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The Freefolk aren't one distinct heritage from creation to modern day, but rather a collection of loosely associated peoples who have integrated to the point that the same categorical distinction across the world refers to them. The Freefolk consist of the plant-like Yanar, the Wood-Elf-like Selvath, and the subterranean Erythar. What distinguishes these Elf-like people from their Teled, Maquixtl, Sihndar, and Kathar cousins, is that they are defined by their refusal to join the Allorn Empire, and subsequent isolation for 15,000 years. These three groups grew closer to each other during this period while diverging further from the other Elves. Their continued independent spirit, nature-harmonizing, and communal lifestyles define them even in the modern era, though their perspective spans the whole world, spreading their self-sufficient communes to the far corners. This page will separate information pertinent to the sub-groupings at each section, and discuss shared information in the history and ideology sections.
Note: The Erythar are currently not yet playable. Information is only sparsely present on this page.
Physical Characteristics
Selvath
Selvath fulfill the niche of traditional Wood/Forest Elf for Aloria. Most Elves in the world of Aloria are capable of being just as brawny/skinny, hairy/smooth, muscular/lithe, tall/short as other heritages, aside from hyper-muscularity people like the Eronidas and Urlan. Selvath more often have darker skin tones, but because Aloria does not follow the rules of genetic determinism, Elves of any coding or appearance can be Selvath, even within the same family, where Selvath of different skin tones and shades can be born. Most Selvath range from the high five feet to the high range of six feet, with rare cases just barely hitting seven feet. When compared to the Erythar and Yanar, the Selvath appear more brawny and tribal, though Slevath should not be misunderstood to be uncivilized or undignified. Tribal tattoos and hairstyles are common, but they are just as well mixed with fine silks and jewelry. that are nonetheless designed to promote mobility and comfort in their warm jungle homes and high in the trees. Most Selvath live easily to 400 years old, though some have been known to reach 1000 years old with of Magic. Generally, we recommend that players keep their characters younger than 150.
Yanar
Yanar fulfill the niche of traditional Plant-person for Aloria, though the range is quite broad. The conventional Yanar appears like an Elf with pointy ears but with all of their exterior body parts either covered in, or composed of plant life, flowers, or bark. Yanar can be entirely plant-like with no skin showing and everything covered in leaves, bark, and flowers, or only have localized flowering/leafage-like hair made out of vines, forearms covered in flowers, and select plumage of flowers/fruits growing from their shoulders, with a more conventional skin tone visible. Yanar are generally not bound to any physical expectation, because their body goes through periods of wilting and blooming, and sometimes regrows entirely as a new person, radically changing their appearance and personality on rebirth. Most Yanar range from around five feet to six feet tall, with only a few reaching some height above six feet. Yanar do not age conventionally, and can in theory be thousands of years old, but due to their rebirth process, lose all their memories (this is explained further below in the Expanded Lore section). Generally we recommend making the currently played iteration no older than 150 years.
Culture
The Selvath, Yanar, and Erythar are all defined culturally as Freefolk, both the name of their heritage and the best way to describe their ideologies. Each of the sub-groupings arrived to the same conclusion separately (discussed in History) but found strength and support from one another when they unified. Culturally, these three people are all part of the same society, they share many customs, habits, and traditions. Yet, culturally, they are also somewhat different from one another due to particular niche habits each group developed. The Selvath for example are a lot more rowdy and wild than the other two, having so-called Wyld-Feasts during which they voluntarily shapeshift and transform to experience all manner of new and sometimes forbidden things. They enjoy their lordship over the woods, and will readily take from the fauna what they want, believing themselves lord and master over all other denizens of the woodlands, while also integrating these creatures into their identity. The Yanar in turn are much more peace-loving and attuned to the environment they live in, choosing to live in harmony with nature and trying to preserve its pristine qualities. The Yanar are often more empathetic and slow to act, preferring caution in their contemplative moots. Finally, the Erythar are more spiritually inclined to the point they can almost be described as monastic. While the other two engage in a lot of collaborative customs and activities, the Erythar value privacy and self sufficiency, and are often more remarked by their absence from common festivities, than having any of their own. Specific cultural habits will be discussed further below in Expanded Lore.
