LleuGarnock
LleuGarnock - light by the alder river (derived from Welsh)(loo-GAR-nok)
LleuGarnock is the only known remaining settlement of elves. It is isolated from all humans; no roads pass near it. The forest surrounding LleuGarnock is known as the Sunwood.
LleuGarnock and the Sunwood are within the borders of the human kingdom of Calindell.
Characters
Gemini /Gemi – twin (Greek)(JEM-e-nae)
Age: 17
Likes: trees, privacy, fishing, apples, books
Dislikes: Kynan, pudding, public speaking
Talent: illusion
Gemini doesn’t particularly like other elves. She tolerates her father and her twin brother, Syblai, better than anyone else in LleuGarnock. Gemi has an eidetic (photographic) memory, which aids her in producing realistic illusions, and also in remembering conversations long past.
Syblai /Syb – sibling (English, male form of Sibley)(SIB-lae)
Age: 17
Likes: practical jokes, oranges
Dislikes: work, being tired, beans
Talent: conjuring
Syblai is Gemini’s twin brother. Many elves consider him arrogant because he shows off his talent whenever possible. His sister Gemi is one of the only elves who can tease him effectively.
Olwynne /Wynne/etc. – white footprint (Welsh)(OL-win)
Age: 9
Likes: bright colors, fuzzy animals,water fights, food
Dislikes: pale pink, being left out
Talent: speed
Olwynne is the twins’ double first cousin – her mother is the twins’ father’s sister and vice versa. See the family tree at the bottom of the page.
Aiken – oaken (English)(A-ken)
Age: 63
Likes: trees, silence, almonds
Dislikes: being in a hurry, beans
Talent: wood weaving
Aiken is the father of Syblai and Gemini. The twins’ mother died when they were born, but Aiken has had the help of the elven community in raising his two children. Aiken has the ability to speak with trees and some other plants.
Deryn - bird (Welsh)(DER-en)
Age: 50
Likes:soft fabrics, children
Dislikes:
Talent: healing
Deryn is Olwynne’s mother, as well as Aiken’s sister. She can speak with most animals.
Kynan – chief (Welsh)(KIN-en)
Age: 16
Likes: Gemini, people in general, birch beer
Dislikes: waking up, apple peels
Talent: ice element control
Kynan enjoys teasing Gemini about how green her hair is, and refuses to realize how much she dislikes it. This has been going on since they were small children, and is now a deeply ingrained habit.
Amaranta – flower that never fades (Spanish)(am-e-RAN-ta)
Age: 308
Mysterious
Amaranta is the oldest elf in LleuGarnock. She is the grandmother of the twins through their mother, and Olwynne through her father. Amaranta has a nightly tradition of telling stories in the great hall after dinner.
Elf Culture
Food
The community of LleuGarnock gathers twice a day for meals, at sunrise and sunset. Elves eat very little, in general, but they hate to eat alone. Food is a thing to be shared.Elves eat many nuts and seeds, fruits and herbs. They grow small amounts of grain, catch fish and hunt birds when it is necessary, but they usually will not kill mammals.
Work
An adult elf works at his assigned job from after breakfast until usually three or four, depending on the season, the work needed, and the elf’s mood.An elf child has a period of study after breakfast – two or three hours, depending on the season. Once a child has learned basic reading, writing, some math and elf history, this becomes a free study period.
After this is chore time, in which elf children help with jobs that do not require magic. This lasts an hour, and then they have free time until dinner.
Magic
Elves usually discover their particular talent as a preteen, and then develop it over the next few years, perhaps training with an adult elf during their study period. It is not unusual for an elf to discover later that he has another, somehow related talent. At around 16-18 the elf, with the help of the community, decides on a job. It may take more than one form. It may be changed later if he gets bored of it or if his particular talent is needed elsewhere.The Importance of Hair
An elf’s green hair is alive to some extent, and can create energy from sunlight. Cutting it does not hurt the elf, and length is a matter of personal preference, although no elf would shave his head. Younger elves tend to keep their hair short for practical reasons, while older elves may grow it out – the fraction more energy it will produce becomes significant over the lifespan of an elf.A portion of the energy is used immediately by the elf, but about 60% is stored for later use.
Life Stages
An elf ages similarly to a human for the first 20 years of his life. Then his aging slows almost to a halt. A sun elf can expect to live past 200 years, sometimes reaching 300 and beyond. At this point in his life an elf appears no older than 50 in human terms.When a sun elf’s physical life is over, either through injury or having lived too long, he makes the transition to the form of moon elf.
A moon elf is 4-6” tall, intangible, weightless, and invisible when not glowing. This glow is powered by the stored energy of their hair during the sun elf phase. It is limited in amount, and when it is gone, the moon elf can no longer appear to the physical eyes of any being. For this reason, moon elves prefer to appear at night, when less stored light need be used to make them visible.
A moon elf will always retain his personality, life force and magic. However, the magic of a moon elf is subtly different than that of a sun elf. It is not well understood by sun elves in general.
Sun elves are also referred to as day fairies, and moon elves as night fairies, though this is uncommon. Humans mistakenly separate the two phases by the categories “elf” and “fairy.”
Religion
Sun elves revere life force in general, and their ancestors in particular. Before they sleep, elves may pray to their ancestors, and if they are heard by a moon elf, they may receive help. This is probably the origin of the human idea that “fairies” grant wishes.Names
Elves generally go by their given names only. There is no "family name," or indication of an elf's ancestry. An elf may put his community's name after his own if he wishes to be more specific, but for the past 150 years there has only been one community of sun elves, and so all elves may follow their name with the phrase "of LleuGarnock." Most elves are not even aware of this, since everyone they know lives in LleuGarnock, so no one bothers to say it.Home
The Elves of LleuGarnock is Copyright Irene Pitcairn 2008.
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