Wood Elves

## Description:

Wood Elves are a subrace of the wider Elves that are born of nature and the energies that make it up. They are intrinsically and permanently conjoined with nature in a symbiotic relationship with their surroundings, unlike the other Elves that erect massive castles and mansions and intrusive cities to repel the wildlife. Wood Elves are known to inhabit areas of all climates and temperatures, but require some form of forest inside which they build their cities and live their lives. Wood Elves usually stand between five (5) feet eight (8) inches and six (6) feet six (6) inches, and are generally appear equal in weight and build to a human. In reality, Wood Elves are superior to humans in matters of physicality.

Wood Elves usually possess green, blue, or brown eyes, with green being seen as a special little blessing from Mother Nature herself. Wood Elf hair comes in varying shades of brown, black, and occasionally red. Compared to other Elves, the skin of Wood Elves is often rougher and more tanned, looking closer to a human hailing from the Mediterranean.

Compared to humans, Wood Elves possess a natural intelligence beyond that of the average, but often fail to utilize this innate ability due to the cultural and technological restraints of their civilization; Wood Elves separated from their villages often develop into educated scholars or well-traveled gurus. What Wood Elves tend to lack in outright intellect, they more than compensate for with their wisdom and comprehension of nature and workings of the world. Wood Elves are often considered great advisors, natural shamans and druids, and excellent healers due to their natural understanding of the world and life itself. Wood Elf society is most often found to be at the tribal level, although all are farming civilizations. This limit on their technological capability is believed to stunt the development and growth of Wood Elf society by a great deal, but they often shun advancements in favor of magic. Wood Elves are innately magical beings with an intrinsic connection to nature and the life around them, and as such are renowned for their grasp on magic of all kinds (except pyromancy)

Wood Elves reproduce sexually as most sentient humanoid races do, but those Wood Elves raised in Wood Elf society lead polyamorous relationships; women are expected to birth as many children as possible whilst still doing their daily work and going about their business. Wood Elves reproduce much faster than more frequently than their High Elf counterparts, but not as often as Drow. While the classical family unit is maintained in Wood Elf society, children are also seen as a collective responsibility and are often taught and cared for by the other members of a tribe just as much as they are by their parents.

Wood Elves tend to have lifespans around one thousand (1,000) years, but this can be extended greatly (and even indefinitely) through magical means.

### Personality:

Wood Elves are frequently stereotyped as having the following traits, when in reality this is not the case. If encountered in the normal world, a Wood Elf is not going to exhibit the personality traits listed below, as they were likely not raised under a Wood Elf tribe for very long and have since adapted to their new surroundings.

The goal of every Wood Elf raised amongst others of their kind is to venerate and protect nature, the Heart Trees in particular. Heart Trees are the center of Wood Elf society and culture, and are treated as such. Ultimately, Wood Elves view themselves as a consequence of the nature around them, and are a part of the nature around them, which creates a symbiotic relationship between the Wood Elves and their surroundings. To harm or disrespect nature in any way is considered blasphemy of the highest order, and even accidental slip-ups can result in major punishments. To reflect this extreme and zealous view over nature, Wood Elf society is structured in a way that the local leaders are given the responsibility of protecting and overseeing the nature they reside amongst; in this manner, leaders are often given the blame for damage to nature and as such are considered brave for accepting nature's wrath.

The Wood Elves are very humble people with little self identity, preferring to identify closer with nature and their village as a collective than view themselves as a separate entity within the group. Wood Elves are known almost never to complain, and, if befriended, are ferociously loyal, but are slow to trust outsiders and prefer the "shoot first and ask questions later" mentality. Wood Elves do not exhibit egos as observed with most other races, and have very peculiar psychological traits when compared to humans. Besides those local leaders with real tangible power, everyone else is considered more or less equal so long as they can do work; disabilities often do not slow a Wood Elf from working, either, as their druidic magic allows them to heal most wounds—physical and mental—and allows for the easy construction of living prosthetics. The prosthetics of Wood Elves are often sought after for their quality, longevity, and symbiotic relationship with the wearer, in that the prosthetic adapts to whatever work the wearer does.

