The Velparun (pronounced vell-pah-ROON) are an elven tribe and one of the Great Houses of Talmithe. The memory of the Banishment still weighs heavily on the Velparun. Out of a refusal to allow themselves to be cast out of their homes again, the tribe goes to great length to build and stock fortified, semi-subterranean abodes where they can defend themselves and outlast any crisis that may occur.
History
As a tribe the Velparun have existed since shortly after arriving in Talmithe post-Banishment, but they only gained their current status as a great house somewhat more recently.
Location
The Velparun primarily live in the western parts of Talmithe. Most of their strongholds are in the interior near the Fangs of Khurazar and the Forests of Stone, but Velparun settlements can be found well into the Laqto Rainforest, including on the coast near the mouth of the Osmo River. In addition the tribe controls the pass in the Fangs that allows easy passage between Talmithe and the marshes of Xatabra.
Culture
Religion
Like the other Great Houses, the Velparun worship the gods of the Elven pantheon, though they tend to be markedly less religious than their counterparts. Much of their worship is less in deference to particular gods and more in opposition to Voltumna and Urusthe, having never forgotten the reason for their Banishment. Thalan, Hurtate, and Satres are prominent deities in Velparun religious life.
Society
TODO: MINDSET. Perhaps the great house most tied to the Banishment, they've never really left that mindset
Even by the standards of other Great Houses, the Velparun are very few in number, and as a result their grasp over their subject peoples is often tenuous. A tacit alliance between the Velparun and the Thevrumines has been crucial in keeping the Great House in power.
Leadership
Unlike every other Great House, the Velparun have functionally no meritocratic aspect in how they choose their athumi. Rather, the descendants of three families, early arrivals to Talmithe who can trace every generation of their ancestors back to the exile, are the only ones trusted to lead the Great House. This unusual practice is kept as the Velparun believe the primal sorcerer bloodlines these families display to be a form of ancestral memory, an enduring knowledge source of knowledge upon which they can draw to lead their people should such a disaster befall them again.
The fortified tunnel-city of Vrenth serves as the capital of the Velparun. The Great House only allows members of their own tribe to enter the city, refusing access not only to outsiders but also to their subject tribes and other Great Houses.
Subjects
The subjects of the Velparun are the primarily nomadic human, half-elves, grippli, and catfolk tribes that live on the margins of the Laqto Rainforest. As a whole, the Velparun care little about involving themselves in the affairs of their subjects, as long as they receive the tribute owed to them. This tribute takes the form not of material but rather as corvee labor. Each subject tribe is required to regularly provide a set amount of manpower-hours to the Great House, to be used in however the Velparun see fit. Typically this labor is used by the Great House in the construction of their fortified settlements.
Architecture and urbanization
Velparun homes and settlements are almost always built partially or fully underground. This has both practical and religious elements. On the practical side, it aids in defending the community or even hiding the settlement entirely. On the religious side, it is symbolic of their desire to remove themselves as far as possible from the gods Voltumna and Urusthe. The exteriors of these settlements take the appearance of unornamented tumuli rising from the earth.
Though the earthworks of Velparun settlements often appear crude or rough from the outside, their interiors are beautifully decorated with interior gardens, grown under magical lights. Flowering and fruiting vines frequently line interior walls. Each home usually has its own small subterranean garden, places both for food production and meditation.
Food and cuisine
The diet of the Velparun is quite varied, though they tend to abstain from meat. They make great use of foraged plants from the landscape around their homes, but they do not rely entirely on such means of acquiring food, as they also practice forms of agriculture. Rather than tending to fields, the Velparun have developed a form of vine-based agriculture, domesticating fruiting vines native to the Laqto and growing them in trellises in and near their communities.
Preserved foods are an important part of Velparun cuisine. The elves are masters of keeping their food for extended durations through a number of means, including salting, pickling, drying, and more. Originally done for intensely practical purposes, in order to keep their stockpiles of supplies viable for longer, these practices have since become integral parts of their everyday cooking.