EYAFEN — SPECIES

Salorras species: eyafen — mortal kin of the noble faye and the first wardens of the world’s Paths of the Ancients: nature-bound hunters whose faye blood shields their minds and lets them weave the sacred circles. 2024 has no analogue for this people; this is a custom Salorras species capturing the eyafen’s faye kinship, mind-warding, hunter’s senses, and the ritual “circles” of their bloodline. Ability scores come from your background, as in 2024.

Origin: Neluvia — mortal kin of the noble faye, the first wardens of the world’s Paths of the Ancients Stature: 1.80–2.20 m, with watercolor skin and long fingers — thick hair adorned with dried leaves and amber Lifespan: Long-lived in the manner of the faye — a precise range unrecorded in tradition Settlements: Three great encampments in Neluvia; Tir Naog in the new informal statelet of Caithris (Solevna) Faith: the Mother — joined by sacred bonds with the noble faye of the Paths of the Ancients Languages: Native — Merylia; local — the dialect of the region of upbringing; honored — Elven, Dwarven

The eyafen are proud defenders of the Paths of the Ancients, deeply bound to the Mother, whom most of them worship, and closely tied to nature. There are exceptions — one may find an eyafen living in an urban setting, set apart from the rest of their kind — but usually the eyafen choose the path of the druids, for this life brings them closer to the Mother; those who bind their blood to the earth-goddess are always ready to stand against any who disturb the natural harmony of Salorras.

Character

In general, the eyafen are remote and introverted creatures who weigh every side carefully before they act. They are solitary, and hold a particular love for coming to know the world. Teaching the word of the mother earth, they wish to offer the world her knowledge, her serenity, and also the wrath of nature. As wont travelers and wayfarers, one may meet an eyafen in nearly any corner of Salorras.

Appearance

The outward appearance of the eyafen is exotic and wild as their spirit. Their size is medium, their height ranging from 1.80 to 2.20 meters. Their most singular trait is the soft coloring of their skin — something between watercolor and tattoo, embracing the whole body in shades of soft orange and sky-blue. Their features are wild and exotic, to other tastes even foreign or disfigured; they have especially long, slender fingers on which they delight in wearing many rings. Men and women alike bear thick, long hair adorned with dried leaves and discreet ornaments of amber.

Neighbors and Rivals

Most peoples keep a discreet distance from the eyafen — both because the eyafen prize solitude, and because the others cannot understand them. There is no evident prejudice against them, but they rarely win others’ trust, owing to their guarded nature. For all that reluctance, an eyafen’s opinion is always valued, by grace of their patience and insight.

Faith

Most eyafen believe in the Mother, a proto-pagan religion with few rules and a small priesthood — perhaps because each of them reckons himself a part of nature, and so of the goddess Mother. There are those who choose otherwise. A unique phenomenon of worship, known only to the eyafen, is the spiritual binding with the wardens of the Paths of the Ancients: though the noble faye are not deities, they can grant a part of their power to those who bind themselves with them.

Conscience

The moral stance of most eyafen is neutral, though every cast of ethics finds expression among them. Most follow the path of nature, which keeps them set apart from the common affairs of mortals. Among the matters that occupy them are living in harmony with nature and the safety of the Paths of the Ancients; many keep their own moral rules of life, which nonetheless attune once more to nature’s harmony.

Eyafen Domains

Every tract of land is a homeland of the eyafen, or at least so they reckon. The cradle of their culture took place on exotic Neluvia, northwest of Khalendianil — lost within the mists of the Tythen Ocean — where they were born and “embraced” the whole world through the Paths of the Ancients of their forebears the noble faye. On Neluvia there are three great encampments of the eyafen, making them lords of the ancient isle, and various regions of the world accept and integrate them.

In 432 IIE the goddess Mother gave the world the last Path of the Ancients to date, leading to the Pathgate “Deepmount” in the unknown, wild southern land of the isle of Solevna. There, the same year, special envoys of eyafen sent by the Three-Faced Goddess herself established their encampment Tir Naog, now standing officially on the map of Salorras as the informal statelet of Caithris. Among the lands that stand out for accepting the eyafen are the side of the elves on Khalendianil, the young Faeldar — first official state of the pyrekin — and the city-state Laernoctus.