Language and Naming
All Freefolk use the Altalar Language, which ironically is the mother tongue of the Allorn Empire that they are defined by in defiance. Ultimately, the Selvath and Erythar are outright Elves, and the Yanar are Elf-adjacent, so while they once had unique languages of their own, Altalar was adopted as a common middle ground that eventually replaced all others. each of the subgroups has a slight variance in accent or dialect that is distinguishable enough to allow them to be told apart, they are all mutually understandable. Altalar is mostly a fantasy language that borrows verbiage from Spanish but gives them fantasy flairs by softening consonants and extending vowels. Good examples would be "Adios, Gracias, and Hola", which would, for example, be changed to "Alïos, Ce'lias, and Äula", but there are no hard rules for this, and it is generally not recommended to translate whole sentences and only use this styling for individual words. Modern Spanish names are also suitable for translating into Altalar naming:
- Example of Male names: Ëasiel (Daniel), Lüsas (Lucas), Näul (Raul), Noveyn (Robert), Äuonshe (Jorge), Lavlo (Pablo), Mancel (Marcus), Sönsalo (Gonzalo), Na'ael (Rafael), A'losso (Alfonso).
- Example of Female names: Samila (Camilla), Isaveyl (Isabel), Sa'alia (Natalia), Siliana (Clara), Fisonia (Victoria), Savniella (Gabriella), Veani (Beatrix), Nassissa (Fransisca), Eyfa (Eva).
- Example of Unisex names: Sil (Gil), Aleycis (Alex), Ëasi (Dani), Eysmeynlea (Esmeralda), Äuimey (Jaime), Monshaa (Morgan), Qüiem (Quim), Feyno (Vero), Savia (Gabi), Cimme (Kim).
Unlike the other Elves, who maintain complex naming customs depending on lineages, Freefolk maintain very simple naming customs in comparison that pay more homage to direct families. Freefolk don't have surnames but instead refer to their clan names and their birthplace. Clan names are defined by what a clan is known for, for example, a famous battle (of the Willowcreek Clan) or an occupation (of the Woodforge Clan) or a Magic School (of the Firekindle Clan). It is best to keep these names in English for recognizability. And finally, they might add a suffix to declare where they are from. There are three choices: West Selvaria (generally peaceful mystical forest), East Selvaria (generally war-torn chaotic forest), Massaria (Hadarian mangrove jungles near Allar cities), Enlaria (Ard-al-Nur desert-oasis forests near Dragonkin/Skyborn towns), and Neylaria (Regalian forest, a relatively new settlement and close to the main Roleplay Hub). So a full Freefolk name could be: Isaveyl Silamaan of the Moongsong Clan in West Selvaria.
Religions
- Estelley: Estelley is the most obvious Religion of choice for the Freefolk, as they all have a God specifically assigned to them in the pantheon as their patron Gods, who also have historical relevance to their existence outside of the Allorn Empire. Estelley as a whole can sometimes be experienced as somewhat dubious to the Freefolk, as it is mostly a pro-Allorn Religion, but the Freefolk extract spirituality while avoiding that topic.
- Draconism: There are some small Draconist clans among the Freefolk, those who have largely rejected Estelley as a product of Allorn Imperialism, and embraced Draconism due to their proximity to the Dragon-God Gaia of Nature. The Draconist clans among the Freefolk had no oversized relevancy to the events concerning the other Dragon Cults within the Allorn Empire, but survive to this day.
- Minor Faiths, Evolism: There are minor cults among the Freefolk who have been swayed by the Deep Ones, Rejected Gods, or even Death Gods. Evolism in particular has some notable minority religion status among the Selvath, whose occasional wild lifestyles, can venture into the rejection of traditional spirituality in favor of transactional faith with Demon Gods, while the Selvath in general have unique attitudes to Demons.
