Sylvan

### Overview

Born from the Sprites and Humans who lived under the rule of Dragons, these far removed descendants still reflect their heritage even now. They may start life looking almost identical to a human, save for their sensitive pointed ears and magical eyes. The older they grow the more the elements reclaim their bodies.

### Root and Affinity

Sylvan fall into 4 general categories; Nature, Earth, Water, and Fire. They tend to gain traits relating back to their root element such as hair and eye color. Each Sylvan also gets an Affinity that grows and changes with them through their lives. Nowhere near the power of Sprites, it’s difficult to call Affinities magic in the first place.

If a Sylvan’s root is generally broad such as Water their Affinity will be quite weak meaning they may just be better at swimming and holding their breath compared to most. This grants benefits such as a healthier and sometimes longer lifespan at the cost of power earlier in life.

The more specific the Sylvan’s root is, the stronger the Affinity. Rather than Water the root may be Snow or Icicles, the more their root is narrowed down the better. Higher Affinity may be very specific but it can be very powerful. An Icicle Sylvan could summon ice and manipulate it or even grow icicles on another person. This does come at a great cost sadly. Shorter lifespan, health complications, and more will plague the Sylvan from a very young age as their root slowly reclaims their body for itself. It is dangerous to use their Affinity more often as it can speed up this process exponentially.

### Appearance

The stronger the Affinity or the older the Sylvan, their root takes a stronger hold of their physical form. A deer root may grow heavy antlers, itchy fur and painful hooves. A magma root may grow patches of molten rock on their skin that are hot to the touch. A geode root may begin sprouting gems on their body. A waterfall root may begin to drip water from their skin constantly. It’s very diverse but always gives a disadvantage to the Sylvan.↵Warriors of Life; Nature Root:

* Height: 5’1 - 6’1
* Hair: Smooth texture. Natural colors with much more vibrancy
* Complexion: Natural colors leaning more gold
* Eyes: Animal like or colored similar to vibrant plant life
* Unique Traits: Enjoy dyes and body paints

Shield of the Earth; Earth Root:

* Height: 5’3 - 6’4
* Hair: Smooth to thick and wiry texture. Earthy browns, blacks, grays, beige, and occasional streaks of color similar to gemstones.
* Complexion: Deep browns and grays to ashy pale
* Eyes: Colored like rocks or gemstones, often flakes of shiny material scattered through the iris.
* Unique Traits: Tend to have more muscle mass and large frames

Divine Arrows; Fire Root:

* Height : 5’1 - 6’1
* Hair: Wavy in texture. Warm and bright colors often mimicking flames with fades to other colors
* Complexion: Bright and vibrant colors with occasional coal
* Eyes: Glowing and bright, flicker occasionally and may shift in hue
* Unique Traits: Color changing eyes and hair

Ancestral Devotion; Water Root:

* Height: 4’9 - 5’5
* Hair: Wavy and curly in texture. Cool and dark/bright depending on the root
* Complexion: Cool tones dark/light depending on root
* Eyes: Similar to the surface of water with ripples and different shades of blue/green
* Unique Traits: Create bubbles rather than tears when crying. Known to have soothing voices

### Culture

The 4 main roots have customs unique to them

* Nature: Harvest festivals 3 times a year with The Culmination Feast held on the first day of winter. Incunabula; The celebration of new life is when a party is held to welcome the newborns of spring into the world.

* Earth: Rituals are held during natural disasters such as mudslides and sandstorms to hopefully calm the Earth and Splintering; Once a year Earth Root Sylvans collect as many stones as they can and come together to crack them open. If the majority of the stones have gems inside the year will be that of good fortune. It is also common to hold tournaments of strength whenever they wish to do so in order to keep the memory of their Sprite ancestors alive.

* Fire: Once a year Sylvans of the fire root come together around a hearth and read the smoke. They say if you see certain images it can be a sign of what is to come in the new year. Archery competitions and smoke divining's are regular occurrences in their culture.