Wood Elves do not take slaves, and view such a thing as being against the natural order. Normal Wood Elf citizens are treated equally and without prejudice or preference, considered to be the necessary parts of the whole rather than individuals. Outsiders to a Wood Elf village are often killed immediately, or, if they demonstrate a beyond-radical love and reverence for nature, they may be taken in as another citizen snd member of the village; when it comes to nature, Wood Elves do not discriminate, but often operate under the automatic assumption that outsiders mean to do nature harm.

Wood Elves live simplistic and quiet lives without hedonism or wastefulness at all, striving to survive without taking more than they need; much like Native Americans, Wood Elves use every part of nature to its absolute fullest extent before even thinking of replacing or wasting any part of it. Art in Wood Elf culture is usually reserved to carvings and statues, alongside the occasional vocal song and oral tradition. Wood Elf music is purely a cappella as they lack instruments, but are known to use the sounds of nature in their improvised music. Wood Elf language is often described as a sing-song language, with their secret coded war-speech being the "language of nature itself." Wood Elves do not possess a written language, but some may know how to write and speak in the most common local languages as a means of knowing their enemies.

Wood Elves are incredibly paranoid and cautious towards those outside their village. Even other Elves are subject to the scrutiny of their fellows. In this way, it is incredibly common for Wood Elf forests to be deemed entirely off-limits for anyone not a Wood Elf, as the residents of the forest will mercilessly kill anyone and everyone that trespasses into their territory. In times of particularly heightened tensions and conflict, bodies will be strung up in the treetops, mounted on hooks, hanged from vines, and have their body parts arrnaged into effigies left on the borders of the forest to rot and decay, spreading disease and fear through the neighboring countryside. For this reason, Wood Elves are often seen as barbaric and unnecessarily brutal.

### Abilities:

Compared to other humans, Wood Elves are outright superior in most aspects; when compared to High Elves, Wood Elves are roughly equivalent or slightly superior in most fields. Wood Elves are stronger, faster, smarter, and longer-lived than humans. Wood Elf souls themselves are derived from nature, giving them powerful innate magic snd control over their natural surroundings. Wood Elves wre far more agile than humans, and are known to be expert climbers that are perfectly adapted to the forests and jungles they inhabit.

With regards to magic, Wood Elves possess powerful innate capabilities. They can bend plants to their will from a very young age, with masters among their kind being capable of forging entire villages from the slow movements of trees. The magic capabilities of Wood Elves can be dangerously amplified to near-deific levels upon consumption of the fruit from a Heart Tree.

Physically, Wood Elves possess few noticeable weaknesses. They have a terrible fear of harming nature, and will go out of their way to preserve the natural world around them, even if means losing a battle or dying. Wood Elves can be bested by superior technology and magic, but otherwise are difficult opponents to face and beat.

## Culture

In line with the goals of the individual, Woof Elf culture centers itself around protecting and venerating nature. The culture is neither patriarchal or matriarchal, as both genders are viewed perfectly equally. The Wood Elf faith is integral to the entire society, and pervades all aspects of Wood Elf culture and life.

Wood Elves prefer to work with only other Wood Elves, and as such the racial diversity among their people is minimal at best. Wood Elves primarily operate under a tribal structure at the local level, and operate as a republic at the higher, more central levels.

### Hierarchy:

Wood Elf hierarchy is as follows:

