Post by Naga on Aug 19, 2024 13:56:50 GMT -5
Introduction
The Wood Elves are a reclusive, isolationist race of Elves that have long ago voluntarily split off from the rest of their kin, preferring instead to live out their lives in nature's embrace at the enchanted forest, Athalran. From here, they have learned to dwell in concord with the seasons and the weave of life and death that binds all living things together. They are the defenders of the forest, guardians of all things natural and pure. For millennia, the Wood Elves have lived in this state of harmony, lying in wait and hidden from the prying eyes of the wider World.
Yet times have changed since that ancient age, and the Wood Elves realize that the fate of Athalran and other forests is now tied to that of other lands. Though they do not seek to act as the world’s protectors as do the High Elves, nor enthrone themselves as its rulers as do the Dark Elves, there are those times when the will of Athenra, the Everqueen in the Woods, must shape the fortunes of those that live beyond the boundary of their homelands.
As such, the Wood Elves have spent their entire existence bent solely on the preservation of their forested realms, to ensure that it persists throughout the ages from all harms. Never has this been truer than in these dark days, where every broken bough or withered leaf carries an omen of darker times to come. It is this cause in which they fight, for no land endures long if it cannot take up arms against those that wish it harm, and the waking woodland of Athalran have endured for many thousands of years, so long as the watchful eyes of her protectors continue their loyal vigilance.
Governance
Land: Most of the Wood Elves reside in Athalran, the enchanted forest. But there are a lot of Wood Elves living all across Earthland in different forests in smaller settlements.
Location: Athalran is a large enchanted forest located in Fiore.
Governance: Athalran is ruled by Athenra the Everqueen.
Head: Athenra the Everqueen
Capital: Athalran
Region: Wood Elves live all across Earthland. Some live in settlements, others live as nomads, and some even live in the cities. Most of them live in the enchanted forest Ariathal.
Population: 5,000,000 all across Earthland, 1,000,000 in the capital Athalran.
Details
Languages: All Elves speak a single racial tongue called Elvarin, but the language has since splintered into different dialects, each representing one of the races of Elves in the world. The Wood Elves of Elvhenair still practice the original Elvarin language. The Wood Elves, in practice of distancing themselves from their former brethren in Elvhenair, have developed their own language, called Val'Elvarin. In many ways, the language is similar to Elvarin but with a few alterations.
Elves are subtle creatures at heart, and live in the details of thought and deed that lesser creatures seldom notice. They live for intrigue and find joy in a clever tongue wielded by an accomplished mind. The speech of Wood Elves is particularly incomprehensible to an outsider. This is not because the words themselves make little sense, but because there are always at least two possible interpretations of the intended meaning.
In this way, a promise of assistance can sound disturbingly like a threat, and a death sentence like an offer of clemency. In this way does the speech of the Wood Elves reflect their complicated relationship with the world. Until backed up with deeds, words are just empty prophecies that speak to possible outcomes; sometimes, even the Wood Elves do not know what they intend until the moment of action.
Names: Examples for names for males are Caladrel, Heldalel, Lanliss, Meirdrarel, Seldlon, and Talathel. Examples for names for females are Dardlara, Faunra, Jathal, Merisiel, Oparal, Soumral, and Tessara.
Religion
Religion: The Elven Pantheon are split up into two groups, known as the Linea and the Vhaladar. All Elves revere this pantheon of deities but put a lot more emphasis on certain gods than others. An example of this is the Dark Elves outright ignoring the Linea Gods and the Elves shunning the Vhaladar Gods. The peaceful, fundamental, and productive aspects of the Elven Pantheon, such as crafting, smiting, motherhood, farming or hunting are represented by the Linea. The Wood Elves openly worship and revere the Linea, building large temples and shrines to profess their faith. Above all other gods is Sayha, the Creator, who the Elves worship the most.
Then come the rulers of the Elven Underworld, whose pantheon are known as the Vhaladar. Many Vhaladar Gods are shunned by the vast majority of Wood Elves, yet there are some Vhaladar Gods from which the Wood Elves attempt appeasement. However, even though worshiping the Vhaladar Gods is either frowned upon or totally outlawed depending on the deity in question, some individuals still do privately worship them. The worship of Shilen, the Mother of Destruction, who is the Dark Elves patron Goddess, is to ask to be put to death on the spot. On the other hand the worship of Mathlann, the God of the Deeps is common among Elven voyagers on sea and is considered in a sense legal for worship.
