The 7th Blood

After the Gelvani had existed in Arvanis for quite some time, their blood began to mingle again with the gods. Some of the elven deities became enamored with these lesser beings and created children with them. These children were demi-gods and began new blood lines on their own, known as the 7th Blood.
Most of the 7th blood are few in number and almost complete unknown to the rest of the world. Those that are known are still very mysterious in their own ways.

THE BRYN’GELVANI

When Gelthena warned the Gelvani that they would be cast out of Arvanis, her daughter Brynlinia, the goddess of rivers and seas, seized the moment. She offered her devoted followers a chance to escape their horrible fate. When Gelthena finally cast them out, Brynlinia’s chosen walked from their home into the oceans never to return to land again. They became the Elves of the Sea, or Bryn’Gelvani.
The Sea Elves come from all stocks of Gelvani and have adapted well to their aquatic life. They have become one race now, and control many different seas. A matriarch rules their kind within each aquatic city, whose control stretches to the outer reaches of the fertile reefs of their sea.
Gelvinia are six feet in height and have long silver, green, gold and blue hair tones. Their eyes are brilliant and intense with a wide variety of hues. Their skin is almost always a milky white with a slightly blue tinge. Their hands and feet are webbed, and they are incredibly agile, allowing them to move through the water with the grace of a dolphin.
The Gelvinia occasionally trade with other gevlani societies but for the most part consider themselves independent. They almost exclusively worship Brynlinia.

THE SULVANYR

After the Gelvani found themselves in the new world they faced a great challenge immediately. The vast verdant forests they had been given were infested with vile orcs. The Gelvani made it their duty to rid these great lands of such detestable beasts, and great wars eventually drove the Orcs back into the northlands. However, this was not over for the Orcs who continually raided the Gelvani over and over again. The Gelvani did not fear them though and in time they became rather indifferent to them. The councils of the Queen, mostly Queleshan (High Mages) of the Grey Elven blood line, never gave them much thought after the war. They even put an end to envoys exploring beyond the borders of Mirivia to discover new plans of the Orcs. Their pride would be their downfall. The orcs were planning something; they had assembled under the rulership of the Gods and were planning an all out final war with Mirivia. The Gelvani knew nothing of this. What more, the orcs foolishly sent their own envoys into Mirivia to learn its defenses. The Council was so sure of Gelvan dominance that they often let these small groups come and go without a fight, so long as no harm was done. Great harm was done though. The Orcs knew where the weakest points in Gelvan defenses were now, and their initial assault upon Mirivia was incredibly devastating. The war that ensued even threatened to leave Shey-Tishan besieged. It was the Queen’s council who suggested that the humans be approached for help. It was their personal decision to give humans the knowledge of magic in exchange for armies to drive back the Orcish invasion. The pact succeeded and the Orcs were driven away; however, this agreement created such great controversy within the Gelvan people that not only did it lead to the Grey Elves splitting away, but it lead to civil war, much loss of life and release of immense magical energies. The first Grey Elven city was laid to waist and buried in time. The victory was won, but with so much lost that many elves gave up ever seeing Arvanis again. Those members of the Queens council who made the fatal decision came to a final decision of their own. They took with them massive amounts of ancient gelvani knowledge, magic and lore. They took every piece of history and religion with them that they could. All these things they took from the rest of the Gelvani and hid them away. They built a great city within the border ethereal where it exists on this world, but not always corporeally. From here they hid their existence and began an ever-lasting crusade. They seek to unite the Gelvani against a common goal, some incredible force of evil. They particularly seek vengeance against the Orcs who nearly destroyed their culture. Because of this near destruction, they are also trying to collect all lore and craftworks of their people and use them sparingly. They essentially want to “isolate” gelvani society and destroy the evils of the world.
It has been thousands of years since this group of Grey and High Elves separated from the rest of their kind. They have mingled with the mystical world that they live upon the edge of, and their own goals and society have made them a unique form of Gelvani. They are the Sulvanyr, or Silver Elves. They stand at the height of a High or Grey Elf, and appear much like either breed, but they are unique in that they always have a slightly silver skin tone, and the “whites” of their eyes are a shimmering silver. This isn’t very noticeable if you don’t know to look for it. No non-gelvani would ever notice it, and only the most astute of Gelvani blood might see the difference. Because of this the Sulvanyr often go into the societies of these other elves disguised as one of them to help lead them towards final unity, destroy some force of evil threatening gelvani life, or retrieve some gelvani artifact that has served its purpose and now needs to be kept hidden away till it is needed again.
The Sulvanyr worship Quelanon, who was born with the spirit of Vengeance in his heart. He leads his followers towards the final destiny to destroy all forces of evil that threaten their people and return them in unity to the lands of Arvanis. It is said that when the Sulvanyr first established themselves he came to them and with their queen bore the first of the true silver elves. From his children the bloodline spread and because of his divine virtue they have become a true and pure race.
Sulvanyr are also known for their great magical skills. Their most ancients are Queleshan, but almost all of them are taught the basics of magic. They have a unique way of combining their religious forces, with their magical forces and their skill at combat. All of which is focused towards the destruction of evil.
Sulvanyr society is focused in one great city of Grey-Gelvani style, Sullothien (City of the Silver Mists). It is supposedly hidden deep within the mountains of Old Camus, and only materializes into the world to open its gates. Some say you can see it under the most brilliant light of Loran as a ghostly apparition of beauty and wonder. Truly it is a city of wonder, bearing all the glory of the gelvani ancients.

