Elves
Elves have had a bad reputation in the world of E'ven-dra, while many point to the Dwarves as the cause of the 6th age, the elves are blamed for 6th age being as bad as it was. While the Dwarfs were busy fighting among themselves after the death of their king. The Elves entered one of their darkest period as fey marauders and raiders using ancient paths and magics to travers the world and attack and take as they pleased. While this was not all Elves it did taint their otherwise “altruistic” image that they prefer to present. This image is further tainted by their actions in the 10th dance in which an elven candidate and their deity tried circumventing the rules of the dance and attempted to rewrite reality to make it so the deity and elves would always rule. These events combined have charged many Humans attitudes towards elves, combined with the general attitude of most elves, and you may start to see why many, particularly those in Albion, still act warily towards Elves.
Elves appear as several sub spesies or Kin through out the world. However The Eldar, The Fey Elves, and Shadow Elves really deserve their own articles because of thier disconection from the matirial plane. While other like the Dusk elves and Stone Elves (or as some may call them Drow). Then Kin like the Sand Elves are new kin almost entierly native to he world. That said Kin like Sea, Wood and High elves are practicaly unchanged.
Now some may be asking why Drow are not refered to as such. Well that has to do with the origin of word in this worlds lore. In E'ven-dra Drow is not a name that referes to a particular elven kin but rather those elves that have sworn themselves to the Court of the Spider. The term Drow means "traitor" in elven in this world, meaning any elf that worships Lolth or a member of her "evil" dark elven pantheon.
Elves appear as several sub spesies or Kin through out the world. However The Eldar, The Fey Elves, and Shadow Elves really deserve their own articles because of thier disconection from the matirial plane. While other like the Dusk elves and Stone Elves (or as some may call them Drow). Then Kin like the Sand Elves are new kin almost entierly native to he world. That said Kin like Sea, Wood and High elves are practicaly unchanged.
Now some may be asking why Drow are not refered to as such. Well that has to do with the origin of word in this worlds lore. In E'ven-dra Drow is not a name that referes to a particular elven kin but rather those elves that have sworn themselves to the Court of the Spider. The term Drow means "traitor" in elven in this world, meaning any elf that worships Lolth or a member of her "evil" dark elven pantheon.
Basic Information
Growth Rate & Stages
All fool blooded Elves can live up to 700 years. They mature at about the same rate as a human for the first 20-25 years of their lives, reaching full physical maturity at about 18-20. After this point elves age at a general rate of 1:15, or 1 year for every 15 human years. Meaning that a 500 year old elf may only look to ruffly be in their early 50s. A longer life span has caused many elves to appear arrogant or aloof to the problems of other races. Among their own kind they treat anyone that is under the age of 100 as a child often left out of discussions and or political and military issues. While not truly treated as a child this exclusion often leads to Elven youths under this age to venture out into the world as adventurers looking to experience the world.
Biological Cycle
Beyond the noticeable lack of aging, young elves know they have reached a certain level of maturity when their trance changes. In childhood an Elven child’s trance is more like an indoctrination, were they are encouraged to trance often to undergo training from their past selves. Elves that reach full physical maturity will notice that these exercises will become too easy or that they are no longer finding anything to learn from them. This often means that they have reached the end of what their past self has to teach or what they call the First Reflection. Many elves under the age 100 are encouraged to speak with elven elders and others in their age group to discuss what is replacing these past memories. Those elves that live among other races may find that they thinking of events from the day and what they could have done differently. While those living solely among elves may find that they thought on lessons from the day rather than ones from the past.
This is were some confusion comes from when it comes to elves. The term “child in” elvish purely refers to one under the age of 100 and has not undergone an event in elven culture called the Drawing of the Veil. Between the age of 20 and 100 most elves are tread like young adults or college age teens. Meaning they can experience the world around them but, and this especially true for those raised among other elves, are often sheltered from things thought to difficult. This is why seeing a 70 year old elven adventure is rare, not heard of but rare. Because they are still trying to find a balance between the Waking world and the Dream Lands through their trances. At an around the age of 100 this changes with the aforementioned Drawing of the Veil. This is a point in which an Elf finds it all but impossible to draw on their Primal memories and find most of their trances are taken up by events from their present life. Some elves find the Drawing as a melancholy event as it is a sign of childhoods final end, but many more find it as call to adventure.
