The Stone Elves, Warriors

On the northern side of Rotwood however, are a culture that has been well documented in history tomes – their prowess at warfare has ended many wars, and begun some as well. These Elves are slightly shorter, being generally less than six feet tall, and are far more muscular than either of their counterparts to the south. They value health, strength, and battle over poetry and beauty, and think that many of their weaving or gliding kinfolk are hardly worth the bother.

Stone Elves are of a dusky complexion but often have red or tan skin covered in scars and regional tattoos. Their hair is usually kept short, and is largely brown with some blond and strawberry and the very rare ebony or flaxen shade. Their eyes are almost uniformly hazel – though they range from a brown-green, orange tan, and even red mixed, to green and yellows, almost never blue hazels. Of the Elves they are often seen as the least attractive, but that is purely according to outsiders. There is no mistaking a Stone Elf as ugly – they are proud and strong, intimidating, if not tall and refined in features.

In their society of stone and fire, the women are equal to the men in most ways, but if they are pregnant they are to be home bound and protected. Every citizen of their villages is expected to perform military or scouting duties at some point, and though they are not highly regimented within towns, if the Elf in question shows high skill with weapons and armor, they generally will become a mercenary and receive proper training in fighting, as well as language or cultural studies. They usually wind up working with a wide variety of other people, and must tolerate others well, if they’re to succeed.

Overall, the Stone Elves have fewer truly strong elementalists among their number, but when they do, they are focused on the earth and ores, gems, and fire. Mostly, they use their physical skills to do their work. Their crafters do create some of the most valued weaponry and armor in the world. And they snub their noses at those pretty-girl Witches to the west, who like them to be all shiny and ornate. What use is a frill around a guard, when the sword is lifted by a weak arm? They also are known to help armor Dragons, Griffs and Necromancers, and have performed guard duties for Summoners in their chambers for safety.

They often engage the Wyldkin in small battles, but more for proving each other’s prowess, rather than territorial battles. There are nowhere near as many Stone Elves as Wyldkin after all, and they know a losing battle when they see one. Stone Elves prefer swords and long-bladed spears, maces, and unusual melee weapons such as sai and claws. They love getting right up close and personal with prey and enemy alike. Though they are hardly fearless, they will often confront creatures far bigger than is wise, and rely upon their sleek dark armor to save them from sure death.

Some Griffs are especially attracted to the danger and excitement of hunting with Stone Elves, and this has kept them entertained for centuries at a time. It is only a guess, but there is speculation that the Griffs in question were hired by other people around the Stone Elves to keep them occupied and out of trouble. This works just fine, as there is a plentiful supply of danger-loving Griffs, and lots of dangerous prey to hunt both of them. It’s also possible that some of the enmity between Griffs and Elves stems from their early years of hunting the Griffs themselves…

Because they are a bit more brutal than other folk, their lives are indeed much shorter and expected to be far more difficult. They mature at the same rate, becoming adults around age 30, and they are expected to live around 300 to 500 years. But a major difference is that their women are more fertile, able to bear children at will or at magical prodding, rather than merely every decade or less. Thus, when a woman becomes pregnant, is at her specific request rather than haphazardly hoping. Children are used as tribal-style connections, though marriage is not their way.

The tattooing of Stone Elves is a complex thing, involving the proper requests to the artist, who is often a sort of tribal leader, and the right to attain one. Each feat of strength, will or prowess can gain a new tattoo image. They are always done in black, and are often scarification-style raised under the skin. Done with plentiful tools available from the mines and pigment from the stone itself. Local areas each have their own artist/shaman and are expected to keep their tattoo designs true to their own town. Though there are bigger and more important tattoos to be had if they are involved in a battle somewhere or a personal guard, most are small, perhaps the length of a finger (or even covering a single finger). It is not uncommon to see an Elf warrior who has survived many battles looking like a roadmap of his own adventures. It would be impossible to describe every type of design, but they usually are abstractions based upon the Elfin script.

Though they are indeed quite brutal and seem rather harsh to anyone not familiar with their culture, the Stone Elf court is actually quite complex. It does not have the frill and finery of their counterparts, of course, but there are passionate speakers on behalf of the accused, lawyers effectively in their ‘spare time’ – because most folk are not expected to need courts and hash things out themselves. If something does get as far as needing an arbitrator they do have a full system in place for such a thing. They do not, however, have a family presiding over anything to rule. That is most certainly done by proving on the battlefield, rather than a courtroom.

Stone Elves have gruff, dangerous sounding names, in addition to place, event, or job monikers. ‘Krug the Stabber’, ‘Bres Killing Blow’, ‘Desh Anvil Spark’ are examples. Their tattoos say all that is needed, regarding their home or family lines. One thing that the Stone Elves do, that some others might find distasteful, however, is that when one of them falls in battle, they will make an attempt to locate the family tattoo, and remove it to bring it to their kin. Among any culture, the Stone Elves make use of the Necromancers’ ability to do amazing taxidermy, and some of the Warriors have been artistically immortalized with their beautiful and complicated tattoos intact.