THE WEYLIFIN

One of the most horrible stories of the Gelvani is the tale of the Weylifin. They have the blood of an ancient dragon running through their veins and it has twisted them in terrible ways. Those of the Sixth Blood claim that Weylifin are not true elves, but Kalthanan has denied this and declared their draconic blood to only be a curse.
After the first orc war many Gelvani left Mirivia to explore their new world. One such group of High Elves began to look for a new homeland because they did not support the current Queen. They believed their family held the rightful throne. After traveling for many years they thought they’d never find a place as beautiful as the forests they left behind. They were in Old Camus and were crossing vast rolling fields heading north into unknown mountains and had heard rumors of a dark untouched forest that stretched over the far northern reaches of this continent. When they arrived at the pass in the mountains they found it led to a great lake. It was winter and they were suffering from the long travel, so they chose to set up a temporary fort here and wait out the season. In time the dwarves who resided in the Mountains came down to greet the new arrivals. They didn’t want the elves causing them any problems but allowed them to live there for the passing of the season. When the new year came the elves began to send scouting parties into the forests to the north, looking for a new place to establish a city. Many never returned and eventually another year passed, then another and another. The dwarves became more irate with the elves and when the Thain’s son was accidentally killed by one it began an all out war. The elves eventually secured their fotress, but in the mean time they had found a new place to live. Having become accustomed to the mountains they built a new city in the north on the steep sides of a tall peak juting from the dark forests. Both cities grew in power, but the new citadel became the center of their civilization. Eventually they learned that a dragon lived within the mountain. It had been watching them for many decades and finally made itself known to their queen. Together they decided to share the mountain. The Dragon was a powerful sorcerer and could take elven form. When the great dragon crusades began the elves offered the dragon and a few of its kind safe haven from the human slayers. Over the next few decades some of the elves and dragons began to form relationships that eventually led to the birth of the first Weylifin. At first there was great controversy over the existence of these half-dragons, but elves are slow to act and they grew up with their kind. Eventually the Dragon Crusades came to the
gates of the elven fortress. The humans at first trusted the elves and made allies of them, but the dwarves were their first allies. When the dwarves told the humans how the elves had been harboring dragons the Crusaders sieged the fortress and demanded the dragons be turned over. When they were not the humans invaded the city. In the midst of the battle a young man was discovered who was both dragon and elf. The humans withdrew from the city but when they heard of this discovery they condemned the elves to be devil-worshipers and made an all out assault on the city. They slew every elf they could, and claimed the city as their own. They did not know about the Weylifin’s citadel to the far north.
The elves were horrified over the genocide they had witnessed and turned to the dragons for help. The elven Queen’s lover turned to his goddess, Arthox, for guidance. The demon queen gave them a great spell to punish the humans with. The Elven Queen and the dragons besieged the city. They told the humans to leave their home and never return or suffer horribly. The humans responded with attacks and so the elven queen used the power of an ancient artifact, the Ioun, and the spell given them by the Dragon Queen, and cast the city into the planes of hades. It vanished from the face of the planet. The elves and dragons returned to their home in the mountains, but were all changed forever.
The elves had made a pact with a demon goddess and the blood of dragons would flow in their veins forever. They became the Weylifin, Children of the Wyrm. The dragon crusades did not stop there and in time only a few dragons remained with the Weylifin.
This was not the end of the troubles the Weylifin would encounter. Centuries later, the Weylifin decided to lay siege to their brethren to the south, the Syvlana-Gelvani. The Sylvan Elves battled greatly but in the end were forced from their
forest in midst of a huge conflagaration. They came south to the Ronan colonies where they encountered a great elven prince, Kalthanan Korianthil. He and his friends assisted them in driving back the Weylifin armies. Then they proceded to sneak into their great city and slay the great Dragon Father who lived within their mountain as well as the new Queen of the Weylifin. Having defeated the dragon kings they learned about the fate of the ancient elven city, inhabited by humans and cursed to be tortured for eternity by an abyssmal demon-dragon goddess. Kalthanan and his allies
traveled to the abyss to release these humans’ eternal souls, and in the process they defeated the Dragon Queen.
The Weylifin then were freed from their oppressors but could not easily go back to gelvani ways, they were different and felt it in everything about them. They tried though, but many despised Kalthanan for what he had done and the Elven Gods for interfering in their fate.
A couple decades later a great force of evil tried to use the Weylifin to its advantage. Tiamat, the mother of Arthox, used her draconic powers to enslave the Weylifin and force them to construct a great temple for her. Through it she would try enter their world. A great flight of evil dragons joined her forces, but Kalthanan and the Elven Gods would interefere again. They defeated the dragons and stopped Tiamat’s arrival into their world. This forever ended the cycle of the chromatic and metallic dragons, and from then on dragons have been solitary and upredictable selfish beings.
The Weylfin suffered greatly at the hands of Tiamat. Many died in her service and all of their wealth and resources had been waisted on her temple. Kalthanan tried to help them rebuild some but they were still a fallen people. This came to the great advantage of the Ig-Baruk orcs, who were rising in power in this forest. They saw the Weylifin as a wealthy race, and stormed their city, slaying most of them and conquering their citadel.
What remains of the Weylifin are a only a handful of individuals few and far between. Most are those who had left their homeland long ago to explore the world. None are of the True Blood, but some say that one may be born some day. They are a disconnected people, most disguise themselves as Que-Gelvani, and others don’t even relate themselves to the other elves. A very few survived the Ig-Baruk and wish to one day seek vengeance and return their people to their rightful glory.
The majority of Weylifin have only some draconic features, but occasionally a true blood is born. True Bloods are either the direct children of the dragons or the first-born child in the sixth generation from the last True Blood. True bloods are covered in scales, with draconic eyes and claws and often have huge wings. They even breath fire.
The normal Weylfin appear to be high elves who are only slightly taller and have a faint reddish tinge to their skin. They tend to have red hair tones, or variances their of, and what can only be called “strong features”. They are naturally adept at magic and often powerful warriors.
All Weylifin hold a certain affinity to dragons and their brood. They can recognize a dragon and a dragon can recognize them. They also have some draconic innate abilities, but this also means they have some similar weaknesses.
Weylifin culture was much like High Elven
culture, but the Queen was always the concubine of their Dragon King. There was often one or two other dragons that served or were somehow related to the Dragon King who also took Weylifin concubines. The Weylifin city is much like a Grey-Elven city,
but built steep on a mountain side. However, Weylifin also had High Elven like villages throughout their forest. Most all of these are conquered now.
Weylifin developed many exotic weapons in their society, primarily to accommodate the True Blood Weylifin (Half-Dragons). The greatest of which was the Fir-Lanyr (Two Swords), a haft with a
long sword sized blade on both ends. It was often curved and wicked, but built with elven grace and masterwork. Other weapons were specially designed spears, Halberds and swords. Most Weylifin were accustomed to elven swords and bows, like High Elves, but the True Bloods had a great variety at their disposal