It is after the drawing that elves are considered adults among their own kind encouraged to venture into the world to better expand their trance and experience new things beyond the scope of elven life. Those that find it a disappointment are those elves that have rarely lived among other races their whole life up to this point. As they find their once cheerful trances filled with memories of past losses. After 100 years possibly finding themselves the only ones still alive from a group of friends they knew since birth. Now surrounded by those friends children and even grand children. They may seek out their own kind at last.
This period of life lasts for the next 100-300 years until they undergo what is called the Remembrance. At this the elf find that their trance in interrupted neither by the primal exercises of youth or the Memories of the day but by the full memories of other lives. They find themselves remembering battles they were apart of adventures they went on, companions they kept and loved ones they had. The Remembrance marks an elf as having reached a stage of elder. Which for some may be odd for an elf that may be experiencing this in the 200s at the earliest. But many scholars have correlated that the occurrence of the Remembrance has some connection to whether the elf has experienced death. Elven adventurers that have died and been brought back by magic have a tendency to experience the remembrance soon than others. While the process of undergoing the Remembrance may seem harmless it can become detrimental to some elves who may find it tantamount to elven Alzheimer’s. The elf in questions finds it harder to differentiate their current memories from those of their past. However most elves do not start experience if this till well into their 400s and see it as a sign that it is time to slow down an settle. Returning to their elven homelands or seeking seclusion to live in peace.
For the next 300 year or so elves begin limiting their interactions with the outside to reduce potential issue that the Remembrance may cause. Living as sages or hermits, some may find themselves become in leaders in the elven community. Regardless there is one last thing that can occur in an elf’s life that marks the nearing end of their life in one final change, not purely in their trance but a physical one. Called the Transcendence, an elf’s eye physically change while they trance emitting a soft glow that can be seen drifting like smoke from beneath their eye lids. If opened their eyes appear to resemble a swirling cosmos that reflects the Astral Sea. This is seen as Corello’s call to the elf’s souls that they are ready to transcend and be welcomed into Arvandor. The elf’s soul has finally received forgiveness and is welcomed. In the elven homeland of Cohn The Immortal Court see this as a marking of a new member of the Outer Lessor Court in other words a new minor Archfey. In other words the next time this souls is born it will be a true fey once more meaning that it can gain the power of an Archfey.
This is were some confusion comes from when it comes to elves. The term “child in” elvish purely refers to one under the age of 100 and has not undergone an event in elven culture called the Drawing of the Veil. Between the age of 20 and 100 most elves are tread like young adults or college age teens. Meaning they can experience the world around them but, and this especially true for those raised among other elves, are often sheltered from things thought to difficult. This is why seeing a 70 year old elven adventure is rare, not heard of but rare. Because they are still trying to find a balance between the Waking world and the Dream Lands through their trances. At an around the age of 100 this changes with the aforementioned Drawing of the Veil. This is a point in which an Elf finds it all but impossible to draw on their Primal memories and find most of their trances are taken up by events from their present life. Some elves find the Drawing as a melancholy event as it is a sign of childhoods final end, but many more find it as call to adventure.
It is after the drawing that elves are considered adults among their own kind encouraged to venture into the world to better expand their trance and experience new things beyond the scope of elven life. Those that find it a disappointment are those elves that have rarely lived among other races their whole life up to this point. As they find their once cheerful trances filled with memories of past losses. After 100 years possibly finding themselves the only ones still alive from a group of friends they knew since birth. Now surrounded by those friends children and even grand children. They may seek out their own kind at last.
This period of life lasts for the next 100-300 years until they undergo what is called the Remembrance. At this the elf find that their trance in interrupted neither by the primal exercises of youth or the Memories of the day but by the full memories of other lives. They find themselves remembering battles they were apart of adventures they went on, companions they kept and loved ones they had. The Remembrance marks an elf as having reached a stage of elder. Which for some may be odd for an elf that may be experiencing this in the 200s at the earliest. But many scholars have correlated that the occurrence of the Remembrance has some connection to whether the elf has experienced death. Elven adventurers that have died and been brought back by magic have a tendency to experience the remembrance soon than others. While the process of undergoing the Remembrance may seem harmless it can become detrimental to some elves who may find it tantamount to elven Alzheimer’s. The elf in questions finds it harder to differentiate their current memories from those of their past. However most elves do not start experience if this till well into their 400s and see it as a sign that it is time to slow down an settle. Returning to their elven homelands or seeking seclusion to live in peace.
