Q&A part 2 - The nature of Sithi

The nature of the Sithi
Do we all agree with the creation story?
All agreed with John's introduction, as far as reaching Aquila.
Matt's chronicles follow on from the exodus.

Were the new houses / cities founded before or after the exodus?
The cities were founded after the arrival; Aquila was the final city "founded" though it is accepted that conurbations may have existed prior to the elven formal creation.

When did the second houses appear?
Second houses were founded shortly after Jao was started. Holds existed in the garden. some shit went down. your face was a racial division, that is to say, we split by deep, light, drow. That went pear-shaped in Aquila. So in Jao there was an attempt to return to a hold-like structure, the secondary houses were created as deliberate method of distributing power (shortly after the founding of Jao). Houses did exist in Aquila but only in the sub-context of noble lines - probably with a link to the strength of the blood link to the garden-born royalty.
House L'Retel were almost a separate house by the time Aquila was populated. This is likely to have stemmed from an attempted neutrality in the garden.


As Sithi are we a declining breed or are we at our peak?
We are not currently in a stage of decline, whilst we, as a species, may not be at the height of our greatness, we as house, are on a resurgence. For the members of the current warband (and most of the current active members of the house) we are stronger than we have been in most memories. We are Re-ant...


What the fuck are spirit guides?
Animal characters that have the power of speech to their chosen elf. The elf does not command the guide, vice versa. A spirit guide will rarely cause a conflict in purpose due to their ties to the elf. In general the spirit guide will just be a background influence however in extreme cases they might take direct action to influence a characters behaviour. A guide is normally a reflection of the personality of the elf. The only defined guardians are stag (for wardens) and Crow (guide). Amongst the Jao-houses, wolf is one of the most common, particularly amongst hunters (especially so within Aditu an Velent'm). Bears and Beavers figure strongly in Athuati. Birds are common guides amongst the more cerebral (rather than martial) elves.
L'Retel do not have spirit guides.