What sets apart the Wood Elves is that they also worship the elder spirits of the forests. The lesser spirits they become friends with and live in harmony with them.
Biology
Physiology: The Wood Elves as a whole are physically very much like their High Elven brethren, whom they are descended and related by blood and kinship. As such, they are typically tall and lithe in body, and are elegant and graceful in movement as well as being quick and agile. After splitting off from Elvhenair, the Wood Elves had to adapt to a new life within the forest, living and roaming among the trees in search of game and edible vegetation. Nevertheless, different societies of Wood Elves within the forests also have their own distinct appearance, with some resembling close in appearance to the High Elves while others appear more savage and feral in comparison.
Physique: Wood Elves are roughly of human height, standing from 1.65 – 2.20 meters on average, but are lighter, weighing from 60 – 80 kg.
Lifespan: Elves are long-lived, some say immortal, and less vulnerable to disease than humans. In truth, elves have a lifespan of around one thousand years (though few ever reach that age).
Psychology: Unlike their brethren to the west, the attitude of the Wood Elves is in stark contrast to the arrogant nature of the High Elves and Dark Elves. They are a rather humble people, more interested in being left alone in their forest than anything else. They don't preach their superiority over all the races on Earthland, but rather reserve an air of suspicion. They broke little trust with those that live beyond the borders of their realms, and only take action should the fate of their forest come under threat.
Wood Elves are largely seen as calm and level-headed. Arousing strong emotions in Wood Elves is not something that is easily done, although many do have a strong aversion for large cities. To Wood Elves, the trappings of civilization, including the mightiest of fortresses or tallest walls, are transient and impermanent things that will eventually be overcome by the long processes of nature. To many, this attitude seems condescending, weakening the bonds between Wood Elves and other races. Additionally, Wood Elves can sometimes seem off-putting compared to other Elves, with a gruff manner that made them less charismatic, despite their avowed compassion and humility.
Lore
Culture: The Wood Elves are but one of the Elven races. Like the others, they sprang from the cradle of Elvhenair. Unlike the others, they did so before acts of jealousy and spite shattered that great nation and its traditions. For this reason, the Wood Elves hold themselves to be the only true Elves left in the world, for only they embrace the whole of their nature. The folk of Athalran are unburdened by ritual sanctimony and therefore capable of great extremes of thought and deed.
They are at once capricious and generous, malicious and caring, servants of both the dark and the light. The folk of Athalran know it is folly to claim guardianship of the entire world, and that it is only arrogance that drives their cousins to make the attempt. Just as the Wood Elves see the High Elven princes of Elvhenair as arrogant and overbearing, they perceive the Dark Elves of Midras as wild and impetuous children, lashing out at a world that has rightly wronged them.
For much of the Wood Elves' existence, they spared little thought for the outside world unless it began to encroach on their daily lives. Indeed, only the very youngest and oldest paid it any heed. The youngest do so because they yearned for an adventure that could not be found within the forest’s bounds, the oldest because they had been taught too many times that Athalran was not so removed from the circles of the world as they might have wished. Yet, little by little, the Wood Elves have come to realize that the fate of other realms is theirs also.
There are rumblings of a doom that will see the world torn asunder, and the sanctity of Athalran forever lost. Such is a fate fit to shake even the Wood Elves from their millennia of isolation. Guided by prophecy and the wisdom of Athenra, their Everqueen, the Wood Elves seek to prevent the oncoming disaster from claiming their forest home. Now, their hosts march with a purpose not seen for millennia. They know Athalran will not survive the coming disaster unscathed, and if the price of saving their beloved home is the preservation of other realms, then so be it.
Wood Elves feel a bond with nature and strive to live in harmony with the natural world. Although, like most, Wood Elves prefer bountiful lands where resources are plentiful, when driven to live in harsher climates, they work hard to protect and shepherd the region's bounty, and learn how to maximize the benefit they receive from what little can be harvested. When they can carve out a sustainable, reliable life in deserts and wastelands, they take pride as a society in the accomplishment. While this can make them excellent guides to outsiders they befriend who must travel through such lands, their disdain of those who have not learned to live off the scant land as they have makes such friends rare.
