The Ellisian Clans

This bio has been a loooong time in the making. To begin, the Felarya wiki states that dotting the Ascarlin Mountains are numerous mines, tunnels, and underground cities. This is the story of one such settlement.

At the westernmost edge of the westernmost of the mountains, a mining city had been subsisting (for the most part) in secret. The Ellisian folk who had started settling there had begun as refugees from Negav. They had found convenient shelter in a deep vertical crack that split the slope. It provided shelter from unfriendly eyes, and was still within easy reach of the mines on one side, and the forest on the other. Over many generations this settlement had grown into a bona-fide city, and eventually into a tiny empire, and they carved into the mountainside many elaborate mines, halls, and dwellings. Its citizens didn't dare mingle with foreigners, and succumbed to isolation and inbreeding. The original family tree split into many different bloodlines that would later lay the foundation for the clans to emerge. They developed a strange culture of their own, and feared the influence of foreign factions and predators alike. Their population remained very small, and with continued access to the gems of the mountains they amassed extraordinary wealth. Finally they hit a breaking point and sought to trade their wealth for a means of self-defense. They bought weapons, supplies, information, even a small parcel of the surrounding territory. They feared that even small interactions with the outside world may betray them, and remained reclusive. Unfortunately for them, the cat was, in fact, out of the bag. Foreign legions arrived in droves to claim their riches for themselves, and with numerous legions followed predators. The fledgling empire was thoroughly crushed and its prized city was destroyed. This, however, is all history.

In the here and now, survivors of the old city had only just began to repopulate. Their original nationality was eradicated and their loyalties were split between the survivors' various clans. With the city left in ruins, most infrastructure was only as good as could be made anew or scavenged. Clans fought to regain control of key components of the city ruins and the ascarlin mines beneath. Their technological affinity was set back by centuries and the only machinery available to them was what they could either steal or trade for. They did, however, retain extraordinary talents for craftsmanship and put it to good use in creating for themselves new arms and supplies. With nothing but the raw materials left in the ruins they were able to hand-produce long rifles and blades aplenty, and promptly put these to use in fending off rival clans. Just as isolated as the old city used to be, the new Ellisians had no one to fight but one another, and at this they soon became experts. Their respective populations may yet remain small, but they will rise in time. Eventually the small skirmishes between clans will begin to resemble open warfare.

With that sendoff, more details can be found in the following bio pages:

http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d3l7uwy
http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d41ffyl
http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4299kp
(a more thorough explanation of the clan dynamics)

http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d398t5d
http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2udp9u
http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d42b9v6
http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2p92lm
(the modern war-maiden and the tools at her disposal)

http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d46klvx
http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2urzve
http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2us08u
(relics of the old city, before it was destroyed)

http://mickilla.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2p93iz
(A male Ellisian soldier, something never to be seen ever again)

TL,DR version: A colony of humans who had been living in the western Ascarlin Mountains until their small empire was crushed. The survivors split into many different clans, and fought tooth and nail for power, territory, and resources. They used medicinal herbs to speed up their birth rate, but these made nearly all of their children female. The new dynamic has a single male lord at the helm of his clan, a harem of a few-dozen women with whom he procreates to produce daughters, and many hundreds of daughters who serve as warriors on his behalf. Plus, if he's lucky, a male heir to take his place if fate is cruel to him. The Ellisians had access to technology before their city was destroyed, but now they get by with practically no technology at all, apart from war-gear preserved from the old city. They still mine for ascarlin and subsist as hunter/gatherers in the mountainsides, underground passages, and nearby jungles. Their favored weapon is the long rifle, blessed with accuracy and power, but cursed by being heavy, bulky, and very slow to reload. Ammunition is also made by hand, meaning its supply is usually limited. Their chief crop is the perakh plant, which lives parasitically off of large trees. It saps nutrition and condenses it into a very pure sugar. The leaves of this plant can be fermented into liquor (and then distilled into various fuels, including propellant for their bullets), or eaten raw as a mood enhancer. Dried leaves are often smoked in place of tobacco. The Ellisians spend so much time either underground or beneath dense tree cover that they aren't used to direct sunlight. For them, sunscreen is a very precious commodity and they sometimes offer to buy it with the ascarlin they mine. They are characterized by being tall and thin, but often hunch over. Their skin is usually very pale. They rarely cut their hair and in fact enjoy letting it grow as a sign of their age. Ellisian men often take great pride in the care and grooming of their beards, and clan lords often use these as a status symbol. Younger heirs are lucky to be allowed to so much as grow a goatee, lest his own chin be seen as a challenge to his father's. Some clans are more friendly to foreigners than others, and the attitudes of each clan varies based on their respective lords and their style of authority. With only very few exceptions, clan lords hate one another more than anything else, even the predators. They've fought for centuries, some clans gaining power and others losing it. Some have even been driven far, far away as lost tribes.

