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Sun Elves

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Alignment: White/Grey Arts
Lifespan: 150 years, ages analgous to human years
​Size: Height from 4'10" to 5'11"
Experience Level: Beginner+
Talents: Sun Magic, Green Magic, Devotional Practices
Disposition: Joyous, Optimistic, Traditionalist, Structured
Suggested Offerings: Sunstone, Goldstone, Citrine, Amber, Citrus, Orange Blossom, Honey, Performing Sun Veneration

Sun Elves are a community of elves who live in an illustrious city deep in an oak forest.  Their homes are carved from beautiful white stone, and is integrated with the forest, the roots of the trees growing around them.  The city is circular, and designed to direct the sunlight to a large sun dais in the center of it, where they perform most of their worship.  The entire race worships the sun as its own entity.  They have churches and temples dedicated to this worship, and their day includes many set rituals of honoring and praying to the sun in so many ways, but this full schedule of worship is entirely natural to them.  Their children have a a long period of "free exploration" education where they may attend classes if they wish, but are not required to.  At the end of that process, they choose one of the career paths necessary to make the community function.

Their aesthetic is very earthy and beautiful.  They have skin that is in a range of bronze tones, with brown to honey golden hair.  They all wear dresses and robes that are a bright emerald green trimmed in gold - the materials are often recycled and repurposed, everyone handing down the clothes on their back to the younger generations.  They consider every individual of their society to be of value.  It could be said that their society might be somewhat cultish - the Sun Elves disagree, and simply say that it is a utopian nation full of respect for all nature provides, including themselves, and that raising their children in that mindset creates a beautiful, harmonious culture.

Biology

Sun Elves are slightly smaller on average than humans, being rather short in stature and slim in body type.  They live busy lives in nature, and eat very holistically, so they frequently have somewhat athletic musculature.  With all the time spent in the sun, their skin is often bronze in shade and tanned, and their long, straight hair ranges in shade from a dark brown to honey-gold, although the occasional priest or priestess with sunbleached hair can be found.  Their eyes can be any shade including violet, but they are most commonly green or golden hazel.  Their physiology is extremely similar to humans, the one apparent exception being their long, pointed ears, which are a full inch longer than human ears.

Their diet primarily consists of nuts, fruits, berries, mushrooms, and anything else that can be easily foraged in their forest home.  They also hunt somewhat less frequently than they forage, and believe in not wasting anything.  Therefore, they often cure any meats that are not immediately consumed, and any leftover fruits they have often go into wines or meads.  They have domesticated small animals, like rabbits and bees, for food, and they'll trade with other communities they might come in contact with for rarer foods like cheeses and sweets.  Although they would certainly have the capacity to domesticate larger animals, because of how tightly their city is lodged within the forest, they ultimately have no space for it and are heavily opposed to the chopping down of trees.  Interestingly, they have a very scientifically accurate concept of how the Sun provides energy to all lifeforms on their planet, and in turn by eating food they are indirectly consuming the Sun's energy.

​​​Their lifespan and aging is identical to that of a human, although they will live slightly longer, their lifespan maximum being about 150 years.  Their children are particularly sickly, and infanthood is a very precarious time of life for them.  Many times, sickly infants and adults alike will be placed in direct sunlight for its healing purposes and prayed over, although it's yet unproven if this actually does anything for the Sun Elves.  

Sun Elves have little innate magic or casting abilities, although they do seem to have some passive magic.  For example, their hair and eyes glow slightly in the dark, and some priests are able to cast light at nighttime.  However, they are very strictly diurnal, waking with the sun, and they generally begin to feel sleepy as soon as the sun sets.  Therefore, their ability for light casting is typically useless for their own purposes.  They also seem to feel weak or tired if they are not in the sun for longer than a day or two at a time.

Disposition & Manifestation

Sun Elves present a lifestyle that is an interesting cross between natural wildness and heavily organized tradition.  Many of them feel a deep connection to nature, as they live amongst the an ancient redwood forest and worship the sun itself.  It is not unusual for a Sun Elf to take up hunting or foraging at some time in their life, and many of them are also trained in the art of self-defense.  They love long walks in nature, and many of them develop a deep wanderlust at some point in their lives.  However, they have strict schedules of worship and spend a great deal of their lives revolving around religion.  Many of them enjoy the structure that their religion brings them, with the equal freedom that the community provides, and very few outwardly question the system they have been born into.

Sun Elves tend to be full of a great deal of joy and energy, but they are also very wise and measured in their thoughts.  While they are not innately very magical, they believe in magic all around them, finding that they need no more mysticism than the very earth and cosmos brings on its own.  They are self-sufficient and eager to learn new skills, and are especially interested in learning about cultures outside of their own.  They tend to love religion and structure, and as adults they have strict self-imposed schedules and habits.  They prefer anything made of natural material, making their clothing from plant matter and dying it with plant matter, and believe strongly in environmentalism.

