Silvan

A race that came from the Elemental Plane of Earth to Alandor following the Planar Clash, the Silvan are almost elf-like in their appearance but are made straight out of wood and woodland materials.

Origin
Living in the trees, high up in the canopies, Silvan took to the sky while the Dwarrows took to the ground and underground.

It is unknown how the first Silva came to be, only that they grew out of the largest tree in the Elemental Plane of Earth. When she died, she became the first Mother Tree, which then birthed the rest of the Silvan race.

Silvan live in molded homes high up in the trees all over the Elemental Plane of Earth. It is said that once, their cities stretched to cover all the endless forests there, but after the Planar Clash, the cities were left stranded. Their homes are formed out of the trees and their branches and they rarely touch the ground.

Mother Trees
Silvan do not reproduce like other races. Instead, they are born from the seed-pods of giant trees, called "Mother Trees".

These massive trees average about 400-500 ft. (120-150 m) in height and 60 ft. (20 m) in diameter. Each Silvan city has one or two of these trees, which are always positioned in the centre of the city. These trees grow new Silvan once a month, for an average of 12 a year. When a Silva is released from their seed pod, which they stay in for about a year, they are fully grown.

Mother Trees are created when especially prominent Silvan merge with trees at the end of their years. They then take 100 years to grow, during which other Silvan make their homes around wherever it has been planted.

The Zajec and the Hunter God
Thousands of years back, a pack of Silvan hunters were out on a hunt and came upon a fantastic battle. Seeking the sounds, the Silvan witnessed a pack of the most skilled Zajec kill one of the Hunter Gods. Filled with rage and fuelled by sorrow, the Silvan used the Hunter God's blood to weave a curse and set it upon the zajec. The hunter zajec saw it coming, but stayed because they felt they deserved the punishment. Their eyes were plucked from their heads and forever on, zajec children would be born without eyes, unable to grow as hunters.

The Planar Clash
When the Elemental Plane of Earth crashed into the Material Plane, the bridges between the unending city of the Silvan people were broken and fell into Alandor. The magic in the trees, fuelled by the different cities' Mother Trees, allowed them to anchor several cities on Alandor.

With no way of returning the Mother Trees to the Elemental Plane of Earth, the Silvan whose Mother Trees were anchored in Alandor stayed with them. The veil between the Elemental Planes and the Material Plane is still thin and cracked enough for them to be able to travel back, but they always return to their Mother Trees.

Relations with Elves
Of course, the first race that came into contact with the Silvan, were the Forest Elves whose grounds were imposed by the anchored Mother Trees.

The similarities, with their hunting skills, nature magic, architecture and lifestyles, caused the elves to believe Silvan to be their ancestors. The Silvan, though they tried to deny it, could not prove them wrong or even describe their own origin. Now sharing the same grounds, the Silvan half-heartedly trade and engage with the Forest Elves.

Names
Silvan have short, concise names, merely used as identifiers more than anything. They do not have family or clan names, though some popular names are ofter reused. They do not differ between female and male names.

Neutral names: Abur, Banua, Cura, Gutai, Jara, Mek, Pol, Rima, Sasuy

Appearance
Sometimes misnamed as "Green Elves", Silvan are an ancient race that look like slender, humanoid, half-plant and half-elves. In actuality, they are fare more similar to the first: they hail from the greatest forests and jungles - the only places that can support their Mother Trees.

Silvan biology is very different from any other race. They do not have internal organs, but instead are formed from growing plant matter, with sap for blood, and leaves and bark for skin. A jaw, for example, can be formed by leaves, vines and even shards of bark that grow and press together in the form of a jaw. Instead of bones, an arm is a mass of tightly-woven stems and leaves that work together as a limb.

On Alandor, as the year goes on, silvan change with the season. During the winter, their leaves go brown and their limbs become stiff. In the fall, they become a vibrant display of reds and yellows.

Age
Silvan, as beings, do not age, but the materials of their bodies do. Constantly switching pieces up with what natural materials they find, they break and sap these faster the more years pass. It is hard to pin down even a range for the Silvan's age, as they all age at different rate. Silvan can feel themselves age and when they reach near their end, they must bind themselves to a tree to continue to be supplied with energy. Most, when they reach this stage, simply meld together with the tree and their "bodies" become one with the trees.

Personality
Silvan are generally silent and isolated in their nature. They flower among their communities, but converse little with the outside world. They have a great love of nature and do everything in their powers to protect them. Now on Alandor, they have sworn to protect the forests all over the world.

Silvan are generally either calm or energetic, depending on what natural materials they pick up to pull energy from.

Subraces
Though without real "subraces", Awakened Blights are a sort of evolved subset of Silvan.

Awakened Blight
After the Planar Clash, Mother Trees that took root on blighted and cursed land, did not die. Instead, they grew dark and black-veined. When they several years later birthed new Silvan, these were dark and blighted: Awakened Blights. Almost like how tieflings are influenced by their Infernal heritage, Awakened Blights have blighted blood which replaced the green in their leaves.

Though no more evil than their Silvan ancestors, Awakened Blights forever try to fill the emptiness of their blighted blood, usually by battle or punishing hard work. Their magic is tainted and most druids and wizards took to shamanism or necromancy to continue wielding their magic.

Somewhat scary in appearance, most races treat them with caution.

Trivia

 * The elves do not stem from the Silvan as might be believed, but instead they share the same ancestors in Aijzel's people then separated on different Planes