Far’lil

Race type: Humans

Lifespan: 80 years

Everage height: 1.65m (males), 1.6m (females)

Beginner Friendly Race: this race is common in Kiern Vale, and is considered appropriate for players who are new in Melestra.

The Far’lil tend to be shorter than the En’miri, with a body structure that often (though not always) tends to plumpness. Their skin tone is relatively light, though not as pale as the En’miri’s. Sometimes, it tends to have light reddish hue or a slight tan. Their hair is frequently abundant and tends to curl at the ends, with its color often being reddish or reddish-brown. The body hair of males is more common and dense then that of the En’miri. The eyes are mostly green, brown or brown-green.

Far’lil, especially those who are more religious and traditional, prefer simple clothing that always includes at least few items related to nature – such as leather, fur, and occasionally ornaments made from horn, carved bone pieces and on the like. Many of the Far’lil are fond of green and brown colors, if they can afford them.

The Far’lil originate from the cold, windswept highlands of Northern Melestra, where they lived as hardy and independent herders and farmers, without central authority or complex rules. After their homeland was conquered and their shrines set ablaze by the En’mirian Empire, and most of their holy men and elders were wiped out, the Far’lil were scattered, and degraded into low status farmers (and later small-scale merchants) throughout the empire. Often, they mingled with ancient local communities distantly related to their race, and sharing similar traditions and appearance.

Nowadays, the Far’lil form the majority of the human population in Kiern Vale and some of the neighboring regions, though the heritage of many identifying as Far'lil includes both En’miri and ancient local populations. While most Far’lil remain peasants and small-scale traders, some have accumulated status and wealth, seizing opportunities that occurred after the decline of imperial rule. At the time of the campaign, the wealthiest lord of Kiern Vale is a Far’lil.

The ancient Far’lil religion is a decentralized, loosely organized faith, which worships the ancient creator of all beings, a nature god called Par-Egul or “The Antlered Father”. This religion emphasizes the patriarchal supremacy of the father over his family. After long generations of suppression by the hated En’miri priestesses, the ancient traditions of the great father had rekindled, and new priests (“Zaglits” in Far’lil language) are struggling to restore the glory of long days past, founding “circles of zealous fawns”, which many of them seek vengeance against the En’miri, and even more to “break free” from the “foreign, heretic tradition of the sparking stone worshipers” – which in practice were adopted, fully or partially, by many of the Far’lil themselves during the imperial era.

Far’lil culture

Despite the integration of many Far’lil into the respective imperial regions where they wandered, many of them never forgot the old traditions and stories passed down from generation to generation – even after the ancient Zaglits and elders were slain: tales of a golden era in which the Farilic ancestors lived as proud and free people in their ancient homelands in harmony with nature, and worshiped the Great Father, the creator of all things.

Many Far’lil believed that a day will come when the Great Father will reveal himself once again, and lead his beloved children back to their glory days of old. Then, will come a day of judgement day on the hated En’miri, the oppressors which behind their fair appearance hide a cruel and empty soul.

Despite the horrendous impact of the Great Shattering on both Far’lil and En’miri, many Far’lil nonetheless see it as “proof” that the sins of the En’miri and their despised priestesses had brought the rage of the Great Father upon the world. On the other hand, many Far’lil care little about world redemption, and mostly wish to live their lives in the relative freedom afforded to them by Imperial decline. The last thing they want is to return to their ancestral northern homeland.

In many parts of Kiern Vale, many Far’lil are struggling to survive the aftermath of the Great Shattering, and have grown used to maintaining relatively peaceful relations with their En’miri neighbors. Others, especially the "Circles of Zealous Fawns” increasingly popular amongst the younger Far'lil, are certain that the time of reckoning is near, and it's time to wage war against the remnants of the hated empire, and sometime even against some of their wayward brothers, and especially sisters, who adopted En’mirian sinful traditions, such as acting “too literately” – which is a proof of “En’mirian corruption that clang into their souls". Many of those Zealots admire a mysterious and unyielding figure named Galard Frun – an escaped slave that anointed himself as “the great prophet” and is mustering holy armies far away to the north-east of the Kiern Vale. He has sworn to wipe clean any trace of the empire from the face of Melestra.