It's nice to finally see this idea up.

Ah, a society consisting mostly of female warriors!
You have my attention good sir, especially since I myself have two such ideas.

What especially perks my interest are those medicinal herbs they used...
...Will there be any more expansion on them?
Because I could definitely see giant Naga's and other such Hybrid Predators using them, explaining their apparent gender discrepancy.

Black Aquila wrote:

Ah, a society consisting mostly of female warriors!
You have my attention good sir, especially since I myself have two such ideas.

What especially perks my interest are those medicinal herbs they used...
...Will there be any more expansion on them?
Because I could definitely see giant Naga's and other such Hybrid Predators using them, explaining their apparent gender discrepancy.

That could well be. I may add a postscript to the effect that in fact Ellisians learned of these herbal mixes from the predators, who had been using them for untold ages.

Quote :

What especially perks my interest are those medicinal herbs they used...
...Will there be any more expansion on them?
Because I could definitely see giant Naga's and other such Hybrid Predators using them, explaining their apparent gender discrepancy.

Quote :

That could well be. I may add a postscript to the effect that in fact Ellisians learned of these herbal mixes from the predators, who had been using them for untold ages

I...honestly think that would be a terrible idea.

The general consensus about male preds is that...

A: There are many more of them than people think

B: Females are more common though, as a population control measure. Currently, the estimates for male/female gender ratios tend to be either 70:30 or 60:40. An official number hasn't been agreed on though. Either way, its not like there are only two giant males in Felarya. They aren't THAT rare.

C: Male preds tend to get overlooked because they have a penis and/or lack boobs

I think those things work. Predatory creatures, tend to have more females than males and it IS a viable option for a population control factor. It also gives a potential explanation as to why bisexualism/female-female relationships are more common and more accepted amongst predators. Males are just less common, so they take what they can get whether its male or not.

We already get accused of making Felarya a "fetish world" enough. Creating a bunch of magical herbs to eliminate most male giants within the setting just seems like a terrible idea.

Instead of trying to create a plot-device to explain HOW there aren't many males, we should be asking ourselves "Why don't we make more giant males?" Show people that male giants are not outcasts, and are welcome wtihin the setting just like any other character.

I personally like it. You've done well Mick. I'll be reading up on your stories from now on.

Wow, I'm impressed, lots of good stuff here and on your dA!
I'll be watching where this goes!

rcs619 wrote:

Some good points

I agree with what Cliff said completely. You've got good stuff here, what made you decide to shoehorn in the all female harem aspect?

Anime-Junkie wrote:

I agree with what Cliff said completely. You've got good stuff here, what made you decide to shoehorn in the all female harem aspect?

I had suspected that if they remained a more normal society with nuclear families it would have just been boring. The only way to make them remarkable would have involved giving them superweapons and/or superpowers. Lord knows that's how I originally tried to pitch the idea, and to be frank it just didn't fit in well to the rest of Felarya. This new direction makes them a more unique society without making them superhuman. Moreover, any remaining accusations of being too powerful can now be countered with a reminder that they're too busy fighting one-another to become strong enough to invade their neighbors.