For the next 300 year or so elves begin limiting their interactions with the outside to reduce potential issue that the Remembrance may cause. Living as sages or hermits, some may find themselves become in leaders in the elven community. Regardless there is one last thing that can occur in an elf’s life that marks the nearing end of their life in one final change, not purely in their trance but a physical one. Called the Transcendence, an elf’s eye physically change while they trance emitting a soft glow that can be seen drifting like smoke from beneath their eye lids. If opened their eyes appear to resemble a swirling cosmos that reflects the Astral Sea. This is seen as Corello’s call to the elf’s souls that they are ready to transcend and be welcomed into Arvandor. The elf’s soul has finally received forgiveness and is welcomed. In the elven homeland of Cohn The Immortal Court see this as a marking of a new member of the Outer Lessor Court in other words a new minor Archfey. In other words the next time this souls is born it will be a true fey once more meaning that it can gain the power of an Archfey.
Civilization and Culture
Culture and Cultural Heritage
For the most part Elves can be devided into four cultural sets, and while all elfs in should be able to found in each one there are stronger inclonations for some comparied to others.
Cuveisan Elves
Cuveisian Elves refer to elves native to the Cuveisa continent but primarily to those that call the island nation of cohn home. This is by all rights the oldest elven culture and is primarily made up of High elves and Wood elves. With Sand elves and sea elves making up the second. The easiest way to discribe their culture is compairing it to a sort of japanese like society and culture. Originaly lead by the Eldari the first emperor of Cohn being one himself istiled the his own version of the Eldari cast system. But in some ways made it posible to move up its ranks through hard work and determination. The system became verry similar to that of the pre sengoku pirod of our own japan.
By most standards the elves of Cuveisa have not changed both despite the events over the ages and because of them. Adhearing to them to a point that they are very much the cultural equivilant of the times. For the most part as of the post The Cataclysm and the Day of Rainbow Fire the elves of Cuveisa focus on a rich culture of tradition and finding beauty in the simplistic. The arcane arts are seen as just htat a form of art, were many mages stray from the traditional schools of magic like transmutation and evocation. Instead find elemental balance in there aspects and find a deeper meaning in this spellcraft.
Vailish Elves
Vailish Elves are those elves that populate the forest and mountains of the continent of Vail. Moslty consisting of Wood and Stone elves, many Eladrian and High Elves are also among their population. The fastes description of these elves is French, really, really French and we're not talking about like a little bit of modern french I mean hight the of Lauis the XVI right before the Napolionic era FRENCH.
These are the odecendent of the once blood thirsty warrior elves that cause damage across the matirial plane. Whose ancestories probobly include the father of Evaro Romanoff, first Tzar of Albion.
Cuveisan Elves
Cuveisian Elves refer to elves native to the Cuveisa continent but primarily to those that call the island nation of cohn home. This is by all rights the oldest elven culture and is primarily made up of High elves and Wood elves. With Sand elves and sea elves making up the second. The easiest way to discribe their culture is compairing it to a sort of japanese like society and culture. Originaly lead by the Eldari the first emperor of Cohn being one himself istiled the his own version of the Eldari cast system. But in some ways made it posible to move up its ranks through hard work and determination. The system became verry similar to that of the pre sengoku pirod of our own japan.
By most standards the elves of Cuveisa have not changed both despite the events over the ages and because of them. Adhearing to them to a point that they are very much the cultural equivilant of the times. For the most part as of the post The Cataclysm and the Day of Rainbow Fire the elves of Cuveisa focus on a rich culture of tradition and finding beauty in the simplistic. The arcane arts are seen as just htat a form of art, were many mages stray from the traditional schools of magic like transmutation and evocation. Instead find elemental balance in there aspects and find a deeper meaning in this spellcraft.
Vailish Elves
Vailish Elves are those elves that populate the forest and mountains of the continent of Vail. Moslty consisting of Wood and Stone elves, many Eladrian and High Elves are also among their population. The fastes description of these elves is French, really, really French and we're not talking about like a little bit of modern french I mean hight the of Lauis the XVI right before the Napolionic era FRENCH.
These are the odecendent of the once blood thirsty warrior elves that cause damage across the matirial plane. Whose ancestories probobly include the father of Evaro Romanoff, first Tzar of Albion.
History
Elven history is somewhat muddled as various groups and scholars argue over the exact origins. But in the world of E'ven-dra the origin of elves is that The Archheart Corellon first influenced the mortals that would become the Fey. In this version of events Corellon and The Storm General Kord, chief god among Orcs, were best friends and shared a friendly rivalry, Goblinoids and Fey being a result of friendly competition between the two. Elves came into existence when Lolth, Corellon's chief consort at the time, used honeyed words to trick the two into truly idiotic competition to knock an apple of one another's head at the same time with their respective weapons. Meanwhile Kords right hand, Maglubiyet, goaded and released Kezef the Chaos Hound, Kords once most loyal hunting hound. The resulting chaos caused the two to nearly kill one another, Kords spear striking Corellon in a place he would prefer a spear not wind up. The blood that spilled from his wound washed over several fey that became the first Primal Elves.
