Elfaivaran

The largest woodland in Lanjyr is Elfaivar, the eponymous empire of the region’s southeastern subcontinent. Elfaivar’s elves developed wondrous magic and learned to blur the borders of the Waking and the Dreaming. But their holy war with the Clergy ended with the death of Srasama, the Elfaivaran goddess of womanhood, and the backlash slew all but a few hundred Elfaivaran women. The surviving men fought over the ruins or fled in a diaspora.

But secretive enclaves run by matriarchs were committed to protecting the surviving women, preserving Elfaivaran culture, and rebuilding the civilization. In time these enclaves grew into secretive cities, where women were revered and given the finest training in martial arts, spellcraft, and statecraft, while men competed in grand competitions of art and athletics, hoping a woman might favor them and choose to have a child with them. 

The enclaves were sometimes aided by foreigners who felt a drive to help save a people from near death, and even sometimes sheltered those who were persecuted in the colonies that were slowly conquering the empire’s old land. Then twenty years ago the gulmohar’s return added millions of women, skewing the sex imbalance in the opposite direction and giving all Elfaivarans a hope for a new future.

Elfaivarans have a close connection to the Dreaming, which manifests whenever they use magic, causing their entire eyes to glow faintly with the color of their irises. Almost every Elfaivaran possesses the inherent power to step briefly into the Dreaming, allowing them to bypass enemies and difficult terrain before reappearing in the Waking.

Dreaming Native. Your time in the Dreaming has suffused your being with its very energy. In addition to being humanoid, you also have the fey creature type. Additionally, you are proficient in either History or Nature.

Elfaivaran Training. Elfaivarans must be able to defend their people, but art and beauty elevates life beyond mere survival. You are proficient in longswords, scimitars, and whips. You are also proficient in one tool or instrument of your choice.

Endure and Thrive. A story can only be a tragedy if we let it end. You can cast the cantrip spare the dying . In addition, at 3rd level you can cast heroism once per long rest . When you use either of these powers, you recite a verse from the Dirge of Vekesh or a similar mantra.

Fey Step. You know how to briefly slip between the Waking and Dreaming. You can cast misty step , but must take a short or long rest before you can do it again. If you aren’t on the Waking or Dreaming, this power still functions, and to an outside observer you appear to instantaneously teleport, but to you it feels like you spend long moments in a void between worlds before arriving at your destination.

Languages. You can speak, read, write, and sign in Common, Elvish, and Sylvan.