As I mentioned in an earlier post, elves are fiercely political creatures. Every action means something, even the actions meant to mean nothing at all.
Elves are associated with each other, always connected through various lines. These connections are rarely geographical, which would confuse humans, if they ever interacted with the elves.
There is one geographical consideration in reference to elves which must be considered, and that is the elven society on the forgotten continent, which is entirely separate from the rest elven society, and will be treated separately.
As seems reasonable, given that the society's drive is to associate, Elven society is dominated by a sort of super-association, created out of five associations with similar interests. Great wars were fought when this first great association was formed, and even now it holds power tentatively.
The age of open welfare in elven society seems to be passed, or at least dormant. Much like the contemporary Cold War, most threats of force are merely threats. The great association is held in check by two smaller associations with great influence, through their wisdom and their military strength.
Associations
It's difficult to describe an association using any other word. While family lines often provide for the beginnings of associations, elven society, kinship, and loyalty are fluid enough that these lines blur fairly quickly.
These associations are mostly political entities, but not in the sense of political parties, or ideological groups. When you agree with someone, it tends to make them easier to get along with, but it's very possible to associate with someone for mutual benefit, even if you don't agree with them.
One can generally expect to be tolerated by any member of one's own association, anywhere. This might have different meanings depending on who you're with or where you are. Sometimes your associates might feed you, and give you a place to stay. Sometimes they might agree merely not to have you killed.
Elves do not marry in the same sense as humans. Sometimes two elves decide to associate more closely and completely, but this is not expected to last forever.
A Sense of Responsibility
Elves do not view loyalty in quite the same way as humans do. Where humans are expected to remain loyal, even through difficult times, elven loyalties are expected to shift. Take as an example a powerful elven lord. His personal stature is, at this time, large, and he holds the loyalty of a great number of elves.
Slowly, though, he begins to weaken, and his stature begins to fade. As his stature fades, elves who are distantly loyal to him might switch their loyalties, then slowly more elves will do so, until he is left with only his closest companions.
This is a difficult concept to explain to humans, and as a human myself, I don't entirely understand it either. How one goes from being an outsider in one association to a trusted friend in another is particularly tricky for me. I'll have to think further about it.
Personal stature is, I should add, not quite the right term. There isn't really a human equivalent, but it's something of a mix of stature and responsibility. The greater one is, the greater one's responsibilities (thanks Uncle Ben), and when one's stature shrinks, one is not as able to be responsible for others.
I hope that made sense to somebody.
Assassination
This is an important part of elven culture, as odd as it might sound. There is a guild of assassins in elven society, and they are open for legitimate business. Being elven, they all belong to associations, and most serve as bodyguards for the leaders of their associations. Every association that exists now has at least one, and from time to time, they might be expected to carry out an assassination on a rival or enemy.
There are, however, a few requirements. First, the intent to send an assassin must be registered with the guild. If the guild feels that the assassination would cause too much destabilization, it may be forbidden. Few elves in the upper echelons of elven society are assassinated.
Assassination is somewhat of a "proportional response." For example, if your stature is greatly diminished by a rival, you might register and have your rival's cousin assassinated. While it does not prevent your loss of stature, and it does not revenge you directly, your rival will undoubtedly notice and perhaps think twice about kicking you further.
It's difficult for humans to understand some of these concepts, which is understandable. I will strive to make them more understandable as I write more about the strange elves.
Showing posts with label elves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elves. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Elvish Numerology
I mentioned way back when that elves had superstitions regarding numbers. Odds, especially three and nine, were considered to be positively charged numbers, and evens were considered to be negatively charged numbers.
This will interest historians, because it was a major sticking point between the elves and the ancient wizards, because the ancient wizards were quite enamoured with powers of two. The ancient calendar has exactly 512 days in a year (2 to the power of 8), each day is divided into thirty two hours (2 to the power of 5), each hour is 64 minutes (2 to the power of 6) and so on. The elven calendar goes to great length to avoid this, which is difficult, because a solar year is, in fact, exactly 512 days long. This issue between the elves and the ancient wizards was often ignored but never resolved.