- Khama, Fornoss, Unionism: These three Religions are grouped as "generally unlikely" because there just isn't a whole lot of logic to support the idea that a Freefolk might convert to one of them. They all inherently espouse ideas that go against the grain in Freefolk society, so while it is not impossible for a Freefolk to worship these Religions, they should generally do so while having integrated in other societies.
History
Freefolk history is vast, and yet incredibly compressed, despite spanning at least 15,000 years. Among the three subcultures, the Selvath were the first to develop a form of writing, though this didn't occur until after the Dewamenet-Allorn War, a war between the Asha and early Teled that destroyed the former, and the establishment of the Allorn Empire by the latter. It is generally believed that the Freefolk subgroups come from a common period when the Teled Elves were first made, but no hard proof has ever been found for this. From the very beginning, the Freefolk groups and their Gods were opposed to integration with the Allorn Empire. In particular Gilan, the patron of the Selvath, led numerous Autumn Crusades against the Allorn Empire with vast armies of beast and Selvath alike, until the Three by two Meet. This event was initiated by Mana, who sought an end to the bloodshed between the Estelley Empresses and Gilan and Soma on the other side, with the Yanar caught in the middle.
During this Meet, the Empresses negotiated on one end, and Gilan, Soma, and Mana negotiated on the other, attempting to secure the independence of their people, while finding ways to give concessions to the Empresses and the Allorn Empire. The eventual conclusion of the agreement was found in the Three-by-Two Compact, which in broad strokes ensured the political independence of the Freefolk peoples while submitting the Gods to serve in the Estelley Pantheon and converting the Freefolk to worship the Estelley Gods as a whole. It is implied there were other hidden stipulations only discussed between the Gods, but the people were none the wiser as the Gods never discussed the matter. Freefolk history is relatively unremarkable for the next 15,000 years after the Fire Era of the Allorn Empire, the Freefolk lived in the Selvarian Walds at peace, and while they legally lived on Allorn territory, they never paid taxes, never paid homage, did not fight in any wars, and never interacted with Allorn citizens who were forbidden from entering their woods.
The Freefolk started aggressively involving themselves with world history around the year 300 BC when the Goddess Mana took a more active role in attempting to avert the inevitable doom of the Allorn Empire. While the Freefolk had no love for the Allorn Empire and felt distant from it, they reasoned that the Three-by-Two Compact was only stable because the Allorn Empire allowed it to be, and without the Empress enforcing it, the Elven princes would try to encroach on the riches and wealth of the Selvarian Walds. Mana instructed her followers the Yanar to reach out into the world and preach against the societal decline, and call for a return to simplicity and nature, which obviously fell on deaf ears, despite their earnest attempt. Soma took her own precautions, sending her followers the Erythar into the wide Allorn Empire to collect cultural, religious, and magical artifacts for safekeeping for the inevitable collapse, storing them in so-called mysterious Somatic Vaults deep underground. Gilan did what Gilan knew best: arm the Autumn armies and Spring militia, preparing the Selvarian walds for the inevitable attacks from the greedy princes.
The Allorn Empire's collapse came, Mana recalled the Yanar to the safety of the Selvarian walds, Soma closed her vaults for the safekeeping of cultural heritage, and Gilan called for another Autumn crusade to destroy the border forts and towns to create a buffer between the Selvarian Walds and the collapsing Allorn Empire. They chose not to help the Allorn citizens as the Eronidas invaded, the Void Invasion destroyed the northern armies, and the eastern states declared independence, closing their borders from any intrusions. To the Freefolk, their independence had lasted an eternity, and it would last another eternity after, but something had changed. Whether Mana, Soma, or Gilan wished to acknowledge it, their acts had endeared the people to care about the state of the world outside of their enclaves. The Yanar had seen the way others lived and wished to spread the gifts of healing and care to the people across the world. The Erythar experienced the mania and chaos that beset other lands, and felt there were other things for them to protect, while the Selvath had experienced a dash of excitement after dry seasons in millennia of no action. The Freefolk ventured out into the wider world, founding new Folk-Walds in various corners of the world, where vast impenetrable forests would grow to harbor them.
