Post by engelbert on Dec 17, 2007 13:32:24 GMT
The Elves:
Description:
The elves are humanoid creatures, standing taller than the humans themselves. They possess fine features and generally have quite slender frames. As expected, their ears are noticeably pointed, but the extremity of this differs from elf to elf. The most common is a pointed, but rounded at the tip though some appear as a lengthened human ear or twisted into a severe tip.
Due to elves being fickle beings by nature, they are quite pleasing from an aesthetic point of view as individuals suffering deformities or ‘ugliness’ have been mostly cut from the gene pool.
This is not to say that there are no ugly elves; merely that by another races’ standards, the elves are a race of beautiful people. The elves themselves see any deviation from this perfection as grotesque. Such is how pretty, yet not beautiful, young women are cast aside and branded as unfit for partnering with.
The elves are also pale-skinned due to their evolution in a forest setting away from most forms of direct sunlight. Because of this, elves with dark coloured hair are an extreme rarity.
Elves have the same life-span as humans and age in much the same way.
History:
The elves history is deep-rooted in the forests of Nerek Talar (also known as Fallen Woods by the humans. It was here that the Elven race was born and prospered, building extravagant cities in the canopy of the dense forest. The main city was known as Ashkerlon and it was here that the Elven royalty presided. King Tylarin was the last elf royal to rule the lands of the Fallen Woods along with his wife Queen Loriann.
The Fallen Woods were thought to be a safe haven as it is surrounded by inhospitable mountain terrain to the Northern side and harsh seas surround the East, West and South.
This general belief of invulnerability so long as they stayed within their lands was the undoing of many elves.
Unbeknown to them, evil was lurking in the mountains to the north. An evil-minded sorcerer who would go on to be known as ‘The Dark Lord Razgriz’ was building an army. Using dangerous shadow magic he was merging the bodies of innocent female children with those of demons to form hideous harpies that would do his bidding.
35 years ago this army of corrupted souls flooded from the mountains and into the lands of the elves under the cover of darkness. Hundreds of children were captured and the elves were aghast with rage and sorrow for the loss of their young. Even the royalty of the elves were not spared from the horror of that first taking for the youngest daughter of the King went missing that night.
The elves swore that justice would be served and opened war upon the harpies of the mountains. Unfortunately though, as more and more elves were felled in those wars, more and more young were taken and transformed into the blood-thirsty harpies.
Only 3 months had passed before the harpies struck another great blow to the elves. During a fierce battle to save one of the more densely populated trade towns of the middle region (for the north had already been lost) the good King Tylarin was struck down in battle and sadly lost his life. At this, the Queen was thrown into power and it was she that realized that the war was proving fruitless. She ordered that the remaining armies and people of her race gather to the South so that they may at least escape with their lives and so seek refuge and a new life elsewhere. By this time the number of elves had been decimated by the war and only around 15000 elves remained.
These elves, two thirds of which consisted of female elves and male children, were loaded into trade ships and fishing boats and set out to sea. The elves journey was hard and a few ships were seen to drop away as rowers died from squalid conditions or less hardy ships were lost to the briney depths.
When at last the elves came across a land fit to call home, they had lost another 3000 of their number. This land was named Eshent'ur.
The survivors, lead by the Queen and her remaining 2 daughters, set about to rebuild their civilization and rescue their kind from the brink of extinction.
Way of Life:
The elves live in relative solitude in their homeland and are incredibly suspicious of any trespassers. Their numbers over the years has begun to increase but they are still relatively few.
The majority of elves live in three major cities now. These cities are no longer in the canopy of the forest as the trees are smaller and are unable to support such weight. Instead they live in living huts crafted by weaving the branches of low-lying foliage to create fences, walls, roofs and homes.
The Central city is named Tylarnan in memory of the lost King. It is here that the Queen resides. To the West lays Loryth ruled by Prince Sassoru new husband of the younger Princess Feujin and to the South-East is Buikal run by the yet unmarried Princess Cystianne. The Princess Cystianne, though currently unmarried, is frequently courted by the remaining elf nobles. As of yet, no suitors have seemed to be worthy enough of the future role as King of her people.
