Ellarian
Home of the Empire of Ellaria
Customs
It is rude to stare at the hair of an Ellarian. A common greeting is to make a fist in front of your chest. Then slowly move your fist towards your chin while spreading your fingers wide, which represents the sprouting of a tree and a polite greeting.
Foreigner or native, it is disrespectful to look a noble in the eyes. You are to look at their feet out of respect.
Fashion
Commoner fashion is whites, greens, and browns. Typically, their shirts and blouses are white, and their dress or trousers are green or brown.
It is common for short hairs to wear headwear in order to cover their hair.
Nobility fashion is greens, browns, reds, and blues. Female elves wear long, slender dresses with patterns of the forest etched into them. The dresses have full length sleeves and necklines that end just below the chin, with an open back for their smooth skin to accent their hair.
Male elves wear shirts that are tucked into their trousers in the front and have a tail to their knees in the back. The shirts are buttoned on the right side and have a v-cut neckline with silk or some other fine fabric laces.
Headwear is unheard of for nobility, as it would cover the elegance of their hair. However, females will put their hair up into elegant weaves and patterns that resemble trees and nature. They make sure any decorative hair style does not damage their hair and is no higher than half a foot tall. The designs also must make the hair flow downward along their backs.
Food & Drink
Known for making the world-famous egg berry wine, a common wine throughout the world but the largest production is in the Ellarian forests. The wine comes in two different types, fine and common. Common egg berry wine is delivered in small barrels while fine egg berry wine is in glass bottles.
Geography
The Ellarian culture is prominent in the Ellaria empire and in other forest areas in which Ellarian elves live. These forests are mostly with in the Grimslarian Empire but are not ruled by Grimslar.
Feringarth
Feringarth is the capital of the Ellaria empire and center of the forest of light. They built this city within the massive trees at the center of the forest of light, where they used the trees as their walls. With permission from Ellarta (goddess of nature), the Ellarian elves used sacred tools to carve out their dwellings in the trees.
The city hosts the hub location for all worship of the goddess of light, Sherva (Photon).
Migi Moreru
Within Ellaria is Migi Moreru (Forest of Light) which is the central location for the Ellarian culture. Inside the forest lives the Ellaria capital, Feringarth; a city made within the trees.
The rulers of Ellaria have been using the powers of the forest of light to keep the corruption and evil within the Fueya Woods at bay. A forest that was once part of the Migi Moreru, before its corruption.
Fueya Woods
A corrupted dark forest which is home to many foul creatures but also the tough and resourceful Fueya elves. The Fueya Woods have been corrupted for centuries and Ellarians have contained it.
Laws & Regulations
It is against the law to claim to be wealthier than you are by not cutting your hair to your social status’s length. However, only residents of the Ellaria empire must show their wealth through the length of their hair.
Traditions
Every three months there is a festival to celebrate the changing of the seasons. It is to honor the goddess of nature.
Religion
The goddess of light, Sherva, and the goddess of nature, Ellarta, rule over the Ellarian lands. While there is a ruling family, the temple of light makes all the ruling decisions. The High Priestess of the temple of light is the ultimate ruler of the Ellaria empire.
Society
In Ellarian culture, those with wealth or power can be identified through the length of their hair. Ellarian commoners are required to keep their hair short. It cannot grow longer than the lower lobe of their ears. Commoners are referred to as short hairs and to have no hair is the lowest possible social standing.
Merchants and the middle class have their hair length limited to the shoulders and upper back in order to show they’re above the short hairs.
Nobility grows out their hair to show off its natural beauty, but it mostly shows their wealth and power. The longer the hair, the more wealth and power the noble house has. However, such beautiful hair should never touch the ground. Only royalty are permitted to have hair that down to their calves. For those who are not royalty but have massive wealth, their length limit is just above the knee. So that when they kneel to their rulers in respect, their hair does not touch the ground.
Travelers who enter the empire are given visitor passes to show their hair length is not important.
Spider Thread Farming
The Ellarians are known for their large production of high-quality spider threads. They produce spider thread from spiders of the Eight-Legged Mountain region. Ellarian's commune with their spiders to enhance quality and production speed because of their cultural connection with nature.
Unlike standard farming, spider farming is an elite and high social status position. Only the very wealthy can afford spider farms, as the process for producing the threads is extensive and energetic. Clothing companies in Ty'Les buy Ellarian spider threads. The Black Company is a top fashion company that purchases the threads.
Discipline
Languages
Native
EllarianSecondary
Latlish, Umish, or RunicSuggested Masteries
Silent Step and one character creation (CC) weapon mastery (i.e. Melee Tech Weapons or Martial Weapons)Druidic Spirit
You have learned the ways of the druids. They have showed you how to bond with the spirit of nature to use its power to aid you and your allies. Your Gaia skill becomes expertise.
You have a unique pool of points called mana that can be spent to activate any of the following abilities.
This ability treats difficulty rating and attacks as if channeling a Gaia spell. So, attacks are magic attacks using your Gaia skill and the difficulty rating is the Gaia spell difficulty. Anything that increases a spell’s difficulty rating can apply to this ability as if it was a spell.
Your mana is equal to half your mental plus vitality. You can restore any spent mana after a full rest, provided you have no remaining fatigue. You cannot restore any mana if you are fatigued.
Mana Abilities
- 4 - Heal one wound on a target of your choosing. You must touch the wound for it to be healed.
- 3 - You gain the mastery of Animal Morph for the duration of the mastery plus two hours, and you can activate the mastery at half the usual essence cost. Once the duration has expired, you lose the mastery.
- 2 - Heal a target equal to your vitality by touching them.
- 2 - You can communicate with plants to gain basic information about the area. Communication is done without speaking, as it is a special connection you have with the plants. The connection is not telepathic, but more so done through mannerisms.
- 2+ - Instantly grow roots out of a surface that is nature based (i.e., stone wall, dirt floor, wooden ceiling, etc.). any creature directly in front of the surface the roots grow from must succeed on a reaction check or become rooted to the surface. Attempting to break free requires a stamina check.
- The roots can give you a +4 to climbing when the roots are used to assist.
- The mana cost is per target, or ten feet of climbable roots.
- 2 - grow a hardened and sharp root from the ground that grows upward into your empty open hand. This root has the same properties as a spear with additional abilities. You can grow the root on any ground, regardless of its condition and material. Except if you are five or more feet away from the ground or the ground is not solid (water).
- The damage of the root (in any form) is 1d8 at level one and as your Gaia skill total increases, so does the root’s damage, so at each skill tier, the damage increases by +1d8.
- As a free action, you can morph the root between a spear and a whip. One free action per morph.
- You cannot be disarmed when using the root as your main weapon.
- When in whip form, it has a 10ft. reach and can entangle a target. To entangle the target, a standard attack is required. If successful, the target becomes entangled and gains the helpless condition. While entangled, the target can make a guts check to break free at the start of their turn. To use the whip in this way, you must declare it before the attack roll.
- When it is in whip form, you can use it to assist you in climbing and treat it as rope.
- The root disappears into the ground after half your vitality in hours has passed or you actively return it.
- In spear form, you can throw it up to your mental times five feet. Once thrown, the root grows back up into your empty open hand at the start of your next turn.
- 1 - enshroud yourself in nature to blend in and be unseen as long as you are not moving. Any type of physical movement ends this effect, but while under this effect, you appear as part of nature.