As a result, many Farilic communities are nowadays riven from within, between those who dream about the great prophet (though his armies are yet far away from Kiern Vale), to those that wish to keep their current ways, however influenced they might be by En’mirian culture. Another faction are the mysterious local “Women circles” who perform mystical nightly dances in the forest – another phenomenon hated by the “Zealous Fawns” and Zaglits.

Relations with other races

In spite of ancient hatred (or at least tension) between the Far’lil the the En’miri, and the traditional suspicion towards other races, many Far’lil are highly pragmatic, and willing to coexist and even temporally ally with their past rivals to achieve common goals.

Most Far’lil reject and even disdain the extravagant complex culture of the Mistweavers, especially their patronizing, fancy approach which strives to “tame nature and turn it into a flowery heaven on earth”. On the other hand, Far’lil share the Mistweavers perception of the terrifying Ralg’kril – viewing them as half-demonic beings, dwellers of darkness and lava, severed long ago from any ability to be a part of nature and earn the favor of the Great Father.

Far’lil tend to look down upon the Gurg, seeing them as no more than nimble-handed thieves, deserving of a good beating if they approach too near to a farm or a family store. However, some Far’lil merchants have learned that making deals with Gurg can yield profit, provided that you handle with care and watch your back.

In the distant past, great wars were fought between the ancestors of the Far’lil and the brutal ogres– as ogres clans frequently raided the ancient homeland in the north in search of battles, plunder and slaves for the cruel ogre wizards. Many Far’lil, especially in Kiern Vale, view the ogres as dangerous brutes and growing danger to the whole vale. On the other hands, rumors from the northeast claim about some strange understanding or even alliance of convenience between the Great Prophet and some of the Ogre sorcerer-nobles – largely based on their mutual hatred of the En’miri remnants.

Language

The language of the Far’lil is called “Eglur”, or “Farlin” in common En’mirin. Far’lil tradition claim this is the language created by the Great Father himself, and with its holy words, he subdued the seductive nymphs, then passed it to his firstborn antlered children, who later taught it to the Farilic ancestors.

The Eglure is a strict, harsh-sounding language, similar to the windswept cold highlands in which the Far’lil originated. This language uses many stop-letters such as “Sh”, “R”, “Z”, “G” and “T”, and is considered slightly tonal.

Farilic Names

Farilic names are relatively harsh in sound, and often intertwine with the name of the Great Father – Par Egul, or with the word “Zag” which means “noble antlers” (such as a great stag or elk, which considered to be the most noble of all animals).

The name is usually composed of two syllables, without the En’mirian high apostrophe between them.

Common prefixes for Farilic names (both males and females):
Am, Ag, Zor, Zok, Por, Gar, Shar, Kor, Rog.

Farilic prefixes will usually contain a vowel of “A” or “O” and almost never “E” or “U”.

Common suffixes for male names: Zag, Rand, Zart, Zorg, Lag, Larg, Buz.

Female names:

To create a female name, it is usual to take a make name and change its suffix to be shorter and softer, with the movement and ending of the suffix changing to “En”.

For example: Amrand (he) becomes Amren (she), Girzag (he) becomes Girzen (she); Korlag (he) becomes “Korlen”.

Family names

Prior to the imperial conquest Far’lil did not have a family name, and this remains the case for most Far’lil even to this day. Instead, a Far’lil is called by combining his or her father’s name (or head of the extended family, if exists) after his or her private name, like: Amrand, son of Amzag, or Korzen, daughter of Amazag.

Far’lil who wished to adapt En’mirian norms and create a family name, would take a name of ancient or esteemed ancestor (or simply the name of their own father), and add a suffix like “On”, “Ion” or “Or”.
For example: Amrand, son of Amzag will become “Amrand Amzagon/Amzagor”. The most well-known surname of this kind is “Anzarion” – which belongs to the wealthy lord who dominates large parts of the central Kiern Vale.

It is a known habit of the more zealous Far’lil to strictly refuse to call one of their brethren by his adopted “En’mirian mockery” surname. Instead, they will insist on using his traditional surname – using the full name of his father (“Amrand, Son of Amzag”).

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Created and edited by Gideon Orbach (2017) © All rights reserved. Commercial use and/or any profit-making purpose is strictly prohibited without explicit permission from the creator, in writing and in advance. Noncommercial/personal use with no profit aim is allowed (and even recommended!)