"They call us "savage" as if they do not know who taught them to survive in the first place. As if they no longer need our wisdom when it is they who brought the destruction. Ever foolish, ever savage."

  To the blind humans, the different races called ellar all seem to be related. Different colors of the same creature. Only we, the Vell, know the truth. We are not the same, not at all. For we, and we alone, were here when the world was new. We built the first cities, we conquered the land and the sea, we ruled over all.   When King Manath opened the Gloaming Well, our doom was sealed. Before the coming of the others, the Vell were unmatched. Our god, Uvan, hunted the dark forests unchallenged. But Manath was not satisfied with merely all of this world under his fist. He wanted more, he wanted to be a god with the power to rival Uvan. Manath dabbled with powers he did not fully understand and let their whispers lead him into damnation.   The Gloaming Well could grant Manath ascendancy. That was what the whispers told him. What came through when Manath opened the Well, however, was a tide of gods and demons and vicious spirits. They tore through the Well, rending it open for all time. This left it open for the others.   The Aure came from the stars, fleeing the shadow that consumed their people in their homelands. The Liir followed their lost and mourning goddess into the plains. The Ziin stalked the demons into the wastes, and the Sama slipped through the shrouded cracks into the dark.   And the gods that followed, both gentle and cruel, created humankind. Helpless babes who starved and suffered without our generous hand. How quickly they forgot who pulled them from the mud. How easily they fell to the self-same whispers that tempted King Manath and brought the Turmoil to our world.   Now, we hunt only in darkness. We live only in places where man dares not tread. We surround ourselves with poison and hang their bodies from the trees so they remember why they fear the dark and wild places.  

Vell

Vell'ellar tend to be shorter than humans and other Ellar races. They have tanned skin though they often cover their skin with tattoos or paint. Their eyes are like those of large cats, yellow, orange, or green. Their hair color is kept secret from all outsiders as they cover it with white clay. Their ears are long and pointed, like other Ellar, but that is the only trait they share.   The clothing they wear, if they wear any at all, is more akin to draping jewelry that leaves nothing to the imagination. They wear mantles of colorful feathers, fur, or cloth of gold. Occasionally, the odd Vell'ellar will find themselves among humans and don the bare minimum of "acceptable" clothing if only to avoid the whining noises humans make about "proper manners."  

Abhula

The largest city of the Vell'ellar is ancient beyond reckoning. It was carved deep into the bedrock of what is now Zeder. While most Vell'ellar live most of their lives as nomadic family groups hunting through the dark wilds, many thousands live in the descending tiers of Abhula. Several times a year, the nomadic groups of Vell will find their way to the city to celebrate festivals and holidays.   The carved streets are lined with weathered statues of ancestors long turned to dust. The walls are carved with sweeping vines and windows are framed with stone flowers. Each layer is carved deeper into the stone and continues even deeper beneath the earth into caverns extending many meters underground.   Wonders of an age forgotten are rumored to be hidden in these vast chambers. Tales of magic beyond imagining, artifacts of the gods, and the Gloaming Well itself are said to be housed somewhere in the labyrinthine city of stone. There are very few non-Vell who would see Abhula and live to tell of it, however.   Outsiders are dealt with swiftly and viciously. Pots of noxious gasses set to poison travelers and venomous beasts that answer only to the Vell guard the roads to Abhula. The Vell'ellar hardly need to employ these security measures, though, as many travelers won't find their way through the swirling trees of the walking forests in the first place.