Mountain Elves
The Mountain Elves of Stehreel are a pale race. One of five races of Eldar, the Mountain Elves were the last born in the beginning. They trend towards an average height of 183cm (6’) and have firm and gangly builds for the most part. Their coloration ranges from very light and pale milky complexions in the north to dark tans and swarthier skin tones in the south, they can have a range of blue or green colored irises for their eyes, and their hair can range through every shade of red in the north and darker reds and shades of brown in the south. The strength of the Mountain Elves is not often evident to the naked eye; they are a people who praise the strength of the mind.
Able to remember almost any detail they have ever encountered without difficulty, the Mountain Elves are also incredibly adept at spotting those details.
Shown here are Nikita Gregoriavich Voronin, a Transmuter in the employ of the Academy of Science, and Yvette Folenbleu, a ninja working in the shadows of Avignon in the southern states. Nikita is a loyal servant of the Academy, pursuing knowledge and excellence in academics as his father would, but longing for mastery of all weapons as his mother boasts. Yvette is a young orphan of unknown origins who was taken in by the Omega cell of ninjas. Her future is as uncertain as her past, and her loyalties to her companion have yet to be fully tested.
The Federal Republic of Kayvahn, denoted by the Book of Ten Pages on Fire Crest, is the Country of the Mountain Elves. Each page represents a different State in the Republic, and the symbol of the book on fire represents the time before independence when they were subject to the Sun Elves, who burned all "heresies". The script on the pages reads: "Never Again" in the language of the Mountain Elves.
A Prime Minister and his cabinet runs the Federal Republic in an electoral process that lasts a predefined number of years. The cabinet is almost always put in place by the Prime Minister and runs with the PM during the electoral process. Below the Prime Minister each state is run by a State Governor who is elected using a similar process into each state, though their terms are shorter and their power is not equivalent to that of the PM and his cabinet. Anyone with the proper training, certification, and credentials can run for political office in the Federal Republic, and only the Prime Minister must strictly be Mountain Elf.
Because power in the Federal Republic of Kayvahn is open to anyone, ambition is high in the country. Anyone who desires to lead can strive for it and have a reasonable chance for success. Bureaucracy can be trying to those who are unused to the process, but one thing it allows is for anyone to pursue their dreams.
The Federal Republic of Kayvahn is the most open and accepting of any country on the face of Stehreel. Anyone of any species and any race can request citizenship within the borders of their land. The rights of the people are protected by the rulers, and freedom is the marching song of the army. The diversity of the Mountain Elves is one of their most well-known traits, and something that has given them both the most praise and the most scorn from outsiders. The Mountain Elves favor individuality and find strength in accepting an individual regardless of their roots or philosophical mores.
Because of that openness and belief in individuality, the Mountain Elves do not have one single or specific method of recognizing the honor and bravery of their people. A Mountain Elf is able to choose any type of award from any culture or race that he or she could logically attain when they achieve something of note, like the acquisition of a rank.
The Mountain Elves of Stehreel are one of the few races of Elves on Stehreel that do not worship a deity. There isn't a state religion for Mountain Elves, and while they allow other religions to peacefully construct churches and temples within their cities they tend not to believe in the Gods or Goddesses of Stehreel as such. They acknowledge the power from whence the Gods and Goddesses come, they do not acknowledge that power as existing in the form of a being or individual. As far as the average Mountain Elf is concerned, Gods and Goddesses are the constructs of people, not logic.
Despite that stance, respect is still offered to Clerics due to their very real and recordable power. More respect is given to “real” and “solid” magic-users like Wizards and Warlocks. None are given preference over others, though Mountain Elves have a natural predilection for the written word and therefor have a special place in their minds reserved for Bibliomancer Warlocks and those that wield Silence and its aspect Script.
When it comes to warfare, the Mountain Elves use a unique style of combat referred to as Transmutation. Transmuters of the Academy of Sciences know the workings of physical matter and materials and are able to change and shape them at will, making them a deadly force hampered only by limits in creativity and thought. An intelligent and creative Mountain Elf Transmuter is a deadly foe despite how often they are misjudged.
Unsurprisingly, Mountain Elves embrace all tactics and strategies when it comes to war. They are some of the most creative tacticians, known for studied approaches to problems, adaptability in the face of adversity, and a humble willingness to use an enemy's own tactics against them. Despite being a subject race at the start of the Demon Wars, the Mountain Elves suffered the fewest casualties of that conflict due to their tenacity and mutability.
Here is a developer diary recorded by the creator of Stehreel. For more information on the Mountain Elves, check out our facebook page!