The village of Renelumen is a tiny thing centered around a clearing deep in the Unnerion Wilds. Residents, of which all but one are elves, hold their divine origins close to their hearts. They settled here long ago, the forest’s ephemeral seasons reminding them of their original nature. Residents are far more connected to their divinity than the world around them, save for the woods they inhabit, believing the societies outside to be ranging from not worth interacting with to dangerous places that seek to take over whatever place they know exists.

Life here is a simple, happy existence in harmony with its surroundings. Everyone has at the very least a basic knowledge of survival in the wild; hunting, foraging, and basic crafting of tools are common skills if not universal. To the surprise of no one, rangers are prevalent in Renelumen, as are clerics and some wizards. Most residents practice some kind of magic.

Druids are quite common, with some taking on the responsibility of maintaining balance between village and nature as well as keeping a lookout for outside threats to both. It’s traditional for them to have a “signature” on all their shapes that indicates who they are. It can be a marking, a color scheme, or anything else identifiable. It’s good to know at first glance if there’s a random wild animal in town or if it’s just your neighbor. Many of these druids venture into the wider woods, in wildshape only. It is mostly for gathering information on the state of the land around them, though it doubles as warning for any adventurer who dared travel this deep. Should they be unlucky enough to get within distance of Renelumen proper, they will be chased away to protect the village's secrecy, though that has not happened in a very long time.

The center, in the middle of the fairly large clearing, is where structures are most solid and ornate, with many using metal in some form. Very few residential buildings are in the area; instead there are shops, places of worship, and some other public spaces. A little “town hall” is also located there, where a council meets to discuss village affairs. Communication between government and citizen is quite open and free-flowing with how small the population is, and all residents get quite a lot of say in the goings-on. There are also plots of land near the very center for farming (grains and some fruit).

Towards the outskirts is where houses start to appear, some of them are on the ground, but the farther you go the more of them are up in the trees. Sometimes one tree has multiple houses, sometimes a treehouse is split up into several small structures that make up a single residence. It’s all very personalized and made mostly of wood, gathered from surrounding trees and making for a less dense area than the forest proper.

 

Observatory

One of the buildings nearest to the center and the only one that stands taller than the canopy. Used for astronomy, astrology, and priests & worshippers of Sehanine. The latter means, unfortunately, that non-elves (including half-humans) were not allowed in.

Religion

            Residents are deeply connected to their religion and consider it a part of daily life just as much as eating or breathing. It is said the first to call the place home settled here due to the wild, chaotic nature of the forest coupled with the constant changing of the seasons. Both qualities reminded them of Corellon, their creator, and his infinite mutabillity. Besides him, the most worshipped gods are Sehanine, god of the moons, and Elebrin Solonor, god of nature and the harvest.

            Moonbows, of course, mean many different things, but their meanings now not only depend on phase but also which moon. On extremely rare occasions, a bow will be seen on two or even all three moons.

There are thick books filled with interpretations of the 30 different possibilities, plus any rare combinations that may arise.

Above a full moon traditionally means an elf of great importance will pass soon. This is relegated only to Kosmima, but bows above the other two also have to do with the lives of noteworthy elves, events as big as death itself. If this appears above Chióni, this is something that will drastically alter the course of their life forever.

Above a new moon usually means a great (and deadly) upheaval. If it is above Chióni specifically, the event will come swifly, unexpectedly, and completely out of left field. It is generally considered the worst possible moonbow to ever have the misfortune to witness.

            Having the biggest moon be a reddish tint means that moonlight (and the god of moonlight) is most associated with red & warm colors, not blue. Sehanine (red) & Corellon (gold) have analogous palettes, not complementary ones.

 

Names

            Once an elf reaches around 100 years old, they are considered an adult and give themselves an adult name separate from the one they had as a child, just as many other traditional elven cultures. The old name is then considered dead. Trans elves still considered children or adolescents can give themselves a new name, but it is mainly treated as another placeholder until their adult name is chosen. A rare few stick with their second child name, having grown too attached to it to pick a third. Astraea’s adult names are technically second child names, but because of the difference in development times they ended up coinciding with human adulthood, so they stuck with them. But in general gender and pronouns are unassigned and can take just as much time to figure out.

            Last names aren’t forever. If a significant enough event happens to a person such that it changes who they are, it could potentially change their last name to reflect that. Family members close to them may also take on the new name if they were affected enough by it. Because of this, is not that unheard of to have close family members with completely different last names. Sometimes it is of the person’s own volition, other times it is expected of them due to the significance of the event. Marriage, on the other hand, does not involve a changing of last names at all. Original last names are kept, and if the couple has a child, one of the parents’ last names will be chosen for them. This can be for any reason, from resembling one over the other in looks or personality, or simply because it sounds better with their given first name.

Due to the power knowing one’s full name gives a fey creature, giving it to someone is not taken lightly. While elves aren’t exactly fairies, they do have fey ancestry, and thus still assign importance to true full names. In this case though, it’s just a social construct. To give someone, no matter what species, your full name is a sign of trust and that you and the person have grown very close.

            Elves have a pseudonym, called an alias, as well. It is given to those particularly distant or untrustworthy (in most cases it is only used in one-time encounters). It generally has something to do with your true first name while being different enough to not make the connection.
They are functionally similar to middle names, but aliases are not recorded on any official documents. There is no official time for one to declare an alias, as it is not something to be declared at all.

When two people become closer, a way to verbalize that is to give them another part of your name. You don’t say, for instance, “I feel we’ve become very close friends and I really care about you,” you say “my last name is ___.” While aliases are not really considered part of the true name, they are still included in this. To know the whole person is to also know the mask they wear.

            It is worth noting that since this is purely cultural, knowing a full name and being given a full name are two different things. Unless you are explicitly given it, you act as if you do not know it as a sign of politeness until you are on "full name basis" with them.

Calling someone by their full name, in contrast to human culture, evokes a sense of comfort and closeness rather than panic. It is a reminder of the bond shared by people on a full name basis and is often used to calm someone down, such as when having a difficult conversation. In not-so-healthy relationships, however, it can be used to remind someone of the "power" the other has over them.