Elves

The Elves are essentially run by their military, particularly the Flame Elves who are the most militaristic of the Elven societies. They have a standing military and a mandatory draft of five years. At some point you would think that the Elven nations would have reconsidered following the Angelves’s rule. I’m getting to the reason why they haven’t. The only group of Elves exempt from this draft is the Wind Elves and that is solely because they are integral to running the Elven religious system.

On that note, the Elves are highly religious and have a partial theocracy where the church helps to run the society. As a part of this religious influence, they often blindly follow decrees from the Elven high priest. Though the most influential piece of Elven society is the influence of Magic, as Elves created usable magic. With this, Elven magic is part of every aspect of life down to the most basic of tasks like writing or eating. Makes you wonder what they’d do if it went away. Do you really think the Tieflings would fare much better?

The Elves have a partial influence by the arts, the arts mostly affecting Sea Elves and Storm Elves .

The Elves are split into three generations of the Elven races, with each race of Elves being a result of both intermingling and the environment these races of Elves moved to. Though the Elves also have one unofficial fourth generation that is removed from common Elven society. This unofficial fourth generation was created when pure Elves, no matter the race, intermarried and had children with other “lesser” races such as humans, Girallons, or Tieflings. Elves who marry, and especially have children with, a member of another race are excommunicated from the rest of the Elven race and are banished to Lárdanann. Do you think their backs get sore riding on their 20 foot horses all day? That’s a really high….. Oh, I see. Carrying on…When it comes to the pure blood Elves, each race of Elves are based on a different real life society, with each race of Elves also contributing to a key aspect of Elven society.

The Angelves are the first generation of Elves and are based on a mixture of both the Persians and Spartans. When it comes to the Persian influence, it comes from how they run their government based off of a system of tributes from the other races of Elves. Their Spartan influence then comes from how they run their government having two leaders each with their own domain of power. The spoken language of the Angelves however is based on Irish Gaelic (ignore that subtle fourth wall break for the sake of the IRISH!!! RAAAAAA). Because of this, the Angelves have forced all other races of Elves to be bilingual, as they had to speak the Angelve’s language to make tribute easier.

The second generation of Elves is made up of four races of Elves; the Flame, Sea, Wind and Terra Elves . Starting with the Flame Elves, they were created when groups of Angelves moved to and built societies along the volcanic regions of Arddanann. Their race itself is based on something like imperial Japan (*cough cough*, not sure what that is) and their spoken language is based on Japanese. The Flame Elves contributed the Elven systems of war and battle tactics; because of this most of the standing Elven army is based in Flame Elf territory. The Sea Elves are however almost an antithesis to the Flame Elves, as they are one of the more peaceful races of Elves. The Sea Elves were created when Angelves moved to a southern archipelago in Arddanann, and were forced to become seafaring people. Their society is  based on the societies that make up Polynesia with their spoken being based on Samoan (okay I can’t use the excuse of coughing anymore). They then contributed the concepts related to Elven storytelling and often created the best writers, scribes and poets in Elven society. Terra Elves are based on the ancient Egyptian society and were created when the Angelves moved to the central mountain ranges of Arddanann. Their spoken language being based on Arabic means that they are the race most central to Elven economics as they create and run the Elven mines. Finally, there are the Wind Elves who were created when Angelves moved to the mountain valleys of Arddanann and established monasteries. Their society is based on Tibetan monks and their spoken language is based on Tibetan. Because of their overall peaceful nature they created the modern concepts of elven religion.

The third generation of Elves were created when the races of second generation Elves began to intermarry and establish new societies of these new intermingled races of Elves (to see which 2nd gen Elves created each race of 3rd gen Elves refer to the chart below).

