Nightlands: Kessír
6 October 2017 22:27![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mimi_sardinia in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
houseofstrangeI admit a lot of my thoughts in the Nightlands tends to be more about the Quendár than any other races, but I feel like giving some random thoughts about my secondary Elven race, the Kessír.
The first thing I have to think is that the general idea of the Kessír is straight out of the 3E/3.5E Forgotten Realms campaign guide, with a few extras inspired by other sources, like Blood Elves deriving a name from what little I know of WoW, Sun Elves inspired by Dragon Age and Low Elves inspired by HP.
But I feel like digging into at least the surface of the Kessír a bit, and I admit the D&D inspirations are still there.
The first thing I need to go into is that the Quendár have something like a 10,000 year history prior to Nightfall. Somewhere in that time the Ëarquendár - who likely originated from the mainland - found and claimed Endánórë, the Curwaquendár found the Khazad, and more in context with the subject, the Kessír migrated into the Westerlands and started to settle themselves in and around the Quendár.
Now that implies that the Kessír came from elsewhere - probably the eastern lands. I can't presume however that all the different kinds came from exactly the same place, so maybe they also came at different stages, coming from different regions, and maybe some didn't come from the east but came over sea from the west instead. I can't decide which groups came from which direction though.
Though I do have a vague idea of the existence of a southern hemisphere land akin to Australia, and maybe one group came from there. As much as I don't want to brand an Aussie-expy with my Evil Empire™, I want to say the Morin Kessír, because I don't know, having them come from somewhere different than other Kessír.
But another line of thinking is their religious views. And here's where the D&D comes back, because I imagine them as originally having a whole pantheon of gods akin to the Seldarine. But I do think that was altered by the influence of the Quendár and their belief in The Arcane, changing a group of straight-up gods into personifications of various aspects of the Arcane, to the gods becoming archaic myths that are not so much considered real as to be historical concepts that are still part of Kessír culture because they are part of their history, but only in the same way Greco-Roman mythology still exists IRL.
I want to think there are some parts of Kessír society that believe in their old gods more solidly than others, maybe those who are more isolated away from Quendár and human influence, like the Laicá (Green), Ninquë (White), Oár (Sea), Hravani (Wild) and definitely the Morin.
Though going back to the Morin Kessír, they are a totally separate group compared to any of the northern Kessír races, because they developed such an antipathy for the north and then came under the influence of the Unseelie. In the D&D theme, I view them akin to the Drow, including having their own pantheon. Though along with the antipathy for the north, they also have a distinct antipathy for the Quendár and thus have absorbed far less of the Quendár belief in the Arcane and thus retain far more solid belief in their own gods.
Green Elves like in impenetrable jungles so manage to avoid much contact with anyone, including both the Quendár and the Morin Kessír and probably have their own interpretations of the ancient Kessír gods, the Ninquë Kessír (White Elves) tend to be nomads who live in mostly inhospitable lands. Though the northern Ninquë have likely absorbed a lot more Quendár influence as there are Eleniquendár in the sub-arctic Khazad/Sunset Mountains, while the Ninquë in the south have far less contact with the Lómaquendár (Night Elves) in the far south since the Elenimbér of the south are very paranoid about outsiders. Even considering before the Eleniquendár gave up the southern Elenimbér, there was still not a lot of contact and I want to think the southernmost Elenimbë may not be really close to the antarctic, not to mention the south pole is on an island.
Agar Kessír would be primarily influenced by Morin Kessír beliefs, except the Agar groups who have rebelled, but that rebellion would be far more recent and they might retain quite a bit of Morin conceptual ideas while trying to accept the Arcane as well.
The first thing I have to think is that the general idea of the Kessír is straight out of the 3E/3.5E Forgotten Realms campaign guide, with a few extras inspired by other sources, like Blood Elves deriving a name from what little I know of WoW, Sun Elves inspired by Dragon Age and Low Elves inspired by HP.
But I feel like digging into at least the surface of the Kessír a bit, and I admit the D&D inspirations are still there.
The first thing I need to go into is that the Quendár have something like a 10,000 year history prior to Nightfall. Somewhere in that time the Ëarquendár - who likely originated from the mainland - found and claimed Endánórë, the Curwaquendár found the Khazad, and more in context with the subject, the Kessír migrated into the Westerlands and started to settle themselves in and around the Quendár.
Now that implies that the Kessír came from elsewhere - probably the eastern lands. I can't presume however that all the different kinds came from exactly the same place, so maybe they also came at different stages, coming from different regions, and maybe some didn't come from the east but came over sea from the west instead. I can't decide which groups came from which direction though.
Though I do have a vague idea of the existence of a southern hemisphere land akin to Australia, and maybe one group came from there. As much as I don't want to brand an Aussie-expy with my Evil Empire™, I want to say the Morin Kessír, because I don't know, having them come from somewhere different than other Kessír.
But another line of thinking is their religious views. And here's where the D&D comes back, because I imagine them as originally having a whole pantheon of gods akin to the Seldarine. But I do think that was altered by the influence of the Quendár and their belief in The Arcane, changing a group of straight-up gods into personifications of various aspects of the Arcane, to the gods becoming archaic myths that are not so much considered real as to be historical concepts that are still part of Kessír culture because they are part of their history, but only in the same way Greco-Roman mythology still exists IRL.
I want to think there are some parts of Kessír society that believe in their old gods more solidly than others, maybe those who are more isolated away from Quendár and human influence, like the Laicá (Green), Ninquë (White), Oár (Sea), Hravani (Wild) and definitely the Morin.
Though going back to the Morin Kessír, they are a totally separate group compared to any of the northern Kessír races, because they developed such an antipathy for the north and then came under the influence of the Unseelie. In the D&D theme, I view them akin to the Drow, including having their own pantheon. Though along with the antipathy for the north, they also have a distinct antipathy for the Quendár and thus have absorbed far less of the Quendár belief in the Arcane and thus retain far more solid belief in their own gods.
Green Elves like in impenetrable jungles so manage to avoid much contact with anyone, including both the Quendár and the Morin Kessír and probably have their own interpretations of the ancient Kessír gods, the Ninquë Kessír (White Elves) tend to be nomads who live in mostly inhospitable lands. Though the northern Ninquë have likely absorbed a lot more Quendár influence as there are Eleniquendár in the sub-arctic Khazad/Sunset Mountains, while the Ninquë in the south have far less contact with the Lómaquendár (Night Elves) in the far south since the Elenimbér of the south are very paranoid about outsiders. Even considering before the Eleniquendár gave up the southern Elenimbér, there was still not a lot of contact and I want to think the southernmost Elenimbë may not be really close to the antarctic, not to mention the south pole is on an island.
Agar Kessír would be primarily influenced by Morin Kessír beliefs, except the Agar groups who have rebelled, but that rebellion would be far more recent and they might retain quite a bit of Morin conceptual ideas while trying to accept the Arcane as well.
