Wood Elves

Azari’cerr (Wood Elves)
Pronunciation
Classification
Nicknames	Azira'cerr Wood Elf
Languages	Azari Linguae, Common
Average Height
Average Weight
Maximum Age
Stat Bonuses	+0 Strength +0 Defense +3 Agility +0 Intelligence

Introduction

They are the watchers of the wood, the gale that howls through the canopies. They are the fury of the wild. As changeable as weather, as merciless as nature itself. They are the Azari’cerr, vengeful untamed Azari of terrifying power, and to any who enter their lands unbidden, they are dead.

“Even the bravest of warriors have learned to fear the vast tracts of woodland that can be found throughout the realms of the Elves. Surrounded by trees, it is all too easy to get disoriented and lost, but there is a more primal dread at work. In the forest, no one can ever be sure what is lurking just out of sight. Sounds are muffled, yet noises seem to come from everywhere – the snapping of twigs, a sinister rustling of leaves, and the creaking of the wind-stirred canopy above. Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. Nothing to hear you besides the elemental wrath of the Amber Woods. Many who enter Myln Arbor never come out again, and thus do the wise learn to shun the deep woods of The Glade of Dragons.” - Klaus Gerbrandt, Imperial Emissary.

Appearance

The Wood Elves, or Azari’cerr as they call themselves are moderately tall Amber-skinned people that reside within the confines of the Amber Forest of Myln Arbor which is situated to the east of Eden’s tail in the Glade of Dragons. The average male can grow up to 1,93 meters tall with females usually being slightly shorter than that. The Azari’cerr usually have brown, black, or red hair and cannot grow facial hair. Their eye color ranges from shades of brown, green, and amber, and rarely seen cases of amethyst purple. The most distinguishing feature of an Elf is a pair of long ears with a pointed tip. Elven ears grow to an average of 15 centimeters.

The Azari live significantly longer than the other races in Eden. To put that into perspective, Azari’cill scholars created something known as the Elven year, this is to put their lifespan into perspective with that of the other races. While the Azari’cill still count in common years, it is not unheard of to hear an Azari’cill suddenly count something in Elven years. This is usually reserved for the academic scene. Most Elves prefer to use common years for more mundane things like counting their age or referring to calendar years. One Elven year roughly translates to around 5 common years. Wood Elves reach adulthood at 90 common years and can live up to 300-400 common years. The Azari'cerr keep their youthful appearance for most of their lives, only starting to show visible aging when they reach the age of 260.

After one of the Azari’cerr dies, their body dissolves into what is known as a soul seed. This is seen as the start of the process of rebirth and becoming one with the Father, Kharash, and the Amber Tree. When these soul seeds start growing once more. The Azari’cerr will have transformed into what is known as a Sylvani and the cycle of rebirth continues once more.

Language

Elves generally speak the common tongue. Through its extreme popularity, this language has been adopted and normalized in Elven culture. Like their cousins in Aerial, the Azari’cerr use a combination of the common tongue and the ancient elven language.

Although a mostly forgotten one, with scholars rediscovering snippets of the ancient elven language, elven communities have begun to incorporate the vocabulary of the language into daily occasions.

Below is a list of frequently 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
Khari’cerr	The wild Father/Chieftain
Therri’cerr	Sentinel of the Wilderness
Tricilus	Chief
Bessi’inn	Blessed one
Kal'cellenni	Spiritwalker
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
Medi’cilus	Doctor/Medic

Culture

Structure of Elven Society

Azari’cerr society revolves around what is known as the seasons of rebirth. The life of the Azari’cerr is seen as simply being the first step on their journey to become one with the Amber Forest and appeasing what is known as The Father. Many Wood Elf celebrations and festivals are tailored toward the cycle of rebirth and the worship of the Father and the Amber Tree. When the Azari’cerr celebrate, they all gather in the sanctuary of the Amber Tree and the direct surroundings. Plenty of drinks and smokeable items are available across festival grounds.

The feast of rebirth is often seen as the most important of these celebrations. This is a seasonal celebration that takes place towards the end of a season during which soul seeds that are ready to be harvested are collected and birthed into a new generation of Sylvani, the guardians of the forest. Those of the Sylvani class are the rulers of the Azari’cerr and act as emissaries of Kharash, the ruler of all of Myln Arbor. They communicate to the Gods through what is known as the world roots which is a network of roots and vines that flow from the Amber Tree. The Sylvani can tap into that network by merely standing on the roots and using them to communicate the will of the Father to his children.

The Greatest of all the Sylvani gets chosen to become the Khari’cerr, a ceremony is held once the previous Chieftain passes away. During this, the soul seed of the fallen Sylvani is put to rest under the Amber Tree in the inner sanctuary to become one with the tree. Then a great duel is held between the leaders of each Sylvani sanctuary to decide who the next Khari’cerr will be.

