Elfin

Elf
The Wrath of the Powers		Kinship	Family, Vale, Outpost, Commune
Speed	40	Values	Self-Discipline, Skill at Arms, Boldness, Courage
Wealth Bonus	25 sp	Skills	1 Art Skill, Elfin Cant
Height	48 to 60 in. (M)	Trait	Relentless
Weight	65 to 125 lbs.	Talent	Willful
Lifespan	250 years	Tell	Psychic Weakness
Hair Colors	#C0C0C0	#E6C799	#D6AF36	#E5E4E2	#F7FFDD
Eye Colors	#BFEDC3	#B2E2CF	#B6D2E4	#D8B8E6	#EF9BD5

Legacy

After the success of the Dwarfin during the God’s War, Mansa, Kybele, and Paria went to Faerie and took of it some of its Faij and used that alongside their own powers to empower and alter the 125 Houses that volunteered to serve as the leading edge, the shock troops, and the special operations groups that were needed. What they did was focus on speed, on alertness, on aggression, on strength, on endurance, and on devotion to the goals they had, which were to overcome the Goblins and the Thyrs, who had become the same for the Dread Host.

Elfin (singular Elf) were fashioned by the gods Gaea, Gallae, and Kybele. They are remarkable for the symmetry of their long, lean forms, the ethereal beauty they possess, and the fact that they were shock troops for the Gods.

The Elfin were tasked in their earliest years with being the vanguard of the Bright Legions, the spearhead and special operations people, granted capabilities to give them an advantage against the Foe. It is said that when they first took the field, there were 1,000,000 Elfin Warriors. By the time the Bitter March began, they had been wiped out down to eight Houses and only about five thousand warriors.

Keen of sense, seemingly always alert, and invested with an infamous bloodlust that once unleashed makes them extremely dangerous. Elfin are a boisterous people who think of enjoying the day, the comforts of life, because they never know when it will end.

Elfin are quick. A regular pace for an Elfin is as fast as a jog for even the longest limbed human.

Collectively, they tend to love deserts, grasslands, and scrublands, and places that are cooler, often seemingly lonely places. They are not fond of forests or jungles. Especially jungles. Mention a jungle to Elfin and they are usually going to get a faraway look on their face and then shudder. Like Dwarfin, Elfin dislike roofs over their head – they long to see the stars, the moon, the sun. Their Communes are open roofed because these things bring them calm.

Elfin do not have a homeland, although there has been talk among the Nightstar, Netherflight, and Firefrost Communes that perhaps they should found their own realm, while others say that perhaps an exodus to the rumored Antilia is in order.

Tradition

Elfin are always going to involve aggression and confrontation. These traits were bred into them, and they struggle with them all their lives – this is why so many Elfin are guards, soldiers, and enforcers. Elfin were bred for war; killing is baked into them, and they are frightening when they choose it as their life path, which many do.

Elfin have little love for Goblins, and consider it justified to kill them on sight, with or without provocation. The education of an elf gives them a broad familiarity with Goblins and their goals, and they tend to remember things an exceptionally long time.

The usual Elf is said to favor philosophy, often questionable, and to be stoic in their overall seeming – except when it comes to art such music, painting, sculpture, drawing, plays, and singing. Elfin love to sing.

Kinship

An Elfin Family is not always as close as one might expect. Families typically live in group dwellings with one to five additional families, tracking only immediate relations.

Elfin have a fluid sense of family. Children are adored and treated as special; they are quick to baptize, but the raising of the children is left to a Creche located within a Commune that also houses the elderly, whose task it is to raise those children.

Families will gather in Vales, who in turn gather in Outposts, and all outposts are part of a Commune.

Elfin have Communes nearly everywhere. From the islands to the plains of Kahokia to the alleys of the Great Cities, Elfin are a part and parcel of the fabric of everyday life, even if they aren’t known for doing much of regular daily value. Elfin do not engage in much craftwork, and tend to gravitate towards entertainment, sports, and activities which let them be free in art and life.

There are seven Communes, which formed around the collapse of the Elfin Houses, and typically at least one will be established in a city, usually up to three. The Communes are

Greenshine

Nightstar

Firefrost

Moonspinner

Sunrunner

Netherflight

Shadowlight

Communes are the heart of Elfin family and custom, each slightly different, but in a given city all the Elfin will be related to those in one commune or the other, and within the smaller settlements they will have ties back to the Communes in Cities, where they will send their children.

Communes are akin to the Clans of the Dwarfin: they are the center of Elfin life, but not in the same way. Communes are where Elfin are raised, and taught, and cared for during their youth. They are a kind of Creche, a combination of day care, boarding school, and basic training for a people for whom the first response is always violence. There are even elfin communes among the Therians.

