Hytori

Population	~21 Million
Traits	Fair Skin, Golden Eyes, Pointed Ears
Homeland	Sol'Valen, Region of Turoth
Leader	Phoenix King Ailuin Sol’Eilran, pictured.
Art	[1]

Fast Facts

Height: 6-6'6" Males, 5'8"-6'2" Females

Weight: 160-250(lbs) Males, 150-190(lbs) Females

Lifespan: Adult (18 years), Elder (300 years), Deathly (400 years)

Notable Features: Tan, Radiant Skin, Golden Sheen Hair, Dagger-Like Ears, Long Youth

Player Restrictions: None

Racial Ability: Raella’s Grace- The Hytori are blessed by the Dragon Goddess of Life and are thus rendered completely immune to mortal diseases. They are resistant to most poisons but they are not immune to them as they will still suffer poisonous effects albeit to a lesser degree depending on that poison’s potency. Magical afflictions affect them just as much as they would any other person. Hytori enjoy longer periods of youth and vitality and only suffer the ill-effects of old age when nearing the final stages of their lives.

Population: 21,000,000

History

The beginnings of the Hytori are the beginnings of Ransera itself. The high elves were the first of the mortal races fashioned by the Dragon Goddess of Life herself, a fact that is evident in the very physiology of the elves even to the modern day. But though the resplendent high elves are a people possessed of great beauty and wonder, they have carried the burden of many dark times in their storied history. Few races are as ancient and few have risen to such incredible heights only to fall into such dark and twisted times. The Golden Elves of Silfanore were once the undisputed masters of all Ransera but that time has long since passed. Their ancient empire of Sol’Valen spanned the breadth of continents and oceans and helped shaped the lives of many stretching all the way back to the Age of Dreams.

Sol’Valen and the Boundless Empire

Guided by the nurturing hands of the Dragon Gods and many of the Endir spirits, it was not long before the Hytori elves established their first cities. These cities were a far cry from what one might encounter in the present day. Veritable gardens where civilization and nature were intertwined and largely indistinguishable to the observer. It was difficult to tell where the elves connection with nature and their progress as a civilization begun or ended. Simple though these cities were, they were home and considered a peaceful paradise. With their homes established the Hytori became interested in greater pursuits as they were touched by the boundless curiosity of Keela, Dragon Goddess of Wisdom. Their humble cities expanded and became glittering bastions of culture and wonder where the natural forces of the world were married with the advent of mortal ingenuity. It was during this era that the Hytori elves began to refer to their realm as Sol’Valen which roughly translated means “Home of Light” reflecting their belief that all light in the world sprung forth from their society.

It was during this age that the elves began to explore what would one day become what is referred to as Archmagic. Tapping into the primordial forces of the world, the very currents of aether used by the Dragon Gods and the Endir to forge the universe, the Hytori used this power to further shape the world around them. Using this power they established the Rift Gates in their cities, creating a network of travel powered by the very world itself. This allowed the elves to expand both their knowledge and ability to tap into the weave of magic down to the very bones of creation. The world truly was theirs to be shaped and molded to their whims. Feats of power the likes of which have been scarcely repeated in ages since were commonplace. The greatest wizards of the era helmed elven society as princes and Sol’Valen became the Boundless Empire. The elves used the power of Archmagic and their Rift Gates to traverse entire continents in mere moments. Places that were inhospitable were transformed into paradise. It was a golden era. It was not to last for in their curiosity, the Hytori turned their gaze to places beyond the material realm and following the promise of a final frontier they built a Rift Gate to bridge the distance between themselves and the Realms of the Aetherium.

The backlash was immediate. Power ripped through the Rift Gates and the foundations of the Boundless Empire buckled. Destruction rampaged across the cities of Sol’Valen and pierced the veil separating the material realms from the influence of beings the elves had never encountered. So it was that the Mistlords and the Aldir were introduced to Ransera.