The Khari’cerr is the voice of Father Kharash himself and is closest to what a Demigod would be in the Azari’cerr society. The strength, durability, and uncompromising resolve of the Khari’cerr force the respect of even the most powerful leaders outside the woods. The rule of the next Azari’cerr is greatly influenced by the season the soul seed hatched in. Khari’cerrs who hail from the warm season of Eden’s Shine usually are welcoming and generous. In contrast, those who hail are born during Lilith’s Veil are usually bitter and mistrustful of even their closest allies. Yet the Azari’cerr is ultimately a force of order, yet their temper is as unpredictable as the force of nature itself. Where they fought along the side of their Azari’cill brothers in the past to beat back the Azari’lunn, who, according to the ‘color offset the balance of natural order within the Glade of Dragons, they would not hesitate to turn on their allies on a whim if they feel like they are disturbing the natural order of the woods.

Expression and Art

Pieces of art that are commonly found in the Kingdoms of the Azari'cerr and the Sylvani are large murals, masterfully decorated pots, and wooden sculptures. The murals often depict scenes of great importance from ages long gone, previous leaders, other important figures, and legendary beasts and creatures that, according to the ‘cerr reside in the deepest parts of the woods. Pots are made from colored clays and are often used in worship and ceremonies rather than as simple decoration. Small sculptures are made out of simple materials that most people have access to, such as wood and clay. Azari’cerr in particular likes to decorate their pots and sculptures with little pebble-sized Amber pieces.

Song and dance are common forms of self-expression that are often seen during festivals and more common celebrations. Songs about great achievements in previous conflicts and rebirth are often heard throughout festivals. Those songs are supported by preferably string or flute instruments.

——— Here in the thickest forest, So dark, so deep, We offer all blackest sleep. It is always night, and never day, Those who enter shall be our prey. We will bury you where none can see, A gift of life to feed a tree. So dark, so deep. - Translated excerpt of an Azari’cerr song heard on the bounds of the Amber Woods. ———

Romance & Marriage

The idea of falling in love is a common Azari’cerr occurrence. Romance is highly encouraged and sought out to find a lifelong partner. Gifts such as flowers, platters of food, and Amber jewelry are all common signs of affection. They are big on having date spots and spending time with one another at the top of trees and mountain cliffs. When an Azari’cerr is ready for marriage they must bring them under the Amber tree with an offering and ask their significant other to be soulmates. When there is a rejection under the tree the Azar’cerr believe that it is a sign that the couple was never meant to be. Though when the proposal is successful there is no celebration until their wedding day. Relationships became so common that celebrating too early was seen as a waste of food and resources. Despite how common romance happens, divorce is an absolute vice for insulting their promise under the Amber Tree.

Life & Reproduction

Due to their Azari roots, the Azari’cerr are blessed with long lives and slow aging processes. Though out of the three elven races the Azari’cerr tends to live the longest to around 400. This is due to their exceptional physical shape and eating habits engraved in the culture. They are brave. They are not afraid of death but will survive as long as they can to prove their strength to Kharash. In Azari’cerr culture, the average couple is encouraged to have around 3-4 children. Unlike their Azari brethren, most Azari’cerrs do not go out of their way to celebrate newborns. To them, it is simply a normal function of life. However, it is traditional to have a priest bless the child with what the parents wish to come out of their kin. Typically parents ask the priest to bless their child with strength and perseverance to produce forest warriors. The elven reproduction system is the same as a high elf, it is complicated. 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 350. The pregnancy of an Azari’cerr is slightly shorter than a ‘cill and lasts around 7 months.

Naming

Azari’cerr are given their names at birth by both their parents. Most of these names are chosen based on the season the child is born in as a way to reflect on what they may one day ultimately become after their second birth. Parents tend to also mix in a bit of their own name to continue their lineage through their offspring. Bits of the Elven seasonal names are incorporated into the name. This, for example, results in ‘cerr born in the Amber Dawn to have their name start with “Myth or Mythin” which comes from the season's name, Mythin’thirr.

Death & Funerals

When a wood elf dies, the proceeding very much depends on how he died. There are three classifications for how wood elves can die and how to proceed:

• Death in Battle

The first sort of death, Death in Battle, is generally seen as the most honorable cause of death. Elves who die like this receive the biggest funerals, often with high-ranking priests present. These funerals are often devoted to Urræm Tímih, the spirit of Honor. Death in Battle is seen as glorious, and warriors are often buried with beautiful body paint all over their corpses. When an elf dies due to poisoning, a ritual is performed to cleanse his body before his funeral.

