Ælves

The Sylvar (Ælves in Erlundish) who colonized Brighland some 500 years ago came in nine groups, which became nine tribes (or as they call them, the nine Branches).  They inhabit the lands along the southwestern coast of  Brighland ; the River Nyst is the eastern border with Westerlund. The Daoinar (a rarer race of Ælves) is found chiefly on the  island of  Inismoryn  (Ælfig in Erlundish).

Appearance:  Sylvar are slim and slightly shorter than Men.  Their eyes are usually brilliant greens or blues, and hair ranges from black to brown.  Their ears are slightly pointed.  They are graceful and handsome by most any standard.  Another Sylvar can detect tribal differences in features and attire, but few humans could.  Except in extreme weather (as cold bothers them less that it does humans), their clothes are light, often tunics with trousers or hose, shoes, and perhaps a cloak; in warm weather they may only wear enough for modesty’s sake (if that much). They prefer earthy tones but may on occasion wear bright colors.  In hunting or rangering they wear dull plaids or dappled grays which help them blend into their surroundings.

The Daoinar, the much-rarer and more noble of elvenkind, are also of medium to light build, but usually grow taller than the average  Man.    Their ears are also more obviously pointed than their woodland cousins, and they tend towards lighter (frequently blonde) colored hair.  Their eyes are green, blue or grey with silver flecks in the iris.  If Sylvar are fair to look at, Daoinar are downright beautiful.

Abilities: Elves heal rapidly and are immune to most sickness and infection.  While not truly immortal, their lifepans surpass the lives of kingdoms; some Sylvar are counted young, who set foot on this land with the first Ælvish colonists. 

Elves must rest, but they do not sleep like Men.  Rather, they seem to daydream when they rest, their eyes unfocused as their thoughts drift through the waking dreams of their past.  They have strong auras and a magical bent; many can work magic.

Language:  Ælvish is a beautiful, intricate language; to fully master the complexities of nuance and mood would require decades, assuming a non-Ælf could even accomplish the task.  Many who hear it claim the intonation of the speech is rather like a song. 

Like the spoken tongue, Ælven writing is a flowing, intricate script.  An especially learned scholar might see a vague resemblance between Ælvish and Draecancraeft.

There are regional differences between Bands; the variations aren’t as dramatic as corresponding Erlundish dialects, however, and Sylvan travelers have little trouble understanding each other. 

Habits: Culture varies somewhat by Branch, but most Sylvar are predominately hunter-gatherers.  Several tribes are also involved in agriculture to a small degree.  While fine metal is forged within the confederacy, Sylvar frequently use more primitive tools, such as stone-tipped arrows and spears.  After all, the stone and wood is abundant and requires less equipment and time to fashion into useful implements. The items they do make are usually both functional and very artful.  Sylvar also delight in music and poetry, and devise both with such skill that even a simple-sounding tale has subtext and hidden complexities.

While there isn’t really a stigma for promiscuity, there is honor is a formalized pairing; such bondings are usually for life although partings for whatever reason do occur.  Sylvar are slow to reproduce, and a couple may not have more than two children in a hundred years.  Interestingly, mating among a bonded couple is much more likely to produce offspring than among unbonded lovers. 

Government: In Sylvan culture, descent is matrilineal. Tribal structure is generally loose, with villages or family bands being the basic unit of social life.  Typically there is one or two sashad (“high chiefs”) and a group of councilors to govern the different villages or other settlements of the tribe.  A sasha always descends from a royaneh (“noble”) bloodline.

In the face of Hordish and human pressures, and their own territorial and trade difficulties, the tribes established a confederate structure to give cohesion to otherwise highly independent bands. The confederation was established by a constitution which has held up for nearly 300 years.  Each tribe sends three appointed members (“aken uyanad” or “wise lords”) to the traditional meeting place, where nine oaks were woven into one enormous oak known, in the Sylvan tongue, as the “Oak of the Strength of Our Unity” or simply the Confederate Tree.  There matters of inter-tribal importance are weighed and decisions are reached (though usually very slowly).

The procedures of the confederate council are rather complex.  Two of the representatives from each tribe may speak in council, while the third aken uyan may only speak against errors of procedure. The tribes are divided into two groups: the Marai, Treeda, Caortha, and Tyllua are in one, and the Dyncoed, Afona, Dilgai, and Dihara make up the other. When deciding on a course of action, all the members of the first group must agree on the proposed action.  The decision is sent to the second group, who either agree or send back a counter proposal.  Once both sets are in agreement (assuming that happens), the decision is delivered to the representatives of the Derwyni, known as the Oak-Keepers for their role of maintaining the council grounds.  Their agreement ratifies the course of action; otherwise, they send their own counter-proposal and the work begins anew.  Needless to say, it takes a lot of time and effort to make policy for the confederacy.  Luckily, this isn’t the main value of the council; through the meetings, the tribes share opinions and information, and can resolve differences more properly with their fellow tribes to mediate disputes and witness oaths.

