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In the comic book Elfquest, created by Wendy and Richard Pini, the Sun Folk are a fictional tribe of elves on the World of Two Moons (also called Abode).
The Sun Folk, or Sun Villagers, are the descendants of a group of forest-dwelling elves who fled from human persecution and established the village of Sorrow's End (the "Sun Village") in an oasis in the middle of a desert into which few humans or trolls would ever dare to venture. Safe from harm, they established a peaceful and idyllic community in which almost all were content. In the peace, isolation and relative plenty of their oasis village, the Sun Folk developed agricultural techniques as well as arts and crafts, including silk-making, weaving on looms and crafting beaten-metal jewelry. The Sun Folk originally were the least tough of the elfin communities and were rarely up to facing crises--an unfortunate condition that the village healer, Leetah, unwittingly aggravated with her habit of immediately treating the slightest medical problem, leaving most Sun Folk unused to extreme physical effort and hardship.
The friendly, trusting, open-hearted Sun Villagers welcomed their dramatically different relatives, the Wolfriders, soon upon their arrival at the Sun Village, and the two tribes began a mutually beneficial sharing of their cultures. As a result of their interaction with the Wolfriders, the Sun Folk became much more capable and proactive. In particular, the efforts of a transplanted young Wolfrider, Dart, prompted the creation of a group of Sun Folk hunters and warriors who called themselves Jackwolf Riders because they rode a crossbreed between the Wolfrider wolves and the native desert jackals.
From time to time, members of other tribes -- notably the Wolfriders -- have voluntarily become residents of Sorrow's End in order to enjoy the placid life of its members. Sometimes this residence was temporary; at other times -- as in the case of the Wolfrider couple Woodlock and Rainsong -- transplanted elves have elected to live their entire lives as adopted Sun Villagers.
Although Sorrow's End protected its residents for nearly 20,000 years, the village finally fell to a human war party seeking new lands to settle. (That story was told in the "New Blood" series, which was published between 1993 and 1996.) The Sun Folk evacuated their village and hid out in a maze of caverns nearby; a short time later a group of Wolfriders flew the Palace of the High Ones into the desert and rescued them. The two tribes then traveled to the Father Tree Holt, where the Wolfriders now live in their ancestral forest and the Sun Villagers reside in the Palace, a short walk away. Living next to each other and sharing extensive family ties (including the elfin equivalent of intermarriage), the tribes in many ways have become a single "Wolfrider-Sun Folk" people.
[edit] Sun Folk characters
[edit] Current Sun Folk
Current Sun Folk are all Sun Folk who were alive and present in the story during and after the original Elfquest series, 1978 - 1984.
Savah: female, alive. Lifemate of Yurek. Known as the Mother of Memory. The leader of the Sun Folk and the second-oldest elf known (after Timmain, the last survivor among the original elves to reach the planet), possessing many of the powers of the race. One of the select few, specifically three, that can "go out".
Sun-Toucher: male, alive. Sun Folk elder who is blind (from observing the sun too often as a young man) but prefers this state with his linked heightened mystic sensitivity that allows him to detect numerous things like people's thoughts and natures.
Toorah: female, alive. Lifemate of Sun-Toucher; mother of Leetah and Shenshen. Not a healer in the elfin sense but skilled with needles, salves and other traditional medicines.
Leetah: female, alive. Lifemate of
Cutter, lovemate of Rayek and Thiro. A healer of great power, matching, but not surpassing,
Winnowill's. Mother of the twins Sunstream and Ember. She Recognized Cutter upon their first meeting and eventually heeded the biological imperative to become his lifemate. Now lives with the Wolfriders.
Shenshen: female, alive. Younger sister of Leetah. Skilled as a
midwife and an herbalist. She has been lovemates to Skywise, Pike, Skot, Krim, and possibly Redlance. (They were seen holding hands)
Rayek: male, alive. The Sun Village's chief hunter before the arrival of the Wolfriders, with numerous magic abilities like weak
telekinesis (later much strengthened) and a paralyzing stare. Eventually came to feel he was replaced by the newcomers and left. He came to Greymung's troll colony and rescued Ekuar, who became his mentor and close companion and showed him how to increase his powers. Eventually, joined the Go-Backs and later became an independent mage of still increasing power. He is something of an
antihero; he always claims to want what is best for the elves and has plans to improve their lot, but tends to disregard the wishes of others when putting his schemes into practice. One such scheme resulted in Cutter being separated from Skywise, Leetah and his children for thousands of years. Rayek was only able to reconcile the resulting enmity by allowing Cutter to beat him nearly to death to satisfy his need for revenge. Eventually he saved the elves from destruction by absorbing Winnowill's soul and keeping it a prisoner in his own body - a constant and terrible burden that the other elves can scarcely imagine.