THE DA’WU GANI

Neth-Noril is a gelvani realm in the outer planes ruled by the black skinned lord Elghinn. Here reside the spirits of all those gelvani who die of unnatural means upon the mortal world and whose souls are not passed on to Arvanis by the proper rituals set down by Gelthena. To most gelvani it is a limbo, a place where they must suffer eternity in a world without the beauty of the stars or the sun lit sky and reside either in a massive city of darkness or an alien forest. However, to the Da’wu Gani this is paradise.
It is said in their myth that once long ago they were born in Neth-Norel, and are the direct children of Elghinn. But, when Gelthena cast the other gelvani upon the world she commanded their dark father to also send down his children. He chose the lands of Ryosha for them, and the dark bamboo forest to be called “Neth-Utani”.
When they arrived here they found that some spirits already resided in this strange forest. They were the Bamboo spirits and became friendly with the Da’wu. Over many millennia the two races became one and the Da’wu are now considered a race of Spirit Folk (see Oriental Adventures). However, unlike other Bamboo Spirit Folk they maintained some gelvani features and are particularly different in appearance. They are much more like their godly ancestor, who they now call El’gin.
The Da’wu are very short with skin tones of deep purple, midnight blue and ebony black. Their hair is usually silver, white or various shades of blue. Their eyes are often brilliant blues, greens, purples and sometimes even violet. They are beings of the twilight, living in forests that by day are shadowy and by night are pitch black. Thus they have incredible low light vision and even minor dark vision, but in bright light they find it difficult to focus and thus suffer penalties.
The Da’wu are as agile as other gelvani but are also incredibly intelligent. Magic is very common in their society and many of them are Wujen. Like other spirit folk they are akin to the forest and other spirits, but unlike most spirit folk they are not of human descent but rather of Gelvani decent. Hence they are of the 7th blood. Despite this Gelthena does not communicate with them. She allows Elghinn complete control over them, but bids that they too must live upon a mortal world. When they die, however, they always go to Neth-Norel and to them that is suiting. Hence, they are not required to be buried by the rituals of the other gelvani. It is not known what would happen if they were.
Da’wu Gani are only found in Ryosha; however, they often will leave their land to explore the world. They are very curious about other Gelvani and have heard many rumors about their kin. However, when they find other gelvani they are often surprised at the vast differences. Da’wu are truly unique.

