Eladrin

The eladrin, around puberty, will undergo a process where their bodies shift to resemble the features of the season they feel to represent most. Hair, eye, and skin color change, and they tend to have heightened senses during the season they personify. Rarely an eladrin will have the ability to make this change seasonally to reflect the world around them. These eladrin are considered of better stock than other eladrin, and are treated as minor nobility in their culture regardless of their previous social or economic background.

The community of the eladrin is complex and riddled with tradition and hierarchies. While they have no land of their own, they have a rich culture that survives by strong social mores that keep it relevant in the people's everyday lives. The eladrin hierarchy is one of respect, and they usually feel obligated to follow their elders and the laws of whatever kingdom they live in. They pay the most respect to old, productive members of society who can change their appearance by season, followed by elders who can not change seasonally. After them are eladrin who help preserve or propagate the history of the people. After this are the members who can change seasonally, and then those who are past puberty. Children are given as little or as much respect as older eladrin wish to give them, though they are still treated well and are cared for.

Family ties are intensely important to eladrin, and having a child is seen as a momentous occasion as eladrin fertility is low. Much care is given to ensure that bloodlines are kept track of, and it is taboo to have relations with a different species. Houses are multi-generational, usually having at least four generations of eladrin in each dwelling.

Eladrin are among the most beautiful races on the planet, with highly refined cheekbones, soft skin with no blemishes, and piercing eyes. Some find them far too skinny however.

The eladrin admire lean but fit people, and eladrin who change along with the seasons are the most attractive (spring is then the ideal form after that). Rarely are other races up to their standards, and if they ever are nearly no eladrin would admit to it out of personal pride and the taboo of being with other races.

The eladrin have loose depictions of gender, as they are quite androgynous with the exception of Summer eladrin who have more pronounced male and female traits. While they are not necessarily gender fluid, it is common to see transgender people among their population (though it is hard to tell for the most part). Same sex couples are also accepted, though they still have children via surrogates or donors to continue their bloodline (gay and lesbian couples never stop at one child since they both feel the need to extend their line).

Though the eladrin speak arhiil fluently and often speak the Zetian Cant if they live in the North, they are also raised to speak sylvan so that they can keep the stories of their people as accurate as possible.

The Arheim eladrin hail from deep within the Fey, and are the only surviving members of their race. Once they passed into the Material Plane, the cities of the Fey were overrun by the wilderness, and the ancient magic they commanded forgotten. They once held land in the Hills of the Hunt, with stonework cities dotting the rivers of the area. Once Zetia's army invaded, the eladrin fought to preserve their homes for years before surrendering when Zetia began to destroy their cities (an act that has since been apologized for by the rulers of Zetia). Now the eladrin reside throughout Zetia, dreaming of the day they can rebuild their cities and settle back into their ancestral home without the influence of the other races.