Ahdri: female, alive (though long feared deceased). Savah's handmaiden, constantly at her side. There has been some recent evidence that their relationship may be by blood, possibly as Tekshu's granddaughter, but on the existing evidence it would seem that Savah was only concerned with spiritual matters. She is also
Windkin's lover, by all apparent evidence. Centuries after her first appearance she developed rock-shaping powers, which greatly aided in the defense of Sorrow's End when it was threatened first by the
Go-Backs and later by humans led by the troll Thuggop. In the final invasion of Sorrow's End Ahdri deliberately sacrificed herself in place of Savah and was badly wounded by Thuggop, allowing Savah and the other villagers to escape. Long believed dead, it was much later revealed that Ahdri was in fact in
suspended animation in a Preserver
cocoon awaiting healing, although still possessing sufficient consciousness to allow her to continually reshape the rocks around Sorrow's End in order to deter intruders. Her cocoon was subsequently found by trolls who took it to the deserted caverns that once comprised Greymung's kingdom. There, she was eventually found by Treestump and
Clearbrook, who took her to the Palace to be healed by Leetah and joyfully reunited with many of her old friends.
Ruffel: female, alive. Originally introduced together with Maleen and Vurdah, as one of three unnamed elf maidens who enjoyed a foursome with the Wolfrider Skywise, she acquired her name in a short story, "The Heart's Way", which explored their relationship in more detail. She has wavy red hair and a preference for light, gauzy dresses. (The name derives from a nickname, "Lucky Ruffles," some Elfquest readers gave the elf because of her frilly outfits.)
Maleen: female, alive. Another of Skywise's lovemates. Has long black hair tied at the back, and a preference for dark, figure-hugging clothing. She informs Skywise of the Zwoots stupidity.
Vurdah: female, proabably alive. Has dark wavy hair, wears a gold half-coronet and has a preference for two-piece outfits with skirts. Her relationship with Skywise, Ruffel and Maleen was at the core of the story "The Heart's Way." The other two maidens were content to have fun with Skywise and each other, but Vurdah longed to recognize Skywise and have his children, and this led her to become jealous of the other two. She even begged Leetah to induce recognition, but Leetah reminded her that even if it were possible both partners would have to desire it equally. Vurdah even considered breaking off her relationships. Vurdah does not appear with Skywise in
The Searcher and the Sword (
2004) although Ruffel and Maleen do (among others!), which leaves the question open.
Shushen: male, deceased. One of the Sun Folk trained by Dart in the defense of the village, he became one of Dart's original Jackwolf Riders. By the time of the Go-back invasion he and Dart seem to have been lovemates. His death at the hands of a Go-back caused Dart and his followers to take bloody revenge, turning what could have been a short battle into a massacre.
Dodia: female, alive. One of Dart's Jackwolf Riders, she later accompanied him on his journey to the Forevergreen. Soon after the elves encountered the psychopathic Glider elf Door, Dodia unwillingly recognized him and became pregnant with his child - only to bludgeon him to death soon after. She then raised her son, No-Name in secret for fear that Door's spirit might somehow corrupt the boy.
[edit] Historical Sun Folk
Historical Sun Folk are all Sun Folk who died or otherwise left the story prior to the original Elfquest series, 1978 - 1984.
Alekah: Granddaughter of Savah, grandmother of Tekshu. She used her rock-shaping powers to create the sun symbol at the end of the Bridge of Destiny. She later died of a fever.
Tekshu: Grandson of Alekah, grandfather of Ahdri. He was the last rockshaper among the Sun Folk before Ahdri discovered her powers, but died of a rattlesnake bite.
Thiro: Thiro was one of Leetah's lovers early in her life. His accidental death - kicked in the head by a fierce animal called a zwoot - prompted her to face death itself and come fully into her powers as a healer.
Yurek: A powerful rockshaper and Savah's lifemate. Yurek was obsessed with the creation of a rock arch called the Bridge of Destiny; he completed it at the cost of his own life. Whether he fell, or jumped, from the stone bridge is unclear.
