Races: Grassrunners
Created from air elementals, this diminutive race was one of many created by the gods. They are native to Alecrast, and once on Lodoss while it was a part of Alecrast. According to their legends, at the end of the War of the Gods, when Kardis used the last of her power to curse the land, it sent a firestorm across Lodoss. The elves, dwarves, and three tribes of grassrunners heard her scream her curse. The elves hid in their deep forests and the dwarves escaped underground. However, the grassrunners had nowhere to go. Only one thousand of their kind escaped from the curse, and the rest perished in flame. Thus, to grassrunners, Lodoss is cursed.
The grassrunners call themselves the “faerie people of the grass” in their own language and live on the grasslands of Alecrast. Little more information is available on where their grasslands are located, or their relations with Alecrastians. They are very uncommon in Lodoss, thanks it's ominous connotations in their lore, but ever since they had access to sea travel, they have sent their youths to Lodoss as a test of mettle. It is considered mandatory for the males, but optional for females. This tradition has continued for thousands of years, but recent generations have found little use, aside from getting the chance to see the world. Aside from their youths, grassrunner traders can often be found in Raiden. A few grassrunners live permanently in Raiden, but there are very few that live elsewhere in Lodoss.
Grassrunners are long lived, and the average lifespan is around 500 years, but they have been known to live up to a 1,000 years¹. They reach maturity in their early twenties, and after reaching maturity, they take a quest to Lodoss, often around the age of 25. Like elves, grassrunners do not age after reaching maturity, and don't continue aging until the final decades before death¹. They have a similar estrus cycle—females are only able to conceive once every ten years¹. Also like elves, grassrunners are very agile and have greater vision over distances and better hearing than humans.
Physical AppearanceGrassrunners are very short, males are an average of 3'2” (1m) and females at around 3' (91.4cm). They are almost perfect miniatures of elves and well-proportioned for their size. In fact, grassrunners are often confused with elven children. They have a slight build and do not put on body fat, or heavy muscle. Grassrunner ears are long and tapered, extending about 3-5 inches outwards from their head.
They are rather beautiful, but often considered childlike in their beauty. Grassrunners have softer, more childlike features and large eyes. They are fair, with light skin and blonde hair. They have a little more variety in their eye color than elves, limited to a palette of blue, green, gold, violet, and red. Brown and and hazel eyes do not occur in grassrunners.
MagicGrassrunners are proficient shamans, and all grassrunners are trained from an early age to use it. Their level of shamanism skill rivals that of elves, though they are unfamiliar with making king spirit contracts. While elves have a disdain for summoning Salamander and it is considered taboo to use the fire elemental, grassrunners outright fear Salamander spirits due to their history with fire.
Grassrunners quite simply, do not study sorcery and have the same reservations about it as elves. They are also rare to join the priesthood. The few grassrunners who become priests would likely follow Falis, Marfa, or Cha Za and be outcasts from grassrunner society.
Race RelationsGrassrunners regard humans much in the same way that elves do, but they spend more time interacting with humans than elves. They find humans an immature and brash race, but at the same time, many grassrunners have come to like the human concept of “money” and have become traders. However, many grassrunners are easily frustrated when humans consistently confuse them with children.
Grassrunners and elves are like distant cousins who have hardly met. They are always ready to accept grassrunners and keep open lines of communication with them. Grassrunners can find a little comfort among their taller cousins.
Grassrunners have no direct exposure to the evil of dark elves, so most of what they have to judge dark elves by is hearsay.
Grassrunners accept both humans and elves, and have no trouble accepting half-elves.
Though elves have a long feud with dwarves, grassrunners do not. They find a little comfort in meeting a race that's short like them, and dwarves are quite friendly.
Most grassrunners aren't even aware of centaurs, but upon meeting one, they might be terrified at first because of their sheer size, but once they get over the fear of being stepped on, curiosity should take over.
¹ Information on lifespan, aging, and estrus cycles is not canon and was written in to explain things more thoroughly in the game.
