Autumn Elves

Autumn Elves, also known as the “Leanai an Fhomhair” in their own language, are the most widely recognised of the elven races. They are happily tolerant of the mortal races of Eldaiur, and often enjoy interacting with them outside their autumnal forest homes. Of all the elven races, they are the most closely bonded to nature and the most eager to learn new and interesting things.

Physical characteristics:
As with all sub-race of elves, Autumn Elves are clearly distinguished from their seasonal cousins by their dark olive skin, and striking golden, hazel or pale green eyes. As their name suggests, Autumn Elven hair bears the colours of autumn, ranging from fiery copper and strawberry blonde to a dark green in some cases. Differing from their cousins, Autumn Elves possess fairly long and thin, almost blade-like ears, with a usual length between 7 and 11 inches. They stand at an average of between 5’ and 6’, and usually weigh between 9st and 12st with a slender but athletic build. Preferring to dress in more luxurious clothing, they often craft their clothes from silks and rich cottons and choose to use colours that match their autumnal surroundings; reds and other earthy tones. Autumn Elves are slightly more agile and stronger than the other seasonal elves.

Psychology:
Autumn Elves, like Summer Elves are usually very composed and level-headed. Whilst they appear slightly aloof to other races, Autumn Elves have no aversion for venturing out of their woodland homes, and sometimes enjoy being amongst other civilizations for long periods of time. They hold a great love for art, dancing, singing and music, and take pleasure in learning other culture’s arts and music, as well as their own. However, they possess impassioned views, holding firm to beliefs and judgements; they are not quick to anger, but once angered will fiercely defend that which they believe in. The only things Autumn Elves have intolerance for is the desecration of nature, and will fervently fight anyone who actively seeks to destroy it.

Abilities:
Like all elves, they are naturally dexterous, agile and intelligent. However, Autumn Elves have a number of abilities that is unique to their sub-race. They can move swiftly through rough terrain and forests, and are preternaturally aware of surroundings, especially natural surroundings. They are more easily able to communicate with animals and nature, and as such feel more of a connection to them. Additionally, Autumn Elves have a natural penchant for learning music and art, and more quickly learn to play instruments and write music than other elves.

Culture:
Autumn Elves consider themselves to be the most approachable and unaffected sub-race of elves, due to the fact that a significant number of them venture from their homelands into other race’s lands. They are fairly comfortable living amongst other races, particularly gnomes and chauns, but prefer to live in rural towns rather than large urban cities. They are not reclusive like their Winter and Spring kin, and are often quite welcoming to visitors in their forest homes, if their intentions are peaceful. Despite their close bond with nature, Autumn Elves are still omnivores, and are quite neutral in regards to meat eating; they will hunt, but never for sport, merely survival. Within their autumnal woodland homes, the elves have a fairly organised and structured council that governs them. Each individual drey is governed by a wise, experienced and most often female druid, called the ‘Drey-mathair’ (or ‘Drey-athair’ if they are male) who has proven themselves amongst their peers. In addition to the Drey-mathairs, the Autumn Elves as a race are ruled over by a single monarch, Queen Caelithiel Ivycrown, who oversees the race’s general welfare, but rarely directly interferes with individual drey governments.

It is not unexpected for Autumn Elves to embark on the life of an adventurer, given their fondness for venturing out of their lands, and their desire to learn more about the other races. As a culture, they tend to distance themselves from arcane magic, viewing it as unsavoury and domineering, and thus mostly practice druidic, clerical and lyrical magic. As such, Autumn Elven adventurers most likely take on careers as druids and rangers, given their close bond with nature and natural dexterity. It is also not uncommon for them to pursuit careers as bards, given their natural aptitude for music and art and their fondness for learning. Autumn Elf warriors are also not unheard of.

Autumn Elves also have a partiality for keeping pets, particularly cats, squirrels and foxes, with rangers often choosing a fox as their animal companion. Furthermore, they feel a strong connection to species of the Cervidae family, and as such keep a number of deer, stags and elk within their dreys, and often use them as mounts over horses.

Art and leisure:
In general, because of the Autumn Elves’ innate affinity with nature, they prefer art that reflects the natural world and nature’s beauty. As such, many of the structures and statues in a drey are crafted from wood, however, rather than carving wood, like most races of Eldaiur, Autumn Elves are able to shape wood through channelled druidic magic. As a result, the buildings and homes within an autumn drey appear to be an extension of the trees, themselves. In a typical Autumn Elven home, the colours match their particular season, and the decorations are often finely crafted, intricate and delicate, displaying a preference of beauty over practicality. Similarly, Autumn Elves pride themselves on their intricately crafted musical instruments, using wood from the Fonndair (“Melodic Oak”) Trees that are native to their dreys; the mystical properties of the wood augmenting the music and lyrical magic produced when playing such instruments.

