A Spark in the Wind

Appendix C: The Elves' Way of Life

Ultimately, the high-elves have a far smaller pool of animals to choose from when talking about domestication, whilst the wood-elves enjoy calling any animal who happens to share the same swathes of forest their domestication, for the woodland gods allow the wood-elves to hold dominion over a great variety of animals.

As always, of all the animals mentioned above, the wood-elves possess (with the exception of camels and elephants, who do not exist on this continent and thus the wood-elves are unfamiliar with).

Wood-elves too share strong bonds with their dogs and cats, considering them a part of their tribe and an invaluable companion. Some of the wilder clans on the other hand tend to tame wolves and panthers too, treating them with high regards. Other clans tend to tame snakes or lizards, or a variety of other creatures depending on local availability. Elves riding to battle astride wolves or elks are not unheard of either.

One of the creatures the wood-elves are most famous for are their hippogriffs, horse-birds as they are called: man-sized birds that though appear wild are easy to domesticate.

Hippogriffs feed themselves with fruits, roots, nuts, small animals, and anything else you give them, and in exchange they can defend your house like dogs, let you ride them for short spurts, or even help you farm as their beaks make formidable digging tools.

Lastly, though very rare, there have been instances of bears being tamed and used by wood-elves to do a variety of tasks, especially in transnational legions, where bears are known to carry artillery shells to load the high-elven artillery pieces so they may rage on. It is unknown what part of this story is true, but certainly it would be a marvel to witness.

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OF LAW AND ORDER AND THE PENALTY OF ITS VIOLATORS

No matter how much they wish to claim, there are no societies where crime and lawbreakers are absent, and the two kingdoms of Alledoria are no exception to this. As such, they do have their own codes of conduct, and punishments for those who violate them.

In the Kingdom of Alinor, crimes are not classified in order of their severity, but rather in order of how 'anti-citizen' they are, the most common charges for civil malcompliance include usually public humiliation, beatings, or temporary slavery. For more severe crimes, the penalty can be from a variety of death sentences, permanent slavery, or amputation.

On the bottom of the list are petty crimes like thievery, gluttony, fraud, trespassing, or any other harmless crime, and may result in minor beatings or short periods of enslavement, but nothing too harsh. On a bit of a middle ground are crimes that are considered a violation of personal space: rape, kidnapping, or assault, which most often result in enslavement in brothels, as well as admission to re-education camps.

On the high level are more severe crimes like murder, trafficking, smuggling, or arson, the punishment for which is public execution either by hanging or beheading. On top of it all are crimes which are the embodiment of anti-citizen sentiment: bribery, paedophilia, treason, piracy, and such; the punishment for which is being burned alive at the stake.

All these sentences are carried out by soldiers stationed at the nearest town, once the person in question has been found to be guilty, which in itself can be a long process handled by lawyers and a jury, with a mob present next to them to represent public sentiments.

One interesting note: beatings and death sentences are often carried out by mercenaries from distant lands, the reason being to omit personal hatred and ensure equal harshness for all, regardless of race or gender.