Wanderers and Seekers

Many apostate eyafen choose the way of the adventurer, on the pretext that it is part of their nature. They are always willing to travel and to take up the foreign challenges of the civilized regions — no obstacle to them, and never a thing that stops them from exploring and finding a place for themselves in the world.

Language

The eyafen speak Merylia — the ancient tongue of their forebears the noble faye — and a local dialect, usually of the region where they grew. Merylia sounds like the rustle of leaves and the babble of a brook to strangers; its script is complex but elegant. They use it in their written word and gladly teach it to foreign peoples, believing it brings them into contact with nature. They may know some tongues of the ancient peoples, the elves and the dwarves, for whom their respect is greater than for the rest. In regions that accept them, they learn the local tongue — Colloquial in the Free Cities of South, Elven in Khalendianil, Phyrnal in Faeldar, and Merylia in their own homeland, Neluvia.

Eyafen Starborns

The most renowned eyafen who walked toward ascension is Khael Taran-Mhor, the Unthirsting. His tragic betrayal shattered the rite of his ascension and tore the veil of reality toward Saragoth, and his story remains one of the beloved/hated tales of the eyafen and the eyalen ria. The only eyafen starborn of Salorras is the Horned Hunter, who tirelessly tracks and neutralizes threats to the world within the Paths of the Ancients.

Names

The names of the eyafen are usually two or three syllables, their meanings bound to the phenomena, regions, and goods of nature. Their baptism is a sacred rite, held in a region fitting the name’s meaning. A name is more than a word they answer to — it grounds great power, for within it lie the elements of nature: Ealhdun, “son of the coldest winter,” may well have been baptized at some frozen waterfall in a heavy winter. Their names may seem similar to those of the common peoples, but to an eyafen it is an insult to mistake their name or call them by a diminutive.

Male names: Aelfric, Aubrey, Avery, Ealdun, Ealhdun, Eldan, Elden, Eldon, Eldrey, Iald, Ialn, Iaelen, Iern, Kalan, Kallan, Kalen, Kailen, Kealar, Kellen, Kheelan. Female names: Aelfwine, Aethelwine, Aethelwyne, Alva, Alvar, Alvara, Alvarie, Alvie, Alvina, Maelie, Maurelle, Molnitte, Oda, Odelina, Odette, Odiana, Odiane, Odila, Odile, Ordalf, Ordella.

Eyafen Traits (5e 2024)

The eyafen carry the blood of the noble faye — the ancient wardens of the Paths of the Ancients — and that kinship shows in every facet of their nature. Your ability scores come from your background, as in 2024.

• Creature Type: Humanoid. For any game effect that targets or affects Fey or faye, you also count as a Fey (the world’s magic does not distinguish the eyafen from their noble-faye forebears).
• Size: Medium (typically 1.8–2.2 m tall).
• Speed: 30 feet.
• Eyes of the Wild (Darkvision): You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
• Fayen Blood: Your faye heritage shields your mind. You have Advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the Charmed and Frightened conditions, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
• Hunter’s Senses: You are a born hunter. You gain proficiency in the Survival skill and in one of the following skills of your choice: Perception or Stealth.
• Circles of the Ancients: You know a ritual magic exclusive to your kind. You know the Druidcraft cantrip, and you always have the first circle, Seeds of the Earth, prepared — you can cast Goodberry once without a spell slot, regaining the ability on a Long Rest. Your spellcasting ability for these is Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma (chosen when you gain this species).
• Ancient’s Blessings: Starting at character level 5, you may seek the sacred bond with a noble faye of the Paths of the Ancients. You can cast Find Familiar as a Ritual without material components; the familiar is a Fey guardian (a spirit of the Ancients) rather than the normal forms, at your DM’s discretion.
• Languages: You know Colloquial and Merylia, plus one other language of your choice.