Elves

## Racial Traits

### Born of the Forests

*As creatures of the woods and the wilderness even the most city-bound elf has an intrinsic connection with nature.*

Elves gain Knowledge (Nature) and Survival as class skills.

### Keen Mind

*Unlike other races, elves aloofness acts an additional layer of defence against invasion of the mind.*

Elves gain +2 racial bonus to saves vs *Enchantment*

### Sleepless

Immune to *Sleep* and only require 4 hours of meditation (replaces 8 hour rest).

### Circle Traits

Elves from different circles gain additional bonuses.

## Elven Circles

There are three great races amongst the elves. In their culture, they are referred to as circles, great loops that bind one group together and separate it from another. This naming convention has created a sense of equality in elven culture which is very socialist and contains few real hierarchies.

### Emerael

The Emerael or 'green elves', populate the Emerranda (or greenwood) Unlike their other elven cousins, the Emerael never created a formal alliance with the Imran, though peaceful treaties exist. Their relationship is not openly hostile, merely neutral which makes Emerael somewhat more unusual within the empire. They are by nature more savage than their other kin, being closer to the natural wildness of their homelands. The Emerael value a deep and spiritual bond with their surroundings and are inherently suspicious of excessive technological advancements.

The green elves are the greenest of all elves. Their skin varies between light and very dark shades of green, as does their hair. Emerael with golden features are not unheard of but rare. They tend to be more solid than other elves due to their wild lifestyle.

* Emerael have the following ability score modifiers: +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Constitution
* Emerael ignore Difficult Terrain in forest environments
* Emerael have a base speed of 35ft

### Himael

The Himael once populated the forest around glory peak. The word Himael, literally means people of the clouds which means they are sometimes referred to as cloud elves. During the 'second coming' the entire Himael homeland was laid waste and thus the only remaining Himael are those who were abroad at the time. Now a nomadic people, the Himael are still looking to find a new home in lands already claimed. The Himael, as a scattered people have bound very closely to their cultural practices and history for fear it shall be forever lost.

The Himael boast lighter colours than their southern cousins. Their hair can be blond or silvery platinum and their skin is paler and less green than other the elven races.

* Himael have the following ability score modifiers: +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution
* Himael may cast Charm Person or Undetectable Alignment once per day as an Charisma based spell.

### Urael

The Urael were the second great settlement of the Elven people. Unlike their Emerael cousins, the Urael lost a great deal of their natural connection to the land, focusing instead on their construction of civilisation and high culture. The Urael live in cities built from trees among the trees. They cultivate different food, art, music and artefacts. The Urael also forge fine weapons from ores traded from their Desmer neighbours.

The Urael claim a close relationship with the Imran empire, but also the Desmer of Stonehall. The Urael are a refined and introspective race, focusing greatly on tradition.

* Urael have the following ability score modifiers: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution
* Urael may cast Comprehend Languages or Identify once per day as an Intelligence based spell.

## Physical Description

Elves are tall, graceful creatures, but often wild and unkempt in temperament. Elves generally wear their hair long, which varies in colour from nearly white through light greens, dark greens and blacks.

## History

Before the great elf kingdoms, when the wilderness was untended and chaotic great forests grew over the southern continent. As magic entered the world, some tree came to life, moving slowly through the forest, tending those trees and creatures than were sick and dying. When one of these treants succumbed to the ravages of time and returned to the earth from whence it came, its spirit was instead freed. These spirits, known as fairies would travel from place to place, spreading word of what ills beset the forest, guiding the living treants. When the spirits themselves finally came to rest, they would be reborn as a new treant sapling and the cycle would continue again.

This balance lasted for generations of trees until the coming of the Grelk. Unlike the other animals of the forests, the Grelk were vicious and cruel creatures. They felled trees and captured and tortured the fairies for fun. They despoiled lands the infested and slowly the forests began to recede. When the doom of the great Emerald forest became apparent, the great mystical Guardians of the Four Gates sought to stem this tide. Within the Emerranda, they pooled their powers, infusing a pool with their magical energies. The fairies were instructed to bathe in its water and when they emerged, they were no longer beings of magic and spirit, but instead of flesh and bone. These were the first Sprites of the forest. With their new-found physical forms, the Sprites fought and subdued the Grelk, forcing them further and further back into the plains until the forest was clear of their meddling.

With the immediate threat of the Grelk quelled, the Sprites sought to return to their previous state as spirits of the forest, however, the process was irreversible. Their newfound flesh and blood had created an irreparable void that now stood between their spirit and that of the trees and many went mad from that spiritual wound. Others sought to reverse the process by bathing yet again in the great pool. However, rather than reverting them to their spirit form, instead, the gap between Sprite and tree was again widened and those that emerged were the first of the Elvenkin. The Elves themselves were now so far removed from their spiritual forbears that the wound felt by the Sprites was no longer apparent. The Elves, now itching with a new found independence traveled widely across the great Twin Isles. In the end however, the traces of their ancestry drove them to settle in great numbers in the forests of the world. The elves separated into four major circles, each living in a different forest surrounding a natural wonder of great magical power.

The Emerael remained in the Emerranda, forming the largest and most traditional group of elves. The Emerael lived harmoniously with the remaining Sprites, forming an important symbiotic relationship, where two kingdoms lived together but with separate hierarchies and cultures. The Emerael are wild in their hearts and share a profound connection to both plants and animals and many live solitary lives in the wild, coming together only for important festivals. Others lives in large clans, working together with their neighbouring Sprites to maintain and strength the Emerranda.

The Urael also referred to as Moon Elves, formed their city around the great still Moon Lake. This body of water contains minerals which naturally absorb magical energies and are released by moonlight. At night, the lake radiates white and blue light and is the site of many rituals of the Urael. Unlike the Emerael, the Urael value civilisation over nature, and are obsessed with art, music and food. The Urael are also fine craftsmen creating powerful weapons and armour as well as exquisite buildings. Though they still share a strong bond with nature, it is said that while the Emerael are part of the forest, the Urael live within it.

The Larael elves traveled seaward. Living on a great forested island south of the main continent. The Larael were merchants and travelers and built a great and prosperous society. However, whether it was a divine curse or simply great misfortune a great earthquake engulfed the Larael homeland causing tidal waves to engulf the island in water and destabilising the ground upon which it stood. The Larael’s entire culture was lost in an instant as their homeland sank deep into the ocean causing the eradication of an entire race in a single day. While some elves of Larael descent still exist, their numbers were so few that none have more than a faint trace of Larael blood flowing in their veins.

The final and also cursed Himael settled at the base of Glory Peak. This mountain radiates magical energy and feeding upon it, the Himael create a strong and vibrant kingdom. With the arrival of the Imran, it was the Himael that first established an alliance. Together with the Imran, they helped purge the plains of the Skrillig influence and as such, the Himael were welcome visitors all over the empire. Thus, when troubles beset them, their losses were not as complete as the Larael. With the second coming of the Abomination, the Himael homeland was laid waste and the only survivors were those who were abroad. The forests of the Himael were largely destroyed and what rose in its place was aberrant and corrupting. As such, the Himael wander the empire with no homeland. The Himael cling to their traditions all the more fiercely as a consequence, but ion aare still looking to re-establish themselves.