Fellan

Fellan are a race of magical beings that live in the Fell Zone. They existed there long before the first humans arrived at Dorne. Fellan have the power to take any shape they want. The weaknesses of the Fellan are salt and metal, which weaken them and cripple their magic.

History
Fellan are the original inhabitants of Dorne. Since time began, the forest of Dorne had been home to these beings steeped in magic. When, long ago, people from across the sea began settling on Dorne's wild coast, the Fellan were not troubled. Fellan have no use for the coast. The sea is their enemy. The salt in the sea water weakens their magic, as metal does, and the fierce sun of the shore scorches their delicate skins. Besides, the Fellan of that time knew full well that though the newcomers worked with metal, they were not evil beings, but merely wanderers seeking a home.

For some time the two people lived in harmony and marriages between the Fellan and the newcomers were not uncommon. The children of those unions loved the sea as well as the forest, and in their blood the drive of the human and the magic of the Fellan were combined.

However as the years went by, some pioneer farmers began pushing inland, cutting trees to make open fields for crops and herds. Rather than struggling against them, the Fellan withdrew into the depths of their shrinking forests, and from that time on, they were rarely seen by humans.

Physical appearance
The Fellan have smooth, ageless faces that can be either green, brown or pale gold to match the environment around them. They have pointed chins, high cheekbones and brows that slant over their eyes. Their eyes are a brilliant emerald green, the colour of the forest. Male and female Fellan both have long, red hair, usually tied in a plait. They typically wear long robes with hoods that change colour to camouflage themselves.

Culture
Fellan are usually quite reserved and quiet. They only care for what is inside their gradually shrinking forest.

Abilities
Fellan are born with extraordinarily strong magic. They have the power to tame beasts of their realm, they can change their shape at will, move from place to place in a breath, speak to each other through their mind adn many other wonders that includes controlling the wind and presumably other elements of their forest.

Humans
The Fellan were initially ambivalent towards the human settlers who lived in the outer coastal areas of Dorne which they could not inhabit. The two people lived harmoniously and many part-Fellan children were born of unions between the inland Fellans and coast settlers. The three sorcerer brothers Annoltis, Eldannen and Malverlain (also known as the Shadow Lord) are the children of the Fellan woman Alenan and the part-Fellan settler, Chieftain Peregrine.

In time, a treaty was made between the Fellan and the settler's Chieftain Peregrine that the Fellan's forests would remain their own territory, forbidden to outsiders, and that the Fellan would not trouble the settlers or interfere with the wider affairs of Dorne. When Rye and Sonia first entered the Fell Zone in the time of the Chieftain Olt they were greeted by the Fellan who gave Rye the nine powers of the Sorcerer Dann in order to indirectly influence the events in Oltan.

However, over time the human settlers forgot their promise with the death of Chieftain Peregrine and his sons and began steadily encroaching on the Fellan inland to plant crops and expand their settlement. Though the Fellan abided the treaty, they began to resent the settlers for forgoing their promises and for bringing metal defenses to the edges of the Fell Zone. As the people of Dorne grew to blame the Fellan for the slay attacks, Chieftain Farr eventually attacked the Fell Zone and destroyed the remnants of the treaty between them.

With the persuasion of Rye and Sonia, the Fellan and people of Dorne were able to identify the true source of the skimmers and work together to destory them. A critical factor in the Fellan's coorporation with Chieftain Farr was the looming threat of their destruction and the subsequent invasion of the Shadow Lord, as seen by the Weld travellers through the Silver Door.