Elves in General:

Names

-Elves use descriptive names, names intended to reflect a bit of the personality or history of the wearer. (Oakmoon, Goldleaf, Stormwatch, etc.) If an elf grows out of their kit-name, they will be given another by their Clan, based on appearances, special personality traits or quirks, or important events in their life. A name given should never be derogative, cruel, or inappropriate. A name will be no more than four syllables (it has to be pronouncable) and will be a single word.

Senses and Appearances

-Elves have heightened senses - most especially their hearing, easily as sharp as a fox's, and their night-vision, which allows them to see clearly in the dark, much like an owl. Their eyes are large and prominent in their face, their ears rising to graceful points about equal with the top of their head.
-They are fine-boned and usually slender, lighter-weight than humans, generally a bit smaller than humans, but larger than goblins.
-Height in elves is as follows:
Females:
--Short: 5' & under
--Average: 5'1" - 5'4"
--Tall: 5'5" +
Males:
--Short: 5'3" & under
--Average: 5'4" - 5'7"
--Tall: 5'7" +

Occupations

-Desert Elves: Glassmaking, pottery, stonemasonry
-Forest Elves: Wood-carving, the occasional (rare) elf-smith, pottery
-Snow Elves: The majority of snow elves are hunters, although a number follow other crafts common to all the races.
-Sea Elves: Basket-weaving, fishing, sailing, pearl-diving, ship-building
-Aside from those occupations specific to each race, there are some which are known among all the clans. These include healers, entertainers, scribes, tailors/seamstresses, jewelry-makers, magic-users. There are no farmers, as elves are strictly hunters-and-gatherers, taking only what they need from nature herself, trading with other clans when there is a shortage.

Religion

-The elves share a common reverent awe for Mother Nature, but they do not worship any gods, as such. They have a profound respect and deep love of their world, but they neither pray nor worship, in any strict sense of the word.

Class Systems

-In the elven societies, male and female are considered quite equal, and each clan/city/settlement is headed by a Council of Elders - not neccessarily old in age, merely a title of respect - which is, in turn, ruled by a single leader, called the Wisdom. The Council is composed of one representative for each craft, chosen to represent them by the other artisans; the Wisdom is, in turn, chosen by the Elders from their number.
-The Elders have the authority to settle minor disputes within their own crafts, and the Wisdom is granted the authority to settle any lesser quarrel. Larger issues are the concern of the entire Council. Aside from being generally respected and holding the authority of peacemaker among their own craft, the Elders hold no special priveleges, being in all other ways no different than any other member of the clan.

Language

-All elves speak a common tongue, although there are different dialects among the different races. Most elves also speak some version of Human, although they have a high distaste for anything to do with their ancestral foes.

Magic

-Healing: the ability to mend damage to flesh, bone, and muscle, to induce sleep, to ease pain - generally, to heal.
-Shaping Magics: those which allow the wielder to shape stone, wood (living or not), glass, or other substances. This includes the magical stonemasons who built Star Harbor and Sunhaven.
-Telepathy: something possessed in some degree by just about everyone; it is so common that it is not really viewed as magic at all, just something as natural as speech.
-Weather Magics: mostly the ability to predict weather, a less common ability; rarely, the ability to actually influence the weather, but this is a task only undertaken with the greatest of caution and need, as it is something which could easily bring disaster.
-Beast-Speech: the ability to communicate with the wild creatures. Although all elves have an affinity for their animal brethren, only those gifted with beast-speech can actually communicate with them. This gift is divided into smaller groups - one gifted with beast-speech will generally only be able to communicate with one "type" of creature. The groups are as follows: mammalian predators (cats, canines, foxes, bears, etc.), mammalian herbivores (deer, squirrels, rabbits, etc.), reptiles/amphibians (snakes, frogs, lizards, etc.), sea-creatures (fish, dolphins, whales, sharks, etc.), birds (of all kinds).
Elemental Powers: those dealing with the four Elements of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water - these have to do with things like sensing water, calling fire, making wind, growing herbs, etc.
-Combative magic is a foreign concept to the elves; all of their gifts deal with healing, building, shaping, but never destroying. Magical gifts vary in strength as well as ability, and, aside from the telepathy that is nearly as common as regular speech, each magic-user posesses only one gift.
-Those with similar gifts can work together to achieve something which takes too much power for a single gifted to do alone; in such a way were the cities of Sunhaven and Star Harbor built.
-Warding magic, such as that protecting the two cities, is a skill all but lost; more and more, the elves have come to depend on their physical abilities to hide themselves from humans as their magics failed to do so.
-With the exception of Telepathy, Winged Elves cannot be gifted - they are set apart enough merely by circumstance of their birth, and duties as diplomats and as magic-users could too easily conflict.
-By their coming-of-age (at 30), an elf's gift has usually developed, if it is going to. On rare occasions, a gift has flared to life at a later point, triggered by some sort of emotional/physical/mental trauma. If you wish your character to have a late-blossoming gift, you must first email the moderators (sky_pair@yahoo.com, nymph12@pacbell.net) for permission.