• Death by Wildness

The second sort of death, death by the wilderness (beasts, plants, starving, etc), is seen as the least honorable on this list. It's generally understood as a failure to live with the gifts of Kharash, and a waste of a good elven life. Such funerals are often only attended by an amateur preacher or low-ranking priest. Nevertheless, these funerals often see the biggest amounts of mourning elves, due to a belief based on a book from the Age of Enlightenment. This book describes a ritual, where a wood elf who died "too early" (Meaning from starvation or other health problems, not in Battle and not of old age), is placed on an altar and decorated with herbs and flowers from the forest. Then, a large crowd that has gathered to attend the funeral starts to loudly chant an ancient prayer to Gèneiv Adey'ta, the spirit of Generosity. The book then describes how a beautiful spirit then appears over the body and revives the wood elf, releasing him from his dishonorable death. This, of course, has never been documented and there is no proof that such a ritual actually worked. But the wood elves don't let that disturb them, it is commonly believed that one day, Gèneiv Adey'ta will appear and revive a wood elf. To give the spirit the opportunity to appear, a large crowd gathers at funerals of this sort and performs the ritual as described in the book. As hard as they may have tried, it never worked. The ritual's failure is most commonly blamed on Fineall and the dark elven influence in Eden, but during the past few decades, humans have been named the cause more often than ever before.

• Death of Old Age

The third sort of death, death of old age, is taken as natural and highly respected. When a wood elf doesn’t die in battle, it’s not, as in other cultures, seen as a bad thing, but as almost equally honorable. Wood-elven society simply sees the death of old age as a beautiful conclusion to a long, fulfilled life. On one hand, such death is still incredibly sad, but since a death of old age, when looking at elves at least, is usually predictable weeks prior to the actual death, it’s not as sad as we are used to from other elven funerals. Most elves will visit the dying person in the weeks before his death and tell them their personal goodbye. So these sorts of funerals are significantly less sad than all others. Sometimes, the funeral is even followed by a small festivity to dignify and celebrate the elf’s life.

History

Origins:

The origins of the Azari are mostly unknown. It is mostly believed that the Elven race was gifted with life by the gods of the Elven Pantheon. The elven race has its roots in the Valley of Dragon, which is also known as Arda.

This era when the elven race first flourished, is known as the Age of Enlightenment. During this time, the Gods of the Pantheon walked among their children. It is believed that the four elven gods each decided to create their own children, leading to the different elven races in Eden today. The Father, Kharash, created the Azari’cerr; he gifted his children with strength, courage and skills of shouldering the responsibilities of a family. The Mother, Aerièlle, gifted her children – the Azari’cerr – wisdom along with the ways of being the most enlightened and pure being in Eden and the knowledge on how to wield the sacred blessings of Eden in the form of magical powers. The daughter, Aestaena, created the Azari’soll. She gifted her children fertility, love, and the need to procreate. And at last, there was the Son, Fineall, who created the Azari’lunn and gave his children many challenges in life.

During this age, the Azari’cerr roamed the continent with Kharash. Creating and observing nature as it should be, untouched by civilization. Kharash trained the Azari’cerr to protect the untouched nature from filth and to live in harmony with nature.

The Age of Fallen Spires:

The four elven races lived in concord during the Age of Enlightenment. This peace, however, was soon proven to be a false front. The Azari’cill, believing that they are the purest and wisest of all races, soon turned radical towards their dark-skinned kin. The cills were certain that the Azari’lunn were impure creatures who knew nothing but anger, jealousy, perversion, and lust.

Carrying such biases, the Azari’cill declared war on the Azari’lunn, whereas the two other elven races – the Azari’cerr and the ‘sol – both decided to distance themselves from the war. Yet the war had been equally cruel on all elves alike. Although the Azari’cerr never wanted to or did actively pick sides at first, many cerrs were taken by the Azari’lunn forces who were in need of labor forces in supporting the on-going warfare. The kidnapping of those who went astray from the bigger group were frequent given that the Azari’cerr were generally considered the most physically able among all elven races.

Such exploitation had angered many cerrs. With the resentment growing within them and the need to protect themselves still persisting, a decision was made: the Azari’cerr would combine forces with the cills in defeating the Azari’lunn.

This decision was soon proven to be the table turner of the elven civil war. With the Azari’cerr joining the side of the cills, the Azari’lunn were overwhelmed. The war soon ended with determining victory of the Azari’cill and Azari’cerr, with the defeated lunns forced to leave the Valley of Dragon in escaping the fate of being hunted down.

Yet Although the war was won, it didn’t come without cost. In addition to the Azari’lunn’s defeat, their god Fineall also took the conflict to the heavens to fight the other gods by himself. As such, as the direct result of Fineall’s announcing of war, the other Gods of the Pantheon left Eden, leaving their children a war-ravaged kingdom and grievances of many years’ standing.

