High Elves

High Elves Edit 0 23… The High Elves (mali'aheral, Blessed Elves) are the tall, fair-skinned children of Malin. The majority of them call themselves the mali'aheral, or blessed elf, who believed their heritage made them the 'highest' of the races. This name later evolved into 'High Elves', and many believe the High stands for their proud and obnoxious treatment of all others. The name Mali'aheral refers to the culture of High Elves who's basis is purity above all else. This is regarding the elven bloodline and how they are against interbreeding with other subraces. Other high elves who are either not regarded as pure or do not belong to the specific culture are just referred to as 'High Elves'. They are the original followers of Larihei Lomahnih, who encouraged them to bathe in rare natural springs infused with enchanted gold. It was this practice that altered the length, hair and skin tone of their kind, as well as bolstering their natural magical ability. High Elves are especially famed for their pride, their ambitious practice of the sciences and arts, and their acquired skills in magic. It is often assumed that High Elves consider all races beneath them. This is only partially true, as most High Elves are likely to hold impure High Elves in low regard and generally ignore other races. In Aegis the High Elves lived amongst their Elven kin in the leafy cities of Malinor. In Asulon they occupied the Silver City of Haelun'or. In Anthos they occupied Lin'evaral, which means Sanctuary, until an unnatural phenomenon of constant tremors occurred and forced them to leave their crumbling city. After this event they bolstered themselves within a place they marked 'The Tomb'. A shelter that provided them safety till they crossed over to the Fringe. Now they reside within the hustling city of Tahn'siol which sits atop a plateau that provides a water source to much of the Fringe. What few know is that the golden pools were rediscovered in Anthos albeit they were much less potent than before and offered no change to the body when bathed in them. What is known even to almost none is that the reason for the second appearance of these golden pools is because the spot in which they were found was atop a forgotten temple to the goddess Aeriel so the waters weren't golden but in fact blessed.

Appearance

The High Elves enjoy the same benefits of a long lifespan as most of the Elves do. The signs of old age set in slower and less distinct than they do in other races. Slight difficulty can be expected when estimating the age of an High Elf. Primarily in the eyes can you see the wisdom, and therefore the age, of the one that stands before you. They are the tallest and frequently longest living of the Elven sub-races. High Elves average between 5'11" and 6'6' in height, setting them as the second tallest of all the sentient races of Anthos, but slender. Their skin is fair, pale, retaining a very slight golden hue; something for pronounced in those with exclusive High Elf heritage. This tint is complemented by their hair, which is usually blonde, though silver and light brown hair is not unheard of. Their eyes, finally, can range from hues of green to blue, occasionally even purple. Red, orange and yellow eyes are considered impure as they often indicate the presence of dark elven blood within the elf in question. High Elves are careful about the treatment of their physical appearance. They look down heavily on invasive jewelry (such as piercings) and tattoos, because they feel this would be an affront to their natural beauty. However, they are keen on enhancing their looks with cosmetic colourations (make-up and face-paint) along with non-invasive jewellery such as bracelets, rings, necklaces etc. Symbolism is also prominent in their fashion culture, which lends clues to the personality of a given High Elf. external image BH4Nfg6.pngexternal image WFeePS5.pngexternal image qbDUpAj.pngCeruberr.pngavatar2.png

Culture

The lifestyle of the mali’aheral is summarized in the common phrase “maehr’sae hiylun’ehya”, a creed commonly spoken as a blessing between two interacting High Elves. The closest translation is “progress and health” Progress (maehr’sae) refers to the overall development of wisdom the mali’aheral uphold as their ideal. A fulfilled life should be one filled with knowledge, arts and science. Health (hiylun) is about retaining the purity and continued existence of the High Elven breed while ensuring every mali’aheral can live with dignity (have a proper house, proper clothing, proper education, etc.). It’s highest priority is protecting their own while outlawing any sort of crossbreeding within their kin. These concepts become the root of mali’aheral life and law. Mali'aheral are often skilled in finer craftsmanship (like jewelry), strategy, smithing, the sciences, writing and poetry, fine arts and magic. Most High Elves are encouraged to adopt such professions, should they wish to be treated warmly and appreciated by their brethren.

maehr'sae The scientists, artists and scholars are considered to be the most prestigious within an High Elven community. Their publications and submissions within the Arts are their primary way to secure a political office. The High Elves like to run their own schools in order to ensure the spreading of wisdom. One such establishment is the Haelun'or College. Here education is given on various subjects, like literature, arts, sciences, language and even magic. Most educated High Elves spend their time here working on various publications and passing their knowledge upon the budding students that visit the college. These centers of learning are widely famed for the abundant knowledge they possess, but only rarely is an outsider allowed to freely indulge in the entirety of its contents.

