Aesiri

Aesir
Race
Pronunciation	Ay-see-er
Archetype	Elven
Nicknames	Book Elves, Lexi-elves, Lexi
Languages	Elvish
Vampiric Conversion	Possible
Aetherial Affinity	Class A - Gifted at Casting Magic
Roleplay Difficulty	Moderate
Racial Traits
Aetheriality	Physical
Max Age	600 Years
Strengths	Sharp Hearing, Precise Control, Cold Resistance
Weaknesses	Fragile, Weak, Pessimistic
Height	5' to 7'
Weight	80 to 160 lbs
Eye Colors	Sky Blue, Brown, Hazel, Green, Blue, Purple, Lilac, Magenta, Amber
Hair Colors	Blonde, White, Silver, Gray, Brown
Skin Tones	Ranging from Porcelain to Cream
Average Physique	Slender to Average
Aetherial Limit	Power IV - Control VI
Significant Demographics
While this doesn't mean your character has to come from one of these places, it's recommended they do. Council of Elin'Torai

The Aesiri are a scholarly race, dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and understanding. Despite their insatiable appetite to learn about other cultures and ideas, they are often very pessimistic towards the other races of Amestria. Magic is the cornerstone of their society, everyone knows it, and everyone uses it. The Aesiri are often hosts to prestigious magic academies that train disciples in the aetherial arts regardless of race, usually from a very young age well into adulthood. They rely so heavily on magic in their everyday life that aetherial disabilities discovered at an early age could result in the child being exiled from Aesiran society. It remains to be seen whether the Aesiri's penchant for magic keeps them ahead of the competition, or prevents them from reaching their true potential.

Physical Characteristics

The Aesiri are the weakest of all elven races, and compared to a human are only half as strong. Their skin tones favor lighter colors, usually from cream to porcelain. Their hair is predominantly golden blonde, but depending on the bloodline they may have hair colors in the same range as humans. They can have a range of eye colors such as sky blue, brown, green, purple, and amber. The average Aesiri is anywhere from 5 to 7 feet tall and can live up to 600 years, the longest lifespan of any elven race. They tend to have a very tall but narrow build and are unlikely to possess any visible muscle definition. Despite having the shortest pointed ears of any elven race, the aesiri have very sharp hearing and are in fact very sensitive to loud noises, often avoiding noise all together. They also possess superior motor skills, which often results in very steady hands. Their resistance to the cold is second to none, being able to survive temperatures that would quickly kill other races. A peculiar detail about the Aesiri body is that they have very fragile bones, and it often takes many times longer for them to heal from injuries then a human. They fall under the Elven Physiology category, and as such do not visually age past full maturity or accumulate excessive body fat.

Mental Characteristics

Aesiri spend a lot of time analyzing a situation before acting. They withhold any emotions or actions until after they have reached a conclusion, resulting in them appearing pensive or very reserved. They look down on other races for their impulsive and brash behaviors. Aesiri are always comparing their own competence with those they interact with, and tend to be very judgmental on an internal level. They won't always express this openly as they usually want to maintain a sense of esteem among their peers, but have no problems speaking their mind to strangers or people they dislike. Aesiri are very selective about who they form close bonds with, and will usually stay acquaintances with almost everyone they meet. On average Aesiri are a bit more intelligent then humans and other races, which furthers their ability to study. Most Aesiri are not very interested in small talk and prefer to discuss matters of importance or relevance, which furthers their innate desire to accumulate knowledge.

History

The recent discovery of ancient ruins deep within the jungles of Dendrassil have shed new light on the Aesiri's past. The discovered ruins are reminiscent of Exodian Era ruins but are of aesiri origin, suggesting that the Aesiri once had an advanced civilization similar to humanity. Unlike humanity however, adventurers have discovered no signs of aetherial activity. This can only mean that the Aesiri did not use machina, which falls in line with the commonly known fact that Aesir cannot manipulate enough aetherial energy to effectively create machina. Scholars are still studying the findings of the ruins and have yet to uncover the truth behind ancient Aesiri history.

Society

Aesiri society revolves around education and aetherial knowledge. From a very young age Aesiri are subjected to academic study, and as a result they usually have little actual experience with the outside world. Most Aesiri spend many decades within magic academies, a necessity given their extreme dependency on magic for everyday life. Many Aesiri never leave these academies, instead choosing to become professors or conduct aetherial research. Most Aesiri are not only well educated in general academics but often have achieved mastery in more then one branch of magic and a functional understanding of most the other branches. Aetherial affinity is so important in Aesiri culture that any child born who displays lesser magical ability is very likely to be exiled from Aesiri society. The law is absolute in Aesiri culture, breaking even the smallest of laws has serious implications. Individuals who commit more then one offense are usually imprisoned for decades and in serious cases up to a century. The upper echelons of Aesiri society are dominated by entrenched noble families that have been in power for centuries or even millennia.

Politics

The Council of Elin'Torai maintains a neutral attitude towards other nations. The elves hold a certain degree of political sway over nearby nations due to the devastating potential of their advanced magic. Despite this, they are no match for larger militaristic nations such as the Empire of Equestris.

Religion

In recent times the aesir have abandoned most notions of religion, instead focusing solely on what they understand through rational thought and theory. In the not so distant past there was a time when they did possess a few religions, all of which shared some similarities with humanity's Olde Faythe. Most if not all aesir have disregarded religion as superstitious nonsense and only utilize it in historical context.

Military

The aesiri are not known for having large standing armies, but are more then capable of fighting intense battles. The elves have advanced magic that is able to counter the magic used by defensive mages in human armies who protect soldiers from magic assault. They also can work together to form spell arrays that can cause massive damage to the battlefield. If the aesiri were ever forced to fight without magic, they would quickly lose. This small factor is one reason why the elves have seen no reason to expand their borders in recent years and are content with advancing their aetherial knowledge and educational programs.

Economy

The aesiri economy has stagnated over the course of many centuries. Population growth is minimal within the Council of Elin'Torai, which has left industries which supply the aesir economy with no room to expand. While frontier settlements do exist, they are plagued with vampirism and a lack of growth further denying any economic potential. The prestigious magic academies within aesiri borders provide a major portion of the nation's budget, and it's been speculated that without them the Council of Elin'Torai would collapse from economic instability.

Technology

The Aesiri's affinity for magic has led them to innovate in aetherial knowledge for centuries, and as such they have more knowledge on magic then anyone else. This extreme focus has resulted in them neglecting other forms of technology, with little consequence due to magic's ability to compensate in similar ways. They usually rely on other culture's knowledge when a need for non-aetherial technology does arise, leaving them behind everyone else in matters of traditional technology.

Interbreeding

Human + High Elves will result in a person that has less pointed ears and features between a human and an elf. They live up to 180 years and can have elven eye colors. They can cast slightly more intricate magic then humans but they cannot use as powerful spells. It is very easy for them to learn magic and they require little discipline to sense it.