The snow Elwens- the atagarni (ay-tay-GAYR-nee), their Primal name meaning "cold snowdrifts"- are incomprehensible to most of the outside world. Some races regard them neutrally, as the snow Elwens live too far away to be of trouble to them. Other races, such as the curalli, who compete with them for territory in the Euras Ataar, the Frigid Waste, despise them or find them ridiculous. Very few races think of them as friends.
Come among them, if you will- the snow Elwens, the Children of Cold.
PHYSICAL LOOKS
Atagarni have stark white skin, which shows almost nothing of any scars that might fall upon it, as the scar tissue is itself white. In high heat, as that of a desert or a fire, it may shed small white tears, as if melting. But, once restored to a cold place, no mark will be visible. Atagarni do not tan, do not wrinkle, and are so perfectly pale they can lie in plain view on a snowdrift and not be seen- if they close their eyes (see below). They stand at one end of a spectrum of Elwen skin colors, with such races as the zorkro standing at the other.
Atagarni usually have white hair as well, though occasionally it is gold, silver, or a very pale blue, the color of the sun-shadows on snow. Those who have hair of these different colors often dye it white or conceal it with a hood when hunting, as snow Elwen hunting depends to a great deal on concealment. Even more occasionally, a snow Elwen will be born with clear hair, looking like faceted ice. They do not usually need to dye their hair, but they may need to hide themselves, as other atagarni may mistake them for helamani and attack. Atagarn hair is usually worn long and flowing, often swirling around the body when they move.
Snow Elwen eyes are the only things typically not white (though they turn white in rage). They are pools of silver or gold that look like molten metal. Different colors for atagarn eyes are rarer than those of the hair, though blue or pale, clear indigo appear at times. Dark eye colors never appear unless introduced by outside blood. (Such interbreeding is more likely to occur among the southern atagarni than the northern; see below).
Atagarni stand between 5'9" and 6'3" usually, weighing 160 to 200 pounds. They look more muscled and less smooth than other Elwens, though they can flow along just as gracefully (or even more so; see below). They have silver blood, which occasionally appears through cracks in their otherwise perfect skin when they are wounded. They can run about a hundred miles an hour, or as fast as a winter stormwind blows, and live about ten thousand years (though many die a great deal sooner than that).
EMOTIONAL MAKEUP
It is perhaps the emotions of the snow Elwens that other races find most strange. Atagarni have surrendered none of the passion that marks their kin, but they express it in different ways. A snow Elwen may spend years doing almost nothing but contemplating the blowing snow, and then suddenly strike out in a burst of energy, acting on thoughts he has formed during that time. "Our emotions are packed deep and piled high, like the drifts we love," is a common saying among the more learned of the atagarni. "But beneath, a warmth is glowing."
Snow Elwens, like most Elwens, have their pride, and think of themselves and their race in particular as higher than all others (see Elwens for more information). While most others do not go beyond this, however, snow Elwens think of themselves as in decline, the last remnants of a once numerous race lingering a little while before their fall. They do not generally think that their ancestors in the past achieved more than they did, however. Their civilization has bloomed the most in its dusk, according to nearly all atagarni.
This air of noble sorrow makes atagarni infuse most things they do with solemnity and dignity, even those things that seem most trivial to other races. A hunt is never completed but the spirit of the slain animal is thanked, and a dance done to return that spirit to the whirling snow. An atagarn may count his steps all through one day and pause when coming to a particular number that has significance for him, perhaps the age at which a friend of his died. Even breathing can be invested with meaning, as when a snow Elwen sits still, drawing in the keen, cold air and releasing her hardly warmer breath, marveling with still eyes over simply being alive.
The atagarni intend to fade slowly from the world, not be driven out before their time, which is one reason they so strongly attack their enemies (the ice Elwens and shadowed Elwens foremost among these). They war fiercely, and use all their magic and all their resources against their foes. Perhaps this is the reason why they still endure, when the helamani and curalli combined would have driven many other peoples away or slaughtered them altogether.
The element of choice is also very important to atagarni in other arenas of life. They never quite reconcile themselves to the idea that one cannot choose the family one is born to, and it is not unknown for atagarni to live apart from their blood-kin for centuries at a time, doing their best to reconcile themselves to something they cannot change. In all snow Elwen history, there has never been a single case of marriage recorded for any reasons other than love, either; atagarni cannot be forced to do anything much, and spending their lives with someone they hate has pride of place among those things.
MAGICAL MAKEUP
Atagarni rely a great deal on their magic in their ordinary lives as well as their warring, one of the few Elwen races to do so. They seem to regard their gifts with an almost religious awe, as if they were not quite theirs.
Common to all atagarni are:
Snowslip. A snow Elwen rarely travels on top of or even through the snow unless he has companions of other races with him. Instead, he becomes part of the snow itself, slipping easily through it, more in liquid form than solid, until he finds a place where the drifts die or arrives where he wishes to go. Then he pokes his head out of the drift, reforming as he rises. From the outside, a snowslipping atagarn looks like a dark shimmer within the clarity of the banks.
Freezing touch. All atagarni can freeze anyone of alien race they touch, quickly and easily reducing their body temperature to that of ice. A frozen victim can be pushed over and shattered like so much ice, as well. This is the ability for which atagarni are most feared, and even those of outside race who love them sometimes hesitate to touch them, thinking that the snow Elwen might lose control (this does not happen, but it profits the atagarni to have their enemies think so).