1. Mother Nature: One of the Great Martyrs that rules over the entirety of the Multiverse.
2. Court of Earth: The secretive global council of Wood Elves known to communicate with Wood Elf-kind through nature itself; the number of members, where they meet, how they operate, and much else of the Court of Earth is unknown, but their global influence and known reputation is enough to convince outsiders to beware their ire. The Court of Earth is rumored to have access to Mother Nature herself.
3. Wardens of Seasons: These provincial governors instruct and lead the Overseers of a series of villages, particularly in areas where multiple villages and Heart Trees are located. These old and wisened members of Wood Elf society are powerful shamans, wizards, and druids with unknown powers.
4. Overseers: The mayoral role of Wood Elf society, responsible for leading a village and maintaining the sacredness of the surrounding forest and central Heart Tree; these individuals are selected from the strongest, wisest, smartest, and most magically-attuned villagers within a Wood Elf village, making Overseers masters of logistics, strategy, magic, and politics. Overseers are the first rank of Wood Elf allowed to leave the forest and interact with outsiders at will.
5. Shamans: The spiritual guides, healers, and mouthpieces for nature itself are a critical role in every Wood Elf village, and are positions from which a shaman can only escape from through their death; Shamans are lifelong workers and assistants to the spirits of nature and to their villagers, and are often incredibly old and incredibly wise. Many shamans are biologically immortal as a result of their enhanced connection with nature.
6. Wills of Nature: The deceased souls of Wood Elves that, through magic shamanistic ritual, have been tied to a new body in the form of armored bark, vine, and root. These large entities are expert martial fighters and masters of most weapons, unmatched hunters and trappers, and have the untold wisdom of the afterlife and beyond; Wills of Nature often accompany an Overseer at all times as a bodyguard unit. Maintaining a Will of Nature for more than a month at a time is considered rude to the sentient soul that inhabits the temporary body.
7. Guardians: These creatuers come in the form of powerful woodland creatures, tamed beasts and monsters of the forests and caves, or magic creatures and spirits of nature that call the nearby forests home; these entities are often enlisted by an Overseer to protect the forest and village by misdirecting enemies, providing food and water for the village(s), and warding off corruption.
8. Protectors: The trained hunters and soldiers of a Wood Elf settlement that are experts in stealth, sabotage, hunting, and traversing their forested homeland; these Wood Elves are educated in the ways of nearby outsiders, and are taught the secret Wood Elf war language.
9. Villagers: The normal citizen in a Wood Elf village that goes about their average life and wields little power or political influence, unless the Overseer of their village specifies otherwise.

### Religion:

Wood Elves practice a form of monotheism, and worship Mother Nature (or at least a personification of her). The Wood Elf faith is an inward one focused primarily on the protection and veneration of nature and the Heart Trees. For Wood Elves, divine interaction is a daily occurrence, with the existence of their Heart Trees and the forests and life around them proof of their faith. The Wood Elf faith also involves small shrines inside every home, to further remind the citizenry of the gifts their Mother gives them. Wood Elves believe primarily in the concept of reincarnation, believing that to feed into the cyclical nature of the world; this concept furthers their respect for all life, believing that any plant and animal could be a reincarnated relative or previous friend. Wood Elves believe in and make use of the supernatural constantly, as per the magical nature of their race and society as a whole. Forms of worship for Wood Elves include joyous prayer in temples, silent prayers at home, and minding the rituals and traditions that aid in the maintenance and protection of nature. There are many holidays in the Wood Elf faith system, and they generally celebrate martyrs, saints, past events, and nature.

#### Wood Elf Pantheon:

1. Mother Nature: Great Martyr of Nature associated with the creation of all life and the concept of mortality; responsible for acting as the personification of Nature itself within Wood Elf religion, the object of the Wood Elves's worship.
2. Shenarah: Goddess of hunting, the natural balance, territoriality and defense, archery, stealth, traps, etc.; worshipped by the Wood Elves, especially their hunters and warriors.
3. Thorrental: Goddess of Rain and Storms associated with the perpetuation and existence of the cycle of life; responsible for the pleasant Afterlife for Wood Elves and the protection/perpetuation of their race and forests.
4. Deltha: God of Rivers, liminal spaces, transformations, and travel associated with a trickster's nature; responsible for the Wood Elves' wedding and coming-of-age traditions, along with the creation of Water Spirits and rivers.
5. Marithimenel: God of the Ocean, depths, mystery, floods and hurricanes, etc. known for his apathy and unstable, violent temperament; responsible for the innate mystery, fear, and respect of the ocean felt by Wood Elves and their kind; worshipped as the primary god of the Sea Elves.
6. Cremia: Goddess of the Dead Forest associated with death, entropy, decay, undeath and Undead, civilization/invasion, apathy, etc.; responsible for the death of forests and similar biomes who influences outsiders to seek the destruction of forests and life.

