High Elves

*"Despite the fact I know I wasn't all*

*that welcome within their cities, I was*

*able to enjoy myself once I was led to*

*a room dedicated to their sacred art*

*of self-enchantment. The research I*

*was able to catalog while examining*

*this art which they call "Avitast" was*

*certainly worth all of the glares and*

*dirty looks I received."*

  *-Yi Fàngsōngyīxià, Understanding Hin*

Using a variety of skills from throughout their history, the High Elves see themselves as superior - and this belief isn't entirely unfounded. Between their powerful combination of spells and arms, and their inherent ability to increase their own defenses, the High Elves are feared warriors. Though this definitely does not detract from their abilities in regards to knowledge and academics. Atop their mountain home known as the Blue Selfaen, the High Elves spend their time training, gathering information, and meditating on their sacred arts of Avitast and Avikarnes; arts passed onto them directly by living gods who play a strong role in their own history. The High Elves are certainly a force to be respected and feared, and they know this to be true.

## Regal Qualities

The High Elves are a tall, violet skinned, and slim people, averaging at about 6ft. They tend to have incredibly smooth skin, and soft, straight hair. Most of them have either Reddish-Violet, Silver, or rarely, dark blue hair. The High Elves have no body hair whatsoever, be they male or female. Their ears are pointed up at a higher angle than the other elves. The clothing trends followed among the High Elves include a lot of blue and white cloths, often weaved into robes. They're decorated with ornaments made of silver, with higher ranking members of societies generally incorporating purple cloth and Gold or Mythral ornaments in place of the silver ones found among lower classes.

## Ageless Arrogance

Time is plentiful in the lives of High Elves, as they often live to be nearly 800 years old. The amount of experience they aquire as a result of their age tends to give them a sense of superiority - something they were already not lacking in. High Elves find it hard to get along with other races well, not that they would like to anyways. As a result of their own connection to Hin, the Mist, their age, and their use of Avitast, the High Elves see themselves as a superior race to all others (Especially other Elves, who they see as fallen from grace). They would often go so far as to claim they are by far the closest to godliness. Their hatred extends further for the Seeq than for the "lesser elves", due mainly to theological clashes.

## Art of Divination

The High Elves have a culture heavily built around the art of Avitast - a form of combat and lifestyle taught to them by an incarnation of Hin, the High Elven chief deity. This particular reincarnation of Hin was birth-named 'Eloquiin. (Traditions hold that an apostrophe behind a name shows someone as an incarnation of Hin when present in historic texts.) "Avitast" is a combination of the High Elven words "avi" and "tast" (meaning Enchant and Combat respectively). The combat art is built around using a combination of magic and weaponry, and extends into the lives of all High Elves in the form of Avikarnes (Enchanted Flesh in High Elvish). Avikarnes is the art of enchanting one's own body and mind. Traditionally, High Elves will enchant their newborn children as to not require nutrients - meaning they do not have to eat. Avikarnes will fade about a day after they are put into effect, but so long as a high elf has access to sunlight, it can be reapplied or replaced. All High Elves are taught the art of Avitast by parents at an age of about 16 years.

## Spying Eyes or Wandering Minds

High Elves rarely leave their cities, but it isn't an unthinkable occurrence. Holding a high allegiance to their state, most leave their homes for reasons involving espionage, diplomacy, or any other political motivation. Some may travel out of wanderlust, and other adventurers are drawn to their lifestyle after, for whatever personal reason, deciding they don't believe in Hin and/or the teachings of the High Elf superiority - for these reason(s) they would likely choose to remove themselves from such a society.

## High Elvish Names

**Male Names:**

*Adarat, Gendis, Yudex, Ermod, Igen*

*Assad, Kurrek, Venat, Ancano, Ges*

**Female Names:**

*Olissia, Quoma, Atina, Verxa, Erma,*

*Avori, Alendia, Duscia, Jisa, Erisia*

## High Elf Racial Traits

***Ability Score Increase:*** You are of a highly enlightened ancestry. (Int +2)

***Age:*** High Elves reach complete maturity at about age 100 - you will likely die by age 800.

***Alignment:*** In regards to other High Elves, ***Altruistic*** approaches are common, but in all other cases, a more ***Egoistic*** outcome is likely. Either way, High Elves tend to take a ***Reasonable*** approach to things more often than a ***Passionate*** one.

***Size:*** High Elves are an average of 6ft tall. Your size is medium.

***Speed:*** Your base walking speed is 30ft.

***Avitast:*** If you damage a creature with a spell on this turn, and you are within walking distance of that creature on this turn, you can immediately follow up with an attack using a weapon already in your hand. If you choose to do so, you take advantage on all rolls regarding the attack on this turn. Likewise, if you damage a creature with your weapon this turn, you can immediately follow up the attack using a spell. This spell MUST target a creature you attacked on this turn. You take advantage on all rolls regarding the spell for this turn. You may only use ***Avitast*** once every other turn.

***Avikarnes:*** Once per day, while you have access to direct sunlight, you can perform one of the following actions:

* Choose a ***damage type***. For the next 24 hours, you take ***half*** damage from all damage done to you of that type. After the 24 hours have passed, any creature which targets you with an attack of this type has advantage on any rolls regarding that attack, unless you reapply this effect, choosing the same damage type.
* Choose a ***condition*** (*You cannot choose Prone, Restrained, or Unconscious*). For the next 24 hours, you are ***immune*** to that condition. After the 24 hours have passed, you take disadvantage on any saving throw involving that condition, unless you reapply this effect, choosing the same condition.
* Choose a ***skill.*** For the next 24 hours, you are proficient in this skill. After the 24 hours have passed, you take disadvantage on any rolls involving this skill, unless you reapply this effect, choosing the same skill.

***Trance:*** Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.

***Keen Minded:*** You have proficiency in the Perception skill. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

***Cantrip:*** You know one cantrip of your choice from the Dismagus spell list. Intelligence is your casting ability for it.

***Languages**:* You can read, write, and speak High Elvish.