THE FEY-GELVANI

In the land of Lojanrar there are vast and verdant forests, untouched by the civilizations of men or even the Que and Grey Gelvani. Sylvanmyr is one such forest, where the Sylvana-Gelvani hold reign, but there are many others. In the forest of Marithanmyr is a kingdom of fey. Sprites, Faeries, Satyrs and Nymphs and many other such fey folk all reside here. Millennia ago, a clan of Sylvana Gelvani entered this part of the forest, fleeing from orcs invading their own woods. The faerie queen gave them solace in her borders, but forbade them to leave. After many generations of residing within her boundaries the blood of the fey became strong in them. They lost the stature and height of their kind but they gained fey like qualities and magical abilities that easily made up for it.
The Fey-Gelvani, or Faerie Elves, are wily and cunning with a love of trickery and adventure. They rarely leave their forest, but are no longer bound by their queen to reside within Morithanmyr.
Some of the Fey-Gelvani became wooed by the wicked Unseelie Fey and left Morithanmyr to join the evil faeries in Witherwood. They are not any different than their brethren except that they serve a more wicked cause.
The Fey-Gelvani are very few in number and their closest allies are actually the gnomes.

Bryn-Gelvani (Sea-Elves):

  • +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution: Gelvani are graceful but somewhat frail.
  • Gelvani base speed is 30 feet on land, but 50 in the water
  • Proficient with either Tridents or Harpoons; proficient with Nets or Bolas. Gelvinia make use of weapons that work well under water.
  • Automatic Languages: Gelvan and Aquan. Bonus Languages: Locathan, Kuo-Toan, Ronan, Parthan, Veldessan, Bamorian. Gelvinia commonly know the languages of most creatures of the sea as well as the languages of those who sail on the seas.
  • Favored Class: Ranger. A multi-class Gelvinia’s Druid class does not count when determining whether she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see PHB P.56) All Gelvinia have a strong connection to the sea, and so many find the ways of the Druid to come naturally (Note: this is the Sea Druid).

Sulvanyr (Silver Elves)

  • +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution: Sulvanyr are graceful but frail.
  • +1 Intelligence, -1 Strength: They are very intelligent but not nearly as strong as most medium sized races. Due to this they are much better at wizardry than most other race.
  • +1 Wisdom, -1 Charisma: Sulvanyr are wise, now more so than in the beginning. Due to their mistakes in the past they have made it a goal of their society to learn philosophy and wisdom. However, they still have a strong drive to eliminate all the enemies of the Gelvani and the fact that they choose to hide their true origin from those they know makes them seem elusive and pretentious.
  • Sulvanyr base speed is 30 feet.
  • Proficient with either shortsword or rapier; proficient with shortbow. Sulvanyr esteem the arts of swordplay and archery but require them to be small due to their limited strength.
  • Automatic Languages: Common and Gelvan. Bonus Languages: Darktongue, Draconic, Orc, Ogre, Duervan, Gnomish, and Sylvan. Sulvanyr commonly know the languages of their friends and most of all their enemies.
  • Favored Class: Rogue. A multi-class Sulvanyr’s rogue class does not count when determining whether she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see PHB P.56). The life of the rogue comes naturally to the Sulvanyr. They must live their life in the shadows of secrecy and often must find ways to attain items without others knowing about it. A wide variety of skills will allow them to achieve their goals.

