Eldritch

Allies to the Pelted of the Alliance, the Eldritch are an estranged offshoot of humanity, espers and isolationists.

Appearance

Light-gravity-worlders, the Eldritch are tall, bipedal humanoids who are usually between six and seven feet in height, with thinner-than-human builds for both men and women. Bred from a very small gene pool (and tweaked by nanotech engineering), they are all pale with white hair; hair is straight or with a very slight wave, and is silky or satiny in texture. Eye colors tend toward pale shades of blue, green, grey or yellow, although darker shades are not unheard of (Lisinthir's eyes are a dark sapphire).

See also: Eldritch Costume

Physiology

The Eldritch are humanoid enough to reproduce with humans, though such children are born Eldritch. The lighter gravity of their world has made them taller and more brittle; their metabolisms are a jumble of too-quick and too-slow, giving them a higher average body temperature and much more finicky guts. They process toxins quickly but are prone to genetic diseases, and have reproduction problems.

As people they are all born with some amount of esper talent, though their abilities have been hobbled by a culture that discourages tactile contact (and the enhancement of the ability that comes with it).

Eldritch age at roughly the same rate as humans up to adulthood, at which point the aging process slows dramatically. Early Eldritch could expect to live to 500 or 600, while the current generation of Eldritch average about 1,200-1,500 years; each generation appears to be living longer.

History

Timeline

The Reign of Queen Jerisa:

• Settlement
• The War with Corel

The Reign of Queen Maraesa:

• The events in "Precious Things"
• Liolesa's trip off-world as heir

The Reign of Queen Liolesa:

• Fasianyl and Sellelvi
• Lisinthir's cultivation after his arrival at Ontine
• Reese's cultivation

Language

See Eldren

Naming Conventions

Eldritch can have three names:

• Birth Name
• Cradle/Nursery/Milk Name: a diminutive used only by close friends, with an implication that they’ve known one another since before adulthood
• Song Name (optional)

Examples:

• Laiselin, Hirianthial's first wife: Laiselin, Laisa (Milk) and Butterfly (Song).
• Liolesa, Lia (Milk)
• Hirianthial, Hiran (Milk)
• Fasianyl, Fasi (Milk)

They move between names and titles depending on the kind of attention they want their listener to give them, much the way they do with color-shading their language to warn their listeners how their words should be interpreted. Calling someone by a cradle name is a way of saying ‘this is something I would say only to someone I have a long trust with’ and by a song name (if they know/have one), ‘this is something higher than us and dearer’ and by their title a way to remind them of their responsibilities, and by their full name, in the same way they might choose to shade a word neutral gray on purpose.

Exceptions

Shorter names were more common in earlier generations, and people who are carrying a name down generations might not have cradle names. Sometimes a parent might choose a cradle name as a birth name, however, like Jeasa who decided to name Jahir with a milk name, because "all the world loves him so well he needs no formal name."

Social Structure

The Eldritch began forming their society on the trip to their world, and had codified it by not long after Settlement, despite the fact that the effects of their genetic manipulation had become unpredictable. Each succeeding generation was longer-lived than the one before it, and the confusion and upheaval this created caused the Eldritch to cling to what conventions they'd created. This tendency toward parochialism was only magnified by the war that broke out not long after Settlement for reasons not clearly remembered or consistently recorded: some claim it was the result of mental talent deranged by the treatments they'd undertaken, others claimed it was a political struggle. Whatever the case, in the war's aftermath the Church was given the assignment of finding and disposing of talents with the potential to derange their carriers. This removed a large chunk of the population shortly before it was discovered that Eldritch fertility had become erratic. For unknown reasons, fertility is linked with powerful esper talents, so the people purged were the ones most likely to successfully reproduce.

The Eldritch have been growing longer-lived and shrinking in population since Settlement. The twenty noble Houses that were once a small segment of the population have become the majority of its peoples, hollowing out the working populace and destroying the economy. More and more the ruling elite have nothing to rule as the towns established at Settlement have "died," leaving the people in them to disperse in search of places where roofs don't leak and food can be bought.

Never large in number, the Eldritch are now in danger of extinction, partially from the wreckage of their economy and partially because of fertility issues. In the wake of this growing peril, the Eldritch as a whole have responded by becoming even more rigid in their customs and habits at a time when they desperately need to look elsewhere for help.

See also: Eldritch Government

See also: Eldritch Families

See also: Eldritch Heraldry

Eldritch Noble Society

The Eldritch had twenty noble Houses established just prior to Settlement, of which Jisiensire is now the smallest in number (though among the richest). Twelve of those noble Houses have vanished, with one on its way (the House of Lisinthir's father, Imthereli, of which he is the last surviving scion).

Eldritch nobles begin attending court shortly after they cease "shearing" their hair -- at around age 14. They come of age at an unspecified point after that and are then marriageable. (Note: It was not unusual in the past for children to be married/betrothed at a young age, and while this still occurs, it is usually the result of political considerations.) Eligible maidens' portraits are displayed on "courting boards," small, portable wooden holders that allow a family to see who might be a suitable marriage prospect. Males are expected to court likely prospects, although it is the female's prerogative to make the actual proposal.

The Eldritch attend Summer and Winter Court at Ontine, the capital, each of which lasts several weeks; summer court may linger longer, depending on the weather. Most noble family own a townhouse on Nobles' Row in the capital to house their members during the season. When court is not is session, nobles reside on family estates in manor houses of similar design.

Eldritch male and female children are permitted to play together until adolescence, when serious social strictures formalize their interaction.

-- clothing covering the entire body -- taboos on touching -- formal dance -- education of children music, dancing, Universal, estate management, fencing

Crime and Punishment

The Eldritch are rigid conformists and have a habit of public punishment of those who dare to step outside the bounds of convention, with a tradition of things such as whipping and public humiliation in stocks.

Holidays

See also: Eldritch Holidays

Genealogies

Saranyl Jesa Galare, Jerisa's sister, had three children:

• Maraesa Jesa (who became Queen)
• Rylaniel Jesa (F)
  • Rylaniel married a man who took her name and had:
    • Liolesa, who would become Queen after Maraesa.
• Theval Jesa (M)
  • Theval, a man, married Sylfani Sarel Jisiensire and took her name, and they had two children:
    • Hirianthial and Baniel.

Notable Characters

Asaniefa Characters

Deriline Characters

Firilith Characters

Galare Characters

Imthereli Characters

Jisiensire Characters

Laisrathera (House) Characters

Laisrathera Characters

Mathanith Characters

Sovanil Characters

Thavelfin Characters

Ulurith Characters

All Characters

List of Eldritch Characters