Those elves that do not live in the 3 cities forage and farm the surrounding forest to make a living. Others remain as sailors to keep in contact with the humans ruled by Duke Stronghelm. Such a life is proving increasingly perilous since Shrenk came into power. Hordes of pirates cruise the seas in search of easy gold. It is understood that for each elven left ear brought to Shrenk, a silver piece is paid.
Faith:
Elves have two deities. Allestrian is the Goddess of light and honesty. She blesses those who are friendly and helpful to their neighbours. Her twin brother is Ollosan, he is the God of darkness and malice. Bad deeds are said to attract his attention. Due to his malicious and spiteful nature, he curses those who he finds to be taking parts in wrongful behaviour so that he can be more 'evil' than they are. The worse your misdeed, the worse the curse will be.
For example if you lie to someone, you might lose something of worth. If you kill someone, you might develop leprosy and spend the rest of your life feared and outcast.
Places of Importance:
(This should be used only as a brief decription of the areas that this race inhabit. The places are described in more depth in the Catagory named 'The Land'.)
Eshent'ur
This is the name given to the forestland that the elves inhabit. In it live the vast majority of the elves. The Elves do have many ships for trading and boats designed to defend against pirates though so Elves are not uncommon at sea or at trading ports. There are three major cities in Eshent'ur.
Tylaran
This is the Capital city where the Queen lives. The name was given to the City in honour of the late King Tylarin who gave his life defending his people from the Harpies. This City lies in the center of Eshent'ur; at the very heart of the Elves.
Buikal
This is the smallest of the Elven Cities and it lies to the South-East of Tylaran. Currently the unmarried Princess Cystianne lives here and so it is a meca for noble suitors seeking to woo her.
Loryth
Home of Princess Feujin and Prince Sassoru. This city is located directly West of the Capital City.
----
(The following places are not located in the homeland of the Elves but sailors and traders may find themselves here.)
Deity's Grip
A rich City of traders. This land is not currently under the control of King Shrenk but is allied with Duke Stronghelm. This means that Elves are still welcome to trade here.
Mordina
The Capital City of Duke Stronghelm's lands.
Description:
The elves are humanoid creatures, standing taller than the humans themselves. They possess fine features and generally have quite slender frames. As expected, their ears are noticeably pointed, but the extremity of this differs from elf to elf. The most common is a pointed, but rounded at the tip though some appear as a lengthened human ear or twisted into a severe tip.
Due to elves being fickle beings by nature, they are quite pleasing from an aesthetic point of view as individuals suffering deformities or ‘ugliness’ have been mostly cut from the gene pool.
This is not to say that there are no ugly elves; merely that by another races’ standards, the elves are a race of beautiful people. The elves themselves see any deviation from this perfection as grotesque. Such is how pretty, yet not beautiful, young women are cast aside and branded as unfit for partnering with.
The elves are also pale-skinned due to their evolution in a forest setting away from most forms of direct sunlight. Because of this, elves with dark coloured hair are an extreme rarity.
Elves have the same life-span as humans and age in much the same way.
History:
The elves history is deep-rooted in the forests of Nerek Talar (also known as Fallen Woods by the humans. It was here that the Elven race was born and prospered, building extravagant cities in the canopy of the dense forest. The main city was known as Ashkerlon and it was here that the Elven royalty presided. King Tylarin was the last elf royal to rule the lands of the Fallen Woods along with his wife Queen Loriann.
The Fallen Woods were thought to be a safe haven as it is surrounded by inhospitable mountain terrain to the Northern side and harsh seas surround the East, West and South.
This general belief of invulnerability so long as they stayed within their lands was the undoing of many elves.
Unbeknown to them, evil was lurking in the mountains to the north. An evil-minded sorcerer who would go on to be known as ‘The Dark Lord Razgriz’ was building an army. Using dangerous shadow magic he was merging the bodies of innocent female children with those of demons to form hideous harpies that would do his bidding.
35 years ago this army of corrupted souls flooded from the mountains and into the lands of the elves under the cover of darkness. Hundreds of children were captured and the elves were aghast with rage and sorrow for the loss of their young. Even the royalty of the elves were not spared from the horror of that first taking for the youngest daughter of the King went missing that night.
