Half-Elves
Half-elves are found across The Empire, where long alliance between humans and elves has left its mark: in Whitefall, through which elven trade, travellers and ambassadors pass, those ties have produced many family bonds between humans and elves.1
An emperor of half-elven blood
In Imperial tradition it was unthinkable to overthrow an emperor and replace him with someone of another lineage. When Commander Salinor and his fellow sceptics turned against Vaden II, he found Elatan, a half-elf and the illegitimate son of Vaden I. A proven adventurer, Elatan became the rebels' only hope.2 He took the throne as Elatan I in 27 AVD, and his half-elven lineage was kept secret from the common folk.3
Between two peoples
Half-elven birth can bring prejudice. Kaldor, born in the slums of Vansreik, met a great deal of it for being half-elven, and as an outcast he found refuge in the city's thieves' guild, cruel but open to everyone.4
Others move between both worlds. Xaman, a half-elven warrior born in the high elven outpost a day's journey from Vansreik, was trained in both elven and human fighting styles. He now serves as envoy between the outpost and the Eagle Brigade, and his good standing with the elves lets the brigade take on missions for them.5
Notes
Sources
This article draws on:
Related articles
PlaceVansreikA lawless city inside the Great Crater of Mortenox on the south-western edge of the Empire, grown up around the Deep Pit, whose noble houses, church and rival mercenary guilds compete for the riches buried beneath it.PeopleHumansThe people who lived in northern Caligran long before the Desolation, sheltered the long-lived races after the Exodus and remain the greatest power in the Lands of Exile, at the heart of which stands their Empire.
PeopleBadgerfolkA small, fur-covered people from the Blue Forest who resemble badgers standing on two legs. They are skilled craftsmen and archers, build wooden towns they can move with the seasons, elect their mayors, and often stand with the wood elves.
PeopleCapraA tireless, goat-headed nomadic people of the Yellow Sea beyond the forest frontier, led in herds by their strongest warrior, the Shepherd, and divided between herds bound to nature and herds touched by dark gods.
PeopleDroomA rare people born from the heart of an ancient forest, whose bodies of bark, leaves, vines and resin make them resemble walking, talking trees. They have no parents, do not age, and turn back into trees when they die of natural causes.
PeopleForgottenThe dead who walk with their souls and their memories intact. Unlike the mindless dead, a forgotten remembers everything, looks as they did in life but paler and cold, does not age, and must hold to a purpose or slowly lose their mind again.
PeopleVenerethPeople born to any race with enigmatic writings on their bodies, a legacy of sages who sought to save the knowledge of the world before the Desolation. Each is born with a gift for one field of learning, and many are feared or hunted for their marks.PeopleAutumn DroomOne of the seasonal kinds of droom. Autumn drooms are covered in big yellow leaves, are artistic and melancholic by nature, and value the gathering of knowledge above all else.PeopleDark CapraOne of the two kinds of capra found in the Lands of Exile, whose members carry an inescapable stain in their blood and the dark powers that come with it.