For many elves of the default time period, numerology is somewhere between superstition and tradition. Some elves really believe that even numbers will cause the will of nature to be jumbled, despite the fact that mating usually occurs in pairs (if I could explain it, I would, but they don't tell me these things).
A larger proportion of elves would say, if questioned deeply about the subject, that they don't really believe that having two of something will cause any negative effects, but still make sure that their bouquet of flowers has nine and not eight or ten, and they won't even think about it. This reaction to numbers is so ingrained in their psyche that most elves would be confused and surprised when you pointed it out to them, because it's the way they've always done it.
I'm not going to go into great detail about the various specific superstitions regarding some numbers, but I will eventually get down to it on the wiki. These little facts are less important than getting the psychology down.
This will interest historians, because it was a major sticking point between the elves and the ancient wizards, because the ancient wizards were quite enamoured with powers of two. The ancient calendar has exactly 512 days in a year (2 to the power of 8), each day is divided into thirty two hours (2 to the power of 5), each hour is 64 minutes (2 to the power of 6) and so on. The elven calendar goes to great length to avoid this, which is difficult, because a solar year is, in fact, exactly 512 days long. This issue between the elves and the ancient wizards was often ignored but never resolved.
For many elves of the default time period, numerology is somewhere between superstition and tradition. Some elves really believe that even numbers will cause the will of nature to be jumbled, despite the fact that mating usually occurs in pairs (if I could explain it, I would, but they don't tell me these things).
A larger proportion of elves would say, if questioned deeply about the subject, that they don't really believe that having two of something will cause any negative effects, but still make sure that their bouquet of flowers has nine and not eight or ten, and they won't even think about it. This reaction to numbers is so ingrained in their psyche that most elves would be confused and surprised when you pointed it out to them, because it's the way they've always done it.
I'm not going to go into great detail about the various specific superstitions regarding some numbers, but I will eventually get down to it on the wiki. These little facts are less important than getting the psychology down.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Elven Spirituality
I titled this "Elven Spirituality" for a very specific reason: Elves are, generally, not religious.
Wait a second, now, religion and spirituality are two different things. Some definitions:
Religion
The definition of religion as being an institution is an important one for me, and I favour that definition over the "strong belief" definition. However, elves do not believe in powers controlling destiny either, something (okay, another thing that sets them apart from dwarves).
Myth: Elves worship nature.
Truth in the myth: Elves revere nature.
It's a subtle difference.
Worship
Elves are not religious and cannot, per se, worship nature. They do not, generally, believe in "Nature" as a deity or supreme supernatural force. Rather, it is eminently natural for nature to do what it does when provoked. Note: In a fantasy universe, what nature does when provoked can be extremely dangerous.
In the traditional elven belief, what nature deserves is not worship but reverence. In a word, respect. Elves try very hard to work together with nature, rather than fighting it, because it is respectful to do so (and because when a fantasy nature hits back, it does so very, very hard). They consider the gifts that they receive from nature (an anthropomorphic metaphor, but a handy one) to be extremely valuable, and act accordingly.
Elves readily acknowledge the existence of beings that represent and embody the spirit of nature, or of various aspects of nature. They believe that to ignore them, as most humans do, would be folly of the highest order. When commenting on the human refusal to accredit natural processes to the spiritual creatures that embody them, an elf once said that "it would be like refusing to say that your fingers are useful in holding a hoe".
In summation, elves are not typically religious. They do not gather in churches, they do not sing praises to almighty nature. They are, however, spiritual beings who are reverent of the natural environment in which they live, which in a fantasy universe includes creatures that embody natural processes or locations.
Wait a second, now, religion and spirituality are two different things. Some definitions:
Religion
- a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
- an institution to express belief in a divine power
- concern with things of the spirit
The definition of religion as being an institution is an important one for me, and I favour that definition over the "strong belief" definition. However, elves do not believe in powers controlling destiny either, something (okay, another thing that sets them apart from dwarves).
