly involved in electing government officials.

There isn’t so much a class divide as a kind of social alliance-network. The state/church provides a lot of necessities for life, both because agriculture is difficult in a small, isolated country, and because life is highly valued. This means socialization revolves a great deal around political power and the arts.

## Religion

As they have since the founding of Everspring, Lunar Elves worship the moon goddess Lün’e. Eversping is run under a partial Theocracy-- the church comes together with the oldest Noble Houses to make up the Zenith Counsel. Most Lunar Elves are raised to be devoutly religious from birth. The ranks of the church are broken down as follows:

### The High Zenith

Religious head of the nation. They don’t necessarily wield full political power, but they represent the church and the country. Currently this position is filled by Purnama Koray.

### The Umbra Clerics

High clerics tasked with overseeing and protecting various areas of Everspring or running certain parts of the capitol, such as the libraries. A position you can rise to in the church without being born into it. Typically takes years of study and working one’s way up both politically and religiously.

### The Children of Lün’e

Made up largely of war orphans, the Children of Lün’e (also known as Korays) are considered the chosen Lunar Elves of Lün’e. They are raised by the church, and divided into two groups: the sa mira and the sa imar, meaning the Moon’s Blade or the Moon’s Light. The sa mira are holy assassins sent to deal with the most difficult conflicts in the Lunar/Solar Elf war, and the sa imar are the holy clergy who preserve religious and cultural knowledge.

### General Religious Life

The local government in most towns in Everspring tends to come from the nearest church. A very small town may have a religious meeting place and perhaps a local elder well versed in religious practices who either leads the town or works with other locals to lead it. They would then report to the nearest true church, run by an Umbra Cleric. Through the church and local connections, that Cleric and any other members of the church take responsibility for their local communities-- ensuring food is correctly distributed, children are educated, the sick and injured are cared for, etc. Most churches are also equipped with a small military force, tasked with defending the local towns and farmlands.

Because the church and government are almost entirely one in the same, religion is a huge part of the average Lunar Elf’s life. Worship is mainly done through art-- Lunar Elves create art pieces or tell stories both to preserve their history and culture, and to entertain their goddess. The religion itself is largely passed down orally-- few-to-no religious texts exist outside the libraries of the capitol.

Due to the long history of war within Everspring, a large part of worship to Lün’e is also entwined with keeping a country together during war. Religious emphasis on close knit families and communities, as well as the idea of battle as a form of worship, is common.

## Holidays

### Winter Solstice

Because it’s the longest night of the year, it’s the holiest night of the year. The moon is in the sky for the longest, so you try to keep her attention by telling stories about your year. It’s a night of music and memories, where families get together. Musicians and orators will prepare all year for this, and it’s traditional that everybody gives some sort of performance dedicated to Lune.

### Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice was once a day for mourning and honouring the dead, but in recent decades has become more of a day of bitterness towards Solar Elves. This creates some cultural controversy.

### New Moon

Every New Moon is a day of prayer and confession to Lune. Most elves in Everspring go to church or to their personal altars, while soldiers or those without access to a religious space may simply speak to the night sky.

### Full Moon

Every full moon is a fertility holiday, celebrating life and hope. If you’re a child, the Church of Lune takes you in and it’s basically a day camp. Playing games, singing songs about Lune. It’s also not so subtly a time for kids to mingle without parents, hoping they’ll crush on one another and start families asap. If you’re a married adult, you get the day off of work to celebrate your love and contribution to society, and the Church takes your kids for the day and night. It’s basically a federally-mandated sex holiday. If you’re an unmarried adult, you still have to work to keep the country running. You get the next day off, but it’s not like, a special deal about how you’re so holy and stuff.

## The Military

There are three types of service: Patrol, Frontline, and Base.

### Patrol

The vast majority of the military patrols along the mountain and their secret passages, monitoring the border. This is where the average Lunar Elf goes just after they’ve been trained. From here, they’re either sent to the frontlines with much more danger, or they stay on patrol for the duration of their enlistment. It’s fairly rare for patrol to see heavy combat. The officers in charge of these Patrolers tend to be either Frontlines veterans who’ve earned a cushy posting, or nobility who have been trained to lead.

It is expected for there to be romantic and sexual flings among the patrolling soldiers, and many Lunar Elves meet their spouses here. A child conceived while on patrol is assumed to be a greater warrior because their parents were actively fighting for Lün’e during their conception. A woman who becomes pregnant is immediately sent back to Everspring with whoever she assumes to be the father of the child. This is fairly common.

