Arajeon (Elven) Culture

The Arajeon, whom men call the Elves, are the oldest and the eldest of all the humanoid races of Iliren, which is their name for the world of the three continents of Gimaqin (which the Arajeon call Khiiral), Byelsyev, and Qovol. According to their own lore, the elves originally hail from Khiiral, at the inaccessible center of which was found a river valley known as Sacred Cradle, the place which the elves hold to be the origin point of all life. There, they lived in peace and prosperity for many generations of the world, building great cities and weaving powerful songs, until the day that the Great Dragons came.

The laments of the elves still sing of the day that three of the Great Dragons came to Khiiral and took them unawares. Then there was a great reek and a burning, and much of that pleasant land was destroyed. Halamar Trisven, the only one of the great elven lords to survive the initial assault of the Great Dragons, gathered all who would follow him, and with a great host he set out for Byelsyev on the Voyage of Vengeance. Sailing under the cover of enchanted mists, the Arajeon arrived at the home of the Great Dragons, and there made war upon them. After many lives of men, Halamar had his revenge, when he with the help of Longruc Beastcoat slew Deldracrayn the Thirteenth Great Dragon and shattered his heart, weaving from it the arcane magics with which the elder peoples and humanity eventually defeated the dragons.

But the battle with the dragons came at a great cost, and Halamar’s successors climbed high into the mountains and delved into the deep places of the earth, seeking to build or discover a fortress which would forever keep them safe from any future incursion. It was in one of these places, so it is said, that they awoke the Ssanu—the Serpentfolk—and this to the great ruin of the world. The war with the Ssanu was even more fierce. From when the Ssanu had come, the Arajeon knew not—some believed that they were some fell spawn of the Dragons, others that they had come through the Web of the Worlds from another place, one which they had ruined with their fell sorcery and bottomless cruelty. They took to the newly unleashed arcane magics and refined them to great subtlety, using them to make new servants for themselves by the strange and blasphemous hybrid of man and beast, spawning many strange and abominable horrors in the process. From this, it is said, the Beastmen—orcs, goblins, ogres, gnolls, and more of that sort—were born.

The war with the Ssanu was fierce, and the elves do not hold that it has ever ended. By the end of the Age of the Sorcerer Kings, the ancient elven kingdom of Virrie, mightiest of the realms of Byelsyev, had been laid waste, and it was only by the help of the Wave-Emperors that the Ssanu and their hoards were turned back from the borders of Alsudhvi. The elves remain ever vigilant against the serpent-cults which emerge from time to time, and will hunt the Ssanu and their servants with a relentless hatred.

By the time of the Golden Age of the Wave Emperors, the Arajeon in Alsudhvi had dwindled, as many of them made the voyage over the sea to return to their ancient homeland of Khiiral. It is said that they had at long last (via the great Saftash mariners) had contact with their ancient kin, who had survived and who had once again built a thriving civilization in the heart of the Cradle. At the end of that age, the continent of Kkiiral vanished, although it is believed that there are still some elven mariners who know how to find it.

The Elves are functionally immortal, ceasing to age some time after their thirtieth year, although they can be wearied by war, sorcery, and sorrow, and they may also be slain in battle. Like the Great Dragons, the number of the elves is believed to be fixed, and some of their loremasters hold that those who are slain in battle are reborn in the Sacred Cradle, with all memory of their former lives wiped away from them. They hold that this number of elves will be fixed until the end, when the Thirteenth Dragon is reborn and the final battle begins.

Elves who are “wearied” in some way may seek out the refuge of one of the Elven fastnesses (mechanically speaking, these places are considered “Pinnacles of Good,” see HFH), hidden places of deep holiness which are scattered across Byelsyev. Since the fall of the great elven cities during the Age of the Sorcerer, most elves (with the exception of a few who serve as ambassadors to human cities) live in one of these fastnesses, only venturing out into the world for some specific reason.

Most PC’s playing as elves will start their career as relatively young elves venturing out into the wider world for the first time, usually with a secret mission from the lord or lady of their fastness. The Judge will work with players to determine what this mission should be.

 

Arajeon Religion

The elves worship Volodar the Empyrean, whom they believe to be the creator of this and all other worlds. After him, they revere the Eight Powers, by whom they believe the world to have been shaped and by whom it is ruled:

• Tathaln the Burning, Lord of Morning, whom men call the Sun
• Falenas the Silver, Queen of the Night, whom men call the Moon
• Myrrh, the Lady of Misfortune and Mother of Mourning
• Lamruil the Green, Lord of the Hunt
• Olaurae the Red, Lord of War and Destruction
• Maelyrra the Green, wife of Lamruil and Queen of Waters
• Ruith, Lord of Shadows and Guardian of the Underworld
• Thalanil the Hidden and Unknown, the One who is Coming

Some human loremasters have pointed out that the Arajeon religion seems to contain elements of both Saftash and Ramosian worship, and posit that it might be the common origin point for each. And although elven religion is complex and multifaceted, since the time the wars with the Ssanu began, for the elves in Alsudhvi it has taken a particularly apocalyptic turn.

The Elves believe that the whole shape of history is quickly (whatever “quickly” means to the deathless and timeless) moving on towards the final battle, in which Thalanil, the Eighth Power, will come into the world and gather all of the forces of Law to himself. On that day, the Thirteenth Dragon will be reborn, and the world will be unmade in the cataclysm of the final battle. What world will be born as a result, even the elves do not know.

There are rumors that all of the current machinations of the various remaining elf princes, and even the hiding of Khiiral, are working towards some master strategy to prepare for this final battle, the destruction of the Ssanu, and the shaping of the world which must follow.

Arajeon Names

Male Names: Folluin, Alluin, Elark, Aymon, Thalanil, Tarron, Ayluin, Gormon, Anlyth, Llarm, Aimon, Elpharae, Luvon, Loris, Ilimitar, Gorluin, Sylvar, Luthais, Faeranduil, Yalathanil, Wyrran, Vulwin, Pervaris, Tathaln, Sontar, Ilphas, Kellam, Aquilan, Elephon, Jonik, Elyon, Folmer, Kivessin, Braern, Halamar

Female Names: Amarille, Amaril, Ashala, Gaelira, Maescia, Daethie, Nyana, Fildarae, Naevys, Naevys, Axiliya, Arasne, Rina, Halaema, Phelorna, Phyrra, Amedee, Eirina, Rosaniya, Tephysea, Gwynnestri, Maescia, Ara, Burolia, Meriel, Ikeshia, Lierin, Sumina, Soliana, Thalia, Tenelia, Yunaesa, Rina, Delsanra

Player Classes

Elven Spellsword (ACKS 33), Elven Nightblade (ACKS 36), Elven Courtier (PC 21), Elven Enchanter (PC 23), Elven Ranger (PC 26), Elven Hierophant (SOTN 166), Elven Warlord (SOTN 169), Elven Wizard (SOTN 171)