Religion: While a very spiritual people, the Sylvar have no organized religion as such.  However, they do have an appreciation (and indeed, reverence) for nature.   Most Daoinar, and some Sylvar, also follow Dahonism [see Notes, below].  Any rituals are generally informal and personal in nature.

Trade: Though largely self-sufficient, the Sylvar do trade extensively with each other – usually by barter although some currency in the form of beads and scales is occasionally used.  Trade with Men is rare, and such contacts are usually limited to one or two market towns, where a subject race of Men (known as the Morwyn) handle negotiations for the Ælves.

Relations

Internal

The Sylvar seldom come into conflict (and almost never fight) with each other, mainly because they respect tribal boundaries and rarely interfere in each other’s business.  Disputes are settled in council, though it may take years to resolve problems which aren’t immediately pressing.

With Humans

The Sylvar have no real expansionist drives.  They don’t mind moving unseen in the lands of Men, but are fiercely territorial when it comes to their own borders.  They see Men as fast-breeding, short-lived, brash, fearful and often dangerously stupid; they are still several rungs above the Hordish beasts, however.  Most Ælves favor the status quo; however, a small but growing faction think the humans should be cultivated as allies against the increasingly-troublesome Horde. 

For their part, most men are indeed somewhat fearful of Ælvenkind, ascribing all sorts of magical powers and malicious intent to these mysterious folk.  Few can say they’ve seen Ælves, and more say so than actually have.

Scouts and rangers move on secret paths though both Hordish and Mannish territories, watching and learning.

The Tribes of the Sylvar  

Afona: Expert rivermen.

Caortha: A small tribe of isolationist hunters

Dyncoed: Reside within great trees, hollowed out by magic and careful tending.

Derwyni: Considered more noble than most, they hold the meeting place for the confederate council and guard the Confederate Tree.

Dihara: More agricultural than most tribes, the Diharanad are also more literate.

Dilgai:  Particularly warlike and vengeful.

Marai: Fisherfolk and fine sailors

Treeda: Shepherds in the foothills of the Great Ring

Tyllua: Renowned as silent scouts and fine trackers.

Dahonism: Dahonism is chiefly a faith/philosophy of high Ælves, though others may subscribe to it. Dahon is the supreme being who descends into the practical plane as an infinite series of light and dark aspects.  The only way for divine progression to take place is for light and dark to come into conflict and synthesize into a new system with better definitions of Light and Dark, until the point, at some undefined time, that everything is crystal clear to everybody, and the world is perfect.  Understanding is at a premium above action for the most hardcore religious types.  The symbol of Dahonism is three concentric circles, divided in half, with alternating black and white sections.  The Light is termed Dahan-Li, and the Dark is Dahan-ma.  All the gods and goddesses in this pantheon are aspects of one being, Dahon.  

Many intellectuals don't view Dahonism as a religion with deities so much as a philosophy.  Indeed, this was how the founders viewed it; prayers were originally meditations, for example.  However, personifying the numerous aspects aid in focusing on them.

Most professions have one or more aspects as patrons, which serve as ideals to be worked toward.  Places of business can in this way become temples of sorts.

The aspects listed here only a small sample, and each one in turn can be subdivided.  For example, aspects of Isha (love) include Isha-sa (friendship), Isha-ten (romantic love), and Isha-ka (familial love).  The different aspects are aspired to by courtesans, lovers, families, friends, etc.  Similarly, Colen-ni (life) is aspired to by healers and midwives; Colen-ta (death) is aspired to by morticians, necromancers, warriors and (perhaps surprisingly) some healers.

Developer’s Notes: The elves of Brighland are strongly influenced by the Harnic Elves, the Sindarin, which were in turn largely ripped off from Tolkien.  However, I wanted to do something a little different from the woods-loving magical immortal elves who do nothing but play music and slay evil.  After reading about the rather well-developed governmental system of the Iroquois League, I decided to throw in some American Indian style into the pot and stirred until the current Sylvans popped out.  Their words are derived from multiple sources, chiefly certain eastern Amerind languages, Welsh and related Celtic tongues.

Dahonism was a religion created for an earlier fantasy world back in the latter 80’s.  As it has never really been onstage at any particular point, it has faced no significant revisions from the original writeup.