### Frontline

Ironically, these soldiers actually serve further back in the country geographically, fighting the Solar Elves who have advanced past the mountains. They see brutally heavy combat interspersed with weeks of stagnancy. They are assigned to units named for phases of the moon. They are trained to move fast, following orders from their leaders instinctively, so that they can retreat stealthily back to base as quickly as possible when things go wrong. It takes a very certain kind of elf to survive this way of life, and those that do tend to stay on the frontline until they die or gather enough experience to be promoted and recalled back to base.

Romantic and sexual flings are heavily discouraged among frontline units, because it distracts from the unity of the group. There are typically 3 leadership roles in a Frontlines group: a captain, a sergeant, and a head medic. The Captain’s role is, aside from being responsible for all battlefield tactics, is to serve as the religious head for the group. The head medic and sergeant are jointly responsible for monitoring the battle-readiness of their troops.

### Base

Where newly enlisted soldiers are sent to train, just outside the capitol-proper. Most of the militarie’s medics are stationed here, along with the center of military command. It functions as a triage center for the Frontliners, as well as a halfway house for soldiers whose service has ended to prepare them to re-enter society.

### Draft

Every capable Lunar Elf spends 4-10 years serving in the military at a time. But there are frequent recalls, as detailed later. High born nobility, such as the heirs of the Great Houses, are able to pay someone else to take their service time, or may be able to do some other important function for society that is deemed equivalent to service.

### Recall

A record is kept of all Lunar Elves’ service, including their skills and medical status. If the army requires an elf’s particular talents, or simply needs extra man power for a particular military campaign, they may recall to service even those who have served their full enlistment. This is common.

### Deserting

A crime, not just against your unit, but against Lün’e herself. If a soldier is thinking of desertion, and it can be confirmed by the captain, sergeant, and head medic, they will be immediately sent back to base with two escorts.

If the unit cannot spare that manpower, it is to the captain’s discretion what will be done. Every dead lunar elf is a devastation, but they can’t risk the solar elves learning the location or tactics of the military.

## History

### The Splitting of Lunar and Solar Elves

Legend says that once, thousands of years ago, a gathering was held by the tribal elf worshippers of the Sun and Moon. They performed a ritual to speak with their gods. When the Sun and Moon, Solar and Lün’e, came down to see their followers, they noted the differences between those who followed the Moon and those who followed the Sun. Suddenly, after no more than a snicker from the Deities, half of the elves were Frozen and half were Scorched. They commanded that their followers prove themselves by defeating the other Deities' followers-- bringing them glory and honor. Thus they can no longer exist peacefully together.

### The Long War

A war with little clear start and no end in sight. Although the conflict between the Solar Elves and Lunar Elves was once a relatively even back and forth, neither side truly gaining or losing ground, in recent centuries the war has clearly begun to favor the Solar Elves. Everspring’s choice of an isolationist policy, as well as a slow loss of their signature ice magic, means that they are rapidly weakening in the face of prosperous Sol Oas, with their booming trade and strong fire magic.

Everspring now has the homefield advantage, in that Sol Oas is invading them rather than vice versa. Their thick forests in the west of the country, combined with the well guarded barrier, mean that Solar Elves aren’t able to completely take their land. Lunar Elf tactics focus more on flanking maneuvers, and they are trained to fight with many types of weaponry. They also have a high number of psions and animi, and tend to have a very deep patriotism and religious fervor motivating them to fight hard no matter how outnumbered they are.

The most significant advantage the Lunar Elves are able to keep is their holy assassins. The assassins continuously pick off Solar Elf officials, keeping their country in a semi-constant power vacuum and state of political unrest.

Unfortunately, the Solar Elves have many distinct advantages. Their open borders and healthy trade means many more materials for weapons and opportunities for advancements in magic and technology. They also have the option to hire mercenary armies in addition to their own soldiers. They have strong fire magic, which they use to cauterize wounds to make them unhealable, and to burn Lunar Elf towns and crops. Since last spring, they have begun to use blasting jelly to do even more damage.

### The Deaths of Lün’e and Solar

Both the Constellations Lün’e and Solar have disappeared from the sky-- Solar one year ago, Lün’e just after the Battle of Binturia. No one knows what has happened to them. The Umbra Clerics have told the citizens of Everspring that their goddess may have descended to Temporis, and may be coming to assist them. It may be a sign that they will soon win the war.

## The Rebellion

Although this is not commonly available knowledge to the citizens of Everspring, there is a secret rebellion slowly growing in membership within their country. Made up of those who disagree with the war or see the intense corruption in the government, they are working to help those who want to escape the country get out. They are allied with similar individuals within Sol Oas, and all of them are slowly and quietly attempting to undermine the pointless religious war between their two countries.