The elves swore that justice would be served and opened war upon the harpies of the mountains. Unfortunately though, as more and more elves were felled in those wars, more and more young were taken and transformed into the blood-thirsty harpies.
Only 3 months had passed before the harpies struck another great blow to the elves. During a fierce battle to save one of the more densely populated trade towns of the middle region (for the north had already been lost) the good King Tylarin was struck down in battle and sadly lost his life. At this, the Queen was thrown into power and it was she that realized that the war was proving fruitless. She ordered that the remaining armies and people of her race gather to the South so that they may at least escape with their lives and so seek refuge and a new life elsewhere. By this time the number of elves had been decimated by the war and only around 15000 elves remained.
These elves, two thirds of which consisted of female elves and male children, were loaded into trade ships and fishing boats and set out to sea. The elves journey was hard and a few ships were seen to drop away as rowers died from squalid conditions or less hardy ships were lost to the briney depths.
When at last the elves came across a land fit to call home, they had lost another 3000 of their number. This land was named Eshent'ur.
The survivors, lead by the Queen and her remaining 2 daughters, set about to rebuild their civilization and rescue their kind from the brink of extinction.
Way of Life:
The elves live in relative solitude in their homeland and are incredibly suspicious of any trespassers. Their numbers over the years has begun to increase but they are still relatively few.
The majority of elves live in three major cities now. These cities are no longer in the canopy of the forest as the trees are smaller and are unable to support such weight. Instead they live in living huts crafted by weaving the branches of low-lying foliage to create fences, walls, roofs and homes.
The Central city is named Tylarnan in memory of the lost King. It is here that the Queen resides. To the West lays Loryth ruled by Prince Sassoru new husband of the younger Princess Feujin and to the South-East is Buikal run by the yet unmarried Princess Cystianne. The Princess Cystianne, though currently unmarried, is frequently courted by the remaining elf nobles. As of yet, no suitors have seemed to be worthy enough of the future role as King of her people.
Those elves that do not live in the 3 cities forage and farm the surrounding forest to make a living. Others remain as sailors to keep in contact with the humans ruled by Duke Stronghelm. Such a life is proving increasingly perilous since Shrenk came into power. Hordes of pirates cruise the seas in search of easy gold. It is understood that for each elven left ear brought to Shrenk, a silver piece is paid.
Faith:
Elves have two deities. Allestrian is the Goddess of light and honesty. She blesses those who are friendly and helpful to their neighbours. Her twin brother is Ollosan, he is the God of darkness and malice. Bad deeds are said to attract his attention. Due to his malicious and spiteful nature, he curses those who he finds to be taking parts in wrongful behaviour so that he can be more 'evil' than they are. The worse your misdeed, the worse the curse will be.
For example if you lie to someone, you might lose something of worth. If you kill someone, you might develop leprosy and spend the rest of your life feared and outcast.
Places of Importance:
(This should be used only as a brief decription of the areas that this race inhabit. The places are described in more depth in the Catagory named 'The Land'.)
Eshent'ur
This is the name given to the forestland that the elves inhabit. In it live the vast majority of the elves. The Elves do have many ships for trading and boats designed to defend against pirates though so Elves are not uncommon at sea or at trading ports. There are three major cities in Eshent'ur.
Tylaran
This is the Capital city where the Queen lives. The name was given to the City in honour of the late King Tylarin who gave his life defending his people from the Harpies. This City lies in the center of Eshent'ur; at the very heart of the Elves.
Buikal
This is the smallest of the Elven Cities and it lies to the South-East of Tylaran. Currently the unmarried Princess Cystianne lives here and so it is a meca for noble suitors seeking to woo her.
Loryth
Home of Princess Feujin and Prince Sassoru. This city is located directly West of the Capital City.
----
(The following places are not located in the homeland of the Elves but sailors and traders may find themselves here.)
Deity's Grip
A rich City of traders. This land is not currently under the control of King Shrenk but is allied with Duke Stronghelm. This means that Elves are still welcome to trade here.
Mordina
The Capital City of Duke Stronghelm's lands.
