High Elves

Azari'cill (High Elves)
Pronunciation	Azaa-rie sill
Classification	Elf
Nicknames	Anypsóste (The Exalted) Azari’Lefká (White Elves)
Languages	Common, Azari Linguae
Average Height	1.87m - 2.20m (6’1" - 7’2")
Average Weight	75kg to 90kg (165lbs - 198lbs)
Maximum Age	~500 Years Old
Stat Bonuses	+0 Strength +0 Defense +0 Agility +4 Intelligence

Introduction:

As the Azari’cill call themselves, the Scions of Illumination invoke this name because their existence reflects the pinnacle of civilization under the Mother’s watchful gaze.

These luminous beings have blood that glimmers by magical properties. The glittering spires of the Azari cities stand like beacons in the lands where skill and enlightenment saturate the very air. The Azari’cill absorbed so much of this innate potential that when at war, it is said that the phalanxes of the Azari warhosts glow with robust power. An assault by an Azari’cill army is swift and carried out with flawless precision. The enemy is met with a forest of blades and a tidal wave of arcane wrath.

This claim of mastery also carries a deadly arrogance. The Azari'cill come in glory, but they hail from a broken land, their elegant spires toppled and their statuary crumbled into the dust of a dead empire. The stories tell that it was the scourge of Fineall that ravaged the lands of silver; it was unavoidable. The age of the fallen spires has turned the empire of enlightenment into a spell-haunted ruin.

Ever since the Time of Reinvention, the Azari’cill have managed to make peace with the lands they call home.

Appearance

The High Elves, or Azari’cill as they like to call themselves, are tall, fair-skinned people that mainly reside on the eastern plains of Eden commonly known as Arda or The Glade of Dragons. The average High Elven male can grow up to an average of 2 meters tall. Females tend to be a little shorter, coming in at an average of 1,85 meters. They have blonde or silver hair, yet none of them can grow any facial hair. The Azari’cill commonly has blue or green eyes. Some recorded cases speak of High Elves having silver eyes, however, those are extremely rare cases, in which the ‘cill individual is seen as personally blessed by the Mother, the ‘cill’s patron Goddess. The most distinguishing feature of an Elf is a pair of long ears with a pointed tip. Elven ears can grow up to an average of 15 centimeters.

The Azari live significantly longer than the other races on Eden. Understanding the aging of the Azari can be complicated because they work with two calendars. The official one in most Azari nations is known as the Stargazer Calendar and is based on the position of Eseron in the great void towards the sun. An Azari year counts four seasons and ends when Eseron has come full circle around the sun. Besides this elven calendar, the Azari use something known as the Imperial, or common calendar. This calendar developed in the ancient Attian Empire is these days used around the continent and is built to better reflect the lifespan of most other intelligent races and creatures. This calendar runs significantly quicker at four years per single Elven year. The Imperial calendar uses the changing of the seasons as the start of a new year. Making it so that seasons in the Imperial calendar system last for the entire year.

While the Azari’cill do count in common years, it is not unheard of to hear a particularly conservative Azari’cill still using Elven years and refusing to recognize the imperial system as a valid alternative. The most common place to find active usage of the Elven Calendar is the academic scene. Most Elves prefer to use common years for more mundane things like counting their age or to refer to calendar years. Elves reach adulthood at 72 common years and can live up to 400-500 common years. The Azari'cill keep their youthful appearance for most of their lives, only starting to show visible aging when they reach the age of 350.

Language

Elves generally speak the common tongue. This language, through its extreme popularity, has been adopted and normalized in Elven culture. A dialect has sprung up in Aerial from a combination of Ancient Elvish and the common tongue. The ancient elven language is a mostly forgotten one. Scholars in Luminion are trying to rediscover their ancient language and bring it back to the vocabulary of the Elves.

Often used ancient elven words that found their way into common speech:

Greetings
Elvish	Common
Vale	Hello/Greetings
Vale’tar	Farewell
Fílo(s)	Friend(s)
Races
Azari	Elf
Azari’cill	High Elf/Pure Elf
Azari’cerr	Wood Elf/Wild Elf
Azari’lunn	Dark Elf/Moon Elf
Azari’soll	Fire Elf/Sun Elf
Dur’arum	Denur
Vari(s)	Human(s)
Ghesiri(s)	Faulskins(s)
De’nevir	Tiefling
Titles
Therri’cill	Guardian of Purity/King
Aeri’cill	Mother of Purity/Queen
Pricecilus	Prince
Pricecili	Princess
Nobicilus	Noble
Visera	Minister
Ar’mágoi	Arch-Mage/Spellcaster
mágoi	Mage/Spellcaster
Scinar(i)’cilus	High Priest(ess)
Scinari	Priestess
Scinar	Priest
Scini	(Older) Student
Scin	(Young) Student
Bessi’inn	Blessed one
Medi’cilus	Doctor/Medic

“Cilus” is a word without a specified meaning. When someone bears a title with the word “Cilus” in it, it is generally seen as a high-ranking individual.

Culture

Structure of Elven Society

The entirety of Azari’cill society is built around climbing the ladder of purity. This ladder is a caste system based on the teachings of the Mother and the Elven interpretation of her words. Every action and life decision has the potential to influence the Elf’s position on the ladder. This process of climbing the ladder starts all the way back when a new ‘cill baby is born. The newborn is to be brought to the local temple to the Mother where the High Priestess inspects the child, looking for any potential flaws in their appearance. After the inspection is completed, the child gets a place on the ladder based on the outcome of the inspection and the societal position of the parents.