Animals and Hunting

-Elves do not domesticate or breed animals. While some do keep "pets" - creatures they feed and care for in return for companionship - they do not use any means of binding upon them to keep them against their will. Leashes, collars, chains, whips - all of these things are unthinkable to them.
-When hunting, they take only what they need, and no more - kills are, whenever possible, swift and clean, with thanks to the creature for its sacrifice to sustain them. Beast-Speakers, by nature of their gift, do not hunt.

Sexuality and Progeny

-Elves live up to about 350 years; the period of adolescence spans their twenties, and coming-of-age (about the same as 16 in a human) is at the age of 30. This is celebrated by a ceremony in which a lock of hair is taken from them and put into a locket, which, from that day forth, they will wear on their person always. This locket is either made by the bearer, or, if they lack skill, they have the option of asking an artisan to make one for them.
-Same-sex pairings, while not the norm, are not unheard of in elven society, nor are they considered to be any less appropriate than male-female coupling.
-If two adults decide to pledge themselves to one another permanently and become lifemates, they participate in a simple ceremony performed by the Wisdom, in which their joined hands are bound loosely by a ribbon, symbolizing their intention of binding themselves together. At this point, they exchange their lockets. If, in the future, for some reason they decide to dissolve their bond, the lockets are returned to their original bearers, and the Wisdom performs a ceremony to reverse the joining. Either of these ceremonies may be private, requiring only the lifemates, the Wisdom officiating, and an Elder of their choosing as witness.
-There is no taboo on sexuality in elven society; while it is expected that one will treat one's lover with respect and consideration, there is no scandal in taking a lover who is not a lifemate. A child born of such a liason will generally be raised by both parents, whether they remain in relationship with one another or not, or fostered out for adoption if the parents do not think themselves ready or able to responsibly raise the kit.
-Children - usually called "kits" (like fox-kits, foxes being a creature which can be found in nearly any clime, much like elves) - are highly valued and fiercely protected among elven-kind; fine-boned and delicately built as they are, it is difficult for the females to give birth, so the number of kits in any given clan is always small.
-Winged elves are a special case. When two adults with the capability to produce a Winged elf meet (not neccessarily first-meeting) there occurs a moment of telepathic bonding called "Wingbinding", in which a permanent link is forged between the souls/minds of the two. They will know one another almost as deeply as they know themselves, from that point forward, and until they fulfill the Wingbond they will have a driving urge which will, if denied long enough, drive them insane. The two do not have to be lovers or even friends, much less lifemates, to Wingbind; in fact, they might very well be rivals. When near one another from that point forward, they will share most thoughts - whether they intend to or not - and memories connected with strong emotions will also be picked up on. Those who have Wingbound find it nearly impossible to keep secrets from one another save by staying far away from each other. We, the moderators, reserve the right to declare when/if Wingbinding happens and to whom, as well as declaring any pregnancies that may occur and the gender of kits born.

Ages

Like most animals, elves live out most of their life in a period of physical youth/middle-age, maturing relatively quickly to begin with and then fading into infirmity only at the end of their lifespan. They classify age in terms of how many Sunseasons an individual has seen.
-Kit: Birth-20 Sunseasons
-Adolescent: 20-30 Sunseasons
-Young Adult: 30-100
-Full Adult: 100-300
-Elder: 300 +


Types of Elves:

Desert Elves

-Desert Elves are the darkest-complected, their skin-tones ranging from bronze to true black, their hair always black, their eyes varying shades of brown and gold. Their clothing is made of lightweight, gauzy fabrics, especially bakan, and they have a love of bright colors and geometric patterns. They tend to be essentially nocturnal, so as to avoid the heat of the sun by day; therefore, their night-vision is exceptional - even for elves.
-There are only two elven cities in existence; Star Harbor and Sunhaven, the latter of which belongs to the desert elves, and though it is a relatively small city, the architecture is breathtaking. Carved with both physical and arcane tools, no one who has seen it will ever forget.
-Not including Sunhaven, there are 12 clans of Desert Elves.

Forest Elves

-Forest Elves are paler than their Southern cousins, generally picking up a tan, especially during the Summer, but never becoming truly dark. Hair-color covers a rather wide range, with the most common being brown, but the occasional redhead or blond in among them; black is not common among forest elves. Eyes can be just about any color - green and brown are the most common, but blue, hazel, and even violet are not unheard of. About half of the population of forest elves, or perhaps a little less, are nocturnal, choosing to range their wooded domain by cover of night; the others, however, prefer the sunlight, willing to risk encounters with humans to dwell by day. They tend to wear colors that will blend into their surroundings - green, brown, black, grey.
-The most numerous of the elves, the Forest Elves have 20 clans.

Snow Elves

-Fewest in number aside from the Winged Elves, Snow Elves are the palest, their skin nearly white, their hair either blond or silver, eyes varying shades of blue or grey. Their night-vision is the weakest of all the elves, as they have adapted to be able to see past the blinding glare of the sunlight on the snow. Their fingers and toes are slightly webbed, giving them the ability to walk upon the top of the snow rather than sinking in - much like the way that large Northern predators have larger paws than their Southern brethren. Their ears have small tufts of hair at the tips, to protect the sensitive skin from frostbite. Their garments are generally made of fur and leather or bakan, and they tend to be natural colors, as they have little access to dyes.
-The Snow Elves have only 9 clans.