Wood Elves have an innate gift for craftsmanship and artistry, especially when working in wood, bone, ivory, or leather. Most, however, find manipulating earth and stone to be distasteful, and prefer to avoid forging, stonework, and pottery. When such work must be done within a community, a few Wood Elves may find themselves drawn to it, but regardless of their craftsmanship, such "dirt-wrights" are generally seen by other elves as being a bit off. In the most insular of Wood Elven societies, they may even be treated as lower class.
History
Athalran the Enchanted Forest: The history of the Wood Elves is tied with those of their former kin, the High Elves, but the forest that they would call their home has existed long before that. Long ago, before the coming of Seraphim and Demon, before even the rise of the High Elves, a great forest took root upon the world. Like much that came to exist in that halcyon time, the forest was the work of the mysterious Old Ones according to legends, who planted its seeds and saplings as part of their grand experiment.
This was no magically tainted woodland, as the jungles of the south would one day become, but a form of life utterly unique in all the realms of the world. Of course, other forests had existed before that time, and would exist again, but they were pitiable things in comparison, populated by trees that possessed neither voice nor thought and were unable to protect themselves from the predation of those who sought their boughs for fire and shelter.
This great forest was different, for powerful spirits dwelt within and among its trees. It is impossible to say, for they're all legends, whether this was part of the Old Ones' design, the work of the Elven gods or caused by some other influence that seeped into the trees' souls, but as time went on, the trees came to think in a way that trees were never meant to, and learned of feelings such as anger and hate. Before long, the great forest became aware of itself, and of the blooded life that crawled upon the world like insects. The great forest treated some races with tolerance, and even friendship. Others, especially those greedy folk who saw the trees only as a ready source of fuel, were met with ruthless fury, sparking legends of remorseless tree-daemons that would last for millennia.
Quaril-Talas and Queen Liliadria: No race grew closer to the spirits of the great forest than the Elves, who in their innocence, marveled at its wondrous nature, and whispered with its ancient spirits so that they might learn their secrets. One of the spirits in particular, Quaril-Talas as the Elves named him - grew fond of the Elven folk, in particular of one of their queens, Liliadria. Soon, he consented to teach them how to shape the trees without harming branches or boughs, and blessed them with many other secrets his kind possessed.
The First Invasion of Earthland: For a short time thereafter, Elvhenair knew of a golden age that would eclipse any that followed. Under the combined stewardship of Elves and forest spirits, the woods and meadows in Elvhenair blossomed into incredible life. Many of the great forest’s spirits forsook their home for Elvhenair’s paradise, for they were determined to awaken those trees as they themselves had been awakened. Yet, though Elvhenair became ever more wondrous and beautiful, its trees remained silent. Then the Demons came.
Many Elves had remained in Athalran, the enchanted forest, to learn from the spirits. Athalran had so far been spared the horrors of the invasion, for the Demons sensed that Quaril-Talas and his kind were not dissimilar in nature to themselves, and were wary of attacking their domain if easier prey was close at hand. Such a state of affairs could not last, however. One fateful day, when Elvenking's army was campaigning far from Athalran, a demon legion greater than any yet seen descended upon Athalran, and the slaughter began.
As Athalran burned, Quaril-Talas and his kind fought alongside the Elves - they could have fled back to the great forest, but chose to stand with their allies. Many were destroyed, others were driven mad with despair, yet still the spirits of the forest battled on. But Athalran could neither be saved by valor nor by strength of arms. Hour by hour, the Elves and spirits were driven deeper into their heartlands, until finally there was nowhere left to retreat to.
Liliadria's Request: It was late on that last day that Queen Liliadria came to Quaril-Talas with a desperate request: that he rescue her children from the coming doom. Liliadria and her children, princes and princesses, had been staying in Athalran to oversee the Elves studying in the forest and offer them morale. For a time, Quaril-Talas stood silent, as the forest burned around them, the tears and pleas of his petitioner seemingly unheeded. To place blooded creatures in the heart of Athalran would no doubt be seen as a dire transgression, and he was minded not to invoke the wrath of his peers, yet in his time in Athalran, Quaril-Talas had seen how the Elves and forest spirits had been far stronger and wiser together than they had been apart — if either survived the darkness, that strength would surely serve the great forest well in whatever world followed.