Arsoren Sol’Miaren, First of the Phoenix Kings

Arsoren was not a man born to wealth or privilege. He was neither a master of Archmagic nor was he one of the mighty elven princes who ruled over Sol’Valen. A humble hunter he was nevertheless a brave soul who, when faced with the onslaught that threatened to annihilate everything he held dear, refused to flee in the face of certain death. In the ancient city of Silfanore he ascended to the steps of the Dragon King’s temple. Desperate to save his homeland, he called out to Eikaen and begged the Dragon King to use his life as a shield to save his people. He offered all that he was to the Dragon King in the hopes that his humble life would be enough. There was no answer but Arsoren was not deterred. Facing down the hordes of creatures spilling forth from the Rift Gates, Arsoren found strength where others were weak. He felt a power surge inside of him and knew that the Dragon King had answered his prayer. Invigorated, Arsoren took up his sword and threw himself into battle. The eldritch monstrosities fell before his blade like wheat to a scythe. Arsoren battled from sunrise to sundown and upon sunrise of the second day he slew the mightiest of the Aldir that spewed forth from the Rift Gate.

The Rift War

Emboldened by the strength of Arsoren, the hunters of Silfanore rallied around him. So began the Rift War. The Rift Gates had collapsed but in their places there had formed tears in the veil between the material realm and the realms of the Mistlords. From the realms of Streolon, poured demons bent on devouring all in their path. From the realms of Lyren poured eldritch horrors that shattered the mind and twisted the body. From the realms of Thultu poured monstrosities that devoured entire islands in the seas. It was madness but Arsoren would not relent. He gathered his soldiers and implored the Princes of Sol’Valen to join him in saving their world. None denied him and so it was for the first time in the history of the elves that they were united under a single banner. The armies of Sol’Valen marched across the lands and met the terrors of the Shrouded Realms of the Mistlords in battle. The war was long and bloody with the elves steadily losing ground with every passing year. It was not long before Arsoren realized that while his people were strong and willing to give their all, they were not infinite. What had begun as a mighty crusade to save their home had turned into a war of attrition. Try as they might, the mightiest of the elven sorcerers had yet to find a way to repair the tears in the veil caused by the collapse of the Rift Gates. The greatest mages of the era finally convened to try one last desperate ritual but were not certain of it success. On the eve of the ritual, Arsoren once again turned to the Dragon Gods and offered his prayers. He was answered by Malgar, the Dark God of Suffering, a god whom the elves respected but whom they had gone to great lengths to keep on the outskirts of their culture. To Arsoren it seemed only fitting that the God of Suffering present himself in such a terrible and troubling time.

Malgar offered Arsoren and his closest circle a deal, sacrifice all that they were and he would seal the rifts thus ending the Rift War and banishing the Aldir Hordes back to the Shrouded Realms. Arsoren did not hesitate. He accepted. Others accepted but most were not as forthcoming but the deal was done. The Dragon God of Suffering grinned and instructed the elven sorcerers to conduct their ritual. The ritual was cast and immediately the effects of Malgar’s deal were felt all across Sol’Valen.

Arsoren found his elven grace stripped from him. The weight of time fell upon him. The boundless vitality of Raella was diminished in him. All who accepted Malgar’s deal outright suffered the same fate but it was not so small a consequence. All across the Hytori people, this change rippled through them as Malgar enacted suffering upon them for the arrogance of so breaking the world. When the ritual was finished and the Archmagic of the elves invoked, Malgar indeed upheld his bargain. The veil was healed and the hordes of the Mistlords were banished back to the Shrouded Realms but where once elves stood now there was something else. The sacrifice of Arsoren and his fellows however, was neither honored nor welcomed. The many Princes of Sol’Valen and many of the elves that remained were horrified. They would never be the same. So it was that Mankind was born into the world of Ransera.