Expanded Lore
The Expanded Lore section contains additional contextual information about Freefolk Culture. This section is not necessary to read to get a good understanding of the lore, just the background information, but can enhance the roleplay experience.
Freefolk in Regalia
Upon first glance, Freefolk would have no reason to exist in Regalia, the capital of all capitalism and a large imperialist Empire that even rubs against the Selvarian Walds and threatens their independence. In these statements, however, there exists the core truth of why they could be in Regalia. Unlike the Allorn Empire, Regalia is more pluralist, it is more diverse and contains far more varied voices and opinions, and Selvath finds that unlike the doomed mission of the Yanar to avert the collapse of the Allorn Empire, Regalians are actually capable of listening and changing their plans or intentions. The Freefolk see Regalia as a potentially useful pawn or lever to change the way Empires think about forests and the preservation of nature, but also concepts of freedom and imperialism. Unlike the Allorn Empire, Regalia actively listens, even if it is not very loud, so some Freefolk come to Regalia to try and change the way they see and interact with the world, even if it is slow work.
Additionally, Because of Regalia's plurality and willingness to incorporate other peoples, the Freefolk have found some modicum of success cultivating Freefolk exclaves within Regalian territory. Regalia is inherently interested in cultivating positive relations with the Freefolk as a counter-balance to the Allorn Empire, despite their wood-cutting encroachment on the Selvarian Walds. The Regalians were the ones who agreed to the founding of the Neylarian Enclave, believing that such an enclave could function as an embassy to the other Freefolk, but also encourage restorative efforts to cure Regalia's ecological dead zone from over-hunting. The Neylaria Enclave is peaceful and isolated, things that the Selvarian Walds in Daen may soon not be, so Freefolk who try to avoid the wars in the west may choose to settle down in Regalia. The Freefolk have such legal freedoms in the Neylaria Enclave to the point that they can do practically whatever they want there, short of fomenting rebellion or plotting treason against the Empire, and won't have guards breathing down their necks for breaking petty laws (though occasionally, Knights will chase criminals running into the Enclave).
Finally, there are those Freefolk who for whatever reason abandoned the Woods, or sought life in an urban setting. While Freefolk life in the Selvarian walds is generally liberating and colorful, nothing truly compares to the jewel of urban lifestyles across the world, Regalia. Some Freefolk are just captivated by the wealth and splendor of the city, the many different cuisines, architecture, fashion, customs, and traditions that all (seem) to exist in (near) perfect harmony. Some Freefolk are just seduced by the allure of Regalia as a metropolis to abandon part of their forest-living habits. Sometimes, Freefolk are also dispossessed of their culture. For example, Ailor woodcutting or Teled Elven raids might sometimes cause Selvath or Yanar orphans to fall into the hands of other cultures, thus causing them to be raised entirely in a different environment that is alien to Freefolk habits. Whatever the cause, Freefolk have a multitude of reasons why they could be in Regalia.
Freefolk and Magic
Freefolk are generally described as avid Magic users, just like the Teled Elves, many of their people actively use Magic, though each sub-group uses it slightly differently, and with different legal underpinnings. Recommendations of alignment and styles here are purely guidelines, not hard rules.
- Selvath commonly align with Abyss, Anima, and Vortex, as these factor into the many principles of the Wyld, and lend into their aesthetics.
- Yanar commonly align with Eidolon, Anima, and Eternum, as these factor into their nature aesthetics and spiritual relations with Mana.
- Erythar commonly align with Dictat, Silence, and Eidolon, which despite their inherent oppositions, lend to a spectrum approach to thought.
