The Division of Elves

The Division of Elves was a multi-century conflict in which the Elves fought each other over dominion over Gaelitia.

History

The Seduction of Morganine

Around 100 years after the Elves were created by the goddess Brigid, the chaos of nature was fully embraced by them. Small tribes formed in the forests of Gaelitia for growing groups of Elves. The two major groups would become the Fiodha (the Wood Elves) and the Eladrin (the High Elves). Eventually, a group of Eladrin pilgrims crossed into the Low Forests, the home of the Fiodha, to establish a small home called Gael to openly worship Brigid in 1A 150. Unfortunately, this brought a territorial dispute between the two Elven tribes.
The Eladrin began to be seduced by Morganine and started to dominate more of the Low Forests to take more land for themselves sometime in 1A 200. The Wood Elves would also listen to the words of Morganine and started to war with their kinsmen. In the midst of the fighting, a small subset of the Eladrin named the Drow still held onto the beliefs of Brigid. They started to try and negotiate with the other elves. However, they became subject to violence and were forced to flee Gael.
The Drow were exiled into the Underdark and became subjected to the cruelty down there. Their goddess, Brigid, felt sorrow for her loyal children and became a shadow of herself, named Lolth. The Drow would be affected by this, their skin losing color and becoming grey. They would rebuild their society in the Underdark, making it matriarchal and cruel for discipline purposes to not lose sight of Lolth's guidance.

The "Century of Peace"

Circa 1A 370, a High Elf named Luhmendil from the city of Diffon began to speak with the fighting tribes. He lamented the exile of the Drow, and scolded the Eladrin and Fiodha for driving them away. He asked his fellow Eladrin brethren for a "century of peace" in which the fighting would end. He also asked the Elves to return to the words of their mother, Brigid, who had become a shadow of herself.
The Eladrin and the Fiodha would repent and obey Luhmendil, realizing they have destroyed the forests and their homes from the fighting. For 70 years the Elves put aside their differences. Unfortunately, growing tensions would continue, and the Elves became blood thirsty once again. Luhmendil's wise leadership could only go so far. Until, in 1A 440, the Eladrin once again attacked the Fiodha. Luhmendil felt betrayed by his brethren, and began to fight on the side of the Fiodha in a decade-long war. He would be slain in 1A 450 in battle by the Eladrin of Gael. The Fiodha would retaliate with the loss of Luhmendil, assaulting Gael and burning it to the ground. The Elves were divided worse than ever before.

Redemption

The fallen elves would get into skirmishes with the Mountain Dwarves from 480-520 over control of land, once again seduced by Morganine. Then, unexpectedly, a Wood Elf named Lila the Unmoving, the matriarch of Naberwick, filled the sudden power vacuum in the region by 530 and managed to unite the Elves against the Mountain Dwarves. She would fall in battle in 540, and her adoptive son, Ludraig, took her place as the King of Naberwick.
By 560, King Ludraig successfully defeated the Mountain Dwarves, driving them back to the lands of Goth. King Ludraig then turned toward Diffon and defeated the Morganine-worshipping King named Cogadh in 570. King Ludraig, taking a note from the fallen Luhmendil, wished to reunite the Elves once more. He united the two kingdoms of Naberwick and Diffon and formed the Kingdom of Gaelitia.
A final attempt by the fallen Eladrin would be made to destroy the elf unity. Tilrok the Shadow Lord, a powerful wizard, threatened Diffon in 590. He would be defeated by a brave group of adventurers, one of which was a knight holding the mystical Mirror Shield. With Tilrok defeated, King Ludraig felt comfortable to start his reforms.
King Ludraig would establish a theocracy in the forests of Gaelitia focused on worshipping Brigid in the year 600. He asked the Elves to follow their "Mother of Life" who blessed them with the life of the forest. So, in his eyes, why should the elves fight over it when it all belonged to them? He insisted on sharing the land. Then, he would form a group of druids called the Fingers of Brigid to help establish this rule in the land. After a few decades, the Eladrin and the Fiodha began to understand. The two tribes would be united under the Theocratic Kingdom of Gaelitia. Though King Ludraig was not entirely content, for the Drow were still exiled and nowhere to be found. As he died in 720, the Drow were still lost.
The Drow would continue to be lost to this day.

Date

First Age 150-600

Consequences

• The Elves would still be separate peoples, but the worship of Brigid continued.

• The Drow would dominate the Underdark, slowly becoming twisted.

• Gaelitia would continue to protect it's forests and nature.

• The Druidic order would expand beyond the Elves, coming to Dwarves, Humans, and other humanoids.

Turgon, King of Gondolin by sstefiart

King Ludraig, the king of the united Elves, was an incredibly pious leader as well as fan of aesthetics. Though a Fiodha by birth, he embraced the ways of the Eladrin to be a physical symbol of Elven unification under Brigid.