In the earlier years of a ‘cill life, it is already expected of them to be solely focussed on climbing the ladder. It is expected of a young elf to swiftly get a grasp of the world they live in, how foul and impure the outside lands are, and how it is up to them to preserve all that the ‘cill stand for. Every elf regardless of position on the ladder or birthplace will receive a proper education at the Luminion colleges or a local branch affiliated with the Luminion colleges. There they learn the basics of Azari history, the Azari language, writing, poetry, art, and math.

The average ‘cill finishes this basic education by the time they reach early puberty. After this, they are called into service. For the men, the only option is the military. Where the kids at a younger age will be helping around the barracks and the stables, cleaning and learning how to maintain equipment, only to become an actual conscript citizen militia trooper in the later years of his service. A woman may also choose to follow the military path in their years of service and receive similar training. But there is another path for them that they may follow, which is temple service. There they will continue their basic education with more advanced topics like religious studies, astronomy, medical training, and Herbology. Besides that, they are tasked with cleaning the temple grounds, maintaining local gardens, and doing deeds of generosity and selflessness. An example is taking care of the elderly and the sick or wounded. For the Elves in more rural areas, things like farming, animal handling, and cooking can also be part of service for both men and women.

The service for Azari teens ends when they reach adulthood at the age of 90 common years. Then they may choose to either go back to college to follow specialized advanced courses like magical studies, realm studies, and politics, or they may choose to go into apprenticeship and step directly into working life.

The Elves, based on their description, can easily be confused with a human at first glance. When looking at a painting of one, it is easy to be fooled into thinking they are simply a pretty-looking human with pointed ears. Yet that illusion is quickly dispelled when they are seen in motion. Outsiders describe the Elves as moving in a blur, every motion is measured and precise. This level of coordination in their movement fits perfectly with the way they speak. The Azari’cill living in the Higher society of Luminion wrap their messages in lots of complimenting words, sometimes making it seem as if they speak in riddles. This may seem like a way of distracting from the point in a discussion, yet all these beautifying words are carefully chosen to push the conversation in the direction they desire. This makes them difficult to connect with as an outsider, as they feel alien and distant. Not at all interested in an individual of lesser standing. The ‘cill living outside the cities mimic some of these traits, as even the lowliest of ‘cill thinks highly of themselves compared to outsiders and lessers, yet they usually are a lot more welcoming to outsiders and are easier to get a grasp of. It is not unheard of that the Elves living in rural areas befriend ‘lessers’ and take them into their homes, provide them with a warm meal and teach them the ways of High Elven life. Something that is frowned upon in the cities.

The armies of the Azari are formed largely of citizen warriors. Each Elven individual leads a rich and fulfilling life outside the call of battle; were it not for the dire state of the Azari realm and the omnipresent threat of Fineall, it is likely they would not go to war at all. The vast majority of the Azari prefer to spend their time in pursuits of knowledge and reason rather than personal glory through means of violence. Physical conflict has always been seen as rather brutish and unrefined in the high society of Azari.

Romance & Marriage

Azari are massively focused on procreation. The gifts of Mothers and Daughters sprawl through elven society and its populace. It is common to see Elves pair with each other when they reach adulthood. Elves are creatures easily captured by the sin of lust, which can be seen in their lives, where elves tend to switch partners a few times in their younger years before settling down. When Elves finally decide to get married, the entirety of Silver City rejoices at the dawn of a new generation. An Elven wedding is quite the affair, which can last for even a week when it is a person of importance.

Marriage in Elven society is final, as it is a promise before the face of the Pantheon that you will serve them and safeguard a new generation of Elves. Divorce is unheard of; it is seen as the ultimate betrayal in the face of the Pantheon. The families of the divorced couple will be looked down upon for the foreseeable future, and the pair will most likely be executed. The only way to ask for forgiveness from the Pantheon after committing this crime is to give them your most valuable possession: your life.

Life & Reproduction

After a wedding, the first task 'cill society puts on the newly founded elven family is to put a child on Eden to further their family name and preserve the Azari race. Elves, however, have an extremely complex reproductive system. Female Elves are only fertile one season per common year, during The Emerald Dusk, and only become fertile around their 120th and remain fertile up until the age of around 400. Males tend to lose their fertility a little earlier around the age of 350. The pregnancy of a 'cill usually lasts around 10 common months. Pregnancy is seen as a huge cultural phenomenon. This is because it is seen as the ultimate proof of the Mother blessing and approving the marriage, explaining the societal pressure to have a child as early as possible after the wedding. Reproduction is so important in elven culture that once per year, a giant festival is held to celebrate a new year of elven fertility. This usually goes paired with the Mother's day celebrations that take place during The Emerald Dusk.

Death & Funerals

Elves, despite their extremely long lives, can die due to natural causes, and when they do, a huge burial ceremony will be organized by the family of the deceased elf. This usually goes paired with a week of mourning. If a wife loses her husband, she lives on wearing only black or dark blue clothing with silver decorations. Elven bodies are burned after death. This is done to release the Elven soul and return it to the Mother, Aerièlle, so that it may live on forever with the pantheon. It is commonly believed that Elven souls are trapped inside the body after death until it is released during the cremation.

History

See:

- The Luminous Enclave of Aerial

- The Enlightened Kingdom of Luminion