Cave Elves
The Cave Elves of Stehreel are an albino race. One of five races of Drukar, the Cave Elves were the second born in the beginning. They trend towards an average height of 170cm (5'7") and have slender builds for the most part. Their coloration ranges from very light and pale pinks to shades of gray in skin tone, they can have a range of pink colored irises for their eyes, and their hair can range from silvers and grays to blacks. While they tend to be lean and wiry, few Drukar underestimate the Cave Elves; a race who excels at Martial Arts and perfection of body.
Able to whisper to anyone they can see regardless of distance, the Cave Elves are also excellent path finders, which makes them perfect for the underground labyrinths of their homes.
Shown here are Huang Lin, a powerful Aeromancer from the School of Wizardry, and Tsaro Hai Zau, an incredibly gifted Martial Artist who has chosen to live the humble life of a butler. Huang Lin was saved from death by a team of Wizards that specialize in such tasks and later joined them, all the while trying to build relations between the School of wizardry and the School of Witchcraft to better ease her relationship with her Warlock boyfriend. Hai Zau serves masters and mistresses with efficiency and class on a small island paradise, far from the shores of Nehrahn where he was born.
Xiang Zohngyang Shizu, denoted by the diamond crest with snake, crane, turtle, and tiger, is the first Clan Alliance of the Cave Elves. The animals on the crest represent the individual Clans within the Alliance, each going by the animal that their Martial Arts stance is named after.
Wo Beifang Buzu, denoted by the rectangle crest with peacock and rabbit, is the second Clan Alliance of the Cave Elves. The animals on the crest represent the individual Clans within the Alliance, each going by the animal that their Martial Arts stance is named after.
Shin Nanfang Buzu, denoted by the triangle crest with wolf, wasp, and badger, is the final Clan Alliance of the Cave Elves. The animals on the crest represent the individual Clans within the Alliance, each going by the animal that their Martial Arts stance is named after.
Each Clan is led by a council of nine women, the heads of each major family within the Clan. These Clan Councils are not balanced in power, and it tends to shift as public opinion of the leading families shift; though the positions are hereditary and always belong to those families. Each Alliance of Clans is headed by a combine council of all the composite Clan Councils within it. Political positions below councilmember are literally fought over. Husbands of politicians spend a lot of time in the ring defending their wife's right to power, and occasionally a woman will fight for her own right to office. These women are both feared and revered.
Because the Cave Elves are very focused on the Martial Arts, each Clan focusing on a different stance of the Martial Arts and excelling at these "Wushu", they are a people very focused on martial combat and physical perfection. Isolationists, the Cave Elves live alone on the continent of Nehrahn and do not have a lot of contact with outside ideas or thoughts, whole generations passing into the darkness of the Caves, living their lives for victory in the ring of combat.
The Cave Elves are the only race of Elves that lives underground. They sometimes do not leave their caves for the whole of their lives, never once seeing the sun or the moons. When exposed to light sources greater than a pleasant muted glow, the Cave Elves tend to wear blindfolds to protect their eyes. The Cave Elves have very productive mining operations and can be considered a source of some of the world's best metals.
When a Cave Elf does something of note they are awarded with a body piercing. These piercings are considered a sacred right to the Cave Elves, and are done with great care and consideration. Where the piercing is done on the body changes its value to the recipient, but all of them offer blessings to the Cave Elf who receives them.
The Cave Elves worship Karia, the Goddess of Time. Among the bare and utilitarian cities of the Cave Elves, the temples to Karia stand out as beacons of intricacy and beauty. The Qingtóng Yuèliàng No Jìsi, the Priestesses of the Bronze Moon, are constantly surrounded by that beauty as they serve Karia's will and as spiritual guidance to the people. It is unfortunate that the Priestesses are often the only ones to be bathed in such beauty, because they spend the majority of their time wearing blindfolds with a symbolic eye drawn on their foreheads by which to "see".
Those who wield the power of Time energy, Chronomancer Wizards, and those that wield Air and Plant energy, Aeromancer and Geomancer Wizards respectively, are treated with great respect in the caves of Nehrahn. Priestesses of the Goddesses are the favored Spark Wielders of Stehreel among the Cave Elves, with Priestesses of Karia taking the highest honors.
Cave Elves are close range fighters. Their entire culture is built around the many stances of the Martial Arts. In addition, their primary class is that of Martial Artist, so the prevalence in their standing forces is that of unarmed combatant. Despite the need to close to point blank range to do combat, the armies of the Cave Elf Clan Alliances is a deadly force, feared whenever they take the field.
Because the Cave Elves deal in close range death, and added to their familiarity with cave structures and paths through the ground, the Cave Elves have developed tactics that capitalize on their strengths. In war the Cave Elves will often slink through the caves below a battlefield and come up behind opponents to strike from the shadows before disappearing again into the caves.
Here is a developer diary recorded by the creator of Stehreel. For more information on the Cave Elves, check out our facebook page!