Whilst they do prefer luxurious clothing, it is only in the materials they use, not in ostentatious flourishes on the garments themselves. Autumn Elf clothing is usually very simply designed, but crafted with beautiful spider silks and fine cottons, woven into beautifully wispy but not elaborate designs. Autumn Elf armour consists of chain mail and wood, manipulated and reformed by druids and strengthened through druidic magic to be just as durable and effective as metal, but lighter and flexible. Whilst Autumn Elves are not herbivores, they do prefer not to use leather when creating armour. This, however, is merely a preference and will readily use leather if it is absolutely necessary. Many Autumn Elves, both male and female, tie their hair in ponytails and braids, and adorn them with beads, leaves and even feathers. As their ears are much longer than their seasonal cousins, they tend to decorate them more with numerous small metal piercings.

Autumn Elves prefer to use their time learning and creating. As music and art plays such a large part in their culture, when their attention is not occupied by any pressing dangers or duties to nature, they love nothing more than to craft with wood, or learn about the numerous other cultures of Eldaiur. They enjoy undertaking contests, both artistic and martial, and are keen to demonstrate their abilities in either a duel or on canvas, and revel in sportsmanship, especially when they know they have an innate advantage over their opponent.

Magic and religion:
Wood elves are generally uncomfortable with most forms of magic, viewing wizards and other arcanists with no small amount of distrust. Clerics and other divine spellcasters fare little better in wood elven eyes, which see their prayers as a useless call to distant and alien gods. However, wood elves are largely at ease with the ways of the primal magic used by druids, barbarians, shamans, and wardens, which they feel is the truest expression of supernatural power - or rather, a reflection of nature itself, used to protect the wilderness. However, wood elves are not completely adverse to arcane magic and wood elven bards, sorcerers, and wizards are far from unknown, although wood elves as a whole have no particular tradition of the Art.

Like other Tel-quessir, the wood elves largely worship the Seldarine, but unlike their kin, they do not do so exclusively. Many wood elves have a special place in their heart for the gods Silvanus and Mielikki, whose protection of the wilderness is something the wood elves themselves try to espouse. Among the elven gods, the wood elves most commonly worship Solonor Thelandira and Rillifane Rallathil, who like Silvanus and Mielikki, have particular connections to the untamed wilderness. Solonor, as the god of archery, is perhaps the most popular god amongst the wood elves, who will sometimes invoke him as their protector and patron deity just prior to a battle.

Relations with other races:
Although a proud people themselves, wood elves often feel that their Tel-quessir kindred too often put on an air of superiority and xenophobia that is ultimately detrimental. Wood elves look to the examples of the ancient eladrin empires and, seeing failure after failure, feel that their aim should be compassion and humility, rather than political or military strength. Unlike many of their kin, wood elves feel that their fates are inextricably tied to that of Faerûn's other races and they make no effort to pull away or isolate themselves. Ironically, so reclusive are wood elven settlements that in spite of their open nature, wood elves rarely actually see people from outside their race.

Of all the humanoid races of Faerûn the ones most familiar with the wood elves are the humans and dwarves native to the North, who often live within the vicinity of the fey. Still, few humans or dwarves have ever actually met a wood elf and when they do it is often largely by chance. However, when meetings do occur they are largely friendly and like the moon elven eladrin, wood elves see themselves as allies and teachers of humanity, rather than as rivals. Wood elves also have a long tradition of friendship with the shield dwarves of Ammarindar dating back to the reign of Earlann, which has carried on into the present. Wood elves also feel a kinship with the sapient giant owls, with whom they form a symbiotic relationship; in return for the elves acting as protectors for the owls, the birds of prey often act as advance scouts for wood elven warriors. Gnomes and halflings are less frequent guests among the wood elves, but they are generally seen favorably. Conversely, wood elves, like most Tel-quessir, have a strong contempt for orcs, as well as for gnolls, though their reasons are less about the ancient enmity between Corellon and Gruumsh and more out of the devastation that raiding parties often bring to the forests that wood elves hold dear.

Homelands:
Wood elves are the most common of the elves in Faerûn and can be found in many scattered groups across the continent. Many can be found in the Elven Court (Semberholem, Tangled Trees, and the old Elven Court itself), the Great Dale, Tethyr, the Western Heartlands, the Forest of Lethyr, the High Forest, and the Wealdath.