Instead of thanks, Arsoren and those now like him were banished from what remained of Sol’Valen. Instead of peace, the newly made humans now faced a sojourn of great hardship but though he was now bereft of his once mighty elven grace, Arsoren was still filled with the might of the Dragon King and so he persevered and lead his new people away from their ancient homeland. The Rift War was ended and with it, the golden age of the elves and their Boundless Empire.

Ilixidor the Betrayer

The Age of Dreams was ended. Ransera was not the same as it once was. Faced with an uncertain future, the Hytori were introduced to things they had never encountered before. As a result of Arsoren’s deal with Malgar and the ritual that sealed the Rift Gates, elves no longer enjoyed the gift of immortality. The elven race was faced, for the first time, with the cold hard truth of a long but very mortal life. With Sol’Valen in turmoil, the Court of Princes sought direction and found it in the Archmage Prince Ilixidor Val’Rathvaen. A powerful practitioner of Archmagic, the elven sorcerer promised to find a way to restore the Hytori to their former greatness. He saw Arsoren’s deal with Malgar as a betrayal of the Hytori’s place in the world as its undisputed rulers. But though he offered a compelling argument, the Princes of Sol’Valen were wary of embarking upon such a tumultuous path. Among them, it was Princess Thessalia Val’Eilran who argued that the elves must face their new reality and come to accept this new world. She offered a way of peace and it was a welcome one after the bloody and harrowing Rift War. The Princes of Sol’Valen came together and voted, it was by a single vote that Princess Thessalia was crowned Phoenix Queen. While many accepted this outcome, Ilixidor rejected it and stormed out of the Court of Princes vowing that he would find a way without them.

As the elves rebuilt their way of life in this new world, Ilixidor and his followers began to explore ways to undo what had been done to the Hytori. They saw humans and the other races rising up across Ransera as lesser and usurpers of the elves right to command Ransera’s destiny. These beliefs coupled with a particularly strong resentment toward humans lead them to begin conducting very dark practices. They began exploring perverse and twisted Archmagic rituals powered through the intentional and often unwilling sacrifice of lives but though they went to many great lengths they seemed no closer to undoing the bargain made with Malgar. It would be many years but eventually Ilixidor’s dark practices came to light and he and his followers were banished from Sol’Valen by Phoenix Queen Thessalia and the Court of Princes. Furious, Ilixidor vowed revenge.

It was then that he was introduced to Shaeoth who professed themselves to be a Demigod. Far from impressed, Ilixidor first sought to bind Shaeoth and was utterly thwarted by the demigod’s power...and the ease with which they seemed to use Archmagic. Mystified, Ilixidor made a pact with Shaeoth who promised to grant Ilixidor the power to pursue his research. True to their word, Shaeoth granted Ilixidor great power. Drunk with power, Ilixidor and his followers returned to Sol’Valen and rallied those who would stand by his side in pursuit of their old glory. Furious and horrified with his depraved agenda, Phoenix Queen Thessalia and her supporters attempted to put a stop to Ilixidor before his ideas could infect Sol’Valen but it was too late. In retaliation for their attempts, Ilixidor slew the Phoenix Queen and cast down the Court of Princes declaring himself the true King of Sol’Valen.

So began the Kinslayer Wars.

The Kinslayer Wars

With Ilixidor as ruler of all Sol’Valen, a bitter civil war broke out amongst the Hytori. The mad archmage did not let this stop him from pursuing his goal of restoring what his people had lost. He turned to even darker and more twisted rituals that unleashed horrors upon his own people. Empowered by the demigod Shaeoth, who had begun to gather armies to purge all they viewed as weak from the face of Ransera, the mighty Ilixidor seemed unstoppable. Until the appearance of Arcas, another demigod whom many whispered was not only the son of Eikaen but was also a descendant of Arsoren himself. Infuriated and also frightened, Ilixidor plunged ever further into the black arts. It was only with the help of the dark demigod Shaeoth that Ilixidor managed to get in touch with the Mistlord Akrivar. The Burning King heard Ilixidor and answered his call, transforming Ilixidor and his followers into beings touched by the Ash Knight’s splendor. Thus it was that Ilixidor and his followers were transformed into the Lysanrin, the Children of the Burning King. This transformation however gave them the power they wanted though it came at the cost of abandoning all they once were.

