Common Ethnic Traits:

• Suggested Naming Conventions: Old Celtic and Elvin names

• Hair Color: Any color found in the forest. From the verdant greens of summer, to the colors of autumn leaves.

• Eye Colors: Any

• Complexions: Light-Medium. Elvin skin doesn't really tan or burn. And although most Estellonian woodelves tend toward the lighter side, there are some of duskier, more earthen tones.

• Height Average: The shortest among Elvin Kin, both male and female high elves stand at an average of 4ft.10in-5ft.4in

• Ears: Curved, upward point. Usually shorter than most elves, though longer than a half elf. Wood Elf ears have a tendency to point off to the side.

• Concordant with the psalm of earth: The Wood Elves remain in rhythm with the psalm of earth, and this has lead them to not just live with nature, but become part of it. They are wild creatures at heart, and free from many of the anxieties that plague the ice elves and high elves.

 

Synopsis:

The tales speak of the woodelves as though they were isolationists, living naked, primitive lives in the forest as nature had always intended for all the mortal races. Scorning material wealth and excess as they conservatively take only what they need. And while there are such druidic communes like this in their society, those who have ever met a wood elf have other things to say about them. True, they love nature and untamed wilderness. True, they have less of a problem with nudity than their more civilized cousins. But the woodelves understand and relate to human and dwarven greed. Only an idiot wouldn’t jump at the chance to claim a trove of treasure for themselves! And are they primitive? Perhaps in some respects, but they actually depend on various technologies to sustain their life. They just prefer the lifestyle of foraging and herding to the agricultural customs most civilized people prefer. Further more, a wood elf does not distinguish between nature and civilization. After all, at what point does wood stop to be wood? If curved into a bow, it’s still wood. If carved into a chair, it’s still wood. And therefore, wooden products deserve the same respect as the rest of the forest. Perhaps they wouldn’t go as far as to raze a forest to build a city, as they empathize with the plants and animals that call the forest their home, but the man versus nature paradigm has always baffled the wood elves. Civilization is an ecosystem within itself. It never ceases to be nature. Rats, birds, and insects still live there, competing for survival even if the “civilized inhabitants” don’t recognize them. The real reason wood elves prefer to make their villages as isolated and hard to find as possible is simple. They want to live where nobody gets to tell them how to live. Wood elves want to live among friends and family in a cooperative setting, but one which grants them breathing room to do as they choose. There’s no rules in wood elf society. Merely “Ways”. Things that you do to make life easier for you as well as those around you. And things that you just don’t do, such as being destructive to their mutually shared environment. One wood elf tribe might have a defined border, depending on necessity if they inhabit a dangerous area. But a life without borders is inherently more appealing to a wood elf. 

 

As the only Estelonian Elf race left who could still feel the song of creation resonating in their souls, they aren't riddled with many of the psychological insecurities plagued by their high elf and Ice elf cousins. And to begin with, they were never assigned a duty to the goddess. The Wood Elves are thus perhaps the closest elves to the way the goddess intended them to be, save for the Nomerian Dune Elves, and this gives them a certain smugness when it comes to their interactions with high elves. They have always delighted in poking fun at the proud. Humans and elves alike. To them, the concept of superiority is a silly one. And while Wood Elves delight in games and contests of skill, they do it more for the rather innocent joy of playing rather than actually attempting to prove superiority. And as such, the Wood Elves have gained a reputation for being light hearted and easy to approach in some parts of the world. However, they are not all kind. In other parts of the world, the woods are teeming with elvin bandits. More in it for the hunt and thrill, than the treasures. As such, the interactions between the wood elves and men are less consistent then humans and high elves. And Wood Elves are likewise a little wary of humans, for their nature can also be unpredictable. This leaves both races to regard each other with equal parts fascination, and suspicion. The wood elves are still a part of the wild world at heart. And often times merely seeing one is considered a rarity. After all, they are skilled at camouflage. So skilled that certain local superstitions about them believe that they can turn invisible at will. But in Scarlic lands, they have long had a presence, sometimes going as far as to live among the humans and dwarves of the highlands. 

 

Wood Elves also traditionally hold a frightening skill with the bow. And it was from their tactics used in defending their homes that many human rangers based their strategies on. But it was the wood elves who taught the original Estellonian druids how to tap into the powers of the earth. Earth was the verse of the song of creation they were given, and some wood elves have become so proficient with it that they put other users of the primal magic to shame. But when the wood elves were exposed to Ryujin Kamido Priests, few could argue that the spiritual way of life and its connection to nature resonated with wood elvin peoples. They have long detected the spirits in the rocks, trees, and mountains whom the Ryujin called Kami. But had never realized that these beings were for whatever reason in a weakened state. Wood Elf Druids would be the first to blend Kamido's believes with their own druidic culture, creating a new order altogether who would go on to gain various followers, both human and elf. This religion, Kamirism, is a bit more liberal than most druidic circles in their teachings. And those who would become its priests, the autumn cloak druids, would be found across the continent, attempting to build their shrines and guide rural communities to identify and honor the nature spirits that have long been neglected.