THE PRIME (Zanitarian Half-Elves)
The Zanitarian Prime is a mixture of selected elves and selected humans from the time of the Greater Elven Empire. Elves were too few to administrate all corners of their empire and they disliked dealing with the humans and other creatures under their rule so they picked a select handful of human nobility and bred with them creating a new race. The Prime had the desirable elven traits and human traits they sought after and they were made the royalty of the kingdom, under the elves but higher than any human.
The elves wanted the race to breed true so they set up laws forbidding any race to mate with them including humans and elves. Punishment for such pairings was castration of the male and sterilization of the female. Since Prime live longer than humans but shorter than elves, elves felt they would be superior in administrative tasks since the Prime would be able to carry his rule for centuries rather than dozens of years. In addition, the Prime breeding rate far surpassed the elven one but was slower than the humans so they would keep the number of ruling families small.
The elves divided their Empire into 7 fiefdoms: Zanitar, Lazarius, Toorimor (now Kajimara), Skraelund, Trakaldar, Rhamier, and Guavhardiim. Each was named after the Prime ruling it. Things originally worked out as planned: The elves removed themselves from the day to day rule they so disliked, the Prime bred pure and functioned as the administrative arm of the government. Everyone knew that any Prime they encountered was royalty because of his exotic look and build and because they were created only for the purpose of rule. The Prime governance was stable and less tumultuous because one ruler would live long enough to lord over several generations of their human subjects.
When the elves became decadent and corrupted, it was their most loyal subjects, the half-elves who had done all of the work ruling the empire while the elves dallied and sunk into malaise. When the elves had gone too far and the people were storming the gates of the elven palaces, it was the half-elves who led the charge. Their traitorous rebellion makes them the focus of eternal elven scorn as the elves felt as if their children betrayed them.
Sadly, the empire was so badly mismanaged that all efforts to save it failed and the half-elves soon became the object of scorn just as their elven masters had once been. Revolts and wars overthrew all of the half-elves in all of the lands but Zanitar and Lazarius. Whelm's touch in Lazarius turned most of the half-elves into the Divani and now half-elves are rarely seen.
In the fallen countries, the half-elven nobility fled with their possessions to Zanitar to start a new life and they have remained there ever since. Today Zanitar is the only country with a sizeable half-elven population and they still rule as they once did many centuries ago with an iron fist.
The Prime have mixed features and have come away with some of the racial features of ethnic humans ranging from very pale like the Youssuanti, to tan or dark brown skin and broadened noses like many Xantebweans. Most Zanitarian half-elves are medium brown in coloration and have long hair that they grow as long as possible. Cutting the hair of a half-elf is a major insult and is one of the worst public humiliations he or she can suffer. Many of the 'True Elves' characterize these elves as 'muddied' or 'impure'. It is precisely this blend of human and elfin ancestry that has given them such vitality and adaptability. Half-elves have golden eyes and red hair despite their hair color and texture. Occasionally Half-Elves have eyes that are both different colors like one blue and green. This is a sign of excessive inbreeding. Half-Elves are said to smell of Flowers and Sweetwater and are all very beautiful or handsome.
Prime make up the royal family and all half-elves are related being from the original breeding done so many centuries ago. Since they breed true there is a high level of incest amongst the half-elf population with many of them marrying their sisters or brothers. This is not met with scorn as the half-elves consider it a point of pride and necessity because there are less than five thousand half-elves living in the entire continent of Isimiir. Half-Elven brothers and sisters often sleep together and sex is casual amongst them and even encouraged. Twins are very common in half-elven families. Half-elves never have deformities at birth but stillborn children are very common.
Because of inbreeding many half-elves are insane.
Zanitarian Half-Elves enjoy a political system based upon fealty to the High King. Their rule is tyrannical and they punish transgressions harshly. Many of the oldest half-elves remember being overthrown and many lost all of their possessions in the upheavals so they still bear hatred for their former subjects, younger half-elves may have had parents or grand parents slain and still hear the stories of horror. They refuse to ever be displaced again.
Prime respect no rule of law except their own. They cannot be arrested by any race but another Prime in Zanitar. It is illegal to bump or jostle them and they take insult at the slightest remark and will kill those they hate on the spot often challenging them to a duel or having their Mamluks beat the trangressor to the ground. If a Prime is in another Prime's territory, he must petition to destroy any of his property or pay a sum of money to replace the human killed. No Prime will kill another Prime's Mamluk without permission as this is an unavoidable declaration of war.
Prime each have a retinue of Mamluk who are their personal guards, servants, and slaves. They treat Mamluk slaves better than any other race and often develop a true affection for their monstrous slaves. This is because the Mamluks spend their lives serving the family. A Prime who abuses his Mamluk is not only looked down upon by his peers but he often winds up dead. Mamluk serve the food, dress the royal, guard his body, his possessions, and even at times are sexual partners at the half-elf's choosing, since both races cannot breed together this makes a convenient pairing for both races without concerns about having children. Many Primes attend their slaves funerals and births and tales of the evilest Prime breaking down in tears when a favored servant passes are not uncommon.
The Prime enjoy innate magical talents and thus many gain the Sorcerer class in addition to the normal classes. This is due to their faerie lineage. Many also are home trained in simple spells. They are usually considered dabblers in the arts more than serious students. Because they spend alot of time practicing the arts of dueling. They realize that the ability to become proficient in many things is a benefit, not a weakness. So they often take classes that combine spell and sword. This ability to change and adapt to many things makes them difficult to defeat.
Primes despise the term 'half-elf' punishing anyone who calls them this.