Regarding gender, Sun Elves do subscribe to a binary definition of gender similar to our own.  They are also accepting of transgender and nonbinary individuals, and many of them are rather androgynous in their own gender presentation.  There is no career that is limited to one gender for them, as both masculine and feminine individuals are considered to have the same breadth of ability.  Additionally, they fully accept same-sex marriage as part of their society, and adoption is highly encouraged for those couples when children become available due to the unfortunate passing or exile of the parents, or, in some cases, divorce where custody is granted to neither of the parents due to emotional instability.  The Priesthood always tries to ensure that every child has a stable and supportive household to come home to, in order to ensure their full ability to become happy and functioning adults.  Abuse of any kind is not supported within the society, and it is a crime punishable by exile. 

A typical day in a Sun Elf's life is chock full of prayers and rituals.  When first waking up in the morning, typically to the rising of the sun, they begin their day by washing their faces with blessed water from a specific basin in their home and prostrating themselves towards the east to thank the sun for rising that morning, and ask for luck on their daily endeavors.  After their prayer, they begin their morning routine and go about their day.  Around midday, when the sun is highest in the sky, they stop what they are doing to perform a sun salutation, usually leaving the building they are in if possible to stretch their arms toward the sky and sing songs of praise, which change depending on the season or if it is a religious holiday for them.  At sunset, they perform a ritual that is the opposite of their morning ritual, prostrating themselves to the west and thanking the sun for anything that went well for them during the day, just before going to sleep once the sun has set.  They typically attempt to eat one sun-blessed food with each meal (such as fruit, bread made from a special grain, or in the wintertime, a food specifically blessed by a Priest), and prior to eating they always offer prayers of thanks to the sun for its bounty.  These routines still apply even if the day is cloudy or stormy, albeit with somewhat less regularity - thankfully the area they live is quite temperate, and stormy days are rare.  Events such as a solar eclipse are considered opportunities for solemn days of rest and reflection.  Additionally, the Sun Elves attend a half day-long sermon about every ten days, which constitutes their week.

As could be expected, the Summer Solstice, which is the longest day of the year, involves an intricate and exciting festival and ritual for them.  For the ten days leading up to the Solstice itself, any Sun Elves who are dancers or entertainers put on regular shows throughout the day.  Most nonessential work is suspended during this time, and even the essential work is tightly scheduled so everyone can enjoy as much of the celebrations as possible.  The marketplace around the edge of the city becomes quite bustling, as this is considered the ideal time to convene with your neighbors or meet new people, as well as purchase new devotional jewelry, art, or clothing.  Chefs and cooks collaborate and sell heaping platters of specially curated food for the community.  It's quite a cheerful affair, with children running and playing together, families sharing food and conversation.  Many traveling merchants from local areas who know about the Solstice celebrations will also visit to hawk their wares, selling unusual foods or items they have sourced for this exact purpose, including freshly mined sunstones and fruits with bright, sunny flavors like grilled pineapple.  

Once the Solstice itself arrives, their lively celebrations move to the center of the settlement for a ten day-long veneration.  During this time, the Sun Elves pray and have sermons nearly nonstop.  Their worship is often silent, or involves soft melodious chanting and meditation.  The things they pray to the sun for include anything and everything - fertility, good crops, career success, love, guidance, and more.  They will fast the entirety of the day and have a small refreshing meal provided by the clergy at sundown before retreating to their homes.  The fasting is not ideal for everyone, and they will typically have doctors on-duty during the ceremonies to ensure safety.  At the end of the week of worship, the Priests will announce any large life milestones for their people that have occurred in the last year, and this can often take up to a full day, so it typically takes up the entire last day of worship.  At the end of the week, there is one last communal feast, and the Elves return to their regular schedules at the end of it.  

Social Structure

Sun Elf society is based on a Theocracy.  While they worship the Sun as itself, the Priests and Priestesses are considered to be the heads of government, and most citizens go to them for guidance.  The Priesthood is well-acquainted with their citizens, since the Sun Elf community is only about 1,200 people strong, making them a relatively small population.  A Priest is typically assigned to oversee a certain sect of the population depending on where they live within the settlement.  The Priests' homes are in the innermost circle of the settlement, right along the edge of the sun dais, and the homes radiate outward in a circle, with markets and businesses along the edge, able to be built outward if necessary.  The buildings are made from a natural sort of white clay or marble - it's a bit unclear if they're built or carved, but they seem to have been made at least ten generations in the past, and they are pure white, typically with stained-glass in the windows. 

It's not unusual for Priests to make their way around the homes available and check in with their citizens, giving counsel and blessings where necessary, especially for homes with members who were just born or are close to passing.  The Priests are generally looked favorably upon by the community as a whole - they do not have a negative connotation within Sun Elf society.  They're not considered to be direct avatars of the Sun's will, but rather as wise individuals who have spent their life devoted to worshiping the Sun and serving their people.  Priests often will not marry, and swear celibacy oaths the more advanced in their Priesthood they become, usually in their forties or fifties.  If they have married previously, they may make the choice to leave their family behind in favor of Priesthood.  This is partially because they are not supposed to have any bias when it comes to giving advice or bestowing sacred energy upon a household - if they have their own friendships or romantic relationships, this interferes.  Although there can be some hurt parties in the wake of a divorce due to Priesthood, overall it is considered to be a great honor and is encouraged by the populous.