The eldritch power of the Mistlords once again touched the Hytori people, changing them irrevocably once more. Nevertheless, the civil war came to a close as Ilixidor’s madness was seen for what it was. Many across the realm of Sol’Valen united behind the banner of Arcas, now regarded as the Demigod of Light, Justice and Hope and met the forces of Shaeoth and Ilixidor in battle. The Kinslayer War ended but in its place, Ransera was once again thrown into turmoil. The armies of Shaeoth, backed by Ilixidor’s madness met with the armies of Arcas and the titanic clash of forces both good and evil would be the stuff of legends. In the end however, the mighty demigod Arcas and Shaeoth met in battle and Arcas was slain. In his final act however, the demigod channeled the power of the Dragon King and banished Shaeoth and his generals that their evil might never again walk the world.

The Day of Mourning

Following the death of Arcas, the Dragon King forever changed how magic worked in the mortal world. The archmages of the Hytori could no longer work their rituals. Archmagic was now far beyond them. In the aftermath of Ilixidor’s machinations, the Hytori were now faced with the reality that their people were even further fractured. These new people’s came to be known as the Siltori and Dratori respectively.

The Age of Conquest

The Court of Princes was restored and together they chose a new Phoenix King but the glory of Sol’Valen was long gone. As the once mighty kingdom still reeled from ages of war and strife, they were faced with the reality that humans and the younger races were progressing where they were in decline. Bereft of their once mighty Archmagic, the elves of Sol’Valen faced being conquered by the rising power of the humans and younger races. While many in the Court of Princes sought to reclaim the might of Archmagic, the Siltori chose to abandon such pursuits and instead turned to the ways of World Magic choosing instead to explore the new ways in which the world functioned in the aftermath of the Day of Mourning. The Dratori, not wishing to see yet another war, left the lands of Sol’Valen in search of a new home altogether. The Hytori’s search would prove fruitless as the rising human kingdoms pushed them further and further out of lands they once claimed dominion over. It was in the final years of the era that Sol’Valen was ultimately conquered and the Phoenix Throne and the Court of Princes were forced to swear fealty to the newly formed Clockwork Empire.

The Sundering of the World

The Hytori were as affected by the Sundering of the World as the rest of Ransera. They were, however, better prepared to weather such storms than most. The ancient First People of Ransera were not unfamiliar with the horrors unleashed by Kaitos Diraegon’s folly. This great tragedy heralded the end of yet another era but proved to be the way forward for the Hytori in a way that had not been possible for them in centuries. The Clockwork Empire collapsed and the ancestral lands of Sol’Valen were open for the taking. But though that was a possibility it would be many more centuries before that idea could even be explored. First they had to survive the Age of Sundering and survive it they would. Under the leadership of Phoenix King Taegen Sol’Eilran, a descendant of Queen Thessalia, the Hytori managed to weather the raging storms of a catastrophe so great it rivaled the cataclysm of the ancient Rift Gates.

When the Cult of Mending emerged from the chaos, delivering promises of salvation laced in eldritch and dark practices, the Hytori rejected such deliverance. Bereft of even basic magic however and certainly incapable of harnessing Archmagic, they were unprepared to face the terrible powers the Cult unleashed. Seeking to avoid the complete extinction of his people, King Taegen traveled to ancient places of power. It was on this journey that he was captured by the Cult of Mending who sought to enact a profane ritual upon him. He was rescued from the dark ritual by a knight who displayed gifts reminiscent of the ancient stories of Arsoren. The knight tended to Taegen’s wounds and brought him to a monastery where Taegen was taught their ways. He came to learn of the Order of the Dawnmartyr and it was a way of life that the young king readily embraced. When he was recovered, he beseeched the leaders of the Order to help him save his people and purge the Cult of Mending from the world. The Order agreed.