The Mist Elves have a society based on the peoples of Australia and New Zealand, with their spoken language being based on modern English. Their society ended up contributing the concepts and practices related to Elven medicine. The Smith Elf society is based on Viking societies and their spoken language is based on Swedish. They contributed concepts of Elven smithing and technology, with their society being known for creating the greatest Elven smiths. Shadow Elves have a society based on a mixture of medieval Irish, Welsh and Scottish customs and traditions, with parts of New Orleans Voodoo culture. Their spoken language is based on Welsh and they contributed the concepts of mysticism to Elven society and created the Elven system of magic. They also have a reputation for being shit disturbers among the races of Elves, but have a rather positive reputation among the other races. The Storm Elves have another society based on a mixed origin of Japanese and African tribal origins. Their spoken language is based on Xhosa, and their society contributes to the Elven concepts of theatre, art, and music. The Coast Elves were based on a mixture of Incan and Mesopotamian societies with their spoken language being based on Spanish. They contributed the systems related to Elven agriculture and farming. Finally are the Nomad Elves who are based on the nomadic tradition on Mongolian and Bedouin societies, with their spoken language being based on the Mongolian language. These Elves contributed and created Elven trade routes and established the Elven concept of trade amongst themselves.

That’s a whole lot of information, it’s almost like you wrote the histories old man. That would be funny wouldn’t it *wink*.

Humans

The human’s military strength is moderate, though it is more suited for defense than offense. They do not believe in a central deity so religion has little influence. Humans are able to wield magic that flows from the upper and lower realms by channeling it through a catalyst. Unfortunately, all these catalysts are outdated artefacts that Elves have thrown away, so their magical abilities are fairly weak. A significant amount of study has gone into learning to control it, however they do not rely solely on magic to live their everyday lives. Magic is considered a convenience. Their arts and culture are quite strong. Girallon are fascinated by the various art movements that humans have gone through. I honestly believe they’re fascinated by it because it’s so mundane. After all these thousands of years, how could they have accomplished so little? There is great beauty in their simplicity my dear friend.

Girallon

The Girallon do not have a military but their innate size and strength constitute a threat in the other species’ minds, even if they no longer intend to use their abilities for destruction. Most Girallon do not have any combat experience, however even a weak punch from them could severely harm a human or Kender.

They do not believe in deities, only science and the power of observation, which is one thing I do respect them for. Their society is completely atheist. Girallons cannot wield magic but some choose to study it regardless. Magic is observed cautiously as the Girallon know best how it can alter their minds. Despite most of their population having their heads buried in books, they still make time for arts.

Some Girallon study art and are curious about creating new forms of expression. They have just rediscovered abstract art and are intrigued by how just shapes and colors can represent complex objects. They struggle with the concept behind ‘abstract’ clearly.

Kender

The Kender are very independent people. Though they get lonely, they don’t carry the habit of finding companionship amongst their own people. Instead they tend to shift from group to group to find companions. Often when they find a group or companion they find ‘exciting’ they will stick around for as long as they can. This can lead to some Kender joining into military units, only having been allowed to join because of their proclivity for inventing.

This means that though there is only a very small population of Kender in various other race’s military units, there are often weapons and armour made by Kender amongst these military forces. Kender themselves don’t have a military and there is virtually no military influence throughout their culture or the little art that they do have.

Religion is something that is scattered throughout the Kender race. There used to be a strong religious presence when it came to Kender with one Goddess that the large majority of them worshiped right in the beginning of their recollection of historical time. This has mainly died out and there are no longer any used places of worship, but some still hold true to the old ways. Though not many of them actively worship, if asked, many Kender would admit to believing the Goddess exists. The name of the Goddess has since been forgotten.

There are some Kender who have an affinity for art, usually in the form of music or odd sculptures, but here and there you will find a painting of a woman in hues of blues carrying a fiddle in her right hand.

Kender can’t use magic but they often feel the urge to practice it. This urge often gets channeled into practicing stage magic, whether it is with cards or wands or, you guessed it, tricks that involve sticky fingers. This is believed to be the reason why they are so proficient in their thievery. Though Kender cannot use magic, it has made a major impact in their culture and their view of self image.

