Elf (ɛlf)

“I have never imagined such beauty existed,” Goldmoon said softly. The day’s march had been difficult, but the reward at the end was beyond their dreams. The companions stood on a high cliff over the fabled city of Qualinost. Four slender spires rose from the city’s corners like glistening spindles, their brilliant white stone marbled with shining silver. Graceful arches, swooping from spire to spire, soared through the air. Crafted by ancient dwarven metalsmiths, they were strong enough to hold the weight of an army, yet they appeared so delicate that a bird lighting on them might overthrow the balance. These glistening arches were the city’s only boundaries; there was no wall around Qualinost. The elven city opened its arms lovingly to the wilderness.

— Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, Dragons of Autumn Twilight

When the gods used the Cauldron to tear the Material Plane in three and create the Feywild and Shadowfell, they inadvertently created the elves. Originally those Fey that were left behind, the Convection stripped the Material Plane and its inhabitants of much of the inherent magic that had suffused it up until that point. The elves are what remains of the elder race in the Material Plane: graceful, unearthly beings that are part of the world and yet not. They have lost much, but still are beautiful and magical beyond measure when compared to the 'younger' races.

Subraces

The moment the elves were left behind in the wake of the Convection, without leadership, without kin, they splintered. Known as the Sundering, the elven people were lost to the winds. Some travelled north until they were a suitable distance away from the ruins of Tor Galen where began emerging the Dreaming Weald (also known as 'the Wall') and founded Tor Yseri, the City of the Lost, and more cities further north still, founding the first elven realm of the Iressar Conclave. Others travelled past the Weald to the south and founded the first of the two guard cities, Tor Tirista (City of the Forest Guard). Yet more travelled west, through the Spine of the World, and the Endless Plains, and past the Western Ridge. Eventually reaching the coast, they founded two cities, Tor Thalas and Tor Mara. Yet more travelled south and integrated with the other newly-emergent civilisations. And some vanished entirely, never to be seen again.

Sky Elves

Through this process, the Elven diaspora was created, and sub-groups emerged from the original elves. Counted among these are the Sky Elves of Tor Yseri. They founded, at the time, the Iressar Conclave centred around the twin cities of Tor Mystral (City of Magic) and Tor Yseri (City of the Lost), set on a single leyline. They take their name from their haughty, yearning attitude, which has resulted in the Sky Elves becoming the greatest mages of the elven peoples and claiming to have the greatest gift of arcane magic as it descended onto the world at the start of the Age of Arcanum.

The Sky Elves were forcefully parted from their Fey attributes: the only remnant of this is their unusually high affinity for magic and their often silver- or gold-coloured eyes, and vibrant skin tones: usually these are shades of alabaster and other pale tones, sometimes tinged with blue or cyan. Their hair is shades of burnished bronze, auburn, gold, or silver, and tends to glimmer like sun or starlight. It is clear that the Sky Elves yet retain a fraction of the ethereal beauty and magic of the Fey to even those who do not wish to see it.

Sea Elves

Inhabitants of the city-states of Tor Thalas and Tor Mara, the cities of Lakes and Shore respectively, the sea elves travelled far from the Dreaming Weald through a need to find a place to call home. They were driven by an innate need for exploration even while they were Fey, and this nature carried over into their lives as Elves. When they reached the western sea, the Sea Elves were amazed. Such a grand body of water, such distance; such unknown. They named it the Shimmering Sea and founded a pair of city-states on its coast: the states of Tor Mara and Tor Thalas, known as the Dual Union of Ar'Qualesh.

The Sea Elves of the Dual Union are renowned for their position as traders and merchants, travelling on silver ships down the Aurix Coast and up and down the rivers of the world; even beyond Akhiilor to the other continents of Crochan. Yet, they are secretive people who have mastered the art of hiding in plain sight; it is rare to see a non-Sea Elf in the twin cities of the Dual Union. Due to their temperate (even tropical) homeland, the Sea Elves generally have darker skin tones than their Sky Elf cousins, ranging from dark brown to coppers to even shades of red or russet, often adding to their unearthly appearance. Their hair, to compliment this, is usually dark, ranging from reds to browns to blacks, though other shades are, while rare, not unheard of.

Deep Elves (Drow)

When the Elves splintered in the wake of the Convection, there was a group that had taken to worshipping Lolth, the Spider Queen, in particular. They descended into the depths of the world, rejecting life on the surface, and embraced the darkness of the caves and caverns they found beneath the mantle of the world. They mastered the dark things they found there, but darkness begets darkness, as the saying goes. And, slowly, the Deep Eves became the Drow. Creatures of Corellon and the Cauldron's work still, but also something... More. They developed inherent magic foreign to their surface-dwelling kin, and, as the centuries passed, shifted to be more extreme in their thinking. In many ways, the Deep Elves are more similar to their distant Fey kin; closer to the Fey than their Sky Elf cousins could ever hope to be.

The Deep Elves' long exposure to the darkness of the world has forced them to adapt. Their inherent magic has grown more pronounced and their eyes have grown more capable of seeing in the dark, but through this, the Deep Elves lost a part of their connection to the surface world: they developed an innate weakness to sunlight (some say this was punishment by Pelor, the Dawnfather, for some long-forgotten crime something their greatest mages are yet occupied with finding a way to overcome.

Due to this forced adaption, the Deep Elves have developed, over the centuries skin of lighter pigments: greys, whites, and paler tones are common, but so are darker tones such as blues, purples, and even pure black. Seeming almost made to contrast with this, their eyes are generally blues, greys, or white, which have a tendency to shine like a cat's eyes when faced with light. The hair of a Deep Elf is usually kept short or shorn altogether; it is usually a colourless white.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Elves are humanoid in appearance: generally tall and slender in build and form. Elves are renowned as of this world and yet not; commonly described by the younger races as ethereal creatures, handsome and fair to look upon. On average, Elves stand on average around 5′4″‒6′0″ (1.6‒1.8 m) and generally weigh between 130‒170 lb (59‒77 kg). A known characteristic of the Elves is their usually sharp features; pronounced cheekbones and pointed ears are a trait shared amongst all Elves, though this may vary in extremism per individual. It is a known fact that Elves are ingrained with some remnant of Fey magic by nature; though this must be honed if it is to be accessed. One way through which this displays itself is their lack of a requirement for sleep: instead, Elves enter a trance-like state of meditation named Reverie, in which an Elf performs mental exercises to organise their mind and spirit to refresh their body and mind. This has additionally resulted in natural immunity to sleeping spells and resistance to charms; it is exceedingly difficult to charm an Elf into doing one's bidding, and to put one to sleep is impossible.

It should not be said, however, that Elves are incapable of sleep. Elves can sleep if desired, though the benefits of Reverie far outweigh the dream state of sleep. As such, elves very rarely sleep, and usually only do so when they are severely ill, wounded, or exhausted.

Growth Rate & Stages

Elves mature at the same rate as humans no matter their ethnicity and grouping, yet they are significantly longer-lived than the other 'common' races of Crochan. On average, Elves live well into their seventh century, though they can live well into the nine-hundreds. Unlike Humans and Dwarves, Elves do not visibly age drastically as time progresses; the only significant changes are usually a change in hair colour, which usually greys or darkens. Most elves remain healthy and full of life up until their death, which, if age-related, is usually between two and nine centuries.

Elven Path by Anndr

Geographic Distribution

• Aurix Coast

Related Organizations

• Darethian Empire
• Iressar Conclave