Elfin Children
  1. Ancestries

Elfin Children

Elfin Children header image

Become a Jewel in a Sea of Coal

All daoine are distant descendants of the Ardruids, god-heroes of the inisa, and the fey. An elfin childe's relation to those great beings is much closer; they might only be a few generations removed from their Otherworld progenitors. They are possessed of an ethereal, alien beauty, alluring to some but disturbing to others.

Elfin children have strange qualities to them derived from the nearness to their fey relatives. This often intones their words with a subtle spell of charisma or shields them against similar effects. While they tend to come from rural stock, as fey aren't want to visit larger settlements often, their gifts see them frequently in the noble castes. Their fine features and talent with words often pave the way for them to find positions of privilege as courtesans, entertainers, or even statesmen.a0d2fddc-433b-44c2-bb50-160383def803.webp

Almost all Elfin Children have some alien quality to them. Rainbow-hued eyes, small antlers, their hair constantly swirls around them, pointed ears and some even have needle-like teeth or dark, earthy skin tones. Despite this they are, on average, well liked by their communities and some even view the nature of their births as auspices for a great and heroic future blessed by the Ardruids.

a0d2fe1e-462a-4bf5-a8e2-2418f67ed3bc.webpUnlike Huldufolk, even Elfin Children who display some of nature's more fearsome aspects bring beauty to the concept. None can say the Elfin Childe Cleric whose hair whirls around as if caught in a gale and whose voice crackles like thunder isn't still gorgeous. Huldufolk are weighed upon by facets of nature that are less commonly observed as pleasant; snake-like mouths, scaley or warty skin ranging from chartreuse to grey-blue.

Elfin Children as Adventurers

Interpersonal Reactions

Almost all peoples of the Grim Countries seem to universally love Elfin Children. Often approaching them unbidden to profess their love, make passes or simply inquire into their daily lives. To an outsider, one might be mistaken into believing all Elfin Children to be local celebrities! This is a double edged sword to the Elfin Children, for obvious reasons.

Origin Archetypes

Their natural beauty, enchanting words and eloquent beguilement makes the Eflin Children of the Daoine well adapted to various "face" careers such as entertainment, leadership and ambassadorship:

  • Apprentice, Entertainer, Herbalist, Librarian, Nobilite, Physician, Unusual Upbringing.
Character Archetypes

For similar reasons as listed before, they are often employed to be musicians, chroniclers, spies, healers and sometimes just because its nice having one around:

  • Bard, Jester, Blade-Dancer, Cleric, Druid, Spy, Sorcerer.
Common Names

Family Names

Largely this depends on the family, culture or tribe the Elfin Childe is born to. Although some may change theirs if they ever discover their ancestral name from the Fey lineage in their blood.

Culture

Culture

Dependent on their parental culture. An elfin childe is not necessarily a pretender, and they can technically be born to any tribe with similar anatomy to daoine. However, the nature of fwoarians and digir make it highly unlikely that anyone crop up in their own cultures as fwoarians are inherently suspicious of fey and digir are incredibly xenophobic. On average there is probably no more than one elfin childe per one thousand inhabitants of the Inis.

Native Language

Elfin Children speak Moni. If their fey relatives attend an active role in their life they may even learn their semi-native tongue of Sióg.

Customs & Values

Elfin children will often adopt the same codes and values of their parental tribe. However, they often tend to be eloquent and expand the ideals of beauty that tribe may have. As they are mostly of human parentage, this means arts of a revealing nature, statecrafts of compassion or beautification. What very few fwoarian elfin children there are may overly express themselves in woad paints on their body, show uncharacteristic speech craft and even wear finer clothes than their kin typically would.

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A fwoarian elfin childe sounding the alarm in Tailté na Gréine.

Common Etiquette

Rampant flirting is common as the elfin childe uses their appeal to sway the minds and hearts of others. They tend to be misleading creatures with a wild capriciousness to those that are not used to dealing with an elfin childe's "affections". As for the elfin childe, this puts their company off balance and allows them to often dominate the discourse in their favor.

Art & Style

Fine clothes that accentuate their natural beauty are a given. Nothing is good enough for an elfin childe and so they tend to press the envelope of acceptable fashions in their given cultures, but rarely ever progress to the point of receiving negative attention from their kin.

Beauty, Gender & Relationships

Beauty Ideals

Elfin Childe exude beauty in everything they do. A simple action, such as wiping sweat from their brow, is often enough to grab the attention of people nearby. Their voices mesmerize and their ephemeral grace haunts the minds of those that watch them. As such, the ideal of beauty to an Elfin Childe may very well be themselves, and its an exacting standard most mortals will fail to meet.

However, conversely some Elfin Childe may see the world through a lens of magnificence. Living a life of beauty means seeing it all around them. Perhaps even more of a delusional state, they see the meager sunlight that breaks through the clouds above as a torrent of gold or the drab clothes of the simple people around them as a rustic beauty that encapsulates the pragmatism of the less wealthy.

Gender Ideals

Dependent on the culture they are born to. However, most Elfin Childe believe in their own innate capabilities and tend to think of themselves as exceptional to whatever gender rules may be applied to them in the culture they are born to.

Courtship Ideals

Its very rare for an Elfin Childe to find someone else they can consider attractive when compared to their own presence of self. These few, spectacular occasions are often followed by an extremely elaborate series of dates, dinner and grand gestures from both parties. This is not meant to impress each other, but to impart a grandiose sense of superiority to those that witness the occasion.

Relationship Ideals

If an Elfin Childe does find someone they deem worthy of their affections, it is with a resolve that is unshakable. They do not ask this person to remain loyal and devoted; they demand it. Should their partners fidelity become questionable, the Elfin Childe's wrath is quick and absolute. They will do anything they can to leave the transgressing party broken.
They lean towards incredible jealousy and might seem flighty partners to outsiders. However, they are a tenacious lover. Nothing short of treachery or death can break the bond of an Elfin Childe and their paramour.