Pet Facts



Eledon Facts

The beautiful songs of Eledone, which have captivated listeners since the species' discovery, are more than just enchanting sounds - they are actually rich, vivid oral histories. Although each Eledon sings its own unique song, the song parts as a whole have been identified and split into general groupings. Eledon song elements typically include the following:

The Pulse
Every Eledon's song, regardless of their heritage or background, has the same rhythmic pulse in it. That pulse is the underlying oneness they share with every Eledon who has lived, lives, or who will live after them.

The Thread & Thrum
The thread of an Eledon's song tells listeners where that Eledon is from geographically. If it is a Toxic Eledon, it will sing a different thread than an Arctic Eledon. If, however, a particular Eledon started as a Toxic Eledon and later became an Arctic Eledon, it might sing the thread of a Toxic Eledon with a different pitch to denote something that had once been but is no longer. Or, if it didn't ever really identify with being a Toxic Eledon, it may simply chose to sing the thread of an Arctic Eledon. The Thrum - If an eledon has become themed with a Pandoria Box, it may choose to add a thrum to its thread.

The Vaunt
Each Parade has its own vaunt, a sort of musical identifier unique to each Parade, and a song's vaunt allows two unfamiliar Eledon to recognize where the other is from. While every young Eledon is born knowing the pulse, the vaunt must be taught. Parents do this immediately to ensure a lost child can be easily recognized and returned safely. The vaunt, however, is more than just an identifier; it carries within it pieces of trills from every leader of the parade as a sort of chronology of the birth of that parade to its current leadership. Eledon are usually quite proud of their parades, and as such, the vaunt is often one of the loudest and most flashy parts of an Eledon's song.

The Trill
The most personalized part of any Eledon's song, the trill is the element of a song that is unique to solely that Eledon. Young Eledone typically start their trill by mimicking the trills of their parents, then, over time, they begin to shift the notes to suit their own experiences and mature their trill. Trills change gradually and continually.

Eledon are capable of putting much texture and information into their songs with sound variants. By changing the quality of the sound elements, an Eledon can communicate things such as feeling, or time. Some of these sound variations include:

The Pitch
By varying the pitch of the various elements in their songs, an Eledon can specify whether the part of their lives they're describing is in the past or present. Although Eledone are more than capable of thinking about the future, traditionally, they do not sing of it.

The Speed
The speed of any given part of a song, or the whole song in general, is an indicator of an Eledon's happiness in relation to that part of their lives. If an Eledon sings its trill quickly, it is confident in itself. If, on the other hand, an Eledon sings a pitched vaunt slowly, this may indicate a tragedy concerning its old parade.

Typically, the richer and more complex an Eledon's song, the older it is. Since Eledon can be easily startled and are wary of intruders, parsing a song is a good way to judge an Eledon's age without getting near enough to risk injury.

To an Eledon, exile is the worst form of punishment conceivable. Exiled Eledone are stripped of the pulse as well as their song and are banished from contact with any Eledon that sings the pulse. To the Eledone, an Eledon without a pulse, is no longer an Eledon.

Parades are matriarchal. Leaders are chosen both for their knowledge of the vaunt and their practical abilities. The process of choosing a leader is long and involved, for each Eledon who wants to attempt the position has the right to do so. Once chosen, however the leader is not contested, so the matriarch remains in her position until the day she dies at which time a portion of her trill is then added to the parade's vaunt.

Vaunts come in two forms:

Shorthand
A condensed version of the vaunt is used for quick and easy identification. It does not change and is passed on from generation to generation as a kind of code for the parade. It is most often used to identify (in instances such as meetings between two strange Eledon), as a war cry by an aggressive Eledon, or as a kind of marching beat sung while a parade is on the move.

Saga
The saga vaunt is most often sung by storytellers. It is a parade's full vaunt and includes trills from every matriarch to have ever lead that parade. Depending on how long the parade has been around, this vaunt can become quite long and involved, and because of this it is not often sung. Two parades who want to form an alliance temporarily or merge together permanently might sing each other their saga vaunts as an indicator of goodwill.

Eledone are large, hardy creatures that are capable of thriving in a surprisingly wide range of biomes. This is due in large part to their coat of fine fur. They are quasi-nomadic in that they do shift territories, but the periods between each shift can extend for a fairly long time.

Eledone have a large capacity for play and a great love of water: whenever possible, they settle near it. If there is water available in the form of a stream or spring, Eledone have been known to build themselves a large pool to play and wallow in by either kicking and digging a depression or by blocking and flooding a stream using large materials such as fallen trees or boulders.

On the whole, Eledone are not aggressive, and are often thought of a gentle giants. When provoked, however, any Eledon can wreak massive amounts of damage. Their bulk alone makes them a formidable opponent, but they also will use their trunk to tear and their tusks to rend an enemy should they get within range.

Young Eledone are called Elles. When an Elle is very young, members of its parade enjoy making up silly nonsensical songs to sing to it, especially to lull it to sleep.

Eledone give birth very rarely, so an Elle is a source of great happiness for the whole parade. All the members of a parade take active interest in a young one's development and they will all care for the child as though it were their very own.


Go Back