Celtic Elves

Celtic elves, also known as Sintar'Quessir, are one of two resulting sub races created following the Elven Civil War (neo-elves being the other). Following the Elf-Human Alliance, near the end of the imperial era, the elven race suffered from much infighting due to differing ideals between elves and humans. The clash of the two cultures lead to widespread disputes, primarily among the proud elven race. The more devout elves felt humans were unworthy of an alliance with their people, the children of Isuviel. Others knew the only way for elfkind to survive the onslaught of the darker races was to seek unlikely allies. The Church of Light was slowly losing influence on it's people and many elves began denouncing, even disproving some rather ancient elven beliefs, insulting their peers even more.

Eventually, two new factions were formed: celtic elves and neo-elves. After months of political disputes, civil war broke out among the elven provinces. Thousands upon thousands of elves lost their lives in the war, which is said to be the turning point in both elven and human history. Before this time, elves ruled most of the eastern continent, and humans remained on the western continent. As the war progressed, elves declined in power, and humans slowly took control of the eastern continent. For their part, the celtic elves withdrew from the war early on, believing the slaughter of ones own kin to be going against the gods' divine plan. The new people migrated to the northern province of Lothrain and established a number of settlements. A few decades later, they declared sovereignty so they could continue to live as they wished, without the influence of their seemingly misguided brethren.

Today, celtic elves live peacefully and, despite their disagreements, enjoy friendly relations with both their former elven kin and humans. Of course, they still follow the Way, which is a code of conduct followed by elves for millenniums. However, following the war, elves and neo-elves adopted several human habits and customs, and have since switched to more contemporary lifestyles. On the other hand, Celtic elves have continued to be a strictly traditional people to this day. Their hair is still long and beautiful, and they possess a much slimmer frame than humans or regular elves. They even still wear the traditional garb their kin wore when the White Empire was at it's peak. The only significant change between then and now is their hair color: over the centuries, their continued dabbling into the world's mana stream have given their hair a greenish hue.

Celtic elves are a very spiritual people, some would even go so far as calling them mystical. Not only do they worship Isuviel, but they also pay homage to the four elemental deities. It is customary in celtic elven territories to give thanks to the gods in the elven tongue before drinking wine, a favored beverage among all elven races. Their home nation of Lothrain is ruled by a theocracy: high ranking spiritual leaders direct the ebb and flow of the people and any form of criticism towards the elven tome of creation rarely goes unpunished. The various regions of the nation are separated into "circles", lead by especially sensitive magic users called "druids".

Following their independence, celtic elves devoted their lives to better understanding mana and magical energies. Although they are expert magic users and are independent from the WCA, they still respect the restrictions imposed on it's use. Generally, only the church may be permitted to use magic and it's leaders look down upon advanced technology. In addition, celtic elves are adamant in their opposition of cybernetics. They believe meddling with nature to be an insult to the gods and have been known to spark minor conflicts over such issues. As a result, celtic elven technology is considered archaic at best by other races.

A common misconception about celtic elves is that they are "nature hugging doormats." It is widely believed that they will yield to anyone so long as it means there will be peace and no harm will come to their people. This is partly because celtic elves often seek diplomatic solutions when conflicts arise, and will generally concede any demands from their opponent, so long as it is reasonable. However, another, less recognized reason is the fact that any so-called war declared on celtic elves has never lasted longer than a few days, without anyone gaining any ground. Their enemies often state that the celtic elves simply surrendered too quickly, or no one ever has any prolonged interest in conquering such an archaic people. These statements couldn't be farther from the truth. Celtic elven knights are reputed to have been taught what are arguably the most advanced fighting techniques in the world. These knights, complimented by the most powerful mages of modern times and a massive fortress, Ikeguru Citadel, which overlooks the northern sea from a high cliff, offer the nation of Lothrain an impenetrable defense and it is said that not a single enemy step was ever taken into celtic elven lands.

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