Species and Races > Elves > Wood Elves
Wood Elves
The Wood Elves live as multiple separate families and Houses, often spread out over a fairly large area. They can be found in Dulatica and Restalo, and though many tend to avoid large and highly urbanized settings, out of reverence to the Fae and their own cultural spirituality, they have been known to contribute to cities that pay respect to nature, and help protect their peoples.
Training
Education
Wood Elves teaching vary on the region with the exception of Sorcery, Fae mythos, and essential skills. These essential skills once again, vary between groups of Wood Elves. As a people, Wood Elves take both a personal and a communal aspect to raising their children. While the parents are chiefly in charge of caring for them, it is viewed as the responsibility of the experienced and the exceptional within their House, group, or village to teach or seek out others to teach their young elves. Due to their inhabitation of the woodlands, they see knowledge of the Fae as important, since not only are they often the default supernatural powers within the forests, but they are distant relatives of the elves through their mutual creator, the Goddess Lith. As such, the Wood Elves are the often preeminent knowledge on the Faeries, due to their close contact. As well, despite their preferred areas of habitation and shamanic traditions, the Wood Elves are far from primitive. They merely see the sully of over industrialization as an unnecessary contaminant on themselves, as the touch of iron and oils is a sure fire way to upset the Fae and other woodland creatures, especially when the Wood Elves are often naturally gifted with the power to commune and control nature.
Combat
The Wood Elves are not only capable of making weapons that, while of lower intricacy and material quality, are of magically superior stock to those of their Desert and High Elven kin, they are also quite capable sorcerers. Their closeness to nature and the elements therein allow more of their own to form the bonds with the Nexus and the world around them that allow them to learn such effective sorcery. The Wood Elves are most often hunters, rangers, trackers, druids (forest sorcerers), and other sorts of warriors associated with the wilds. While they may not be militant, they are not defenseless, wielding enchanted weapons, and the blessings of the Fae even the most isolationist Wood Elves can be dangerous foes. Due to their ties with the wilds being mostly cultural however, it’s also not uncommon for those wood elves who are more closely associated with civilization and towns to join with their fighting forces, especially those of the High Elves and Humanity. The Mythral Dynasty and the New Age Kingdom both count many Wood Elves among their people and their warriors, as they are not a people afraid to spread their wings. Wood Elves prefer to fight with bows, spears, short swords, and other lighter weapons to benefit their speed. Although sorcerers are mostly idolized in their society, a notable exception is the Wood Elven attitude of destain and fear towards those naturally aligned with the element of fire, as it is naturally opposed to their native terrain. Those born with such a connection are often fated to endure a rough upbringing or even a rough life.
Medicine
The Wood Elves conventional medicinal capabilities vary widely, however their magical and alchemical healing is excellent. The druids and shamans of their various peoples have a very comprehensive grasp of both worldly and supernatural herbs, and some even have access to the healing powers of the Fae. Beyond that, it still varies by region, however the Woodelf Archdruid of Reshalon is among the greatest and most esteemed healers in all of Dulatica, if not all of Ithuan.
Daily Life
The Wood Elves take advantage of their supernatural affinity and their often nomadic lifestyle, acting as guides, traders, and merchants from town to town, city to city. They move quickly along both Fae Paths, and natural roadways to reach their destinations, or work to keep their homes safe and their people fed directly whether through magic, knowledge, or skill. They are a resourceful folk, but not one that is too aloof to have allies, including their three main families who sit among the great Houses of the Elves and often have contact with the Mythral Dynasty. The extremely nomadic and mysterious House Riverkeeper has the ability to sense and control the flow of a body of water, allowing them to become expert waterman, and very useful in naval engagements. The quick tempered and infamous House Swiftstrike has the ability to temporarily manifest weapons and tools out of magical energy, making them dangerous foes, but that notoriety has come at the price of many a cautionary tale from the missteps of their House Leaders.
Government
While the Wood Elves lack a comprehensive and overarching government, their individual groups are sometimes led by a lead family or House, and there are usually a few among them who are often viewed as leaders to their own and other families in their vicinity. A Shaman is an alchemist or sorcerer who is a master healer, these individuals are respected for the essential services they do, and are sought after to help with grave ailments. A Fairfolk is a Wood Elf, whether mage or warrior, blessed with the favor of the Faeries, allowing them to act as a guide both literal and spiritual for their allies. An Apex or a Hunt Master is a warrior of great skill and possibly some magical power, they often act as leaders of larger groups or even Houses, a bridge between the “mundane” and supernatural. Lastly an Archdruid or a Forest’s Heart are individuals who walk in step with the wilds, even in civilization life springs through the cracks around them. These rare scions of nature are not only the most powerful spellcasters among the Wood Elves, but their presence, even in a city, will lead other Wood Elves to feel more at ease, as on a certain level, at least spiritually, where an Archdruid dwells IS the forest.
Religion & Holidays
Their wide spread leads the Wood Elves to widely celebrate but a few primary holidays associated with Lith and the Fae.
The Day of Three
The Day of Three is the elven festival that marks the new year, and like their kin, the Wood Elves celebrate it by telling tales of the gods. This is also the day on which new representatives for the Houses.
Equinoxes/Solstices/Other
On a group by group basis, Wood Elves celebrate a variety of astrological events including the Fae equinoxes, solstices, and certain cosmic events and alignments. This varies based on how important the deeper meanings of the various alignments and how much meaning those events have to that particular House.
Architecture
As with much of their culture Wood Elven dwellings can vary, but a notable trend is that those who are able, either through Fae assistance or the power of a Shaman or Druid, can warp growing trees to create structures that are more at peace with nature. This results in most Wood Elven houses either being formed within the trunks of large trees, or more commonly in the canopies of the forest, with branches serving as criss-crossing paths and bridges. Larger structures are often made up of multiple trees woven together.