Lolth’s action were her first betrayal that went all but unnoticed as Kezef caused a greater distraction, but the other fey did not forget. Corellon treated the elves as his own children born of his divine blood, and insisted the Fey Spirits like Lolth to treat them as such, to which they actually greatly accepted.
Elves have a unique connection to the The Dream Lands, Realm of Twilight, Elven souls constantly undergo reincarnation to better reach Arvandor, Corellon’s domain. But to do so the elves had to prove they were worthy and learn the lessons they needed to learn. But it became obvious that when a soul is reincarnated it lacks the memories of its past, however Elven scholars noticed that the dream lands retained evidence of these pasts and that in rare instances the dream self could be fully aware of certain events. To this extent elves figured out a way to disassociate their dream selves from their waking selves. This made it so that the Dream Self would retain all knowledge of the souls entire existence. However there was a price to be paired for this, The Elves found that they could no longer sleep and there for no longer dream. However still the elves again found a work around, by entering a state of meditation they could still interact with their dream self and learn the lessons of the past they needed. This became the trance that elves are known for.
After their birth the elves called the fey and matirial planes home mastering magical means of freely being able to travers existance. Building a vast transe planar empire the likes of which has never been seen since. At the center of this vast empire sat the fey homeland Arvandor in outer most planes of the Astra Sea. Here Corellon and his chosen fey ruled. To traditional elves this is The Immortal Court were even the non-elven gods came to meet with the elven panthion. it was here that the elves were born from Corellon's wound and treated as his children. Legend say that when Corellon took the primal elven beauty Sehanine Moonbow as his new consort and begain showing love for the other primal elves over his other Fey, that Lolth stoped being subtle.
In the days after the injury many of Lolth and Corellon's children begain taking more elven aperances, particularly when he begain showing more favor to them over the others. At that time even Lolth had come to find the primal elves as usfull. Hardy warriors they took to the understandings of magic like a fish to water. When the early Primal elves begain showing signs of mastering even the magic of the soul, time and even space she could not help but feel that these young fey could be the best of them. She patitioned Corellon to name her the matron of the Elven pantheon. But when Corellon took Sehanine as his lover and named her matron of the Imortal Court, Lolth felt betrayed for the first time. She had long since admited to acident that had caused the elves birth but ever since a rift had been made btween the two. But to Lolth the act of choosing a Sehanine was seen as a deliberate attack on Lolth. The Court begain the splinter. Among the fey their had always been a slight schism between those of the fey and the rest of reality, however the Seelie and Unseelie were still a united force for their fey mentor. However this action truly fractured the fey.
Lolth had always encuraged the supremisy of the Fey encuraging the Unseelie, some even calling her the mother of the Unseelie. Those that openly begain sideing with Lolth started showing more detestment for non fey entities to show her their support. but not all Unseelied joind they belived themselves above the other none fey races but these fey had begone targeting toher fey. Namley the primal elves, as they saw the elves as the sorce of their "mothers" pain. But then other elves that had manly worshiped at Lolths feet begain showing their loyalty by targeting non fey and presenting these to their elder fey. All the while the Elven deities that were born of Corellon and Lolths unions begain using their worshipers to further twist the knife.
Seeing the conflict that his actions had caused and even the splintering of his children the elves Corellon wept for the lives lost and pain inflicted. But it was when Lolth and their children actuly came for him that he finaly felt the pain that maybe Lolth did when he chose Sehanine over her. Legend again say that in his haste to defend himself he used magics that he did not mean to while some claimed that what he did was on purpose sighting eveidence that he offent thought and acted in apsolutes and caired little for shades of grey or circumstance. Reguardless the magics that he used flung Lolth and their children into The Abyss, The Realm Death, were they was ravaged by the chaotic energies. Those that survived were forever tained and the Devilish Dark Court of the Drukari were born. Now it has been mentioned that the word Drow means traitor in elvish, well the term Drukari means much the same in Sylvan, ancient fey. The second effect of Corellon's magic had banished the elves along with most fey from the Arvandor. While not cast into the Abyss many disfiguered and cursed. Almost all fey lost the ability freely change their forms, all but the most primal of fey were sparied. those called dark fey were disfiguered and cursed, notable were the Famorian's Giants that had been ordered to surve the fey by their father Annam. But Corello's magic unitensonally cut them off, and with out his guidance fell to decadense and madenss. Other like the Darklings were unable to hadle the light of the sun.