#### Clergy:

For Wood Elves, the clergy of their faith come in the form of shamans, who operate as spiritual guides and translators for nature itself, ensuring that the village is always doing what it should to venerate and appease the natural world. Shamans commune with the spirits, with nature itself, and ensures that the symbiotic relationship between Wood Elf and nature persists unendingly.

Clergy in Wood Elf society lives at a status above normal citizens, but lives no better than the normal people. Clergy are encouraged to have families as all other Wood Elves are.

Those viewed as prophets by shamans and the normal villagers of Wood Elf society are commonly those with a particularly potent connection to nature and magic. These special individuals often find themselves taking up primarily leadership positions or the role of shaman, and are distinguished by enhanced/innate druidic powers. Shamans of the Wood Elf faith are distinguished by their loose robes, shamanistic staffs, talismans, fetishes, and wisened appearance.

#### Cultural Aspects:

For Wood Elves, the Heart Trees—and all trees—are seen as the greatest and most obvious symbol of their society. The holy color of Wood Elves is green. All knowledge—magical, mundane, historical and practical—is passed down vis oral tradition, usually from the dedicated town scholar or the village shaman. Wood Elves believe that the world was made without sentient life first, and that sentient life appeared over time as an accident and an anomaly amongst the unthinking perfection of untouched nature; as a result, Wood Elves view the origin of mortals to be that of an accident and oddity brought about through mutation and corruption of nature.

For Wood Elves, fhe deadliest sins are those that disrespect nature in any way, shape, and/or form. Consorting with outsiders and leaving/harming/disrespecting the tribe are also seen as grievous transgressions. The highest virtues are that of humility, and respect for nature.

Wood Elves lack most conventional forms of art due to their restricted level of technological capabilities, and as such rely primarily on oral tradition and songs to express their creativity.

Wood Elves come of age at fifteen (15) years old, with the ritual being an unobserved hunting trip into the woods, where the young Wood Elf is expected to return home with a successful hunt and large or dangerous game; the body of an outsider or trespasser is also accepted highly.

Wood Elves are polyamorous in an attempt to mimic the lives of most animals in nature, and as such do not have marriage rituals or ceremonies; while Wood Elves have multiple partners, they often mate for life, and will not leave a partner once together.

The Wood Elf rituals for death are complex and detailed. Due to their emphasis on the concept of reincarnation, Wood Elves treat death as a chance to reach the pinnacle of their many lives and be reincarnated as an animal. Wood Elves have souls interwoven with the nature around them, meaning that, until their bodies are returned to nature, their souls remain trapped in the Material Realm, left to haunt outsiders and ward off evil beasts.  When a Wood Elf dies and their body is recovered, the body is either placed into a tree via druidic magic, where it is absorbed by the tree at an incredible rate and allows the tree to be used as the foundation for a new section of the city, or the body is buried alongside a number of baits and chemicals and magic designed to decompose it as soon as possible.

Those Wood Elves who die have their souls rejoin nature, becoming the literal whispers on the wind heard in the forest; these rejoined souls can then be called upon by only the most powerful Wood Elf heroes, summoning the souls back from the dead in twisted bodies of wood, leaf, and animal.  Preparation beforehand can see the souls placed in special new organic bodies made of toughened hide and wooden bark, creating an intelligent form of Golem known as Wills of Nature; keeping any single soul awake from death for longer than a month or two is seen as bad manners and disrespectful to the dead, and may result in vengeful spirits, a drought, flood, or famine, etc.

Wood Elves, on top of their minor dips into necromancy and animancy, despise outsiders and the taint they believe is brought with them. Trespassers are killed swiftly and without mercy, the only exception being children; children who wander into Wood Elf forests are often found, fed, cleaned, and then sent back to whence they came unharmed, but such niceties are not extended to adults. Those children who are particularly respectful and kind may be unknowingly marked by the Overseer or nature itself, allowing them to travels safely through Wood Elf territory unharmed and unimpeded.