Wind-riding. When a hard enough wind is blowing- as in a blizzard- an atagarn can snowslip in a special way, turning his body into the falling snow itself and moving his spirit forward through the fall. This is a less reliable ability than snowslipping, though often faster; the wind combats the atagarn's will most of the time unless it happens to be moving in the direction the snow Elwen wishes to go, and the Child of Cold wind-riding will lose some time fighting it. However, wind-riding is unmatched for appearing before an enemy. As the snow settles, the flakes reform into the atagarn's body, effectively snowing them into existence, startling and inevitably frightening anyone they confront.
Bringing the winter. Most snow Elwens rarely have a need for this, as most of them dwell in the Frigid Waste where summer is only a little less harsh than winter. However, when traveling in warm climes, an atagarn can call a snowstorm of several hundred miles in diameter, dumping snow and dropping the temperature for the width of the storm. This is often used by annoyed snow Elwens to take out warm-living curalli, or when someone of another race offers violence to a traveling atagarn.
Avalanche. All atagarni can cause an avalanche in high mountains or anywhere else there is enough snow piled up, regardless of whether the snow is ripe for such conditions or not. Snow happens to like snow Elwens, and it eagerly answers their call, dividing around their feet like a river to hurtle onward towards their enemies. One of the more unnerving sights for a snow Elwen's enemies is to see the white-skinned Elwen standing in the center of the avalanche, laughing aloud, white hair whipping around her face and starred with flakes, while the flood dashes past her and comes straight for them.
Sphere of cold. This is often used by atagarni traveling in uncomfortably warm climes. It creates a sphere of about twenty feet in diameter around the body, causing a faint blue tinge in the air. The temperature inside such a globe is roughly a hundred degrees below freezing- enough to content a snow Elwen, and probably to kill most other races. As this can be maintained even while sleeping, a snow Elwen will often slumber in the midst of such a sphere without any other guard.
Common to lords of the ablasi (see below) is:
Empathy. This is not the ability of the land Elwens to feel another creature's emotions, but rather to see another creature's point of view. A lord of the ablasi usually enacts this through the golden bracelets he/she wears on his/her wrists. At once the snow Elwen knows all the arguments the other would use, the reasons the other believes as she does, and how much persuasion it would take to convince the other to change her mind. A useful diplomatic ability, this gift is at once trusted and despised by other races.
ORIGINS AND MODERN SETTLEMENTS
The atagarni were born in the west of the Euras Ataar in the Age of Dawn. Their legends claim it was snowing when they came into existence, despite the fact that most races of Arcadia believe the First Dawn was during summer. The atagarni looked up at the silver stars and the snowflakes falling, and could not decide which were more beautiful. They have been unable to decide ever since, and have given little if any worship to the stars.
They mostly wandered free, largely anarchic, until their first encounters with the curalli, who fought with them over territory. The first ablasi was established then, a group of lords (called so though many of them have been female) who were forced to argue the opposite side's point of view before making any hasty moves. The ablasi has continued since, often perfectly balanced between doubt and self-confidence, and so little interfering in the lives of their people (which is just the way the 'common' snow Elwens want it).
The most important settlement of snow Elwens today is in the Frigid Waste, scattered in cities, villages, single homes, wandering war-parties, and simple wandering bands that follow the snow and hold no allegiance to anything except themselves. However, small colonies of snow Elwens are known to exist in these other places:
The Coroni Ataar. The mountains that bound the southern Frigid Waste are called the Mountains of Incomparable Cold for a reason. Many snow Elwens dwell in the high passes, delighting in the cold and the keen air at the heights.
Vaman. A small city settled in the Norto Valley in Sweptoria, not far from the mixed-race city of Carnelian, and unlike almost any other snow Elwen settlement in existence. The atagarni there have learned to enjoy the warm seasons and the cycle of the spring and summer as well as the autumn and winter, and have formed a simple religion based largely on earth-worship.
Lenirr. A growing atagarn community located not far from the land Elwen Cities of the Blossom, in northern Sweptoria. These snow Elwens are interested in learning about the philosophy that pervades Corafur and her sister cities, and willing to endure the warmth to do so.
LANGUAGES
Most atagarni are protective of their own languages, the Sassamar tongues, if only because of their feeling that they are declining and therefore their languages will one day die out. Rarely do they teach them to others, though they do record every little detail and dialectical variation obsessively. Linguistic creation is also common, some atagarni feeling the creation of new words may help stave off the coming end. As a result, the modern languages descended from ancient Sassamar are rich in redundant terms, and there are many words that have only one meaning.
The most important post-Sassamar languages are:
Balwan. This tongue is found mostly in the large cities of the Waste. It is an "educated" speech and used often by the lords of the ablasi, who dwell here. Those who speak Balwan are often not adverse to learning other languages- for example, for negotiations with the ice and shadowed Elwens during periods of strained peace- but defend Balwan against would-be foreign students.
Ashala. The "common tongue" of many wandering bands and others who are not part of the Waste cities; has borrowed words from the shadowed and ice Elwen languages without shame. It is clearly related to Balwan, and some city atagarni wishing to stress the bonds of kinship (and lure their cousins into their endless war) say that it is really only Balwan debased. Most scholars of Ashala, however, think it clearly a different language.
Memirr. The language of Lenirr, usually confined to that city, though some have been translating Analari treatises into it more and more often lately. It has gathered in words from Primal and Aril, often deliberately, in an effort to understand the minds of those who might one day become enemies. Some trusted land Elwen scholars, known to be sympathetic to snow Elwen interests, have expressed an interest in learning it, and cautious teaching is beginning.
More to come, I promise.