Weylifin:

  • +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution: Weylifin are graceful but frail.
  • +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom: Weylifin have the blood of dragons in them and due to this they have an incredible force of will. However, they are brash and have a serious lack of foresight. They tend to act without thinking and due to this they are rather unwise.
  • Medium Size: As Medium-size creatures, Weylifin have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  • Weylifin base speed is 30 feet.
  • 1 point of Fire Resistance from every attack.
  • Proficient with either Longsword or Shortsword; proficient with shortbow, longbow, and composite shortbow. Weylifin esteem the arts of swordplay and archery, like the que-gelvani from which they came.
  • Automatic Languages: Ronan, Gelvan and Draconic. Bonus Languages: Darktongue, Duervan and Sylvan. Weylifin commonly know the languages of their enemies.
  • Favored Class: Sorcerer. A multi-class Weylifin’s sorcerer class does not count when determining whether she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see PHB P.56). Sorcery comes naturally to Weylifin, as with dragons it is in their blood. Fighter/Sorcerers are especially common amongst them.

Da’wu Gani (Spirit Folk):

  • +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution: Da’wu Gani are graceful but frail like all Gelvani.
  • +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma: The Da’wu have brilliant minds but are also very dark natured. They are best described as quiet, brooding and belligerent. Their culture is one where the ideals of good and evil mean nothing. However, they are still very curious and will often go out of their way to learn things, even if it is considered rude. They also do not see death as a terrible thing, but rather a chance for honor. This lack of fear of death is often misunderstood as a death wish, or carelessness when it comes to the lives of others.
  • Medium Size: As Medium-size creatures, Da’wu Gani have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  • Dark Vision: While Da’wu have low light vision like other Gelvani they also have limited Dark Vision. They can see in dark up to 60 feet . Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and Da’wu can function just fine with no light at all.
  • Da’wu Gani base speed is 30 feet.
  • Spirit Subtype: Spirit folk have the spirit subtype, which means they can be affected by spells which specifically target spirits, such as protection from spirits and invisibility to spirits. Their Gelvani ancestry makes them humanoids, however, so they are also affected by spells such as hold person and charm person (though they still receive the bonus to saves vrs. Enchantment spells).
  • +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects with the words “shadow”,”darkness” or “wood” in the name of the effect, and wu jen spells connected to earth or wood.
  • Proficient with either Shikomi-zue or Wakazashi; proficient with crossbow-hand, or crossbow-repeating. Da’wu developed the Shikomi-zue as a way to hide their blades within the very bamboo that is abundant in their land. They esteem the arts of swordplay like other gelvani but they have developed complex weapons for ranged attacks, crossbows.
  • Automatic Languages: Ryoshan, Gelvan and Spirit Tongue. Bonus Languages: Awuan, Giant, Goblin, Hengeyokai, Nezumi. Da’wu know the languages of the spirits and the races near their home land.
  • Favored Class: Wu Jen. A multi-class Da’wu’s Wu Jen class does not count when determining whether she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see PHB P.56) The command over the elements, spirit forces, and the very powers of nature is part of the very essence of the Da’wu Gani. Though Wu Jen are generally considered loners, that is not so within the Da’wu society where they are considered common.

Fey-Gelvani (Fey Elves):

  • +3 Dexterity, -3 Constitution: Fey-Gelvani are incredibly graceful but very frail.
  • Medium Size: As Medium-size creatures, Fey-gelvani have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  • Fey-Gelvani base speed is 30 feet.
  • Fey Subtype: Fey-Gelvani are of the Fey Subtype which means they are treated as Fey for spell purposes. However, due to their Gelvani lineage they are also considered humanoids.
  • Spell-Like Abilities: Fey-Gelvani have a few minor powers due to their faerie blood. 1/day – confusion (the Fey Gelvani must touch the target), dancing lights, entangle, change self, charm person.
  • +5 bonus to move silently checks in a forest setting.
  • Proficient with either Spear or Shortsword; proficient with shortbow, longbow, and composite shortbow. Fey-Gelvani can also begin play with magical arrows of Sleep at a cost of 2 gp each (see Sprite Monster Manual P. 173). These arrows cause only 1 point of damage no matter what but the target (regardless of hit dice) must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or be affected as though by a sleep spell.
  • Automatic Languages: Sylvan and Gelvan. Bonus Languages: Gnome, Ronan, Darktongue, Draconic, Goblin and Orc. Fey-Gelvani know the languages of the forest creatures and of their natural enemies, such as the orcs.
  • Favored Class: Druid. A multi-class Fey-Gelvani’s druid class does not count when determining whether she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see PHB P.56). Fey-Gelvani druids consider their ability to control the divine forces of nature to be part of their blood right.
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