Though Kender are often not with their own people, they tend to have a strong sense of self that reflects Kender culture. Though they don’t all partake in art in the mainstream sense and many have never seen their own race’s art, some see their inventions as a type of art of their own.

 Since Kender are nomadic, they find themselves feeling very connected to the natural world. One theory is that they use the natural world to cope with their loneliness, though this has never been studied. The natural world, usually for Kender, is forests and streams. This is where they feel most comfortable and is one of the only things that Kender truly have a blanket respect for. This is true, you won’t find a Kender who doesn’t respect the forest.

The old Goddess some of them worship is often thought of as an extension of nature, even though no one knows exactly who the Goddess is. Those who don’t worship the Goddess still feel a strong attachment to nature. Kender travel and live off the land, never disturbing their surroundings and the land is left as it was found, minus a few berries and maybe a squirrel or two.

Kender often travel with a companion of some sort, always an animal (or the odd sapling). These animals aren’t seen as pets, they are always seen as equal companions. The most common are TeleCats and grouse. Kender care for their companions in a way that they seem to be incapable of doing for the other races. Kender see themselves as a part of nature, as one of the animals. This may be a part of the sense of disconnect from societies.

Tieflings

The largest cultural influence within the realm of Bordanann is that of The Big Event. It completely changed how the Tiefling society functioned when it came to economics, trade, warfare, and relations with the other races. The Big Event has led to a widespread mistrust of the Elves within Tiefling society, with a clear exception for the Shadow Elves.  

The Tieflings use their knowledge of dark magic to their advantage when it comes to preparing for warfare and performing magical services. Their magic is heavily associated with Elven magic as the Shadow Elves shared the first book of Elven magic with them. The Tieflings were then able to structure their dark magical abilities around this framework and expand on it for their own uses from there. Their magic is often used for nefarious or impish purposes in Tieflings free time, but it is also used as a means of economics in terms of trading services. Tiefling magic developed to have elements similar to witchcraft, voodoo, and Celtic magic. Tieflings make use of plants and herbs, stone relics, rituals, voodoo dolls, and spell work. The glowing flora and fauna within Bordanann are especially useful to the Tiefling because many of the plants and animals have the ability to enhance their magic or give them additional abilities for a duration of time. The cultivation of flora and fauna is also used by Tieflings for magical arts practices and trades. When Tieflings are involved in visual arts, they typically create earthworks that honour Bordanann’s horticulture. Overall though, there is not much of a presence of the arts in Bordanann.

Presently, many spells and abilities of the Tieflings have been repurposed for military services. The Tiefling military service uses similar strategies to the Mongolian military. Yes, your kind is particularly good at using intense psychological warfare with the intent to keep and use prisoners against their own leaders. Well, it’s typically only the mean Elves that Tieflings capture, and they sure as hell deserve it! Holding people hostage doesn’t do a whole lot for the image that the Tiefling are trying to rebrand from. It’s not just about psychological warfare, the Tiefling ride on the backs of some of the swiftest fauna from the realm, use incredible archery skills, and use their knowledge and skills of their cave systems to tunnel beneath and breach fortified walls. Plus, voluntary surrender is always the first option the Tieflings provide to their enemies.

Anyways…

Moving on…

Military service is not a requirement of Tieflings but, since The Big Event, most Tiefling have willingly embraced gaining knowledge and skills associated with warfare in order to protect themselves from potential threats.

There is no religious influence within the Tiefling realm. Although, the Tiefling do have a strong sense of community as they work to disprove the Elves and regain favour amongst the realms. Tiefling are actually quite opposed to and reject religion due to certain sects of the Elves being religious, especially since the first Elven church was established not long before The Big Event. The Tiefling often have rituals for their magic that may appear akin to a religious ceremony. However, their magical rituals are not based on a god or deity, but rather a connection to the earth and the magic that is part of Bordanann and brought them into existence.