Sarda Ruinborn Elves are people inhabiting the lower central valley of the Ynn River, in the eponymous Sarda region.
Name Origin[]
One of the first accounts on the Sarda is that of the Filenval Brothers, two Sarda explorers who reached Stantirvare by navigating the Ynn in 210 AA.
It is said that the two scouts, having refused to reveal the whereabouts of their homeland to the inhabitants of Stantirvare, were dubbed Sariadolin, “Those who Hide their Home” in Dolindhan, a name which later morphed into Sarda.
Appearance[]
The Sarda are a variant of Ruinborn Elves who suffered minimal mutations to their appearance during the Day of Ashen Skies and as such they are strikingly similar to Cannorian Elves.
Over half their population are gifted with hair colours not normally occurring among humans, such as blue and green hair. This trait, believed to have been once common among Precursor Elves, isn't shared with other Ynnic Ruinborn besides rare exceptions.
Borders and Military[]
The Sarda's southernmost settlements are the city of Nizamsto and the temple of Chrempredpadh near the Cliffs of Ruin, while the castle of Adbraseloc and the Township of Thromshana mark their narrow northern border with the Dolindhan people.
On the east and west, the Sarda share long, flat borders with the Veykodan and Epednar people. These long, flat borders invited frequent raids and the Sarda would develop a ranger tradition to use the forests - their one natural defense - to ambush and harass invaders.
While prominent during the first millennium After Ash, Sarda rangers declined with the rise of Ynnic Feudalism, as local lords and towns now had their own decentralized forces of levies and knights that they could muster to mount a quick response against raiders whenever they'd strike. In the Age of Greentide, Selocshana and Konyrhrada were the main castles providing troops against the Epednar, while Fadhevych and Arvezl watched over the Veykodans.
The knight became the new heroic figure of Sarda, while the ranger was seen as little better than a bandit - the only exceptions to this were Trompolere and Vels Domfan, whose rulers continued to employ rangers extensively for their armies.
Subgroups[]
Sarda are colloquially distinguished between Yrisarda or Imperial Sarda, and Trarda or Treehouse Sarda.
- Imperial Sarda are the Sarda of the north, who are often of mixed Dolindhan descent as a result of Jeborad's conquest of the Sarda region, and rose to prominent roles as governors and generals of the Ynnic Empire, becoming skilled riders and knights in their own right.
- Treehouse Sarda are those of the south, who met the Dolindhan conquerors with guerrilla tactics (such as in the story of Rhovynuc) and clung to their ancient traditions of forestry and rangers for a longer time.
Treehouse Sarda is also used to refer to any Sarda hunters, rangers or bandits regardless of their actual origin, while Imperial Sarda can refer to any Sarda knight or aristocrat, making this a sociocultural distinction rather than a purely ethnic one. Of the Imperial Sarda, House yen Stantir of Stanyrhrada is the proudest upholder of its Dolindhan heritage, by using Dolindhan titles and names and ensuring its lords are tutored to speak Dolindhan language.
The Vels Fadhecai Sarda, living to the west of the Ynn and having received exiles from the east for centuries, are also regarded as a world of their own by the other Sarda.
Notable Members[]
- Calrodiy the Great
- Carodin II
- Alaran yen Cestor
- Talvynn yen Nizel
- Ultaran the Kind
- Calrodiy V
- Erandil Poison-Arrow
- Adrahel II
- Morvel Vyrekynn