Post by Bricingwolf on Aug 21, 2014 10:12:51 GMT
Alfar and their Svart Alfar cousins are the most "human" denizens of The Otherworld. Their cultures, languages and appearance are deceptively similar to those of humans, but under the surface they are as alien to us as any fairy or satyr. The minds of the Alfar do not hold memories like ours do. Instead, older memories become distant much faster, eventually turning into the memories of a story told, instead of an event experienced. In this way, thousands of years of life impacts their minds only slightly more than it changes their appearance, which is to say, very very little.
Alfar who have experienced great tragedies, however, do age somewhat. Older Alfar who "show their age" tend to look much like weathered middle aged humans.
Life cycle: Alfar have children less often than humans, but make up for it with longer lives. Mothers carry offspring for only one to three weeks longer than the average human, and twins and triplets are more common. Only about 60% of Alfar women ever carry offspring, however, and very few Alfar have children after their 150th year. The "norm" is to have one to three children, all within the same decade, before the age of 100.
Alfar children are mobile and can feed themselves before their first birthday, reach the "age of reason" a year or two later than human children (8 or 9 instead of 7), and experience a longer late childhood than humans. Puberty is uncommon before an alfar's 14th birthday, and often does not occur until their 18th year. Their emotional maturity tends to come before sexual maturity, however emotional maturity is a messy term for Alfar, since their mind never "crystallizes" in the way a human's does. Instead, alfar experience what they call "renewal" about once a century. Stress can accelerate the process by as much as 30 years, or prolong the process by nearly a century, although both cases are very rare. During renewal, the brain essentially rebuilds many of it's synaptic connections, exaggerating the memory transition mentioned above, and even leading to changed personalities, preferences, and proclivities. Alfar who suffer prolonged periods between renewals more than once sometimes come to crystalise for greater and greater periods with some ancient alfar truly showing their age, and renewing only after many centuries. These elders tend to be revered to their clarity of memory and hard won wisdom, while also being pitied for the burden they carry, as time seems to slip by them like a fast moving current.
Appearance: Alfar are related to the land spirits, and thus their appearance reflects they land to which they are tied. The Alfar of the frozen north, with whom Scandinavian and Germanic humans are most familiar, tend toward fair skin, hair ranging from golden to red and occasionally silver, and green or purple eyes. The Alfar of the great southern deserts, however, have darker complexions, ranging from bronze to rich brown tones, and copper, black or bronze eyes.
More generally, the hair and eyes of alfar are vibrant and can even seem to be almost luminescent. They are creatures who love the sun, and they look like it.
Culture and Language: Alfar speak a variety of languages, depending on their home region. The people of the Andala Desert, for instance, speak Old Persian, Arabic, Ancient Greek and other languages of the Mediterranean, while alfar of the Frozen North region of the Otherworld speak Old Norse, Old High German, Frisian, or Gaelic many of which are shared languages with the alfar of Dragon Islands (a chain of islands along the western coast of the Otherworld's only major continent.
Religion and History: Alfar are related to the spirits of the land, through a family of gods called the Vanir. Their lord is Frey, and they gather in Frey's hall in Alfheim, a region of the northern continent ranging from icy northern fjords to the Dragon Islands
Motivations:
Contacts:
Skill:
Alfar who have experienced great tragedies, however, do age somewhat. Older Alfar who "show their age" tend to look much like weathered middle aged humans.
Life cycle: Alfar have children less often than humans, but make up for it with longer lives. Mothers carry offspring for only one to three weeks longer than the average human, and twins and triplets are more common. Only about 60% of Alfar women ever carry offspring, however, and very few Alfar have children after their 150th year. The "norm" is to have one to three children, all within the same decade, before the age of 100.
Alfar children are mobile and can feed themselves before their first birthday, reach the "age of reason" a year or two later than human children (8 or 9 instead of 7), and experience a longer late childhood than humans. Puberty is uncommon before an alfar's 14th birthday, and often does not occur until their 18th year. Their emotional maturity tends to come before sexual maturity, however emotional maturity is a messy term for Alfar, since their mind never "crystallizes" in the way a human's does. Instead, alfar experience what they call "renewal" about once a century. Stress can accelerate the process by as much as 30 years, or prolong the process by nearly a century, although both cases are very rare. During renewal, the brain essentially rebuilds many of it's synaptic connections, exaggerating the memory transition mentioned above, and even leading to changed personalities, preferences, and proclivities. Alfar who suffer prolonged periods between renewals more than once sometimes come to crystalise for greater and greater periods with some ancient alfar truly showing their age, and renewing only after many centuries. These elders tend to be revered to their clarity of memory and hard won wisdom, while also being pitied for the burden they carry, as time seems to slip by them like a fast moving current.
Appearance: Alfar are related to the land spirits, and thus their appearance reflects they land to which they are tied. The Alfar of the frozen north, with whom Scandinavian and Germanic humans are most familiar, tend toward fair skin, hair ranging from golden to red and occasionally silver, and green or purple eyes. The Alfar of the great southern deserts, however, have darker complexions, ranging from bronze to rich brown tones, and copper, black or bronze eyes.
More generally, the hair and eyes of alfar are vibrant and can even seem to be almost luminescent. They are creatures who love the sun, and they look like it.
Culture and Language: Alfar speak a variety of languages, depending on their home region. The people of the Andala Desert, for instance, speak Old Persian, Arabic, Ancient Greek and other languages of the Mediterranean, while alfar of the Frozen North region of the Otherworld speak Old Norse, Old High German, Frisian, or Gaelic many of which are shared languages with the alfar of Dragon Islands (a chain of islands along the western coast of the Otherworld's only major continent.
Religion and History: Alfar are related to the spirits of the land, through a family of gods called the Vanir. Their lord is Frey, and they gather in Frey's hall in Alfheim, a region of the northern continent ranging from icy northern fjords to the Dragon Islands
Motivations:
Contacts:
Skill: