Elves

The Elves, also known as Valarans or the fair folk, are an ancient, lonely, and melancholic race of beings. It is said that the ancient elves were favored by the gods, who bestowed many gifts upon them. Whatever divine goodwill they once had seems to have long ago been used up however, as the fortunes of the last few millennia have been cruel indeed to the fair folk.
History
At the dawn of time the gods gifted the elves the mystical island paradise of Old Valara to be their home. The elves called the archipelago home for almost 20,000 years. Around the year -1000 GR the elves of Old Valra were united under the wise and enlightened rule of their fist high king, Anerion the White, who led them into a golden age of peace and prosperity that lasted for over 800 years. 2,000 years ago during the Age of Crisis, the forces of the Archenemy invaded the world of mortals in a bid to conquer reality. Old Valara was overrun by the Dark Powers who brought ruin and death to the former paradise. Anerion the White fell in the ensuing battle and the island was lost to the forces of darkness forever. The few elves who survived were scattered into exile. Most eventually made their way to Eridas, where they founded the kingdom of New Valara among the islands of the Summer Coast.
Their exile from Old Valara cost the elves dearly, both physically and spiritually. After leaving their homeland the elves lost much of their extraordinary longevity. Where the elves of Old Valara regularly lived for well over 700 years, the lifespans of their exiled descendants slowly diminished. The elves of the 16th Century GR seldom live more than two or three centuries, a mere blink of an eye to their ancient ancestors.
Despite all of this, for the first few centuries of its existence, New Valara flourished. The numbers of the fair folk slowly began to recover, and their civilization grew and prospered once again. New Valara became a major Eridasian power, and her high kings wielded considerable influence across the continent. This second elven golden age came to an end during the Age of Struggle when the Valerosi descended upon southern Eridas. Following disastrous defeats at the hands of the Valerosi nomads and the loss of much of its former territory, New Valara began to decline. In the 16th century GR, the future looks bleak for elvenkind. With humanity ascendant, the numbers of the fair folk dwindling even further, and the last of their kingdoms crumbling into ruin, the time of the elves may finally be coming to an end.
Culture
Unsurprisingly given the recent history of their species, the elves are a gloomy, solemn, and somber people who often struggle to find joy in their long lives. They do, however, have an incredibly rich artistic and musical tradition passed down over thousands of years. The arts are often a source of solace for the fair folk, reminding them of the glories of ages past and giving them hope of better days to come.
Elves are naturally attuned to the currents of the weave of magic and possess many innate arcane talents. Elven mages are renowned as the finest in the known world. Learning in general, magical or otherwise, is held in high regard in their society, and the white city of Anerion plays host to scholars and intellectuals from around the world.
Their long lives and the enormously long history of their species have made the elves quite traditional and conservative by nature. Elves place great value on the traditions and customs of their ancient ancestors, and the preservation thereof. This attitude is intimately connected to their unique religious belief system, the so-called “elven rite”. This syncretic religion fuses the worship of the 8 divines with traditional elven ancestor worship and ritual communion with the spirits of their forebears.
In the 16th Century GR, the elves are few in number and mostly confined to small enclaves in New Valara. A few brave individuals have taken to a life of adventure and traveled abroad however. Elven adventurers, though rare, are highly valued for their keen senses, spellcasting talents, and the vast amounts of worldly knowledge they acquire over their long lives.