ELVEN TRADITIONS

The Elendil worship nature and the goddess, Vasilis, above all others. They tend to be peaceful and serene beings and, as a whole, are not often confrontational. This doesn't make them weak, however; they will fight when provoked.

Women are held at a high standing among the Elendil. They are the creators of life and represent Vasilis herself. The birth of any child among these elves is a cause for celebration. It's not uncommon for an entire village to celebrate alongside a proud, new father while mother and child recuperate from the labor. It's considered a tradition for every woman and girl within an Elendil village to offer a gift to a new mother and her child.

Elendil children are taught carefully over the course of their childhood so that, one day, they may become just as wise as those who taught them. Among these people, no job is considered insignificant. Every person within a community plays an important role, whether they are farming, fighting or even merely cleaning out horse stalls. There is only one group of Elendil elves that is considered to be higher than all the rest: the High Council.

The High Council is made up of some of the eldest and wisest of the Elendil. They are the peace keepers, answering only to the Arallani, the elven queen, and her husband, the Arallan. The Arallan is not only the Arallani's husband, he is also her sworn protector. Though an Arallani can rule alone, an Arallan can not and holds no place on the throne without his wife. It's said that an Arallani is chosen by Vasilis herself, through the High Council. When an Arallani dies, the council convenes. Over the course of three days, the group goes into a deep, meditative state, seeking the name of the next Arallani through signs within nature. During these three days, the council neither eats nor sleeps (though they might as well be sleeping anyway). Upon waking from their meditative state, the high council have already decided on their next Arallani, without having even talked to one another. The next Arallani is then sent for and, that night, a coronation ceremony is held. During this ceremony, the newly crowned Arallani lights the funeral pyre of her predecessor before a grand celebration is held.

With their worship of nature, the hunt and harvest are two very important things among the Elendil. At the end of every harvest season, a large feast is held to celebrate. A special event is also held once a year to honor the hunt. During this event, one elf(who is of age) is sent on a hunt. The animal brought back is then offered up as tribute to the divines in the hopes that they will join the elven festivities and, in return, offer them a good year.

Festivals are usually held for the following milestones in an Elendil elf's lifetime:

-Births
-16th Birthdays(the day that an elf is considered a man or a woman)
-Weddings(gifts to help with fertility are often given)
-Deaths

Death among the Elendil is seen as something to be celebrated rather than mourned; it is considered to be the start of a new journey. All Elendil elves are burned on a funeral pyre at the end of the festival to celebrate their death. It is considered an insult to an elf's spirit to bury them. This is thought to keep their spirit trapped upon Ciryatan, whereas burning their body releases the spirit and allows it to continue on to the afterlife.

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When the Ial separated from the Elendil, they swore to create their own traditions. That being said, the Ial are atheistic by nature, refusing to worship any god or goddess. Instead, they worship their "lucem vitae" or "life light" in the ancient tongue. The life light is more commonly referred to as the "inner light" in Van'ostgar's modern tongue, though the majority of the Ial only speak in the ancient language. Very few Ial speak the modern language of Van'ostgar and, those who do, are still expected to speak in the ancient language when engaging in conversation with another Ial elf.

The Ial are very wary of new comers and aren't exactly welcoming to those outside of their particular race and group. They're not even entirely fond of other elves, believing them to be "old fashioned," which is ironic for a group of people refusing to adapt to the world around them. That being said, marriages to those outside of the Ial are forbidden and those who break this law are banished from the Ial territory. The only way for an Ial, who was banished for marrying outside of the clans, to be allowed back into the territory would be for them to renounce their marriage and cut themselves off from their spouse completely. He or she must then go through a cleansing of their lucem vitae, a lengthy ritual that involves the cleaning of the body and days of fasting.

Those who were born half Ial, while not banished from the territory, are never treated the same. They are mutts and, in the ancient tongue are referred to as "nothus," meaning bastard. They are taught among the other children but are always looked down upon and are forbidden to one day ascend to high ranking positions within the clans, such as elders. They are always last in line to inherit their mother or father's lands, titles and legacies, whether they are the eldest child or not. The nothus are not allowed to marry within the Ial, as they would be sullying the bloodlines. However, they are also not allowed to marry outside of the Ial, for similar reasons. That being said, if a Nothus is to marry, he or she(along with his or her spouse and children) is exiled from the territory.

In terms of traditions, the Ial are quite different from the other elves. Their life light plays a major role in most ceremonies. When a child is born, assuming they aren't nothus, they are said to have the purest and brightest of lights. On the day of a child's birth, he or she is blessed by the elders of their village, one by one, and is anointed upon their forehead by the "Erus", where their "third eye" is said to be. An "Erus" is the leader of a village's elders and acts as a lord to the entire village. Out of respect, an Erus is always referred to by his title first, followed by his surname. After the anointing of a new born, he or she is presented with a gift from each house within the village. Gifts are not expected to be given to a nothus, nor are they blessed by the elders.

When an Ial man intends to ask for a woman's hand in marriage, it's customary for him to present her with a flower known as the "Ignis Lamenta" or the "Sun's Tear." You can read about the origin of this flower in the Divines thread, under Forval. After asking the woman he intends to marry for her hand in marriage, an Ial man leaves the village(if she has accepted his proposal) and must find an Ignis Lamenta before the next full moon. If the union is meant to be, an Ial will be led to the flower by his lucem vitae. Once the flower is presented to his betrothed, the two Ial may marry. All marriages are officiated by the Erus and are held outside at dawn. The celebrations following the marriage then last until dusk, or sometime after.

Deaths among Ial are much more mournful than deaths among the Elendil. When an Ial passes, their life light is extinguished. Like the Elendil, however, they also burn the bodies of their deceased, but for different reasons. The Ial believe that the burning of their bodies releases their life light, allowing it to shine once more in the body of another.