Under Taegen’s leadership, a battalion of the Order of the Dawnmartyr battled against the Cult of Mending and together they drove them from the lands of Sol’Valen. Though Taegen was mortally wounded in the conflict, his efforts saved what remained of the Hytori’s homeland and ensured his people would survive into the years to come.

Present Day

The ancient glory of the Boundless Empire is long gone. The power that the Hytori once wielded with impunity is lost to them. They are no longer the undisputed masters of Ransera but still they persevere. The Hytori of today are still a fierce and proud people. In this Age of Steel they have rebuilt and look to the days ahead determined to reclaim their place in this world. Sol’Valen might be diminished but it is not gone.

Physiology/Biology

While all elves are fair to behold, the Hytori are by and large considered to be the most handsome of the elven races. Hytori are fair skinned with complexions ranging from pale to sun-kissed. Their features are typically patrician with elongated ears. Eye color for the Hytori typically ranges from a resplendent amber gold to a warm honey brown or even hazel though that is rare. Blue and green eyes are decidedly uncommon among the Hytori. Hair color for the Hytori ranges from very pale blonde to warm brown or even auburn and while their bodies are not hairless, it is typically much finer than that of a human. The Hytori are similar in height and stature to that of humans though they tend to be on the slimmer side by comparison. Woe unto any who believe that this sleeker build translates to being weaker. The Hytori are still blessed by the hand of Raella and enjoy heightened resistance to disease and frailty. While they are no longer immortal, they enjoy lives that span in the centuries as they are the longest lived of the elven races. The Hytori have natural senses that are sharper than that of a human. They have better hearing and keener senses of sight and smell. Additionally they enjoy a natural grace that lends to athleticism and feats of agility.

Hytori typically enjoy longer period of youth and vitality throughout their lives. They are a race that reflects their long history of exposure to both magic and the divine powers of the world. Their movements are purposeful and their minds are sharp and quick. Indeed, the Hytori enjoy a high amount of adeptness with the Runes of Magic and pushing the boundaries that can be achieved with them.

Psychology

The Hytori are a complex people. The First People of Ransera once enjoyed the direct and undivided attention of the entire Dragon God pantheon along with countless Endir spirits. This instilled in them a zest for life and the pursuit of one’s desires. Within the Hytori is the boundless curiosity that lead them toward many marvelous feats...and just as many tragedies. The lessons of the past have taught the Hytori to temper this passion but they are no less emboldened by their legacy. They are proud, their cities are among the most ancient in all of Ransera, their knowledge of the world is vast and they are a people who have lost and forgotten more than most of the other races have ever known or possessed. The challenges they have faced as a race, the history of the Rift Gate War, the many obstacles of the Kinslayer Wars, the many battles against the hordes of the Shrouded Realms, have made the Hytori some of the proudest and most accomplished warriors in all the world. To the outsider, a Hytori might be arrogant or haughty but to those who know them, they are a people who keenly feel both what they have lost and what they have learned. Hytori are wary of the younger races but they are not unfriendly, merely guarded.

The Hytori are a people who adhere rigidly to tradition born from the lessons of their past. Deviation from convention and precedent, ritual or ceremony is considered shameful and a quick way to becoming a pariah in Hytori society.

Culture

Though it is a pale shadow of its former self, the realm of Sol’Valen still lives in the region of Turoth with the capital city of Silfanore serving as the seat of the Court of Princes. The nation of Sol’Valen can best be described as a federation of smaller kingdoms that are divided between the Inner Kingdoms and the Outer Kingdoms. The Inner Kingdoms are the most ancient and well preserved of the ancestral lands of the Hytori. While even they were not unaffected by the Sundering of the World, they yet stand as a testament to the resilience of the Hytori. The Outer Kingdoms are those places that have either been reclaimed or recently rebuilt by the Hytori people in the lands of Sol’Valen.

