Gareena

*"Hold still." Cerise pouted, pulling the paint brush from the corner of her mouth, it's tip showing the marks of her repeated chewing. Her lover sighed and rolled his eyes, she'd spent hours arranging him on the sofa and now he was expected to sit still? The lighting had to be "just right', whatever that meant.*

*Cerise took another sip from the chalice of Shroomin Lightmeld, a potent drug rumored to slow down the perception of time and change the way one saw light. Her hands moving in near slow motion, Cerise began to paint, continuing on until the last of the rays of sunlight left the room, their source sinking below the trees at the edge of town.*

*Liam woke with a start, he'd fallen asleep on the damn sofa again, the third day in a row since Cerise had be struck by the need to paint him. He looked up and met her eyes, glowing a soft fuchsia in the fading light, and knew she was ready for another round of "inspiration."*

## Works of Art

Being the children of the goddess of beauty, Gareena are gracefully and fine boned, with an ethereal otherworldly beauty. They are slightly taller than humans, and other elves, on average. Both males and female tend toward the slim side, and a Gareena's muscles are lithe rather than bulky. Their coloration tends towards pale white to light bronze and their hair can be nearly any color found in nature, many Gareena even dye their hair or change it's appearance with magic. Their eyes are come in light pinks, magenta, lavender, deep purples, and all shades of blue and green. Gareena have no facial and little body hair. Gareena clothing is stylish and outlandish by other races standards, they seem to be able to get away with wearing almost anything and favor bright bold fabrics and simple, yet abundant, jewelry.

## Communal Dreamers

The Gareena are an elder race, known as the Dream Elves, the race from which all other elves and humans descended. Despite this, they aren't haughty, instead viewing the younger races as one might view a short-lived flower; ephemeral in it's beauty.

Every Gareena is some form of artist or craftsman. Gareena are constantly seeking out beauty and new experiences, anything that might spark inspiration within them. The more new experiences they have the greater the chances of being set upon by a obsession, the sleep-walking dream state gifted by the goddess Beaudessa in which Gareena might produce their Magnum Opus, the pinnacle of their craft. Seeking adventures isn't a wholly selfish endeavor either, inspiration also makes a Gareena's dreams more vivid. They can then share these experiences in the Reverie, the shared dreamscape of their race. This shared dream is the cornerstone of their society, allowing Gareena to share thoughts, feelings, and experiences with others of their race. Everything among the Gareena is democratic, every decision a discussion.

The Dream Elves surround themselves with art and beautiful things, keeping the best of their creations to inspire and selling the rest. The admiration of their art by other races serves to feed their goddess. Gareena cities are often full of incredible public works whose only function is to look good.

It is common to see young Gareena leave home for a life of adventuring, in which they will build up a stock of experiences to use as inspiration for the rest of their lives. The parting is sad, but Gareena adventurers are never truly separated from their race, their friends and family merely a good nights sleep away. It is common for a Gareena leaving home for the first time to plant a soul tree, a sapling bound to their own life force that ties them to the Vieux Forêt. The skein of magics woven over their sacred forest infuses the Gareena giving them their unnaturally long lifespans. Separated from this they age much more quickly depending on the ambient mana around them. A Gareena captured and kept in an anti-magic field will die in a matter of months.

## Worship Through Making

Gareena worship the goddess of beauty and claim to be her offspring. Creating works of beauty, composing music, performing, storytelling, any sort of craft is considered valid worship to Beaudessa. Some Gareena bounce from craft to craft over their lives, trying to find the perfect one to pursue. Many more stick with a single craft, following it almost obsessively in order to perfect their art in the ultimate tithe to Beaudessa.

The traveling priests of Beaudessa, known as Dreamspeakers, are more akin to bards than clerics. They invoke the power of dreams with song and dance, sharing the dreams of the greatest heroes of the elves. Their power over dreams and stories is so complete the strongest among them are said to be able to physically manifest elements of their tales around themselves.

## All Are Beautiful

Gareena can see the beauty in anything, including the more reviled races of the world. They were the only race to not assist in the long ago genocide of the Taun'Mac'Toh, claiming they were just misunderstood. As their love of beauty also extends to people, both those physically good looking and those with good souls, Gareena search out those who inspire them. Gareena love freely and often take many lovers, of any gender or race, over the course of their long lives. It's common for a Gareena to make friends with a whole family of the more short lived races, becoming friends with each successive generation.

Gareena have an especially close relationship with the Gottnar and the Fenns. The Gottnar bring them all new manners of mushrooms and substances with mind altering effects to change their headspace. The Fenns are loved as the newest race to spring from the Dream Elves.

## Gareena Names

Pick French sounding names for your Gareena character.

## Gareena Traits

Your Gareena character has a variety of magical abilities granted by the Reverie and the magic of the Vieux Forêt.

***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1.

***Age.*** Gareena reach physical maturity around 30 years of age. They are considered an adult when they declare themselves one and take on their first great work, usually around 100 to 120 years of age. Gareena who reside in their homeland or that have planted a soul tree can live over a 1000 years. Outside of the old forest they age 3 to 4 times as fast depending on the concentration of magic around them, reaching a maximum of 300 to 400 years old.

***Alignment.*** Gareena tend towards chaotic and good alignments, they take a democratic view on everything and eschew strict rules. Evil acts are especially reviled as an assault on beauty and the goddess Beaudessa herself.

***Size.*** Gareena range from a little over 5 feet to over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

***Darkvision.*** Accustomed to the thick woods of the Vieux Forêt, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.

***Skilled Artistry.*** You gain proficiency in two artistic or crafting skills of your choice.

***Nightmare Ward.*** You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened and intimidated.

***Lucid Dreamer.*** Gareena fall into a deep dream filled sleep extremely easily, during which they commune with the other dreamers of their race. You only need to sleep 4 hours a day and never have trouble falling asleep. If for some reason your sleep is interrupted you are extremely groggy, taking a -4 penalty to initiative. If you cannot complete 4 hours of sleep you feel extreme loneliness and isolation from not being able to dream with the rest of your race. You can communicate with others of your race as long as you both are sleeping, this communication is not verbal, instead it takes the form of molding the shared dreamscape to convey meaning.

***Obsessive Dream.*** Gareena are prone to obsession, while in this state they are set upon by a pervasive dream that recurs every night, becoming an obsession till the subject of the dream is created. Said dream almost always has to do with a Gareena's skillset but there are rare exceptions. If ignored the dream starts to happen even while awake, imposing disadvantage on Perception checks. If a Gareena dedicates a full week to chasing their dream, and material costs if the skill is a crafting skill, at the end of said week they produce a peerless work of art. If the skill is a craft skill they create a mastercrafted item, if it is a performance skill they produce a work so touching that people far and wide will pay large sums of money to see performed. Either way, it is a work sure to last through the ages. The DM decides when this activates and what skill it effects. If a skill you aren't proficient is chosen you gain proficiency, if one you are proficient is chooses you gain double proficiency once you have realized your dream.

***Gareena Magic.*** You know the *message* cantrip. When you reach 3rd level you can cast the *alarm* spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a short rest. When you reach 9th level you can cast the *dream* spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.

***Languages.*** You can speak, read, and write Gareen and Low Ishvar. Gareen is a languid, flowing language with many meanings for any given word that depend on context. Excited Gareena are often said to sound like a babbling brook when they talk.