Factional Origins

Alright, I hope this post is able to bridge the gap between the mythology and the concrete fantasy setting of Eldawn by providing an overview of the sundering of mankind. Initially created in a perfect state of unified community, the Rebellion induces a few key divisions. I've already detailed the mechanics of mortality in Eldawn that resulted from disobedience, so I will not reiterate them in detail.

First off, I'll begin with the oldest group of humans, the elves. In Eldawn, elves are not an entirely distinct manifestation of sentience, as they are in most fantasy settings. The elves of Eldawn are unfallen humans. In appearance, the elves are not any taller or diminished for their age, but the elves are immortal, and they can continue to grow with time, so they do eventually attain greater stature than mortal man. They remain eternally youthful, without any deterioration of faculty, as the 24th chromosome has the regulatory mechanisms that maintain perfect bodily function indefinitely.

In terms of the souls and spirits of the elves, they are attuned to the Spirit of Eleyon, and they are utterly aware of the energetic and etheric planes. However, necessarily, as the elves are still primarily physical creatures, they cannot manipulate energy or the ether as proficiently as the beings who are indigenous to those planes. All the same, the elves still have some direct control over energy, they can use magic much more naturally than their disconnected brethren. This allows them to maintain psychic connections, and makes them empaths, detecting emotions much more transparently than fallen humanity.

The second group are the Fallen, which are further subdivided into the Repentant and the Radiant. The Fallen are descended from Aram and Etria after they partook of the Prometheus Chalice. They have been robbed of functional immortality and immaculate spiritual connection by the destruction of chromosome 24.

The Repentant are the baseline humans of Eldawn. They have lifespans of about 900 years and endure the full deterioration of age. Since they are disconnected from their higher aspects of existence, they are insensitive to the inflections of energy and ether around them. Upon death, their consciousness transitions into the energy plane, but because they are unaccustomed to the sensory input, most of them have to be placed in specific support constructs in order to preserve the integrity of their souls. It would be similar to how a congenitally blind person who was suddenly given sight would need time to adapt.

The Radiant are the faction of the Fallen who have decided to follow Ällora. Through Ällora's magic, they have been granted an artificially enhanced spirit link, allowing them to use magic and sense the higher planes. Although not with the same innate affinity as their elvish brethren. They cannot detect empathic signals very well for one thing. Biologically, their natural lifespan is extended by the enhanced spirit link to about 1,200 years. However their physical bodies deteriorate and age over that time. In defiance of senility, they augment their weakening physiques with magical constructs. In their advanced age, it could rightly be said that without the constant support of magical devices, the individual would not rightly draw another breath. Nonetheless, in theory, by converting more and more of themselves into magical technology, the Radiant also attain a degree of immortality in spite of their biological limitations.

I'll move on to describe the qualities of the societies that arise between the racial segregation presented here. I apologise for the lack of updates in recent weeks, I have had restricted access to my blog, but development of the story has continued apace. Some of my recent thoughts remain a little unpolished and untested however, but they do seem promising to me.