According to Elvish folklore, the Elderiane the original Elves from before the
War of Ascension, were the first of the mortal races to be created by the Creator and populated and settled Aasha. They were gifted the grace and beauty of the Gods and lived peacefully for generations.
For the Old Gods, they built cities and temples and worshiped them. They followed their commands and in return, the Gods gifted them with magic. A piece of their of Their power by which the Elves could cultivate and mold Aasha to their own will.
It is said that the Gods eventually grew bored of the Elderiane and started creating new mortal races to inhabit the lands. At first, these mortals were treated as the Elves' younger siblings. However, these new races had short lives and lacked the wisdom of the Elderiane. They warred with each other and also against the Elderane. Soon new Gods rose up and chose these new mortal races as their champions and the Great War of Ascension began.
War of Ascension
During the War of Ascension the majority of the Elderane sided with their original creators, the Old Gods, defending their history and tradition. While they were successful in defending their holdings for a while, soon the tide of war turned on them. The Elderane soon resorted to more destructive and chaotic means of turning the war to their favor; invoking the names of the Old Gods for justifications for their actions.
Soon many Elves disagreed with these atrocities against the other mortal races and began to join them in their efforts to cast out the Old Gods and raise the New Ones in their stead. As a consequence of this, Elvish lands which were widespread all over Aasha, were engulfed in civil war. In fact, the elves call the War of Ascension the Great Civil War. During the conflict, the majority of elvish cities were razed, conquered, or abandoned. Much of the elvish population perished in large-scale battles that changed the face of the continent and killed millions.
With more and more of their ranks joining the enemy, the Elderane eventually lost the war and also broke their people.
Ante-ascension
After the war, the mortal races agreed to give the Elvish who helped them in their campaign against the Old Gods a small part of their original kingdom,
Q'Manelothor, where they could live as the pleased. Those who supported the Old Gods were banished. The Elvish were split into two groups: the Galeldrin - those who supported the New Gods and were allowed to stay in Aasha - and the Dúrdrin those who were banished to the ends of Aasha.
Modern (Galeldrin) Elves
In modern times, the elvish communities are fractured and scattered. The High Elves returned to their original ancestral home to find it in ruin from the war. They named it
Q'Manelothor, the Cradle of Life, and sought to rebuild it into the former empire it once was. That dream of empire was soon forgotten as the years of restoration dragged on, and in its place were a broken collection of Elven city-states. The High Elves mostly adopted the Goddess
Jern as their patron Diety, although others who decided to settle outside of Q'Manelothor decided to adopt the more human-centric Gods of
Ravi or
Tsuki.
The wood elves decided to become one with nature and consequently adopted the Goddess
Melikki. in return for their worship, the Goddess caused living trees to form into cities for them. She gave them expertise in the bow and the hunt and taught them to live harmoniously with nature.
The Eldarin, were famously neutral in the War of Ascension. They chose to leave Aasha to settle in the Feywilds. Those who have been able to reach the Fey say that thier civilization closely mirrors the ancient Elderane.
Dúrdrin Elves
For their roles in the War of Ascension, the Dúrdrin were banished to various corners of Aasha and outer Realms. For many generations not allowed to come back to society. Recently, the opinions towards these cursed races have softened, and not it is uncommon, but not impossible to see these races among the others on Aasha.
The worst of the war criminals during the War of Ascension were banished the the Shadowfell. There they built their own society they've named the Shadar-Kai.
The Drow like the Durgar, were forced underground to be wardened by the Dwarves. Many continued to worship their disgraced and imprisoned Gods, but others turned to other beings of great power for help. Beings that were discovered while living in the dark.
The Sea Elves were banished to the sea. However, according to legend, the God
Olastra had mercy on them and saved them from sudden destruction. He blessed them with the ability to breathe and live under the sea.
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