So it was that when Quaril-Talas spoke again, he agreed to Liliadria's request. But, he cautioned, there would be a price to pay. If he saved the Queen's offspring, Athalran would one day claim many Elves as its own, so that they might serve and protect it as they had tended the land of Athalran. Now it was Liliadria's turn to fall silent, for there was something ominous in Quaril-Talas' tone. She had little choice and agreed. It was then that a Greater Demon broke through the Elven lines, bellowing in triumph as it swept aside the last of the Queen's bodyguards with its four mighty arms. Liliadria kissed her children one last time and fought with everything in her might to hold the demon back as Quaril-Talas disappeared with the children.
Quaril-Talas went into a slumber for a few years while guarding over the children inside the heart of Athalran who were also placed in a long sleep. With the departure of the Demons, Quaril-Talas was finally able to keep the promise he had made to Liliadria. He brought her children to an Elven settlement near Athalran, and there left them to be discovered. The children never recalled anything of leaving or their time asleep, only that Quaril-Talas had rescued them on the night of their mother's sacrifice. What neither Quaril-Talas and the children knew was that Liliadria's offspring had their essence changed. Their essence was now in touch with that of nature.
Quaril-Talas' Disappearance: Quaril-Talas longed to rebuild the glory of Athalran, but knew that the forest needed his guidance far more. Gathering almost all of the spirits that had survived the invasion of Demons to him, he returned home. Many centuries passed. Little by little, the spirits of Athalran and the lessons they had taught passed from the tales of the Elves, remaining only in half-remembered tradition and folktales. Through it all, the Quaril-Talas watched with patient eyes, awaiting the opportunity to collect on Liliadria's debt.
Elves in Athalran Again: It would be millennia before the destinies of the Elves and Athalran became entwined once more. Elvhenair's power was now at its height, and Elven colonies were established in many lands. Most were founded along the shores, but a great many Elves headed inland. Some were guided by dreams and visions, or by urges not easily explained. Others were driven by wanderlust that set their feet on paths that had lain untrodden since the dawn of creation. It was these Elves who first encountered Athalran, and they were intrigued by what they found. At night they saw strange lights dancing in the darkness beneath the bows, and huge shapes lingering on the outskirts of the glades. Unaware to them all, the Elves that were drawn to Athalran were all descendants of Liliadria's children.
Demonic Subjugation of Earthland, Liliadria's Debt: They remained in Athalran to study the secrets of the enchanted forest. For centuries they stayed and became friends with the spirits of the forest. Unfortunately, not soon after that the Demons invaded Earthland once again in the same organized fashion they did the first time. The Elves in Athalran were all called to return to Elvhenair. It was at this time that Quaril-Talas decided to collect on Liliadria's debt.
He requested the Elves to stay in Athalran and guard it from the Demons. He reminded them of the time they spent here and the effects it would have on the surrounding lands if Athalran ceased to exist. Lastly, he told them of Liliadria's debt. The Elves were proud and could not ignore the fact that a valid debt was being collected by Quaril-Talas. They sent word to Elvhenair that they would hold off the Demon legions from the continent to ensure that they would not all get near Elvhenair.
Athalran, Home of the Wood Elves: In the end, the war concluded once again. Many casualties were suffered and many things had changed. The Elvenking died during the war, Quaril-Talas suffered mortal wounds and disappeared, and Man were now battling against the High Elves to conquer land on the continent. The Elves in Athalran realized that if they departed to Elvhenair, Athalran would fall in the hands of Man and disappear. They never returned to Elvhenair and decided to remain in Athalran. Now that the Elvenking had died, they decided to elect a new ruler they would serve over here that had nothing to do with the affairs of Elvhenair. From their midst they elected Saphira to become their queen and dubbed her the Everqueen. And then millennia passed again.
Conclusion: Wood Elves are now the long-lived children of the natural world, who are in tune with the natural world around them. Wood Elves seek to live in balance with the wild and understand it better than most other mortals. Some of this understanding is mystical, but an equal part comes from the Elves' long lifespans, which in turn gives them long-ranging outlooks. Wood Elves can expect to remain active in the same locale for centuries. By necessity, they must learn to maintain sustainable lifestyles, and this is most easily done when they work with nature, rather than attempting to bend it to their will. Many Wood Elves stay in Athalran, but others have spread out to live in other settlements and guard other forests around Earthland. And some have decided to get to know the world outside the forest.
