A Spark in the Wind

Appendix C: The Elves' Way of Life

Wood-elves on the other hand, enjoy far more leniencies, although their lifestyle depends on their tribe as there are differences from tribe to tribe. As always, wood-elven maidens too go for two years pregnant until a child is born, at the birth of which the wood-elves hold feasts and naming ceremonies.

For the next few years, the child is kept with their parents, raised in the tribe they were born in. Whilst a great number of tribes (usually those which enjoy autonomy) keep their children to themselves, teaching them in their own ways, a great many send their children off to the academies of other, far greater clans, so they may learn to handle situations.

Amongst the more vassalised wood-elven tribes, there is a practice of sending off one's children to the overlord's academy at the age of twelve, where they must spend the next decades of their lives witnessing how things proceed.

At the age of two hundred, the young wood-elf is squired to a mentor, whom they learn from and help in their errands, until at the age of three hundred, at which point at the discretion of their mentors, the wood-elf in question may find a chance to return home a well-learned and mature person.

Yet again, wood-elves who are closer to the high-elves may prefer to send their children over the border to the high-elf lands, where they may learn basic things and live with more civilised folk, learning their ways to churn out far better than their peers.

Yet a great many other clans (mostly those who are nobler) tend to keep their children at home, treating them no different from the others who hail from lesser tribes, teaching them the ways of the world and to befriend people who are different from them.

(v)

OF THE WAY THE ELVEN FOLK DECORATE THEIR SETTLEMENTS

There are few facts truer than that high-elves are excellent engineers and artisans, blending art and craft in such a way that has never been seen before, paralleling our most modern creations quite closely.

The wood-elves too are not very far behind, although their designs are far more natural and often decorated with high-elf minds working alongside. There is a certain way to which every culture decorates their settlements, which resonates with all – from the largest metropolises to the smallest homesteads.

The folk of Alinor tend to design their settlements with concrete, building houses that often tend to be three or four stories high, all the houses bearing either beige walls and saffron roofs or grey walls and blue/green/red roofs, all connected by a network of wide cobblestone roads and decorated with statues and trees and marble minarets.

The walls of their cities are high and easy to defend, able to withstand large earthquakes with ease, encompassing the most important parts of the machine, with towers that can overlook the many concrete highways that lead to the city from great distance with ease.

Although individuals are free to design their houses in whatever way they desire, most city-houses tend to bear similar characteristics: vine-covered walls, flower-pots by windows and balconies, and every tenth house proudly fluttering the banners of Alinor: a golden eight-pointed star on a field of dark red.

But as an outsider, one of the most baffling things about these cities perhaps would be their plumbing – aqueducts connecting every house to provide a steady supply of running water, sewage systems that keep the city clean and tidy, and most importantly: fountains and bath-houses at regular intervals.

Such is the beauty of the cities of Alinor, and the cities erected by high-elven peoples in general, an example of grandeur, and so are the cities and towns built by the wood-elves, albeit their designs are a bit different.