Much of Sun Elf societal history is kept in a large archival library housed beneath the sun dais.  There are a large number of archivists, and it's considered to be a fairly common, if skilled profession.  They have created a complex mirror and window system in the walls of the library so the archivists can still get their necessary sun exposure, although it's not quite enough light to read properly, and many archivists are potent at light casting from regular practice.  The archivists are almost constantly at work translating old works, copying them onto fresh paper for preservation purposes, or writing new entries about current history.

The entirety of the Sun Elf population who is allowed to live in the civilization are required to follow the word and orders of the Priesthood without question.  The Priests are the ones who call all of the shots regarding crimes and their punishments, as well as marriage, divorce, adoption, career choice, and pilgrimage approvals and blessings.  One of the gravest crimes, considered to be right alongside murder, is contradicting the word of the Priesthood or actively speaking out against them.  There has even been a case where an archivist found ancient texts that were contradictory to modern practices, and when they began to spread the word around the settlement they were permanently exiled from the community.  The Sun Elves have mixed feelings on crimes such as this - in the cases of families that were very close, they may sneak out of the community in order to support their exiled siblings or loved ones.

​As children, Sun Elves are encouraged to explore the careers and skills they feel naturally inclined to.  They call their path of education "free exploration."  At a young age, the Elves are introduced to classes, and provided regular presentations from various experienced adults so they may learn the type of career they might enjoy.  As they grow, their learning becomes less and less structured.  The Sun Elves certainly believe that your years of youth should be used for exploration and experimentation - young ones are not permitted to stray too far from the community, but they are allowed to do what their heart wishes, and nothing is considered wasted time.  At the age of twenty, when the Sun Elf is considered to be a full adult, they have a very important meeting with the entirety of the Priesthood in which the course of their future is determined.  In many cases, the Sun Elf is assigned a career based on what the Priesthood thinks matches their skills and personality most closely, as well as what the society needs most.  After five years, the individual may request a hearing to attempt to change their career path if they are dissatisfied.

Many Sun Elves feel a deep wanderlust, and at a certain point in their lives they may request a pilgrimage from the Priesthood.  While Sun Elves generally live the majority of their lives within the community, they do have maps and stories of the surrounding areas.  The Priesthood supports pilgrimages due to the fact that they believe so strongly in the way their society is structured, they believe that any Sun Elf who leaves will return when it is right for them because of their love for the tradition, and this is primarily true.  A pilgrimage may sprout from a Sun Elf's desire to see a specific landmark, or to simply wander until their heart has been sated.  If a pilgrimage is agreed upon, if the Sun Elf is not already adept at self-defense or traversing terrain, they will be required to train with the community guards and hunters for a full year before they are allowed to leave.  The majority of Sun Elves return from their pilgrimage fully intact - some never return, either because they perish, or because they were simply too enraptured by their wanderlust to ever stop exploring.

In Companionship

Sun Elves adore learning about other cultures, and our version of Earth is highly interesting to them for many reasons.  One is the widespread nature of our population - their world is much less sparsely populated, and does not have many methods for effectively traveling, so to them, our culture looks equally terrifying, due to its lack of nature, and interesting, due to how advanced we are in technology.  They have come to accept that humans interested in spirit work and witchcraft are generally more aligned with nature, and are interested to see how the two parts of society balance out.  While they put their own religion first, they believe strongly in the power of any religion - while they worship the sun and the life and nature it provides, they also seem to be supportive of any religion, and are particularly interested in sun deities, since they are often humanoid representations of the sun.  If their human companion works with any sun deities, they will be very interested to learn about your specific customs and practices.

​The Sun Elves do not mind sharing their culture or religion with their human companions, and often feel very honored if their companion is interested.  Any humans they make contact with will most likely be explicitly invited to their sermons and Solstice celebrations.  ​If you are interested in attending, I recommend you ask your companion to be your guide and bring you along to the festival.  They are also interested in teaching any human companions of their customs and religion - so, for example, if you wished to not just observe but fully follow their religion, they would likely be very happy to oblige and introduce you to a Priest.  In fact, the Priests are fully approving of human companionship, and are excited for their people to learn of other realms, especially to compare them to the splendor of Sun Elf society.  In many ways, they believe it will strengthen their faith, and accept companionship as a devotional magic activity.

​Sun Elves are lovely companions for anyone who needs a little bit of extra positivity and nature energy in their life.  They'll likely inspire their companions to go on hikes or spend more time out in the sunshine, whether that is exploring natural parks or local gardens, or something else entirely.  While they have a wide range of careers, interests, and skills that vary from individual to individual, they'll also probably provide their human companions with a great deal of inspiration and friendly company.  While they are likely to be less active during the evening and during their days of worship, many of them have a good amount of free time in which they would already be spending meditating, and they're excited to use this time to visit with their human friends.  

Please note that all The Dragon's Library Encyclopedia entries are based on my own personal UPG and may not reflect yours.
Sun Elves, in this incarnation, are exclusive to The Dragon's Library.
May your water be sweet and your laughter be light.
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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