Elathael
Elathael
Religion
Traditions
-15% Cavalry Cost
-15% Reinforce Cost
Home on the PlainsA century before the Greentide, Pelodir infamously left the monasteries at Silent Repose to journey in lands \"beyond the sight of fools squatting on the Havoral hill.\" In his personal writings, Pelodir documented an astounding journey that took him throughout Cannor, Bulwar, and even as far as Rahen and Haless where in disguise he sought enlightenment at the foot of the High Temples and at the feet of Xia masters. Pelodir recounted many tales of his own heroism as he fended off the beasts and monsters of the wilds. Many of his more outlandish claims are considered embellishments, but scholars agree that his account of trekking through the Forbidden Plains has enough detail to be considered as historical fact. In it, Pelodir describes moments of being near death in the southern deserts. Found by traveling centaurs, he graciously credits them with his rescue, but states that the asceticism he learned in Silent Repose allowed him to conserve food and drink for months and so enabled his survival.\n\nThis same spirit of austerity lives on in the people of Elathael, who have established simple and unassuming homesteads on the plains of the Epednar Expanse. These dwellings are easily constructed and maintained by Elathaeli pioneers, who like their founder take pride in their modest lives without a shred of irony.
-10% Construction Cost
Commandment of the Soldier - FlowWarfare in the wide open grasslands of the Ynn River Valley is fundamentally chaotic, favoring hit-and-run tactics and the disruption of caravan supply chains. It is these same traits that make the Expanse rife with banditry at the hands of Dustmen and Epednar horsemen. But even under strange new conditions, the elven military doctrines of Elathael have adapted to make use of these new tactics in an effort to secure every possible advantage. In the chaos of combat, units of riflemen and cavalry sharpshooters split up and reform ranks to feint false openings, deftly harass the flanks, and frustrate the enemy commander into making tactical errors. This requires an immense amount of training from Elathaeli soldiers and generals alike, who both must act and move seamlessly in accordance with the flowing, always-evolving battlefield.
+0.5 Yearly Army Tradition
To the EdgeIn founding the House of Reflection, the eccentricities of Pelodir were instrumental in shaping Elathael and the Horizon Elves, as his magnetic sermons, lessons, scrolls, and pronouncements remain studied to this day. Pelodir could not abide any confusion over his teachings - he regularly confronted his detractors publicly in Silent Repose before his departure, took great pains to answer questions and provide clarifications after his sermons, and frequently made his new thoughts known completely unbidden to disciples that would pen these musings down. It is unlikely that any man has ever been so extensively documented before, as these collected works have been compiled into an astonishingly large trove of his inner and outer philosophical life. The study of these writings has instilled Elathael with an openness to new ideas uncharacteristic of the typical traditionalist elf. The legacy Elathael keeps is that of forever journeying to the edge - the metaphysical horizon, where the static earth of the old and the dynamic sky of the new merge as one.
-10% Idea Cost
Children of RuinWhen the isolation of the Ynn was shattered by the arrival of strangers from across the sea, differing political philosophies emerged among the ruinborn on how in particular to handle the status of Cannorian elves, with whom the ruinborn have a shared progenitor in the Precursors. Some argued that these elves should not be considered brothers and sisters, as time has made them as alien as the humans are. Others argued that despite being separated by the ages, elves and ruinborn alike should foster new connections and embrace a shared heritage. Pelodir himself took on the latter position, but went further to an astounding extreme - that not only must the ruinborn and elves recognize each other as lost cousins, but that all upon Aelantir are 'Children of Ruin.' Even humans, for they all are born into this continent defined by the Ruin. No matter where one's roots may stretch back to, all must strive to share this new and old home.
+1 Diplomatic Relations
Riding HomeComing from the isolated mountain retreat of Silent Repose, the House of Reflection arrived in the Epednar Expanse and found a new paradise - endless waving plains, emptied pure blue skies, and hazy mountains in the distance that put the Havoral Divide to shame. This gift from their forebears, the solitude of Aelantir, would be cherished by the sect as they sought to answer the ancient Call for Reflection given thousands of years ago by the Precursor Emperor Aldan. Throughout their lives, the Horizon Elves of Elathael periodically make meandering solitary pilgrimages across the Expanse, atop the Ekyunimoy mountains, and along the rivers of the Ynn to understand this land steeped in memory. Many go even farther and venture throughout North Aelantir, or even take to sea to seek lands yet further beyond the horizon. They undertake these arduous journeys to seek the enlightenment of the lone rider as Pelodir did before them, and walk the land as the elves of old did before him. Ever with the intent to, one day, ride home.
+2 Tolerance of the True Faith
ViódalanPelodir was an exceptionally skilled practitioner of diranbe, the martial art of integrating swords and spells together in combat. As firearms rose to prominence in warfare, rather than spurn them Pelodir became obsessed with these new weapons, growing even to disdain the blade. After mastering the mechanics of riflery, he combined his magical expertise with this newfound skill to compose a new martial art, \"Viódalan,\" meaning \"Thundering Path,\" that seamlessly integrates rifles and spellcasting. Pelodir’s core role in the House of Reflection caused Viódalan to become part of the evolving identity of Elathael, whose elven marksmen now spend decades training to use magically enhanced guns, and are capable of feats of inhuman accuracy that no Dustman gunslinger could ever hope to match. This is achieved with recoil-canceling enchantments as well as using the long rifle of the barrel as a magical conduit for the user's own divination spells, making accurate shots atop even a galloping horse reliable.
+0.75 Cavalry Fire
Preaching From the SaddleAs Elathael expanded, both humans and ruinborn came to live in the nascent \"Elfrealm of the Wide West\". Among them, some Dustmen and Epednar natives were attracted to the \"cowboy mysticism\" of their Elven Forebears religion that venerates the freeing aspects of the Expanse. Conversions continued to rise, prompting the adoption of an official policy to promote the spread of Elathael's particular theological strain of Elven Forebears, ensuring that Pelodir would continue to exert his influence over Elathaeli culture long after death. Roaming mounted preachers now offer the time-honored yet evolving wisdom of the land, of those who came before, and of those who now veer from established trails to trace new paths into the horizon.
+50% Prestige per Development From Conversion
Ambition
+5% Discipline
History
TBD
Strategy
TBD