hiylun The mali'aheral consider it their duty to look after and even police others of their kind. The laws of the Elves dictate that any High Elf of pure blood should be accommodated with a house and job. Homeless or unemployed High Elves are unheard of and reflect badly upon the community as a whole. How each High Elven community takes care of their lower kinsmen differs. The mali'aheral also outlaw the inbreeding of their kin with any of the other races. They look down on non-mali'aheral, with a tendency to be friendlier to other Mali, being the most critical towards the Dwarves and Orcs. A High Elf that produces offspring with anyone but another pure High Elf is considered 'impure' and is exiled from the city. The same fate may befall pure High Elves deemed to have too strong associations with the other races. High Elves in this predicament receive none of the care or assistance from their Council the pure High Elves do.

Rationality High Elves practice no religion, due to their belief that placing faith in an invisible deity (and as such one that cannot have its motives or intentions explained rationally) would be an illogical thing to do. Believing dogma to be of no use to them or even detrimental to progress and innovation, the word 'religion' itself has a stigma attached to it. However, the extreme adherence High Elves have to their attaining of knowledge and wisdom is of no less intensity than the zeal of those that excessively practice religion. Due to the emphasis on logical thought it is not impossible that some High Elves will be portrayed as cold, emotionally devoid and insensitive. To understand the demeanor of them one cannot approach the undertaking with any trace of a negative disposition for their own part, as this will immediately lead what would otherwise be a neutral happening to the realm of darker emotions and result in an unfavourable judgement; from lack of self-control, to poor interpretation and reasoning. To avoid deriving insult from the words of a High Elf one should consider them in a broader context - in both time and meaning. The other descendant races will have difficulty comprehending some of the actions that are performed due to the different mental time-frame their mortality imposes upon them. It is important to not only account for what a High Elf does, but also the deeper aspect of how that affects the many days that are to come.

Law

Mali'aheral law is well documented and often very specific. Some generally noteworthy themes within the laws include a restriction on marriage for those below the age of fifty, the general protection of knowledge and the preservation of the health of the mali'aheral.

Martial Structure

Mali’aheral are not to be mistaken for obstinate pacifists in any regard, and apply themselves to the study of combat with equal measure to other aspects of learning. Whilst not advocates of battle, they recognize the important place it holds in the reality of the world, along with accepting the fact that establishing something worth fighting for is only a fragment of the grand task; knowing how to defend it, another. The military is integrated into the education system and does not distinguish between soldiers and students; all aspects of study take place within the College, including the arts of war.

Notable High Elves

external image ituwFMk.png Kalenz Uradir - A former current Sohaer of the Mali'aheral. Arguably the most racist high elf to ever exist. His vision of what purity and maehr’sae hiylun’ehya meant to him shaped the way others who followed him would think. For better or worse he shaped how the current high elves are perceived and was revered among the notorious White Rose. Some however find him untrustworthy. A trait commonly labelled onto known illusionists. During his second term as Sohaer he united all of the elves under Haelun'or, a feat not achieved for 100 years and not achieved since. He was banished by Maheral Delonna Aeleyelsa from Haelun'or for his war crimes in the Fringe war. His life was taken in 1485 by Kalameet Izalith, far after he had gone mad. During the Atheran High Elf population boom, it was revealed that Kalenz was in fact not dead and was posing as a sillumiran. He quickly reclaimed his position as Sohaer and led the High Elves in the ousting of the Wood elves.

external image bjClrze.png Lucion Sullas - The former Maheral and former Sohaer of the mali'aheral. He is undoubtedly the complete opposite of Kalenz Uradir in terms of how they go about a situation. While one picks violence Lucion picks science and while they might be working towards the same path you can bet Lucion will have already worked his way to checkmate his opponent. He is also the first known mage to use electromancy.

external image RNQy8FM.png Iatrilemar Elervathar - Commonly referred to as 'Iat'. He is known across many cultures as a kind soul, often being used to create diplomatic ties due to his relatively friendly nature. While Kalenz Uradir believed power is the key to progression and Lucion Sullas believed wisdom is, Iatrilemar believes beauty and courage are what will progress the mali'aheral. He is also known for his research on the golden pools of Anthos and even more so for his discovery of Arcane Shielding and rediscovery of Arcane Evocation. He is the strongest evocationist in Haelun'or and cannot be outmatched when it comes to either Arcane magics.