Ethrin
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Within the lands of man, the dominant Elven Culture are the Ethrin, which means 'the People' in their old tongue. They use the term to refer to all elves regarding themselves as the normal group from which the other two cultures are an aberration. These elves live within human society but also apart from it: while they live side by side with the humans, they are not truly accepted or treated as equals. Elves and men cannot interbreed and so they are always viewed as a race apart.
Elves are not sufficiently powerful or numerous to be able to successfully form their own break away state without the cooperation of the humans, so instead they have chosen to live among them. Humans consider the Ethrin to be second-class citizens in many ways. As there are no elven nobles or guild leaders and because the Faith preaches that elves are not to be trusted ,the Ethrin struggle to protect their rights. They are often found within their own quarters of towns and cities and lacking patronage with punishments under the law often being harsher.
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Ethrin Goals(top)
The Ethrin have worked hard over many years and hope one day to achieve equal status. The goal is to be granted noble status, permission to enter The Guilds and to receive the forgiveness of the Faith. While the Days of Fire were as much of a disaster for the Ethrin as for the humans among whom they live, it also presented a chance for real change. The needs of the present have created many opportunities for the Ethrin, opportunities to show that they are the equals of humans and stand beside them to fight their common enemies.
A fact that brings particular hope in the Kingdom, is the whisper that elves have been seen in the high councils of the King and moving in the halls of the new, recently created magical guilds of Warsmiths, Magecrafters and Alchemists as well as in the halls of the Academy of Magic.
This opportunity is a two edged sword because these times also encourage distrust and the fact that a break away group of elves joined the Khan during the infamous "night of Blood" is being used by some as proof of the Faith's view that elves cannot be trusted. The elders among the Ethrin deal extremely harshly with any elf found to be less than fully loyal and cooperate with the human authorities to capture and execute these elves.
Treatment of Elves(top)
The treatment of elves varies from culture to culture. In the Kingdom most larger settlements have an “Elven Quarter”. In some cities, they literally have a segment of the city to themselves, in others, the elves are forced to live in the sewers or in shanty towns outside the city walls.
Every quarter is governed by a council, a body that acts as a proxy council for the humans. The council has limited power and is usually made up of 7-13 members. Their job is to ensure order is upheld in the quarter. They settle disputes and organise the elven citizens to ensure that every person has a job and is working to their best potential. They rule the quarter as much as their human lords will allow them to.
Within The Theocracy, Ethrin are less common. The Faith's hatred and mistrust of elves is well known and they are heavily persecuted. Here elves are rarely found except as virtual slaves performing the lowest functions within society. Feralian are less uncommon as the lack of efficient military within The Theocracy means that they are able to avoid the human forces but they too are heavily persecuted whenever the situation permits.
In the Northlands less attention is paid to birth and rank and more to ability. This leads to a elves being treated much more as equals than in most other places within human lands provided that they are competent. Even here they are viewed with some mistrust. Unfortunately, the harsh nature of the land itself is often their worst enemy. Elves are often not as strong of body as humans and thus are unable to equal the burden shouldered by a man. Ironically, this means that they are worse treated because they are actually less capable. Ethrin especially, struggle in the Northlands with the harsh landscape and climate.
The Shield Lands have only existed since the Days of Fire. Here the people live in a constant state of war and have little time for prejudice. Unfortunately, there have been high profile incidents of traitor elves betraying towns and soldiers and many people believe that it is just not worth risking and kill all elves that they do not know.
Since, the war began, the Ethrin have taken a more active role. Seeing this as an opportunity to achieve equality in the eyes of the humans, the Ethrin stepped up and threw everything they could into the war effort. Whether it was making weapons and armour, or on the front lines fighting side by side with the human warriors, the elves did what they had to and adapted.
The leaders of elven communities ensure that the Ethrin skills are being utilized optimally for the war effort. They organize the training of new recruits, the supply of troops to where there are needed, the training of new mages and the supply of equipment and raw materials to the troops.
Punishments are harsher for the elves, and often result in banishment. Those that have been punished often cannot be reintegrated into the work they used to do. These Elves are known by their kin as the Broken and live on the outskirts of society. They have proven to be invaluable to the war effort and the conflict has given them the chance to be part of society again. They have proven a strong driving force, often going above and beyond the call of duty to be a part of society once again.
Ethrin Religion(top)
The elves are treated harshly by the Faith but practising their own religious beliefs separately would only make matters worse. As a result elves keep their beliefs and practices carefully hidden while paying lip service to The Theocracy.
Ethrin Marriage Traditions(top)
Ethrin elves have their own marriage traditions.
Ethrin Dress and Appearance(top)
Like all elves, Ethrin ritually tattoo themselves. As a minimum an Ethrin will bear the markings of their clan and family but many carry more extensive markings: the tattoos tell the stories of the Ethrin’s origin, their lineage and ancestry and also of their deeds. Everything the Ethrin has done, the good and the bad, is captured in their tattoos. Their body is their autobiography. The tattoos take the form of symbols, runes, complex patterns and a stylized form of the ancient elven language. They try at all times to mimic the style of the human cultures that they live within but at all times ensuring that they never outshine their human betters.
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