* Water: When someone gets sick a ritual is held to attempt to flush the ailment out of the victim. Water roots are very hygienic and obsess over sickness of any kind. Some Water roots who descend from fighters rather than healers join in the Fire roots archery competitions.

Other customs are often due to human influence or unique to a small group for one reason or another. It is common to come across a Sylvan with their own personal holidays as well.

#### Death

As a Sylvan ages their body becomes overrun by their element to the point of losing themselves. A fire root becomes nothing but a smoldering flame eventually to flicker out, a nature root becomes an animal or plant that is incapable of thought, water roots melt or evaporate, and earth roots crumble to dust.↵Death is a large event for Sylvan's as many see it as a blessing so they may finally rest. What is done with the body varies from the human cultures that have had influence on any given group of Sylvan but it is very common to surround the body with its root element so it may return fully to the elements. Once the body is cared for the next 4 days are spent very specifically.

* Day 1: Mourning and silence. Sylvan's may wear clothes in similar color to the root of the deceased as they vow silence for the rest of the day.
* Day 2: Respect and gratitude. Those very close to the deceased are given gifts and prayers as well as being honored in holding the legacy of the deceased in this world for a bit longer.
* Day 3: Feast. A lavish feast is held in the name of the deceased. Food and drink the deceased enjoyed are prepared along with speeches from those close to them.
* Day 4: The final celebration. A large celebration with dancing, food, games, and other activities is held. This is seen as the final send off as those who have mourned now wish their departed a day to know that they will smile again. The goal of the celebration is to cheer up all those still mourning as best as they can by the end of the day.

### History

In an age lost to most lived the Dragons. These hellish beasts wished nothing more than total pleasure and absolute power. They created many lifeforms to be their servants such as Humans and Sprites. The Sprites were often made quite powerful and sent off to battle other dragons' “little armies” for sport.

The front lines were filled with earthy sprites. Born from stone itself these creatures were towering and strong. Able to block even fire spit from a dragon's mouth, they were always the ones leading the charge.

The fighter sprites were born from plants and animals that roamed the world. Capable of harnessing those they came from as weapons and armor. Turtle warriors holding poisoned leaf blades, Deer helmets adorning warriors with shark toothed lances, they were a formidable foe and feared by many.

In the back lines was a mix of fire and water sprites. Crafting bows out of their elements and raining down deadly, pure arcane bolts onto the enemies. Some would combine their powers to make mist so assassins could sneak behind the enemy. Other combinations tended to include the fallen earth sprites so they could create a towering cascade of magma or put a dangerous amount of fire inside a bubble and leave it under the body. When enemies drew too close the water sprite would release their bubble allowing the flames to expand rapidly.

The very back of the troops was yet another mix, this time of nature and water. Those who could be saved were whisked away on a stream or vine and brought to the healers. Medicinal herbs, food, soothing water, healing wounds, they did anything they could to save those destined for death.

Though all were incredibly powerful, they all detested the dragons for what they were put through. Killing their own kind was a pain few could understand outside of the Sprites. Eventually they had enough and collected humans who also refused to go on like this. They strategized and prepared for the day they would overthrow their oppressors. During this time bonds were forged. Humans and sprites not only found comradery within each other but love.

When the dust had settled and Aora stood atop the mighty beast that had been felled, celebration erupted. As the crowds of now free lives danced together, some began to fall ill. Unlike the humans who were granted self sufficiency, Sprites were directly fed their lifeforce from the dragons who poured magic into their bodies. One by one their lives flickered away…

Some of those who fell in love were left widowed and many even bearing the children of the Sprites within them. These hybrids were dubbed the faeries and adored by the humans who missed their beloved. As the ages wore on and humans dispersed, the magic of the Sprites was too spread thin. The faeries became less and less like their magical counterparts and began to resemble humans. The Sylvan were born.