Shape and material
Every silhouette leans, tapers and curls. Six motifs, each for its own material.
Three verbs for every silhouette: it leans (3 to 8 degrees off plumb), it tapers (the top is at most half the foot's width) and it curls or points at its end. Nothing is a box, nothing is mirrored exactly, nothing is broken or jagged. Edges she can touch are rounded as inside the wall (a bevel of at least 8 % of the smallest dimension).
| Motif | Means | Material | Where, and how many |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crescent, lying on its back or leaning | the moon, the well, the queen | moonstone or silver | structural and large: the moon horn, the arch's top, a roof's finial, Eldrid's headband, the brooch. One per object; at most three in a frame. |
| Birch leaf | things worn or hung | cloth, silver | mantle hems (five points), lantern caps, the elder's seat back, charms on cords |
| Rune (2 to 4 straight strokes) | things that speak or do magic | cut in moonstone only, glowing | the well's rim (18), the horn (5), one per run of seven path stones, one per way stone, the elder's seat. Never on wood, cloth or skin. |
| Fern spiral | things that grow or end | wood | the top of every post, stair ends, bench ends |
| Loop (two interlaced ribbons, one thick, one thin) | thresholds | carved in wood only | door frames, the arch's posts, the bridge's posts, lantern posts. Never on stone. |
| Eight-petal rose | made by the weaver | woven cloth only | one band at a hem, a blanket's border, the loom's cloth, in the elf's own glow colour; never red or white on dark |
Materials
| Material | Looks like | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Moonstone | cool blue-grey, smooth, worn; a faint blue sheen along lit edges | paint the sheen as a pale cyan-white edge stroke on the lit side; it is not emissive. Moss in joints and at the foot. Carved only with flutes and runes. |
| Silver wood | sun-bleached, unpainted pine and birch gone silver-grey, long grain strokes | silver outside, honey inside. Pegged or grown together. No nails, no iron, no paint. |
| Moss | deep teal cushions 1 to 3 m across with lighter tips | on every foot, roof and north side; it shows the thing has stood for a long time |
| Woven cloth | felted wool in flat brushed fields | one colour per garment, one band. No fur, no leather armour, no metal thread. |
| Moon silver | pale, matte | brooches, lantern caps, the cup. The only metal. |
| Elf light, warm | a honey-filled teardrop of pale glass | unlit by day (#E9B45A glass) |
| Elf light, cool | light inside water, stone cuts, petals, thread | pulses slowly |
An elf-made thing always has
- a lean and a taper, and a curl or a point at its end;
- silver outside, honey inside;
- one motif, the right one for its material, and one small glow at most;
- moss at its foot and on what faces up;
- parts as thick as an arm or thicker: a post is at least 0.25 m at the foot, a step at least 0.12 m thick, a cord at least 5 cm.
It never has
Right angles or boxes; nails, iron, hinges, chains (a lantern hangs from a wooden link or a thick cord); railings, balusters, lattice, wire; banners or flags; glass panes with bars; painted colour; gold; a spike or point below 1 m; text other than runes; a house on the ground.
Do
- Stone: runes and flutes. Wood: loop bands and spirals. Cloth: roses and leaves. Silver: crescent and leaf.
- At most one crescent per object, three in a frame.
- Thick parts: arm-thick or more.
Never
- Loop carving on stone, runes on wood, cloth or skin.
- Wire crooks, ribs, railings, ladders, free strings, chains.
- Boxes, right angles, mirror symmetry, broken or jagged silhouettes.