Myth: Elves worship nature.
Truth in the myth: Elves revere nature.
It's a subtle difference.
Worship
- specific acts of religious praise, honour, or devotion, typically directed to a supernatural being such as a god or goddess
- regard with feelings of respect and reverence; consider hallowed or exalted or be in awe of
Elves are not religious and cannot, per se, worship nature. They do not, generally, believe in "Nature" as a deity or supreme supernatural force. Rather, it is eminently natural for nature to do what it does when provoked. Note: In a fantasy universe, what nature does when provoked can be extremely dangerous.
In the traditional elven belief, what nature deserves is not worship but reverence. In a word, respect. Elves try very hard to work together with nature, rather than fighting it, because it is respectful to do so (and because when a fantasy nature hits back, it does so very, very hard). They consider the gifts that they receive from nature (an anthropomorphic metaphor, but a handy one) to be extremely valuable, and act accordingly.
Elves readily acknowledge the existence of beings that represent and embody the spirit of nature, or of various aspects of nature. They believe that to ignore them, as most humans do, would be folly of the highest order. When commenting on the human refusal to accredit natural processes to the spiritual creatures that embody them, an elf once said that "it would be like refusing to say that your fingers are useful in holding a hoe".
In summation, elves are not typically religious. They do not gather in churches, they do not sing praises to almighty nature. They are, however, spiritual beings who are reverent of the natural environment in which they live, which in a fantasy universe includes creatures that embody natural processes or locations.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Elves
Alright, this is another race post. Today, I'm going to be discussing elves, and putting forward my own take on the race. The reason my dwarves changed was, to be honest, because I wanted to turn both elves and dwarves on their heads.
My elves are styled after what I felt was the stereotypical dwarf (not physically, don't worry Legolas lovers, elves are still skinny and pointy-eared). So what was the typical dwarf? A little gruff, isolationist, and basically alcoholic.
Gruff doesn't really sound like the style of the elves, so we'll change that word to "curt". Polite, but to the point. Isolationist, I'm all over that one. Alcoholic? Well, change the beer to mead, and I'm all for it.
Still doesn't give me too much, though, so lets look at a quick D&D (and Tolkien...ian) interpretation of elves, and compare it to some other depictions, and see what we can glean from that.
The D&D and Tolkien elves are long-lived, mystical, serious, and deeper than a 10,000 foot well. The wikipedia article on the subject of Tolkien's elves actually compares them to humans who had not fallen from Eden. That's a tall order, and doesn't really fit our curt, isolationist alcoholics.
Norse mythology paints elves as being relatively similar to humans as well, and is equally glowing in its praise. Elves are semi-divine creatures, with great magical abilities. I don't have a problem with elves being somewhat magical, but I kind of want to leave the deep lore to the gnomes myself, so I'm going to have to look for another angle. (I'm not really doing the norse mythology justice, but this is a gaming blog, so I'm sort of skimming and skipping here)
English elves, on the other hand, resemble much more the nymphs of Greek mythology, sneaky little tricksters who might meddle in the affairs of humans. (well, mine won't meddle in the affairs of humans, being isolationist, but we'll figure something out) They're also shown to be related to fey, which is the aspect I sort of want to base this on.
So, I have the curt, isolationist alcoholics, and I have fey/nature influence, and I have sneaky little tricksters. The first bit will be, well, slightly overhyped. Elves are curt: to outsiders. When they're on their own, they love to party! They are, more often than not, relatively good-natured, as I alluded to in the earlier post about magic. They'll help you out, without telling you, and then help themselves to your booze, and have a party in the woods to celebrate their good deed.
While they are relatively good-natured, they are also very shrewd, and it is extremely difficult to put one over on an elf. The parties are also somewhat of a facade, it must be admitted. They really honestly do enjoy themselves, but there is a deep political game going on in elvish communities. It very rarely comes to battle, but every action is calculated and carefully accounted for.