The elders of the Ial are very important and are highly esteemed among their race. When an elder dies and his lucem vitae is extinguished, it is said to travel to the next Ial who shall take his place. The child who shall be the successor of the elder is said to be the next, pure Ial male born within the village. Once it is determined who the successor will be, he is taken from his family and raised among the elders. From that moment on, he will never be allowed to marry or procreate, in order to keep his lucem vitae pure. Until he is officially named an elder, the successor is referred to as an "Eres." Once he reaches the age of 50, an Eres officially becomes an elder.

The leader of the Ial is referred to as the Lux Dominus and serves as a sort of king. When an Erus dies, a new Erus is chosen from among the elders. Similarly, when the Lux Dominus dies, a new one is chosen from among the Erus.

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The Aaeri are wild by nature and quite unlike any other elves. They are brutal beings who take great pride in their strong warriors. That being said, the Aaeri are ruled over by the strongest of them all: the Drakan. A Drakan is the chief or king of the Aaeri. In order to become Drakan, an Aaeri warrior mast challenge the current Drakan to a fight to the death. Whoever emerges as the victor claims the title of Drakan. When a Drakan is killed by other means (natural causes, battle, murder, etc.) then the Aaeri warriors compete among themselves for the title in a sort of tournament.

Considering the way they choose their leader, it comes as no surprise that the Aaeri women choose their husbands in a similar manner. When a girl reaches sixteen years of age, she is considered to be ready for marriage. On her sixteenth birthday, Aaeri men may offer themselves to her as potential husbands. Though it is ultimately her decision, it's an unspoken custom that the young woman chooses the strongest among her suitors. The festivities surrounding the sixteenth birthdays of the Aaeri women are often rather bloody as men try to prove their worth. Despite this, suitors are not allowed to kill one another. They may fight as much as they want, but killing a suitor is considered to be disrespectful to the young bachelorette. This deed can also spell bad luck for the killer.

Weddings among the Aaeri are quite odd compared to the weddings of other races. During their wedding, it is required that an Aaeri bride and groom sacrifice an animal before they both consume its heart (raw). It is the groom's responsibility trap the animal. The animal sacrificed is said to reflect the couple's future in some way or their bond as mates.

When a child is born among the Aaeri, he or she is presented to the elder of his or her family(on the father's side). The father is responsible for the presentation of the child. If the child of the father is deceased then it is the responsibility of the closest male relative(who is 16 or older) to present the child. If there are no living male relatives to present the child to the elder then the closest female relative, besides the mother, may do so. The elder of a family is the eldest man or woman within said family. If the child is accepted by the elder, then the elder will prick his or her own thumb before anointing the child, upon the forehead, with the blood. Not a word is spoken during this ritual. If the child is not accepted, the elder will simply shake his or her head and the child will be taken away. When a child is rejected, he or she is carried into the forest by the person who presented them and left there so that nature may take its course.

There are plenty of reasons for a child to be rejected by an elder. If it's suspected that a woman was not true to her husband, and the child does not look like his or her supposed father, then the child may be rejected. There is no questioning elders when they reject a child. They can reject infants if they prefer the other gender or even if they simply don't like the way they look. The practice is a brutal one to say the least.

The children who are accepted into the family are taught strength and the ways of a warrior from an early age. It's common for an elder to sit the children of his or her family in a circle in order to tell them important stories that may have some moral impact on them. This is also how the history of the tribe is passed down. It's considered a great honor for someone, who is not of Aaeri blood, to be be allowed to share in tese experiences.

It is possible for someone of another race to be welcomed among the Aaeri. For this to happen, they must exhibit the values that the Aaeri hold dear. When a non-Aaeri is welcomed into a clan, or family, he or she kneels before the elder of that clan in a ritual much like the presentation of a newborn. The elder then anoints the man or woman with his or her blood. From that moment onward, the man or woman is considered to be a part of the clan until his or her death or until he or she is disowned.

To be disowned is a great dishonor among the Aaeri. Anyone from any Aaeri clan can be disowned by the elder. The disowned person is shunned by their whole family and nobody from their clan is permitted to speak to them. If someone from the clan does speak to them, their tongue is cut out and they too are disowned. If a disowned person wishes to remain with the Aaeri, thy must find another clan to adopt and accept them. This involves the same ritual that is performed when a non-Aaeri is accepted by a clan. If no clan accepts them, then the disowned are stripped of their weapons and clothes before they receive a brand. The brand they are given crosses out the brand they received when they came of age (or when they were adopted into the clan). They are then given nothing but a crudely made spear before they are sent out into the wild. From that day onward they are shunned by the Aaeri.

As mentioned above, when a man or woman comes of age (at the age of sixteen) they are given a brand. The brand can be found on their chest, above their heart. The brand is a skull with pointed ears.

All men over the age of sixteen are warriors and that's considered to be their "job." Those who are unable to fight (due to loss of limb, being too old, etc.) take on other duties, along with the women. They are the hunters, the ones who clothe the rest of the clan, and the ones who craft weapons and other essentials. Beds are simply animal furs laid upon the ground, though cradles are hand crafted out of sticks. Since they're almost always on the move, Aaeri homes are usually tents or, for elders and the Drakar, huts.

In terms of clothes, the Aaeri are often barefoot and wear clothes that are rather tribal in appearance. Those who aren't barefoot often wear sandals of some sort. Elders and the Drakar rarely go barefoot. In hotter climates, the Aaeri may wear clothes that barely cover their bodies. These clothes, while covering the important bits, may leave the midrif, arms legs, and other parts of the body exposed. In colder climates, furs are worn, even on the feet.