Campaign guide plight of the tuatha (1) 19

Campaign Guide
of pedal tones weaving in and out of each other forming
deceptively simple chordal changes. Many who hear this
music for the first time, and hearing this music if you are
not a Tuathan Elf is rare, have difficulty understanding
when a piece of music begins and ends as the tones slowly
rise and fade in volume. Many who live near the realm of
the Tuathan Elves state that the forests in which the elves
reside seem to sing themselves as long resonating tones can
be sometimes heard emanating from the trees.

History
Though the elves currently seem to live a peaceful life, it is
said that long ago they were a race of great warriors who
engaged in massive battles against the fiendish creatures
that once roamed the land. Before the awakening of the
land’s humans to the gifts of language, it is said that the
elves lived in far greater numbers and built huge cities all
over the continent. In the stories, centuries of war destroyed
most of these great cities and even more were deserted as
the elves’ numbers dwindled from bloody conflict. Some
of the ruins of these deserted cities are said to exist still,
though buried under hills, lakes and forests.
There is only one known enclave of Tuathan Elves that
survived to this day. Deep in the forests of Loc-Sil stands
the great tree Cran Tsamhriadh, and most of the remaining
Children of Danu; though no reputable source has seen
this tree firsthand. Regardless of Cran Tasmhriadh’s actual
existence, this last community has been named after this
legendary tree.

Half Elf
Tied to the humanity of their birth, the half elf has seen a
glimpse of immortality and the infinity beyond the mortal
veil. A fleeting glimpse, yet enough to mark them with
a strangeness. They feel the call of the winds in the forest
and the babbling of the creek outside the village, they
know there must be a message for them held within but
the meaning is just out of grasp. The circumstances of their
birth have made them lost, belonging to all worlds…and
to none.
The origin of a half elf, often called a changeling by the
Triufir, is shrouded in mystery. Sometimes a child born
from human parents will be born with oddly shaped ears;
sometimes the child will gain the almond shaped eyes of
the Tuatha de Danann later in their childhood; just as often
the infant half elf will be left on the doorstep of a human’s
home in the dark of night by mysterious figures which
come from the woods.

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Folklore states that a child conceived deep in the
woods or among ancient and powerful standing stones may
become a changeling. Just as many parents claim to had
fleeting romances with alluring beings they met along the
banks of the mighty Phanree River only to find themselves
with child as the seasons pass.
However the half elf changeling arrives in human
society, their odd behaviors and peculiar features often
stand out from their fellow villagers. Many view the half

elf with a slight mixture of awe and fear. These emotions
rarely reach a degree to which the populace would shun or
idolize the half elf, but it does often take more time for the
community to trust that the changeling is “one of them.”

Physiology
Half elven features tend towards those of their human
parent with only a slight oddness that betrays their elven
parentage. Their faces are a bit thinner and angular, and
their ears have hint of a point. The eyes are the most
common aspect which speak to the changeling’s mixed
heritage. Inevitably, the iris is a combination of or the eye
colors of their parents with the portion of the iris closest
to the pupil being the color of their human parent being
encircled with the eye color of their elven. Why the concentric iris is reversed among their Avitian equivalent is a
mystery with many conflicting theories.

Society
These half elves do not have a society of their own. They
instead are a tenuous part of the human village from which
they hail. A half elf becomes part of their village in one of
two ways; either found at the edge of a building or born
to a human mother. Most strive to embrace the society of
their human half, but this relationship is strained due to
the half elves’ subtle unearthly quality. All too often the
half elf will feel driven to leave their human village and
heed the call they feel deep in their bones; a call that pulls
them from the safety of their home to the awe-inspiring
and often dangerous world beyond the farms and stables.

Arts
Changeling’s who have a disposition towards the arts conform to the artistic practices of their human community.
However, no matter the artistic medium, the changeling is
often drawn to include a water theme at some level. Many
say this is their elven blood calling out to the Goddess
Danu who is said to live in the Phanree River.

History
The half elves of Tir Ydrail have existed on the fringe of
history since humans first came to inhabit the land.