Kagonesti Elves

Kagonesti

Kagonesti Elves are the original and most pure type of elf upon Ansalon, and are the clan from which all other elves hail from. During the Age of Dreams they were simply known as wild elves, and whilst some of their number chose to build great cities and live behind man-made structures (who split from the Kagonesti and became known as the Silvanesti), many stayed true to nature and lived in the wild. During the Age of Dreams, a wild elf known as Kagonos, who was a Pathfinder and nominal leader of the wild elves, led his people away from the council of Sinthal-Elish, and chose to truly separate the wild elves and the civilized elves. At this time, the wild elves begin to wear tribal tattoos and renamed themselves as the Kagonesti.

Originally the Kagonesti dwelt almost solely in the forests of western Ergoth, although during the Age of Might they were hunted down as a menace by the troops of Istar. Almost wiped out completely, the surviving elves witnessed the Cataclysm and destruction of Istar, and over several hundred years grew in numbers once more. The wild elves were also enslaved by their own race, many of them were forced to work in servitude to the Silvanesti and Qualinesti people in the elven cities. The view of the "civilized elves" was that they were educating their barbaric cousins. The Kagonesti were split between those forced to work in elven cities, and those who remained free and in the wild.

The Kagonesti elves dwell in the various forested realms across Ansalon, living in harmony with nature and animals and protecting the woodlands across the continent, although the majority of them still remain in the forests of Southern Ergoth. The elven people are a mix of the original wild elves, as well as the descendants of the Silvanesti and Qualinesti elves, who have chosen to leave their great cities and return to the wild. Throughout near annihilation by the armies of Istar, enslaved by their own people, the Kagonesti have remained a strong and unbroken people, who rise in the face of adversity.

The average Kagonesti elf stands at just under five feet tall and weighs between ninety and a hundred pounds. Due to their outdoor lifestyle, Kagonesti elves have tanned skin and are lean and muscular. The hair color of the normal wild elf ranges between light brown to black and they normally have hazel eyes. On very rare occasions, a Kagonesti elf has been born with silvery-white hair, which is sometimes a throwback to an earlier Qualinesti or Silvanesti ancestor. Kagonesti elves are considered beautiful by most non-elven races, but are viewed as wild barbarians and at best exotic creatures by their own cousins. Kagonesti commonly are dressed in leather clothing that has a heavy fringe with feathers and silver jewelry, which they believe deters evil spirits away from them.

The wild elves are suspicious of most outsiders, having been enslaved by their own cousins, attacked by Ogres, hunted by Humans, and having their trees cut down by Dwarves over the course of history. They are peerless hunters and silent in the woods, as well as amongst the most skilled fighters of elvenkind. All Kagonesti have an innate knowledge of nature and the forest, and are normally akin with animals and in the wild and almost lost in a city, until given enough time to adapt. They normally worship the gods of either light or neutrality, but even show a healthy respect for the gods of darkness. However any Kagonesti who was known to worship a dark god, was exiled, and decreed as a dark elf and not welcome in elven lands.

The Kagonesti elves generally live under a tribal system, where each tribe is centered on a chief and his family. Kagonesti tribes either live wild in a forest, or sometimes in portable structures. They do not build permanent structures, as it does not allow them to roam free. The Kagonesti have a strong sense of history and the past, and relate all their tales verbally. The creation tales of the elves has altered over time due to the verbal retelling from generation to generation, however it is the role of the Pathfinder and the shamans of the Kagonesti to remember all the stories of their people.

A Kagonesti child is named based on a certain characteristic that they possess that is likened to something in nature. On passing a rite of passage, they are given an adult name that designates they are to considered an adult in their community. Some elves reach this point at 40 years old, however all Kagonesti elves are considered adults by 70 years of age. The standard Kagonesti elf tends to live up to 500 years of age, however some Kagonesti elves have been known to live up to 700 years old, and a few rare exceptions have been known to live even longer than this.