Rebuilding Civilization:

Fortunately, the Azari’cerr were left with a legacy from their beloved creator. The elven civil war deeply troubled Kharash who, being considered as the fatherly figure among the Gods of the Pantheon, could not bear standing aside while his children shed blood fighting with their own. In protecting his children, Kharash used his divine powers and cultivated a magical forest that formed what grew into today’s Myln Arbor over the course of the following centuries.

In addition to the vibrant sanctuary, Kharash also tutored his children and bestowed them with knowledge of herbs and animals along with the arts of dominating nature. Admittedly, Kharash was generous with his wisdom; but he is also a strict mentor who values inherited gifts of strength or intelligence.

Because of this, Kharash decided to take a group of pupils for every generation of cerrs. Only about five elves would be selected, each having varying skills and gifts but are equally promising and eager to learn. This group was taught the secrets that nature hides for the others. Among them were usually the best alchemists, druids, herbalists and survivalists. It was their task to guard the sacred forest and the purity of nature from trespassing outsiders.

It is known that Fyrr, Meredith, Umphraid, and two others whose names remain unknown to this day were the group of pupils during the Age of the Fallen Spires. Kharash, having witnessed the many quarrels that ravaged the elven kingdom, had changed his attitude and shifted to a much more offensive style of his tutoring in preparing his children amidst the war. It is also during this time when he taught this specific group of young elves how to lead and rule in case of his absence. Unfortunately, such knowledge eventually came into use.

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Due to the departure of Kharash, their training had not been completed at the moment. But responsibilities awaited and they had no choice but to step up. As Kharash departed, he blessed this last group of pupils and their bloodline with the ability to connect to the magical forest, making them able to perform rituals in communicating with nature and growing the forest.

With the departure of Kharash at the end of the elven civil war, the Azari’cerr were left alone. They’re short in numbers, tormented by fear and traumatized by violence. The legacy left by Kharash was proven to be useful as the majority of Azari’cerr ventured into the magical forest with the guidance of Kharash’s last group of pupils, yet life within the forest was only more challenging.

The forest is a dangerous place. With rampant beasts preying on the weak and the young, and deadly herbs poisoning those who were lucky enough to survive the animals, the cerrs were once again desperate. In the middle of their hopelessness, the blessed pupils made a collaborative decision which was soon proven to be life-changing in the history of the Azari’cerr. Their God Kharash made it this way because he cared for his children and did not want them to become lazy and weak. These constant challenges and obstacles would keep the Azari’cerr alert and have their fighting well polished so they can always be ready for war.

The blessed pupils ventured into the woods in search of a sign. They traveled in the forest for weeks, surviving, surveying, battling against and making friends with the forest they live in. Most importantly, they were actively searching for an answer or guidance that would aid them and their race in their despair.

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Eventually, with wounds and bug bites on their exhausted limbs, the group reached a lake in the forest. They spent the night resting near this secret pond, but the pupils soon found out that their real challenge was yet to come.

Fyrr was the first to be dared. He was approached by a flying monkey. The curious little creature stared at the exhausted young elf before suddenly vanishing in the thick darkness of the night and leaving him nothing but a trail of smoke. Fyrr inhaled the smoke and was almost immediately overwhelmed by a terrifying sense of chaos. Screamings, mutilated bodies, bloodstained soil – all these ghastly images flashed through Fyrr’s visions, attacking the young elf with a sense of fear so strong that it almost stopped his heart.

Yet in his terror, Fyrr recalled Kharash’s guidance and began trying to dominate his emotions. But as he gradually calmed down and the chaos turned into peacefulness, a new feeling of strength suddenly rushed through his body, empowering him with courage and fueling his exhausted limbs with vigor.

Meredith was the second to face her challenge. She was the oldest of them all and therefore the more calm and matured. But just as she was about to bathe her blister-covering feet in the pond, her attention was caught by a leaf swaying in the wind. Meredith watched as the fragile leaf battled with the breeze but still couldn’t evade the destiny of flailing into the pond. When the leaf finally touched the water, Meredith was struck by an engulfing sense of melancholy and desperation. She was reminded of the grim and uncertain future of her people, how they were abandoned by their creator and left in this treacherous forest to struggle.

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Meredith’s melancholy was so prevailing that it deprived the once-calm and confident elf of her self-control. Without even realizing that tears were running down her cheeks, Meredith stood up and pressed her dagger against her own throat. The edge of the weapon bit into her skin, but the sharp sting of pain snapped the female elf out of her mental breakdown. Shaking her head in disbelief of her own actions, Meredith bowed down and picked up the leaf she was staring at. The elf was awestruck to discover that a colorful butterfly was clinging to the leaf stalk, and that the flailing leaf, although having met its inevitable death before landing in the pond, actually served as the hope of life.

This was taken as a sign from the forest that there is much to be learned about this place and life itself. After the pupils had encountered these creatures they began to create the nation of Mitrona to give them the time they needed to learn all that is around them.