Sea Elves

-Sea Elves are the least-well-known, having such a different lifestyle from their cousins. They live upon the land, but are adept swimmers nearly from birth, also having webbed fingers and toes like the snow elves. They range in skin-tone from relatively pale, like most forest elves, to nearly as dark as some desert elves. The most common hair-colors for sea elves are red and blond, with brown also relatively frequent; black is rare. Their eyes are blues, greens, and greys. Sea elves love softer colors - greens, blues, greys, creams; water colors, generally. Their patterns tend to consist of curves and spirals, with very few hard edges.
-The second city of the elves, Star Harbor, belongs to the sea elves, and is located on a small island a few miles off the coast.
-The second-most common of the elven races, Sea Elves have 17 clans, not including Star Harbor.

Winged Elves

-The rarest of the elves, winged elves are not a true race - rather, they are "mutants". They are born to parents of the other races, and they are quite rare. No one is quite sure how they come to be, merely that it happens every now and then, a result of Wingbonding between the parents. Though gifted with the power of flight in the way of magnificent feathered wings, winged elves are "neuter" - incapable of sexual desire and infertile. They are fostered out at a young age with other clans, envoys from birth, the way of keeping peace between the clans. Their wings tend to resemble the colors and markings of a bird native to the home of their birth-clan.
-Although they take hobbies among other crafts, a winged elf's main occupation will always be as a diplomat and peacemaker, a leader and advisor. The path of a winged elf is not easy - set apart from birth, they will never truly "belong" as others do.



Cities

Sunhaven

-Located in the desert, Sunhaven is built entirely of yellowish sandstone. It is a city of flat planes and sharp angles, intricate geometric designs and bright, warm colors. There are hardly any surfaces left bare - rather, nearly every place that can hold one has some kind of pattern carved or painted on the stone; even the windows are filled with colorful stained glass. A large, roofed building in the center of the city holds the spring, which provides fresh water for all their needs. The streets are unpaved, left in their natural state of pale sand.
-Sunhaven is protected from discovery by humans by a legendary bit of warding magic, a sort of "net" woven over many generations that simply discourages anyone who isn't supposed to be there from finding it. Elves and the wild creatures never have any trouble, but since the warding was cast, no humans have stumbled upon their city. It is an ancient spell, a skill that has never been duplicated anywhere, for which the knowledge of the casting is lost.

Star Harbor

-City of the sea elves, Star Harbor sits upon an island about an hour's swift sail from the coast of the mainland. It is built of white and grey marble, and is a breathtaking testament to the architecture of the elven stonemasons and magic-users. In stark contrast to Sunhaven, Star Harbor is all curves - soaring arches, intricate spirals, great spheres. There is hardly a flat surface to be found - even the rooms are slightly curved, the walls blending gently into the floor and ceiling; doors are arched, windows are curved.
-Like Sunhaven, Star Harbor is protected by a piece of ancient magic - but this one is different. It gives the illusion of an empty stretch of ocean to outside eyes - and a storm lurking directly over it. No sailor in his right mind would go directly into the teeth of a storm when there is no reason to, and so far as the humans know, there is nothing there.

Other Races:

Humans

-The human population is about equal to or perhaps a bit larger than that of the elves', with most of their number part of the nomadic tribes which roam the plains and grasslands where they are best suited to live. Humans have not yet mastered the art of city-making, although there are some small villages here and there, especially the fishing-villages along the coasts. They have primitive metal-work - iron and bronze, mostly, a little copper; gold and silver, much less steel, are not yet something they have discovered.
Humans and elves are long-time enemies, the humans fearing what they see as a more advanced rival species, having made out throughout centuries of distrust and misunderstanding that the elves are demons, evil killers, allies of the predators which hunt the humans - the great cats and canines, the raptors of the sky, the creatures of the ocean depths. With their typical tendency to fear the unknown, the humans hate elves with a passion. The elves, with a distaste for wasted killing and bloodshed, do their best to avoid the humans when possible; when a confrontation is forced, they defend themselves, but do not, as a rule, exact revenge.

Goblins

-Rumored to be elves who long ago left the sunlight and took to dwelling beneath the surface, goblins are pale, wiry creaturs, shrewd and clever and a bit shady, not terribly trustworthy unless you get their word on something - once a bargain is made, they won't back out. Their eyes are large and slightly bulging, their night-vision ten times that of an elf's, at the same time allowing them to navigate their underground tunnels with ease but also preventing them from venturing beyond, as the sunlight is far too bright for their sensitive vision. They are smaller than the elves, but strong, strong enough to mine the veins of metal which run through the rock. In exchange for various trade-goods, elves and goblins have a long-standing barter-system, allowing the elves access to finely-worked metals for ornamentation and tools, while the goblins get things like glassware from the desert elves, furs from the snow elves, woodcraft from the forest elves, and fish and shells from the sea elves.


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