Selvath Demonhunt Capability
The biggest aspect concerning Magic and Freefolk to discuss is the habit of Freefolk towards Demons, but more specifically the Selvath. Widely speaking, the Freefolk are not hateful towards Demons in the way other Cultures or Heritages may be, albeit under a veneer of acknowledging the danger they possess. Freefolk do not have an instinctive reaction to attack Demons, though would certainly also not be outright friends with them if there is any abject risk of possession or trickery by the demon. Selvath take their interactions with Demons to a whole new level however, as to Selvath, Demons are just another predator in the forests to defeat. Selvath refer to the Wyld Bidding, a custom in which a group of Selvath comes together to summon a Demon which they consider an apex predator, only to release it and then hunt it down to try and kill it. This is not practical or in any way sensible, Selvath generally do not have additional protections against Demons like Aelrrigan Knights or Sihndar do, they just do it for the love of the sport and the adrenaline, and care little about the casualties. Defeated Demons are often kept as trophies in Canopic Jars, or outright have parts of them consumed by the Selvath to adopt visual aspects or personality aspects of them as a sign of conquest. This does not kill the Demon, the Demon will still regenerate elsewhere, but the Selvath can adopt visuals like horns or scales and spikes from Abyss Demons or glowing lines from Eidolon Demons, or aspects of their encouraged personalities or themes into themselves as if they were absorbing part of the Demon. This never makes the Selvath part Demon or even corrupts them, but makes them appear more Demonic or capricious, it is very much reversible at any time.
Creation Theory
The fact that Dragons created all sentient peoples of Aloria is understood from a secular point of view, but the exact origins of the Freefolk groups are somewhat dubious. Generally, it is believed that all peoples of Aloria have a singular creation origin and that the idea of evolution is extremely limited. For example, a Teled Elf has no evolutionary relation to an Ailor or Asha, and Sihndar are in effect just Teled Elves who were altered with Magic. Freefolk are somewhat different however as they appear biologically unique, especially the Erythar and Yanar, despite being Elf-like. The prevailing theory is that each cycle, Dragons attempt something different. A more recent theory that has been gaining traction towards the Ailor, is that the Dragons seeded the Ailor people across multiple continents, instead of focus-creation in one place, as was the case in past iterations of life creation. For the Elves however, the theory goes that instead of seeding the same people across multiple continents, several slightly altered base-line designs of the same people were placed in the same continent together. This would explain why the default state of the Erythar, Suvial, Teled, Yanar, and to a point the Selvath, are so similar yet distinct in a way that evolution could not explain because the factors that created the Maquixtl and Sihndar for example, were absent 15,000 years ago. There is no way to prove any of this, but it can be fun to speculate about the origin theory.
Major Interactions
Discuss major interactions with other heritages in more specific detail
Selvath Specific Culture
This section discusses customs and habits that are more unique for the Selvath that set them apart from the other Freefolk. The other Freefolk can participate in these cultural ideas, it is just less common, and may conflict with some of the unique culture beliefs of those sub groups.
The Wyld Hunt
The Wyld Hunt is a narcotic and adrenaline-fueled affair, during which Selvath chooses wildness and brutishness over dignity and class, and embrace the wild natural relation between predator and prey. Selvath are by nature still Elven, and thus not deprived of the inherent dignity and class that other Elves have, even if they sport tribal tattoos and leaf or twig-like foilage. The most brutish tribal looking Selvath is still more sophisticated than the most well-to-do Ailor peasant, but all this class goes out the window when the Wyld Hunt is concerned. The Wyld Hunt is just an expression of freedom and wildness, a Hunt where there is no point in striking an animal mercifully, but to show it who is at the top of the foodchain, and savage any unfortunate prey that comes into view. The Wyld Hunt is often paired with a lot of intense drinking, narcotic usage, and often a tinge of vandalism.
