Also known as Wilder Elves, the Kagonesti are the true embodiment of the Colinesti, or People of the Morning. Let’s learn all about the history of this elven subrace. Buy Races of Ansalon: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/27946/Races-of-Ansalon-35?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
They are the original form of all elves, collectively known as the Colinesti, or People of the Morning. Let’s learn more about the Kagonesti.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Kagonesti elves. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing sourcebooks from all editions but I am leaning heavily on DLS4 Wild Elves and Races of Ansalon. If I miss anything or misspeak, please leave an update or correction in the comments below.
Discussion
The Kagonesti’s history is an oral tradition. They do not believe in manipulating their environment like their cousins, seeing it as a form of vanity. They also don’t value possession, so the idea of creating parchment to write on is anathema to the Kagonesti. And though we humans are terrible at retelling stories with any degree of accuracy, certainly through eons of time, the Kagonesti see it as a sign of respect for themselves and their people. Often reciting the same tale hundreds of times, never straying in the last retelling from the first. This is all to say that the history of the Kagonesti is slightly different than the history of their Silvanesti cousins.
The Silvanesti reflect on their history as a rise from barbarism. The Kagonesti see it very differently. Elves began separating themselves from one another by their skin color in the ages past. At this time they all dwelt together in The Home, listeners would know this as Southern Ergoth. It was during this time that Loud Voice, also known as Silvanos declared that he wished to find his own land to settle. He spoke to his fellow light skinned brothers and sisters about strange dreams he has had. Dreams of culture and civilization. He told his dark skinned kin that if they all didn’t join in unity, the dragons would inevitably destroy them all. This is referred to as The Great Lie which segregated the elves forever. Many elves followed Silvanos to Silvanost where they settled. Those Kagonesti that followed were declared the House Servitor, the lowest class in elven society. They were indentured servants to their light skinned brothers, forced to serve and live in buildings. Because of this many Kagonesti would leave Silvanesti society in its formative years. Those who left were led by an elf named Koganos.
The Great Lie was in effect a great divide between cultures. The Silvanesti saw the Kagonesti as primitives and savages to be exploited. The Kagonesti saw the Silvanesti as cruel and tyrannical elves who betrayed their heritage. There was never much bloodshed between them, yet the divide remained deep and wide. With the exodus of Silvanos and his people, the Kagonesti remained as they always had. Living their nomadic lives in relative peace throughout Southern Ergoth. They were never affected by the dragons threatened by Silvanos, which only entrenched their perception of the Great Lie. The truth of this is not so cut and dry as the Silvanesti suffered the brunt of the Dragons assaults, though it was in large part because they settled in the Dragons land. So theirs was a self fulfilling prophecy.
The Kagonesti did not directly worship the gods in the manner other races did. They see the god’s work in the manifestations of nature. This disturbed some of the gods, but Habbakuk, Chislev and Zeboim would go to bat as it were on behalf of those who w orshipped nature and would grant them magic. Habakkuk would grant the Forest Master of the largest Kagonesti clan a magical stone called the willstone. It conferred a number of special powers, however it was lost in the Cataclysm. Prior to the cataclysm, they would fight off hostile incursions of ogres and marauding humans, and were even said to be a part of the Ergoth empire, which they didn’t bother to agree or disagree with as they maintained their lifestyle unmolested. At times they would fight with or on behalf of Ergoth, though this was decided tribally. Even after the cataclysm, the Kagonesti were pretty much isolated from its effects as they never lived in structures that could be destroyed and didn’t live in groups that could spread disease. They did lose their ability to use clerical magic but they simply blamed the Kagonesti who lived in settlements, which quickly abandoned them.
It was the War of the Lance that would end the Kagonesti’s peaceful existence, though not from the Dragonarmies directly, but rather from their own cousins the Silvanesti and Qualinesti. Their civilized cousins fled their settlements and turned to the Kagonesti for refuge. They immediately found their ancient lifestyle intolerable and enslaved their cousins in their own homeland. This is the true legacy of the good elves. Subjugation, Slavery, racism, bigotry and hatred. Is it a shock to anyone that they ultimately reap what they sow? The civilized elves turned away from the divine lifestyle gifted to them by Paladine himself and then turned against their brothers and sisters while they ignored the rest of the world. These are not the actions of the chosen people of Krynn but rather the actions equal to the evil races of Krynn. But much in the same way we romanticize our own native peoples in the United States of America. We treated them cruelly in the exact same ways and infinitely worse than the Silvanesti treated the Kagonesti. Perhaps this is why I can understand the dichotomy of the Elves, because any student of history sees it reflected in our own cultures.
The other side of that coin on the romanticism front, is to pretend that native peoples were peaceful, loving groups who worshipped nature in harmony, but that could not be further from the truth. Native peoples murdered, raped, enslaved and tortured, even consumed their victims in some tribes. Though we have no evidence of the Kagonesti going to such human extremes, we can see that they aren’t as harmonious as presented. They live in authoritarian tribes, demanding strict obedience from their children and adults, without question. Their Forest Master, or chiefs rule as dictators. Each tribe must adhere to its own laws but not other tribes’ laws. In this you may see variations in culture and norms. The other side of this is that the Keeper, or chief can intervene in any affair he sees fit, though they rarely do, leaving the chaotic natures of the tribesmen to themselves.
All Kagonesti children are vegetarians until they reach adulthood. They also have two names, one as a child, traditionally based on aesthetics of the child, and an adult name they give themselves. They favor honesty, hard work, perseverance, obedience, and bravery above all else. They are known to take in foster children but they would never interracially marry, seeing it as dishonorable. They tend to adorn their flesh with clay and paint. After the War of the Lance, Kagonesti tribes and families would be split by the leave-taking. Many of the enslaves traveled with their captors, and some willingly left with their cousins to their homelands. In the Fifth Age the Dragon Overlord Frost transformed southern Ergoth into a frozen tundra. The elves adapted to the climate and learned mysticism, seeing it as a natural extension of their ancestral ways.
The Lioness, Kerianseray, a kagonesti, the daughter of a respected elder, married Gilthas, the Speaker of the Sun and Stars. Together they would lead many elves to a new homeland in unity, though not every elf would follow them. In the west, there was another pathfinder named Amara who fled Ergoth for the Isle of Cristyne. There she is attempting to re-establish the ancient city of Baleph. These Kagonesti would be visited by Sylvyana, the ghoul queen, an ancient foe who was ultimately defeated by. This group of Ergonesti want nothing to do with their scattered eastern cousins. This is known as the elven diaspora, where they are scattered across the lands, living in small ghettos, trying to make their way in the world they shunned and lived outside for ages. The chickens have trul y come home to roost.
Outro
And that is all I have to say about the Kagonesti Elves. Do you think we put too much emphasis on the first peoples in any culture? Is it truly better to live as primitive peoples, or should we celebrate the evolution of a species? And finally do you have a favorite elven subrace? Leave a comment below.
I am able to create these weekly videos because of your attention and support. If you are not already a member of this YouTube channel, I would like to invite you to consider becoming one. If you would like to pick up any edition of Dragonlance gaming materials, feel free to use my affiliate link in the description.
This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
As live the land, so live the elves.
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