Besides all that, I get plenty of amusement just from the idea of an entire race of women who are at the mercy of the rare few men among them. I very much envy these lords, whose only purpose in life is nonstop procreation with women of his choosing, and then amassing an army of his daughters to beat the tar out of rival lords. Maybe this comes across as a little bit chauvinistic, but hey that's more or less the same reason I was charmed by the idea of Felarya in the first place. I figure that if I was going to propose a new humanoid race, in the end scheme the most important factor was that they lived up to that same idea that caught my attention.

Anime-Junkie wrote:

rcs619 wrote:

Some good points

I agree with what Cliff said completely. You've got good stuff here, what made you decide to shoehorn in the all female harem aspect?

Yeah, I mean the rest of the group is very thought out and intricate. The 90% female part just seemed a bit tacked on.

If this is a warrior-society that values strength and service, why don't the women just take over? They are the extreme majority of society and the military. Why live in harems of 100's of women supporting one male "lord"? Why not just tell the men "Okay, you guys get back to making babies while we run this society?"

It just seems a little odd. The men can still be respected (since they are vital to breeding), but I just don't get why the rest of the women in a military society would want to live in a harem, and in servitude. If they are so concerned about birthrates, having actual sex is pretty inefficient. Collect semen from the males, and distribute it to the females. Its a lot more efficient than actual sex, and it lets you keep an organized catalogue of male and female traits, and who is the offspring of who. In-breeding would be a major issue in a society with so many daughters and so few sons. You would need to keep very close track of family trees to avoid it.

Quote :

Besides all that, I get plenty of amusement just from the idea of an entire race of women who are at the mercy of the rare few men among them. I very much envy these lords, whose only purpose in life is nonstop procreation with women of his choosing, and then amassing an army of his daughters to beat the tar out of rival lords. Maybe this comes across as a little bit chauvinistic

Yeah... I think that is more the problem than anything. It comes off as more a male-power fantasy than a real, complete race. It just seems disrespectful to the female Ellisians.

I thought they were interesting when they had males and females. They had a well-developed military culture, and an isolationist attitude. Their weapons may have been slightly overpowered, but that can be tweaked. You don't have to give them a massively different female/male ratio to make them interesting or different. You do that tthrough culture. As for the in-fighting and stuff... well, if the only way to gimp them, and keep them from becoming too powerful is to massively alter their culture and society, maybe you should just focus on making their weapons a little weaker instead. Its like the people who give super-powered characters one huge, exploitable weakness to make them "balanced". It doesn't really make a character balanced, it just makes you wonder why would they have such a huge, exploitable weakness.

That is a good point. I do still insist on the race being split into warring clans, not for the sake of gimping them as it is just an extension of the culture that was there in the first place. Even in the 'old days' the bloodlines and pedigrees were very spiteful of one-another, so it seemed very natural for them to progress into a number of smaller factions.

I did probably over-exaggerate the discrepancy towards gender ratio. Even if it were closer to a 4:1 relationship the overall idea could be carried out. But just remember that the current state of affairs as just how things were when re-population started to hit its stride. Give it a few decades and the race as a whole would better resemble the way it used to be in the very beginning.

I don't think it's as big as a problem as people are making it out to be. It's kinda unique if you ask me.

Maybe I'm just not as picky when criticizing ideas.

In reference to how strong the Ellisian warrior caste had been prior to the collapse, bear in mind that they were an imperialist power. A very small one, but they would have made a sincere attempt at taking over as much territory as possible. They were much more comfortable fighting underground in the passages and caverns riddling the Ascarlin Mountains, but they weren't unfamiliar with the mountainsides or the nearby jungles either. Their population was comparatively small next to that of other humanoid powers and their technology was limited, but they made themselves into an incredibly stubborn force through good weapon craftsmanship and well-drilled defensive tactics. They gained territory by covertly installing new defensive lines ahead of the old ones and then manning them under cover of nightfall. Their idea of an invasion was to having their trenches and foxholes slowly inch closer and closer into foreign land every day.