Each Outpost will have one Creche within the Commune, often providing particular care of a particular sort, according to the needs of the child. Vales exist to ensure that the children of the assorted Families are properly cared for, and that the needs of the members of the Families are met, especially mentally.

Creches are complicated schools akin to the Tanjin that teach many different things, and they teach a little bit to all students in search of the thing that is best for that individual. They generally focus on a few things: weapons, magic, and arts. Those who take to the latter are likely to be apprenticed to a fellow elf in the region, soon to be sought after, even as novices. Those who lean towards magic and weapons will find themselves given options that are much narrower and more rigid.

The role of the Creche is more than just to raise the children. It serves as a school, as a place of love and affection, and also as a way to help them identify the things they will excel at, then guide them along those paths from a very early age. There is an emphasis on art and design, the creation of beauty, often as a diversion or way of keeping one’s self-discipline and mental fortitude sharp.

Perspective

Elfin don’t really do emotions — they’ll flee from a threat, not out of fear, but because they recognize the danger they’re in. They’re unsentimental about the dead no matter their relationship to the deceased. Elfin who deal with others will eventually pick up habits like politeness or respect for the fallen, but only because they recognize that humoring such beliefs helps with group cohesion and avoids conflict. In short, Elfin are cold-bloodedly pragmatic survivalists who view things in a simple “aids survival/is irrelevant to survival/harmful” trichotomy. The upside of this is that Elfin won’t harass other people without serious provocation.

Elfin tend to keep to themselves as a whole, safe in their communes or homes, behind walls and barriers, and when they become violent, they do so ruthlessly and without hesitation. Elfin often fear the bloodlust that they can be subject to, and Elfin are thought of as much more likely to be psychopaths by the broader world.

They are known for brutal tempers and sharp violence and are fast in everything they do. While they can be alone, they deeply value the companionship and camaraderie of their small group, usually not more than 8 other people.

There is a militaristic nature to Elfin, and they strongly value self-discipline, skill at arms, boldness, and courage. They have the same expectations of all genders and are said to be the least gendered of the peoples because some folks will say that all Elfin look like women.

Stigmas

Elfin are not trusted. They are thought of as dangerous, barely restrained, ready for violence immediately. This inspires a sense of unease, and the speed with which Elfin do even simple things can add to that fright as people realize they probably wouldn’t even have a chance to stop them.

There is, in the warm and moist lands of southern Aztlan, an elfin commune that is let rule itself, so long as those in charge are always women. It is said to be the only place where Elfin have their own space, their own place, their own laws – and in a world that treats you as a walking weapon of mass destruction (for good reason), such a thing can seem dreamy and impossible, best left to rumor and whispered hopes.

Appearance

It is said that all Elfin look like women, because their facial features are less angular, and they are generally about the height of many Human women.

Elfin are compact, lithe, pretty people. With long, pointed ears that are difficult to hide behind hair that is only ever stick straight or tightly curled, they have almond shaped eyes and an easy, pleasing smile and fair noses. They have what most call a gentle chin, and Elfin do not have facial hair. Or body hair, for that matter, though the hair on their heads grows swiftly and long – some have had hair longer than they are tall by a couple feet.

Elfin are thinner, but no less hardy than anyone else, slight of frame and form, but very well-muscled, and they are trained from a very early age to master themselves and to strive for an ideal physical form. When ears can be hidden, they may be teased for being something desirable, for all Elfin are pretty. This does not end well for those who attempt to cross an Elf’s bounds, regardless of their gender.

Historically, Elfin had some of the most unusual coloration of all the peoples, in part to make it easier to spot them on a battlefield. Since the Skyfall, however, Elfin have been having more broad coloration appear regardless of ancestry or location.

Qualities

Elfin peoples started out as the front-line warriors, the ones who did or died, the shock troops and special operations sorts during the God’s War and were given some enhancements to make the more effective. In the centuries since that time, they have become less inclined to violence, but it is known to always be there, just under the surface, and Elfin folks are a devoted people.

Special

After at least one round of combat you can make a melee attack on a creature within 5 feet of you; if you hit, you do your strength modifier in damage, and gain your action back.

If you miss, you must make a Wisdom saving throw or bloodlust dominates the next turn and you will attack the nearest creature to you, friend or foe, and on your next turn have to roll a Rage Check at Disadvantage.

You can only do this 2 times between long rests.

As a result of this, you have Disadvantage on all rolls involving Sanity.

Trait

When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can choose to drop to 1 hit point instead and continue to battle. For Elfin, this stacks with other instances of this ability. You cannot use this trait again until you finish a long rest.

Talent

Elfin have Advantage on all rolls involving Enchantment.

Tell

Elfin have a Weakness to Psychic Damage.

Notes