The Wyld Feast
The Selvath have a very unique attitude to the idea of shapeshifting (or skin-walking, as they call it), in that it is not culturally reviled like in many other cultures, but encouraged. While they have no innate ability to Shapeshift, many Selvath learn the magical principles of shapeshifting so they can have access to this very unique skill, and use it for the Wyld Feast custom (though Mundane Disguises can also be used). Wyld Feasts are chaotic affairs during which the Selvath release their own identity into the void, become someone else entirely by changing their appearance and behavior, and live like another person for the duration of the festivities. At a Wyld Feast, one can often find egregious alcohol consumption, narcotic usage, illicit lovemaking, and even bouts of violence or random acts of vandalism and blasphemy. During Wyld Feasts, the Selvath (and their guests), do whatever they want (short of actually permanently harming someone) with no regard for the consequences, or for the way others might perceive them after because they are not themselves. For example, while Selvath is generally monogamous and faithful outside of Wyld Feasts, all escapades and conquests during a Wyld Feast are forgiven and forgotten, more often because of the impracticality of proving that anything of it happened, because everyone is either shapeshifted or disguised. Yanar and Erythar look at the Wyld Feast with some modicum of disdain, because to them it is an expression of Allorn decadence that was once thought to be the source of the downfall and chaos of that Empire. Still, the Selvath believe this level of free expression of the "other self" is a necessary emotional and physical vent, so that they can be "normal" for the rest of the month. Wyld Feasts always happen on the first Wednesday of the month, every month, unless they fall on a different Religious or cultural holiday, in which case they are skipped to the next day so as not to conflict.
Families
Selvath families are usually referred to as clans, which are loosely organized social units of multiple families not necessarily related by blood. Clans often form around shared occupations, habits, alignments, or goals, and often intermarry within the same clan while avoiding marrying into other clans. Selvath society is not patriarchal or matriarchal, it is deeply meritocratic, where power in individual family units or clans is decided by who the strongest is, physically, mentally, or magically. Selvath marriage customs are generally speaking monogamous, but polyamory does occur as a by-product of the Wyld Feast. Children are often raised communally, and treated like adults at a much earlier age than most other heritages, owing to the idea that Selvath parents believe strongly in the concept of self-sufficiency, and must feel confident that their child will survive from a young age if abandoned in the forest. Families generally avoid sending children to education institutes, preferring to home-school them or teach them in communal groups along with elders inside forest communes.
Yanar Specific Culture
This section discusses customs and habits that are more unique for the Yanar that set them apart from the other Freefolk. The other Freefolk can participate in these cultural ideas, it is just less common, and may conflict with some of the unique culture beliefs of those sub groups.
Dulofal
Dulofal is a powdery mildew disease that was developed by the Abyss Gods at the behest of the Kathar, that has been used to corrupt parts of the Selvariuan Walds and also in particular Yanar. While the Erythar and Selvath are unaffected or would just get sick from Dulofal, this corruption can change Yanar on a biological and mental level not unlike mind control. Dulofal turns other plant matter and trees white, completely drying them out to a brittle chalk-like consistency, which then breaks as easily, releasing more white spores into the air. Most Yanar are deathly afraid of Dulofal, as there is no real cure for it, and so the changes caused by Dulofal are permanent. When infected with Dulofal, a Yanar becomes aggressively Abyss corrupted, taking on more typical traits shared with Abyss Demons, and losing aspects of kindness and conscientiousness that are inherent to their kind. Unlike the more common Yanar beliefs to hold nature in great esteem and live among it, Dulofal Yanar adopt the belief that Nature is something for them to break and bend to their will, and often go about spreading more Dulofal spores to other parts of the natural world to make it theirs. There is still a lengthy scholarly debate whether or not Dulofal as a disease is a form of cordyceps mind-control on Yanar victims, or whether it is purely a magical re-alignment of personality and whether the Yanar has full free will and subsequent culpability. The only known way to combat Dulofal spores before infection is to burn any infected plant material to prevent spreading. Dulofal as a disease is well known in Regalia, ergo Knights use flame projection or even fire-Mages to burn away infections whenever they are found.