The Court of Princes is the ruling body of Sol’Valen with each Prince ruling over either an Inner or Outer Kingdom. The leader of the Court of Princes is referred to as either the Phoenix King or the Phoenix Queen. While the title of Prince is hereditary the title of Phoenix King or Queen is not. The leader of the Court of Princes is chosen by popular vote and once chosen they are the Head of State and Government with the power to command all of Sol’Valen’s armies. The current leader of the Court of Princes is Phoenix King Ailuin Sol’Eilran, the grandson of King Taegen.

As a society, the Hytori prize art, music and fashion. They are a people who have enjoyed immense wealth and power across their ancient history. So influential is their culture that at the height of the Clockwork Empire, most of the Imperial nobility had a smattering of Hytori influence either in their genes or apparel. Hytori aesthetics in general tend to present the image of glittering golds, bronze, copper and pristine whites that pay homage to the belief in Hytori purity and supremacy. Opulent is certainly a word that can be used to describe Hytori society but it is a curated opulence. The Hytori are not decadent and do their best to project a measure of piety in their society. As a long-lived people, the Hytori prize perfectionism in personal pursuits. A sculptor might become obsessed with mastering every form of sculpting. A painter might go to immense lengths to create breathtaking masterpieces. A soldier could spend their entire life studying as many different forms of warfare and battle as they can. As a result, this perfectionism is tempered with a healthy appreciation for leisurely pursuits.

Technologically, the Hytori rely quite heavily upon magic and boast near peerless mastery of the arcane often producing innovations that the other races can scarcely fathom. While it is a far cry from feats they were once capable in ages past, the greatest of Hytori spellcasters are able to come together and sometimes successfully pull off Archmagic rituals. This allows them shape the world around them to suit their needs to some degree. As a result of this reliance upon magic, the Hytori tend to eschew more mundane technology such as steam engines or clockwork engineering. This makes entering their cities different but no less capable of rendering a lifestyle that enables the Hytori to follow their chosen pursuits.

Religion

Faith is central to the Hytori. Among the mortal races, they are the chief worshippers of the Dragon Gods due to how much of a direct influence they had in shaping them. First in all things to the Hytori of Sol’Valen is the Dragon Goddess of Life, Raella. It was the Dragon Mother that gave them life and it is to her they pay the most homage. Second to her is the mighty Dragon King though reverence for Eikaen is held in such esteem that he can hardly be called second in Hytori estimation. Together, Eikaen and Raella serve as the maternal and paternal figures for most of Hytori religion. Next in esteem comes the Dragon God of Death, Wraedan. For it is Wraedan who came to the Hytori when the woes of true mortality were visited upon them. As the Mourning-Lord, the Dragon God of Death guided the souls of the ancient elves to their resting places and brought comfort to those left behind. In later ages, Wraedan became an all-too familiar presence in Hytori lives causing many to both revere him and fear him.

Keela, the Dragon Goddess of Wisdom enjoys a fair amount of worship across Sol’Valen as many Hytori regard her as the source of elven enlightenment and the reason for chasing their mortal pursuits. Velar and Vicis, the Twin Gods of Time and Fate preside over the sphere of Hytori thinking that centers around their belief in destiny. Thiovan, the Dragon God of Dreams is either thanked for the escape offered in slumber or whispered to in order to spare them from nightmares. Aedrin, the Dragon God of Nature is wholly beloved and revered as the provider of all things that provide the Hytori with sustenance in the natural world. Naori, the Dragon Goddess of Chaos is carefully revered as necessary to prevent the world from becoming stagnant. Malgar, the Dragon God of Suffering is wholly reviled by the Hytori but they do so carefully. The Hytori recognize him for the divine that he is and the part that he plays in the lives of mortals but there is a clear distaste for the Madgod undoubtedly spawned from his involvement in their history.