It is typically assumed that Ellisians fight from cover. They are experts and carving and hollowing out extant material and making it into usable shelter. Over the course of a scant few minutes a team of 24 'hayeleth' class warriors can dig a trench 1 meter deep, 1 meter across, and 30 meters long. The impressive factor comes in that they can do this into practically any naturally-occurring material. They gained notoriety for doing it into solid stone even in the midst of continuous combat. Their secret is the use of concentrated corrosives. Not only do these burn through most substances at an alarming rate, but as they do the chemical reaction emits dense clouds of steam which are often helpful for obstructing enemy vision. With the advantage of cover their weapons do not need to be particularly light or mobile, so their preferred armaments are often long, high-caliber rifles. Their favored cartridge is the 14.5x130mm fragmenting shell, which is infamous for being able to apply deadly trauma both to its shooter and victim alike. Ellisian rifles often have bulky recoil compensators, but even then they couldn't possibly dream of automatic fire.

Insofar as tactics are concerned, the Ellisians would be perfectly content to stay right where they are and let the enemy over-extend and exhaust themselves just to get within range. They have no qualms whatsoever about laying elaborate traps and minefields ahead of their lines and watching the opposition stumble through them. They deliberately attempt to cause as many horrific maiming injuries in the enemy ranks to sap morale and inspire fear. And they particularly enjoy disallowing the enemy from removing their casualties. This level of cruelty had been brought out by intense feelings of revenge towards their former persecutors, but as time went on this attitude was extended to all hostile factions, even the newly-acquired ones. Ironically their sphere of influence had never expanded far enough to overlap any major trade routes or territories of the extant powers. Their expansion into the jungle had met no resistance apart from wild flora and fauna, and within the Ascarlin mines they had only engaged into repeated combat against mining guilds who had gotten very lost and separated from their homelands.

During the invasion that ultimately caused the collapse of the Ellisian Empire, the defensive lines managed to hold out for several weeks before they were overrun by sheer numbers. Ultimately the reason the Ellisians finally fell was that the minefields had claimed so many victims that the enemy ran out of mines to step on. But once their lines were breached the end became inevitable. Only to complicate matters further, local predators seized their own opportunity after most of the defensive lines had been broken or pushed back. This did prevent the old city from being colonized by one of the foreign factions, but only further hastened the Ellisians' defeat. The rest is history.

In the modern context, a Hayeleth-class warrior stacks up to her foreign counterparts like so: (star ratings out of ten, many thoughts herewith having been added out of my own imagination)

Ellisian Hayeleth:

Primary weapon: Mk. VII long rifle.
Range:******
Magazine capacity:*
Rate of fire:**
Mobility:**
Damage:********
Accuracy:*******
Special: Dismemberment-capable ammunition.

Armor type: Helmstone chest plate, combat mask, and backpack.
Protection value:***

Supporting gear: Incendiary rifle grenades, wristblade, ether flares.

Deluran Scout:

Primary weapon: SMART Carbine.
Range:****
Magazine capacity:******
Rate of fire:****
Mobility:****
Damage:***
Accuracy:*******
Special: Integrated IFF.

Armor type: Reinforced kevlar body harness and helmet, stiffening plates.
Protection Value: *****

Supporting gear: SMART pistol, SMART grenades, sonic truncheon.

Miratan Grunt:

Primary weapon: M44 Dicephalus.
Range:*****
Magazine capacity:****
Rate of fire:*******
Mobility:****
Damage:******
Accuracy:****
Special: Coupled w/25mm microcannon.

Armor type: Ceramic-titanium combat suit, hazmat gear included.
Protection value: ********

Supporting Gear: Hellspitter shotgun, multi-frags, plastique knife.

Jungle Bowl Guerrilla:

Primary weapon: Kalashnikov.
Range:***
Magazine capacity:******
Rate of fire:*****
Mobility:*******
Damage:*****
Accuracy:**
Special: Operable even in harshest environments.