Yanar Rebirth Capability
The Yanar have a unique Capability called Rebirth, that allows them to enter a cocoon-like state anywhere and at any time though commonly at the end of their current lifecycle or reincarnation, or when they are mortally wounded. After a short period of time, they are reborn from this cocoon as an entirely new person. They can still look like their old self, or appear like a completely altered person physically, and all of their memories are also completely reset. Their personality may be the same, or slightly different, or very different. They are in all aspects completely new, except for social connections. Yanar who go through Rebirth remember specific people they had social connections with in the past, such as lovers, family, friends, enemies, etc, and they will remember why they felt that way about that person, but not the specific details. For example, a rebirthed Yanar man might remember his Yanar wife, and remember how deeply he loved her, and still feel that same way, but he won't remember all the details of the dates and first time meeting that they shared. Yanar considers these situations with poetic beauty, as they often prelude the idea that they fall in love all over again, and experience all their firsts once more. Yanar as such do not conventionally age, most Yanar live on for 150 years, and then consider their life cycle at an end, and are rebirthed. While it is technically possible for a Yanar to stay un-rebirthed for longer, we do not recommend it, and encourage players to play with this concept rather than avoid it.
Plant Biology
Yanar are often understood to be plant-like through and through as if their interior blood vessels are filled with water or green ichor, and their organs are made of leafage also. When a Yanar is cut open in dissection, they look no different from a standard Teled Elf on the inside. Their appearance of plant, flower, fruit, and bark, is often skin-deep, and while aspects that appear visible on the outside like eyes, nails, hair, and bones may appear differently, Yanar are biologically compatible with all other peoples of Aloria. Yanar are capable subjects of blood transfusions or organ transplants, and regular doctoral surgery techniques work on them just as well, so long as it concerns the interior. Mending open skin wounds, however, is more difficult, and usually relies on healing Magic. Most conventional Regalian doctors do not know how to suture a bark-skin wound caused by a sword, so Yanar often seek alchemical or magical healing instead of conventional surgery. Most healing shops or hospitals that are capable of treating Yanar have a "Yanar Admitted" sign on the outside, to identify that they have doctors who can treat Yanar for surface injuries.
Senlon and Fenlon
Yanar distinguish between two lifestyles, Senlon being "to live among the Freefolk primarily" and Fenlon being "to live among urban citizens primarily". While Yanar are a proud and strong component of the Freefolk people, they are also keenly aware that the habit of Selvath to isolate in the woodlands, and the Erythar to live underground, isolates them from the outside world. The Yanar can fluently flow between the urban societies that they often live near, and seek out the pragmatism of showing urban citizens that they can integrate among them while retaining their old customs and habits. While the Selvath would probably deride one of their kind living among city Elves and wearing their clothes and abstaining from the Wyld Hunt and Wyld Feast, Yanar are more commonly accepted to be the emissaries of the Freefolk, and thus their integration outside of Freefolk communes is considered a benefit and a pragmatic solution to their otherwise self-imposed isolation.
Families
Yanar families, romance, marriage, and childhood are extremely communal and often lack exact boundaries. While monogamy is certainly possible, the Yanar generally consider children "everyone's children", and grandparents "everyone's grandma and grandpa". Their familial bonds are not limited to blood, and their children often receive a very broad raising where they have lots of aunties and uncles from entirely different families or clans. This always fosters a strong communal nature in Yanar, and explains why they are usually socially active and bubbly in comparison to the other Freefolk, who are usually more reserved or exclusionary to their surroundings.
Trivia
- Selvath Freefolk are often mistaken for Maquixtl or Finullen. The difference is ironically enough often colors. Finullen often wear the blues of the seas, while Selvath wear the browns and green tones of the forest, and Maquixtl the red and orange tones of their volcanic homeland.
- Selvath are generally considered an ungovernable nuisance who continue to thrive in their communes in spite of the habits of empires to conquer. Attacking them for their land is just generally considered impractical because they have no money economy worth taxing, and relentless guerrilla warriors.
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