Solindriel
From Codex Vocrotha
Physical Description
The Solindriel are a tall, lithe race of beings, with large, round eyes and slightly alien-looking expressions. They tend to be more wiry than downright strong, and rarely do they gain enough weight to consider even slightly fat. They average six feet tall, with the tallest of their kind sometimes reaching seven feet in height. Golden, silvery, coppery-red, and auburn hair is common, and black hair is quite rare. A truly clear hair color occurs most rarely. those with this unusual coloring are known as the 'ürdriel,' or 'ghost-children,' and while neither shunned nor truly accepted, the ürdriel are well-known for their powers of divination. A fine, downy hair covers the entire body, including the face, in similar color. While this fine hair never grows hard or long enough to form a beard, Solind eyebrows tend to be extremely bushy, a trait they are extremely self-conscious of. Vestigial gills, barely noticeable amongst their body hairs, sit delicately along their necks.
The Solindriel are known for their eyes, which change colors rapidly depending on mood or focus. Pupils tend to expand rapidly during periods of intense concentration, and the exact coloring of the eye will change depending on the mood of the Solind.
Sociopolitical Outlooks
The Solindriel remember a time when there were no Solindriel or Tenebriel, and remember it with fondness. Those were the elder days, the golden age when they and the Kâlindur ruled the lands side by side, and they were known as the Vasriel, the Great Children. There was no acrimony, no petty bickering or internecine warfare to speak of. There was peace, and bounty for all. Had the Kâlindur but heeded their warnings...
But they did not. The Kâlindur, too proud to listen to the warnings of the Vasriel, would face the darkness alone, for the Vasriel saw their doom there. Retreating to the far corners of the world, the Vasriel hid themselves while the darkness spread over the places that were once their homes and bided their time, waiting for the moment the darkness would be unprepared for them.
They did not hide well enough. The darkness found them, though not in great strength, and seduced many -- so many! -- of their brothers away from the paths intended for them. They were darkened and bloodied, and despite their justifications and rationalizations, turned away from the path of Light into the Darkness. No follower of Light could justify the sacrifice of so many lives for temporal power, and so they who had been one race became two. They that followed the lure of darkness became the Tenebriel, the Children of Shadows. They that remained true called themselves the Solindriel, the Children of the Sun. And while both folk finally returned to reclaim the lands stolen from them, and even strove together against the Darkness, still there would be no peace between these two peoples, the righteous and their fallen kin.
Much of Solindriel philosphy and thinking stems from their decision not to be tempted by the powers of Sorcery and Night; their determination to remain pure gave them sudden understanding and affinity towards the Lords of Light, and the leader of the Solindriel adopted Rilan as their Lady and Mistress. They are naturally talented in the magic of Wizardry, but shun its use, especially in their daily lives, since they believe it to be a corruption of that which was intended. Just because they are hesitant, though, doesn't mean they are easily overcome; if a Solind perceives a threat, they will act as quickly as possible and without reserve to overcome the threat.
As a result, the places they live in tend to reflect the purity of nature, and they use little, if any, magic to construct their homes. The greatest accomplishment of Solindriel civilization is Highbranch, a city constructed entirely out of giant, entwined Darçil trees, coaxed and trained into shape by all methods save magic.
Allies & Enemies
There are so few to truly call friend anymore. Once, the Kâlindur -- but they refuse the facts of history and tell the story as it never was. Perhaps the Kâlindival, but their loyalties have always lain with their cousins, the Kâlindur, first. The Feralis make excellent allies, but they have an unreasoning love for the hateful Drakkhozhn that the Solind cannot abide. Many Humans try, and some are even worthy, but as a race they are flighty, fickle, and undependable. That leaves the Zephriel, strange Fey relations, who are not so much friend as parent or mentor.
The rest are hardly worth mentioning. The Dolgothros are loathsome creatures for which merciful death would be unjustly kind; Drakkhozhn are collaborators with the same Darkness as their lost brothers, the Tenebriel. The Gochin and Ur have yet to overcome their barbarian heritages, and the Lyđuđræ are simply not to be trusted.
And so the Solindriel continue to draw into themselves as the world around them collapses once more into barbarity and hatefulness. Many left the continent when the Warlord came to power; how many more will leave during the fight against him? And, more importantly, where will they go when they have nowhere -- and no one -- left to turn to?
