Tulari

The Elenari are a species of Elves native to several different homeworlds. Within the species there are several races that differ in appearance, culture and language from one another. You may read a little about nearly all of them at elenari.net.

In this article, I shall focus on the Tulari race. I was once Tulari, and the Adrastai school I write of on this site was located in a Tularin village called Sarna. This article will give the reader cultural background information with which to form a frame of reference for the other content on this site.

Appearance

The Tulari are a race of Elenari who arose on Selar, one of the Elenari homeworlds. They are similar in appearance to the Altari who are also known by the more generic (and sometimes derogatory) term of Kathilas.

Males are significantly taller than females ranging in height from about 5'7" to upwards of 6'4" or so. Females range in height from 5'0" to about 5'5".  The body type of both genders is generally ectomorphic, though some of the shorter males can tend to look a little stockier.

Tulari generally have fair skin, but more reddish and olive tones are sometimes encountered in a couple of the clans. Hair color ranges from a dark reddish brown, through red to white blond, again depending on clan. (The blond Tulari have golden or reddish shadows in their hair as opposed to the violet or blue shadows of the Listari.) Pure black hair color is rarely seen among the Tulari, but it can occur and is considered exotic when it does. Eye color ranges from many different shades of blue to grey to green. The brown of humans and the violet eyes of the Listari are unknown among the Tulari.

Tulari have the heart-shaped faces of most Elenari races, and the eyes are much larger than that of humans. Cheekbones are placed high on the faces which are narrow through the mouth and chin. As with all Elves, Tulari have pointed ears. The length of the ears varies slightly from clan to clan, but the points generally point toward the back of the head rather than straight up. Usually, the length of the ears is such that the points stick up through the hair slightly.

Most Elenari races would be considered quite beautiful by humans, and the Tulari are no exception to this. The Tulari recognize that they are considered beautiful, and honor this beauty in one another (as they do the beauty in all things), but it is generally something they take for granted. If everyone around you is extraordinarily beautiful, it becomes the norm. Humans who see Elenari usually comment on the almost feminine quality of the beauty of the males first, as there is more striking contrast between the males than there is between the females of the two species. Pretty as the males are though, it is easy to tell the difference between genders.

Elenari as a species do not grow body hair other than almost imperceptible "peach fuzz" on the arms and legs. This does not change with puberty as in humans. There is no pubic hair or underarm hair on adults, and no facial hair or chest hair on males. The only noticeable hair is on the head including the eyebrows and eyelashes. (Most Elenari reincarnates on Earth strive to replicate this with daily shaving or frequent waxing, feeling uncomfortable and unnatural if they do not.)

Both males and females in Tulari culture wear jewelry though there are social rules on who can wear what and how much. Adrastai wear very little jewelry, if any, for it can interfere with their fighting. In our school, they must wear none at all when they are in uniform.

Both genders wear black eye makeup that is painted on from a little pot with a small brush. They usually line the eyes heavily as did the Egyptians on Earth. This helps cut the glare of the sun. Some paint their eyebrows as well to accentuate them. The kill lines of the Adrastai are painted on their faces with the same make up. Females often add colorful eyeshadows on top of this make up to coordinate with their clothing. Males do not do this unless they are preparing to go onstage to dance.

Hair on the head is worn long for both genders. Elves take great pride in beautiful heads of long hair. The length of hair on males is usually not shorter than hanging to the middle of their backs and can be as long as the waist (or even longer on a few). The hair of females is usually about waist length but at some points in Tularin history was grown as far as the ankles. Tulari hair is usually thick and luxurious and ranges from very straight to large ringlet curls with most people having some degree of waviness to their hair. Often specific numbers and patterns of braids denoting clan lineage are used to style the hair, each clan having its own traditional style.

Clothing for males varies according to season, but usually includes long pants and a loose long sleeved shirt. Sometimes, this is covered by a waistcoat or jerkin.

There are 2 styles of pants for males. Pants of leather or suede are made to fit more tightly and are worn for daily wear, when working, as part of the Adrastai uniform, or when hunting. Much looser linen or silk trousers are worn for daily wear, casual occasions, as sleep wear and in hotter months. These are usually gathered onto a band of fabric at the ankle and in the summer version, the outside seams of the pant legs are sometimes left open with a single button or tie at the knee.

Ankle, mid-calf or knee-high boots are usually worn year round. All boots have pointed toes, but they are not the ridiculously curled things of human medieval court jesters. Sandals are not usually worn by males except for when walking to and from bathing areas.

