Tallesdin Tribe (Sand Elves)

Overview

The Tallesdin Tribe is a nomadic community of Sand Elves dwelling in the Blackmountains and its foothills. Unlike many other desert tribes, the Tallesdin dedicate themselves to guarding the sparse forests of their region. They also to plant and cultivate new trees, striving to expand the fragile greenery that sustains them. They embody a balance of resilience and reverence, living in harmony with the desert’s harshness while actively nurturing life where it struggles to survive.

Appearance

Sand Elves are lithe and sun-kissed, with copper-toned skin and eyes like molten gold that gleam with sharp perception. Adapted to the desert’s extremes, they possess an innate resistance to heat and sand, allowing them to endure where others falter. The Tallesdin in particular carry the ruggedness of the Blackmountains—slender yet resilient builds, honed for climbing jagged rocks and traversing forested slopes. Their hair ranges from ash-blonde to deep bronze, often braided with leaves, bark, or carved wooden beads to reflect their bond with the forests they guard. They favor light, layered garb of muted greens, browns, and grays, designed to blend into stone and woodland, with bone or wood charms serving as both decoration and spiritual tokens.

Culture and Society

The Tallesdin view themselves as keepers and cultivators of the desert’s rare forests. Unlike other tribes that focus on survival alone, they actively plant saplings and nurture tree growth, ensuring that future generations will inherit more shade and resources than they did. To them, the forests are sacred guardians of balance, extensions of the Desert Spirits themselves. Their society is communal, with decisions often guided by druids and elders who read omens in the growth of trees, the migration of birds, and the whispers of the wind through branches.

Territory and Camps

The Tallesdin primarily roam the Blackmountains and their foothills, where they establish temporary camps near hidden wells or among groves of hardy desert trees. Some camps become semi-permanent when centered on areas of active reforestation, with the tribe tending to young groves for years before moving on. They also range across the nearby plains, patrolling and protecting their forest outposts against intruders or careless exploitation.

Resources, Water sources and Survival

The Tallesdin rely on scarce mountain wells for their water supply, carefully rationed and shared among the tribe. In addition to the forests they tend, they forage in the nearby Cactii Plain, harvesting fruits, fibers, and water-rich plants to sustain their people. Hunting in the foothills provides occasional game, though their reverence for balance ensures that no creature is ever hunted beyond need.

Military

The Tallesdin are not numerous, but their warriors are formidable druids, drawing upon desert flora and fauna in battle. They call upon thorny roots to entangle enemies, summon desert birds for distraction, or coax serpents and lizards into striking foes. In direct combat, they fight with curved blades and bows, blending guerrilla tactics with their druidic powers. Their deep knowledge of terrain and ambush ensures that invaders in the Blackmountains rarely survive long.

Relations

• Khenan Raiders (Desertborne Humans):
  The Tallesdin despise the Khenan Raiders for their crimes and reckless raids, which disrupt the desert’s fragile balance and rob resources without respect for renewal.

• Poachers (Grassborne Humans):
  Poachers are considered one of the greatest threats to the desert’s balance. Their killing of sacred beasts and theft of natural resources are seen as an attack on the spirits themselves, and the Tallesdin ruthlessly oppose them when discovered.

• Other Desert Tribes:
  They maintain good relations with most desert tribes, seeing them as fellow guardians of survival. Still, tensions occasionally flare when other tribes ask for more wood than the Tallesdin believe can be sustainably traded, leading to disputes over resources.

• Scorvian Queendom (Scorvians):
  The Tallesdin and Scorvians both gather resources from the Cactii Plain. Yet conflict is avoided—both sides know the ranges where the other dwells, and mutual respect ensures they do not overharvest, maintaining the delicate balance.

• Other Races and Factions:
  The Tallesdin have rare and limited contact.

Reputation

Among the desert tribes, the Tallesdin are known as keepers of balance, respected for their stewardship of the rare forests and their unmatched woodcraft. However, their strict guardianship sometimes breeds tension—outsiders who harm the Blackmountain groves, even unknowingly, can find themselves permanently unwelcome. They are admired for their wisdom, yet feared for their unyielding stance on protecting nature.