It is rare for a Hytori to pay homage to Demigods or Lesser Endir as the Dragon Gods have had such an impact in their culture that simply cannot be rivaled by any other powers. Hytori almost universally despise the Mistlords.

Reproduction, Aging, and Death

Hytori are the longest lived race in Ransera with the eldest of them reaching four centuries of life. It goes without say that as a result of this longevity, the eldest of the Hytori still recall many of the challenges faced by their people during the Age of Sundering. Having experienced the hardships of that terrible time firsthand, the elder Hytori are greatly revered by their people and are widely considered to be some of the wisest figures alive across all the races. The passing of an elder is a cause for great mourning and celebration to the Hytori. It is customary for entire cities to gather to commemorate the passing of an elder wherein festivals carry on for days paying homage to that particular elf’s achievements in life. Mourning afterwards is done communally with comfort being offered to the family affected. Like many of the mortal races following the Graveplague, the Hytori burn their dead and scatter the ashes. It is not uncommon for statues to be built to preserve the elf’s likeness.

Hytori of middle age tend to occupy positions of leadership in their society. Whether that is as patriarchs or matriarchs of their families or in communities, the vast majority of the day to day leadership of Hytori society is held by elves of this age group. Hytori at this stage in their lives are considered and expected to be masters of their chosen crafts so that they can serve as examples to those younger than themselves. Due to the centuries of life under their belts, a single Hytori of this age could fill volumes of books with their knowledge of the world and their own pursuits and often it is expected that they will do just that. The pressures of forming both themselves and their lives into reflections of the Hytori push for perfectionism comes to fruition in the form of successful individuals late in life.

Young Hytori face immense scrutiny and pressure from their elders to find their place and path in society. Wherever they grow up, whether it is in ancient Sol’Valen or far from it, the mentality that a Hytori must always been a peerless example of whatever they devote themselves to is strong. Most younger Hytori travel far and wide visiting other lands and learning of other cultures or settling in them in order to ingrain themselves into their chosen paths. Wherever they go, Hytori stand-out both for their physical beauty and their relentless pursuit of their chosen endeavors.

Hytori reproduction is not dissimilar to human reproduction with polyamory being common owing to their exceptionally long lives. Family tends to be important to the Hytori with reverence for one’s elders being the prevalent mindset. The raising of children is seen as a communal effort with the parents being the immediate caretakers but with the expectation that once a child begins to show a particular aptitude they are guided toward a family member with greater experience in such things. This happens roughly around adolescence where the child is formally taken under the wing of that family member who most closely mirrors what the child displays interest in. If no family member reflects those interests, a member of the community is approached. The Hytori child then leaves their parents behind and embarks on their path to adulthood.

Language

Vallenor is the ancestral language of the Hytori. It is widely regarded as the oldest language in all of Ransera but it has largely fallen out of use except by scholars and ceremonial purposes. Far more common among the Hytori is Mythrasi. The language of Mythrasi is known for its musical and almost lyrical flow. Those who hear it often feel as though they are listening to songs rather than a spoken word. Hytori bear signifiers in their name that associates them with a particular class in Hytori society.

Sol is reserved strictly for those of royal status. It is a signifier carried only by current or past Phoenix King’s or Queens, their consorts and their immediate children. If in the passing of the reigning King or Queen the crown does not remain in the deceased sovereign’s family, the signifier for the family changes Val. The only family for whom this rule does not apply are those who are descended directly from Phoenix King Arsoren but the House of Sol’Miaren has long been considered extinct.

Val is reserved for the nobility. This ranges from the Princes of the Inner and Outer Kingdoms to the Lords and Ladies of their various courts. The signifier of Val is hereditary and stays with the family from generation to generation. Len is carried by those of common birth and is by and large the most widely used signifier in Hytori society.