In the hot months of summer, nothing but boots and a loincloth are acceptable attire for most male Elves who labor outdoors. These loincloths are utilitarian garments fashioned from double belts, usually plain and made for the purpose, with a length of unadorned suede or fabric worked through and underneath that descends to the knees in front and back. Sometimes similar loincloths are worn for dancing at festivals, but these are usually highly adorned with beading and embroidery and worn with equally beaded dance belts.

Clothing for females consists of a gown, usually fitted through the bodice with a full flowing ankle-length skirt and boots or sandals. The style may be on or off the shoulder, with or without sleeves, and the hem may be straight, trained or ruffled in a handkerchief style. Fabrics and styles vary with the seasons, silks and linens in summer, velvets and wools in winter. Gowns are usually highly decorated with beading and embroidery, even those of serving maids. Plain, white, unadorned gowns are reserved for priestesses on official functions.

Sometimes, full length robes of specific colors are donned for formal occasions by both genders, but usually only by high ranking officials.

For hunting, both genders wear tight fitting leather or suede pants with boots. Over this, long sleeved linen tunics of various colors (usually some shade of green or brown for camouflage) are worn which are belted at the waist, usually with a hunting knife attached.

Special clothing and dance costumes are made for seasonal festivals that are even more elaborate than those made for daily wear. The human equivalent of such costumes would be those made for Mardi Gras or Carnival parades. In cooler months, cloaks, capes and gloves are added to the wardrobes of both sexes.

Weapons are not usually worn unless one is working at a task requiring the use of a utility or hunting knife, or one is going hunting with knife, bow and arrows, pike, etc. The fakhai'n of the Adrastai are the honored exception and they are never seen without their blades whether in uniform or not.

Living conditions

Tulari like warm temperatures many humans find uncomfortable. On Selar, special magicians known as weathermancers worked in tandem with one another across the surface of the planet to maintain the weather control grid, each one from his own regionally placed tower. In Tularilands, there are seasons so that the crops may grow properly, but the temperatures never went far out of the range of 60 – 95 degrees Fahrenheit with an average of 75 to 80 degrees most of the time. The 60ish end of the range was considered bitter cold by the Tulari with 105 being "getting a bit warm" and 80-85 being just right.

Tulari usually live in villages of about 50 people or less. Tulari are more meadow people than they are forest people (such as the Altari who build their villages up in the trees). As a result they tend to build their villages out in the open but with a few trees here and there for shade. Single family homes are usually beehive shaped huts made of bricks over which is placed a layer of light colored stucco-like material. Leather door flaps are hung for privacy and sometimes painted with colorful designs. Tulari tend to decorate everything. Strings of colored glass beads are hung in the windows for curtains. These are pushed outside the window when it rains so that the water runs down the beads and down the outside wall of the hut rather than coming inside.

Tulari also build larger houses of stone blocks. The outside walls are often "flowed" by the stonemancers so that the seams between the blocks are undetectable and window holes easily created. These houses are usually in the larger villages and serve as community centers. Several families or adult singles may live in one, usually in suites of rooms on the upper floor, with public Great Hall meeting spaces beneath. Often these houses are headed by the leader of the village and serve communal meals to the village inhabitants from the kitchen of the house.

There was a capital city of the Tularilands known as the White City or affectionately as "Tulariville" by some. None of the Tularin reincarnates I have met here remember its true name, and I don't either. It was a city of several hundred people, which is quite large for Tulari. Most of the buildings there were constructed of white stone. It was the center of our government, and the Royal Family had their palace there.

Technology

Selar was a "low tech" world. While technology was known and used by the very few in certain government professions, for the general populace there were laws against its use. It was thought that the use of advanced technology would lead to people becoming lazy with their magick, and would contribute to the poisoning of an already unstable planet.

Therefore, there was no electricity. Crystals that gave off light were used in combination with candles and fireplaces for light at night. Heat was provided by fires. There was no air conditioning, but the thick walled construction of the huts and houses kept them cool enough.

There were no cars, planes or motorized vehicles of any sort. Most people walked or ran where they needed to go unless transporting large amounts of things for which wagons drawn by animals were used.

Elenari use magick for many things for which humans use technology however, and are capable of many things humans are not even with technology, so in some areas of life no comparisons can be made.

Language

The Tulari have their own Elvish language distinct from other races of Elenari though the Altari and Tulari have enough similar words to communicate well enough to trade with each other. Tulari need translators when traveling through where the Listari live.