I'm going to do a little more stealing, this time from C.J. Cherryh's series Foreigner. I am quite fascinated with her first alien species, the atevi, and their system of associations and alliances. I also like their fierce numerology (which is also possibly part of norse mythology, going back to my "making the elves like dwarves" effort), so I'm going to nick both.
You don't ever deal with a single elf. All elves are associated with each other in various, complicated ways, almost all of which have nothing to do with geography (which would confuse humans to no end). Furthermore, numbers are treated very seriously by elves, bad numbers (most evens, like 6 and 10) are avoided and good numbers (odds, especially 3 and 9) are sought.
I think there's something to be done with these political machinations, possibly an entire campaign here, so I'll get on writing up some specifics...later. I'll also do another Fantasy Race Portfolio when I get around to it (possibly tomorrow), and come back and treat elvish religion.
Note: I wrote this early in the morning, so if I have used the word "Elven", I intend it to be "elvish". I'll have to proof this later.
My elves are styled after what I felt was the stereotypical dwarf (not physically, don't worry Legolas lovers, elves are still skinny and pointy-eared). So what was the typical dwarf? A little gruff, isolationist, and basically alcoholic.
Gruff doesn't really sound like the style of the elves, so we'll change that word to "curt". Polite, but to the point. Isolationist, I'm all over that one. Alcoholic? Well, change the beer to mead, and I'm all for it.
Still doesn't give me too much, though, so lets look at a quick D&D (and Tolkien...ian) interpretation of elves, and compare it to some other depictions, and see what we can glean from that.
The D&D and Tolkien elves are long-lived, mystical, serious, and deeper than a 10,000 foot well. The wikipedia article on the subject of Tolkien's elves actually compares them to humans who had not fallen from Eden. That's a tall order, and doesn't really fit our curt, isolationist alcoholics.
Norse mythology paints elves as being relatively similar to humans as well, and is equally glowing in its praise. Elves are semi-divine creatures, with great magical abilities. I don't have a problem with elves being somewhat magical, but I kind of want to leave the deep lore to the gnomes myself, so I'm going to have to look for another angle. (I'm not really doing the norse mythology justice, but this is a gaming blog, so I'm sort of skimming and skipping here)
English elves, on the other hand, resemble much more the nymphs of Greek mythology, sneaky little tricksters who might meddle in the affairs of humans. (well, mine won't meddle in the affairs of humans, being isolationist, but we'll figure something out) They're also shown to be related to fey, which is the aspect I sort of want to base this on.
So, I have the curt, isolationist alcoholics, and I have fey/nature influence, and I have sneaky little tricksters. The first bit will be, well, slightly overhyped. Elves are curt: to outsiders. When they're on their own, they love to party! They are, more often than not, relatively good-natured, as I alluded to in the earlier post about magic. They'll help you out, without telling you, and then help themselves to your booze, and have a party in the woods to celebrate their good deed.
While they are relatively good-natured, they are also very shrewd, and it is extremely difficult to put one over on an elf. The parties are also somewhat of a facade, it must be admitted. They really honestly do enjoy themselves, but there is a deep political game going on in elvish communities. It very rarely comes to battle, but every action is calculated and carefully accounted for.
I'm going to do a little more stealing, this time from C.J. Cherryh's series Foreigner. I am quite fascinated with her first alien species, the atevi, and their system of associations and alliances. I also like their fierce numerology (which is also possibly part of norse mythology, going back to my "making the elves like dwarves" effort), so I'm going to nick both.
You don't ever deal with a single elf. All elves are associated with each other in various, complicated ways, almost all of which have nothing to do with geography (which would confuse humans to no end). Furthermore, numbers are treated very seriously by elves, bad numbers (most evens, like 6 and 10) are avoided and good numbers (odds, especially 3 and 9) are sought.
I think there's something to be done with these political machinations, possibly an entire campaign here, so I'll get on writing up some specifics...later. I'll also do another Fantasy Race Portfolio when I get around to it (possibly tomorrow), and come back and treat elvish religion.
Note: I wrote this early in the morning, so if I have used the word "Elven", I intend it to be "elvish". I'll have to proof this later.
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