Avariel

The most striking feature of the avariels is their soft, feathered wings. These wings have spans of anywhere from twelve to sixteen feet and are usually white, but may also be gray, brown, black, or speckled. Avariels take great pride in their wings and spend long hours grooming them. Their skin is pale, often porcelain white, with tinges of blue or faint silver. They have silverwhite or black hair, with other shades being rare but not unheard of. The avariels’ eyes are rather large and more expressive than those of other elves, and they tend to be brilliant shades of blue or green. A few avariel have scintillating violet eyes as pure as amethysts. Avariels have thin, graceful limbs and angular facial features. They are the most beautiful and striking of the elven races, although too often this beauty is marred by haughtiness and condescension toward their landbound kin, whom they often pity. Avariels are even more delicate than other elves, and their movements are quick, calculated, and graceful. They prefer to wear loose fitting, diaphanous clothing that catches the wind in flight and ripples and weaves in the air. Armor is almost never worn, because it tends to weigh the avariels down and hinder their graceful motion. Avariels cannot fly while wearing heavy armor.

Avariels have developed a way to create Glassteel, a material that is as strong as steel but transparent like glass.
  Avariels tend to focus on the magics of Conjuration, Divination and Transmutation. Their cities showcase this focus in both building style and lay-out.

All avariels can speak Auran, Elven and Common. Most winged elves are intelligent enough to pick up at least one additional language. Additional languages often learned by avariels include Goblin, Orc and Sylvan. Avariels also often learn the Draconic and Giant languages so that they can converse with their hated enemies if the need arises.

The avariels have a unique model for their societies, separating into two groups when they congregate in large numbers: a warlike society of fighters and soldiers, and a peaceful society of thinkers and religious scholars. These two subcultures work together to forge a powerful symbiotic relationship.
  Warlike avariels have a complex code of honor that they use to guide and temper their militaristic activities and training. These avariels spend their lives defending their kin. Their lives are geared toward war and power, and they answer to their war chiefs, who share responsibility for ruling the society with the religious leaders of the peaceful avariels. The martial avariels are proud and hearty, and they form eternal friendships with those who earn their respect and trust. In combat, warlike avariels have little pity or remorse about cutting down their enemies. The concept of surrendering is highly dishonorable to these avariels, both for themselves and for their enemies. Once lethal combat begins, few avariels break off until they or their enemies are dead. Drawing blood from an enemy is nothing less than a promise to honor the enemy with one’s skills in combat and not humiliate him by leaving him alive to dwell on an embarrassing defeat. The act of slaying an enemy is viewed simply as delivering on that promise. Warlike avariels prefer to use ranged weapons, and they aren’t above using wings to gain an advantage over landbound enemies. This is supported by their code, which allows them to cut down an enemy from an unassailable distance in the skies above. After all, those who cannot defend themselves against an attack from the skies should know better than to make an enemy of a clearly superior foe.
  The peaceful avariels focus mainly on arts and the intellectual aspects of life. When faced with conflict, a peaceful avariel relies on her brains and diplomatic abilities—and often on her magic power. Peaceful avariels are artists, philosophers, and researchers who spend their lives studying the world and its history and creating works of art simply for the sheer joy of creation. The peaceful avariels are also responsible for providing their society with food, entertainment, and education. Many peaceful avariels are also very religious and spend much of their time contemplating the ways of their deity.
  Despite their divergent personalities, these two subcultures interact surprisingly well. Young avariels typically spend time immersed in each subculture, learning from both warriors and priests. These exchanges, which often last for a decade or longer, allow avariels raised in one subculture to learn how the other subculture lives.

The avariels are on good terms with other sentient, good-aligned avian races. They admire and respect giant eagles, a bond that survived the dark centuries of draconic persecution. The avariels are also fond of the aarakocras. They get along well with air genasi as well, although they are often frustrated with the genasi’s ambivalence and disinterest in good and evil. Avariel relations with landbound races are not nearly as productive. The avariels have traditionally viewed those who can’t fly as objects of pity (at best) or derision (more commonly). Recently, the avariels have begun to realize the error of their ways—the landlocked races, despite their lack of wings, can be powerful and helpful allies. Avariels have recently sent diplomats to neighboring kingdoms and have been doing their best to treat the ground races as equals (it is not working quite well). The avariels are still hunted to this day by evil dragons, who view the winged elves and their magical aptitude as the greatest threat to their dominion over the skies. Dragons have nowhere near the presence in the skies as they did in the ancient past, but their memories are long. This enmity is largest between white dragons and avariels because of their shared territories.
  Avariels love having birds and other winged creatures as pets or companions. However, these creatures are always free to come and go as they wish: avariels detest cages.