Armor type: Negligible
Protection value:*

Supporting gear: RPG-7, sap molotovs, toxic machete.

Negavian War-Mage:

Primary weapon: Mana-conductive staff.
Range:*
Magazine capacity:**********
Rate of fire:*******
Mobility:*******
Damage:********
Accuracy:*
Special: Theoretically infinite ammunition.

Armor type: Rune-socketed plate mail, chain mail.
protection value:******

Supporting gear: Protection amulets, spell scrolls, rune-blade.

For the sake of my point, I will ignore my opinion that the harem thing is a bad idea.

Instead, Mickilla, I will speak of your faith in your own ideas and ability.

May 9th, 2010
You submitted the sketch of male Ellisian warrior. This the the last absolute, undeniable confirmed date I can assume that you were not using the harem dynamic and were instead still using the previous material for Ellisians in your gallery.

February 11, 2011. You submitted 'Hayeleth.'
In the artists comments, you talk about how there are more females in the military because the men are used as front line troops, and thus have a high mortality rate. This is still in line with the "old" Ellisian information that didn't use the harem society. Thus, I can assume that you hadn't decided to change things at this point.

Therefore, I must conclude that this sudden and drastic change to the Ellisians is a recent event. And an event motivated by what? A feeling that the Ellisians were not unique enough. That they didn't fit with the rest of Felarya.

As if! I say. Where is your faith in your own ideas? Unique? The Ellisians were well realised, a good idea. There were and are many, many ways to make them more unique without resorting to such a drastic measure.*
An idea doesn't have to be a special petal to stand out or be good. Things that are are labelled negatively. Mary sue or overpowered characters are examples of this. Authors trying too hard to make things unique.


As for not fitting in with Felarya; tits everywhere are not required to "fit in" at all. If you believe that then you obviously have a poor view of the community and/or the world as a whole. Haven't you been looking at the wiki, at all the stuff on the forum? It doesn't have to be a wish fulfilment fantasy to fit in.

Your reasons for changing things are feeble, I am baffled as to how you could think they were worth discarding all your previous work.

*Send me a PM if you're interested in hearing some.

Consider the first two 'stages' of the society as phases that ultimately lead up to the following:

Following the collapse of the old empire in 1919 AU and the subsequent takeover of the clan lords, the intervention of prospectors from neighboring powers forced the hand of the most influential figures of Ellisian nobility and lordship. Mistress Gilead seized a long-awaited opportunity to subdue her immediate rivals with a bloody coup and subsequently tempt the survivors to fall in under her leadership with offers of positions of power in her cabinet. Her coronation as the new Ellisian Empress was soon to follow. The surviving lords and nobles were assembled into her council, and though their clans remained distinct from one another they were ultimately forced into a shared submission to the remade empire.

The monopoly on breeding rights was immediately broken, and over the course of a few short years typical family structure became much more normalized. Ellisian men remained something of a rarity, but this trend was quickly unraveling. More important was the newly mandated drafts that went into immediate effect. Empress Gilead demanded that any adult capable of handling a weapon be ready to do so on a moment's notice, and among her first acts was the reconstruction of the old training halls and armories. Bearing in mind what she had learned during conflicts with rival clans, she insisted on comprehensive conditioning for combat and consolidation of military supplies. Every possible stockpile of rifles and ammunition were found, checked, and then distributed to her newly-acquired subjects. Fearing new invasions from her neighbors, she reinforced her borders and rebuilt the old fortresses.

So intense was her insistence on militarization that for the time being at least, the empire remains in one piece. Her charisma quickly gained popularity and some of the far-flung lost tribes have migrated back to the old city to join her ranks, while others had been recruited to serve as her liaisons to the empire's neighbors. Mining had come almost to a standstill, more important was asserting control over the mountain passages. For the time being the young and diminutive second Ellisian Empire sits waiting to be recognized.