Though to many the banishment of the elves was the hardest to handle, along with the loss of their transmutative abilities. With their banishment the trans planar empire of the Fey stagnated and fractured. Creating the many kin of elves that are known, though some would not come till much later. Those elves that had sided with Lolth were never called Elves but like all that had caused the banishment were called Drukari. The Elven Drukari became the bain of the ancient Elves that now called them selves The Eldar, those elves that had managed to maintain their interplanar abilities.
This is a secodn hotly debated subject as much of this information is from before the Devistation and much is veiled as legend and hyperbole. After the banishment from Arvandor the elves wondered and explored the multiverse seeking a way to return to Arvandor. Realizing that their only way back was for Corellon to grant them forgivness a forgivenss that would take life times to gain. Unintentionaly this lead to the second Elven empire as it was called in the days before the Devistation. This was the silver age of the elven people when most still called themselves Eldar and travled using ancient fey magics that allowed near instant travle in the matirial plane. It was through this the Elves begain to come to understand their place in reality. Dragon and Giants waged their wars in the distant corners of creation and other races had not taken to or were not shown the same level magic or care as Corellon had shown them.
While the Drukari acted as raiders the Eldar saught to protect the "lesser" races and brought them under they shared protection of the Empire's banner. It was this act that many religus scholors belive brought about the inclusion of many non elvish deities being included in the Imortal Court. And While the Second Elven Empire was manly only in the Fey wilds and the many planets of the Matirial its was still a vast empire that resmbled the one of the pre-banishment. While the elves had lost the fey trasmutative ability they did realize that their mastering of magics could still allow them to augment their bodies with enough time. With enogh time these augments became perminant and certain elven Kin begain to become more common, the Sea Elves and Stone Elves comeing from agmentations to allow the elves to live on worlds that made that would have been more dificult to survive without the ability to breath in water or greater vision in worlds with less light. High elves born of the worlds were civilisation could flurish, and Wood elves in more forested and primal words. It was this that allowed so many veried elves to exist and for unknown ages they did until the Devisation.
When the Devistation begain the Eldar had to make a choice. The creator, a being they were well arare of and saw as a sort of Grandfather like being, had offered to bring the Eldar and great number of their people to E'ven-dra. Those that lacked the ability ability to make the trip on their own, lived on the furthest edges of the emipre or would be unable to aide in the evacuation of their words would take the Creators offer and arive first. Mean while those that could make the trip via the Eldar Ships would help evakuate as many elven worlds as posible before making for E'ven-dra. What none could have known was that world was not to be theirs alone and that not all that gathered would actualy be brought. The Creator had told them that he would make a final call and that not all could be or would be saved this way. to this extent many Elves that hoped to transported also gathered with the understanding that this could be their deaths.
As the creator had made it clear that the Devourer would cunsume their souls as well the Elves understood that to not be saved would mean the end of their soul and their place in the sycle of rebirth the elves belived in. Fearing this many Eldar ships offered the right of "Consaqution" to as many as they could, a prossess by which a soul would be instead placed in a Soul Stone or Luxan, beliving that the pull of the luxan was stronger than that of the Devourer. in extreem cases those chosen for the ritual were offered a vial of poison if they so wished to not test this theory. With the Luxan's they could bring a near unlimited number of people that would have not been able to.
Meanwhile those elves brough to Evendra found themselves on a land mase along with several others races most notable among them were their ancient allies and friends the Orcs and Goblinoids (the Hobgoblins, Goblins, @Bugbears) along with Halflings and Gnomes .
However the start of the first dance and the fact that Giants and Dragons took to the event like no other, ment that many elves particularly those that understood the old magics were actually lost. For while the Creator had sent them to this world to save them the Spirits of E'ven-dra emediatly took to treating them as playthings. The Dance saw almost ever elf of standing dead if they were not able to flee tot he Fey wileds. But even here Drukari had hidden away further devistating the elven ranks. Those that could became first of The Fey Elves and Shadow Elves. Others like the few Eldar that came created Bastions of their ancient ways. trying as the could to build great monolith like structurs that were destroyed in the next day by warring Dragons and Giants. Eventualy even other races devolved into simple hunter gather like groups. They saw Humans just trying to survive, those that had seemed to come lacking any true survival skills but instead only caired a sence of intitled self import only to learn that the elves had long since surpased them in may ways.
In the madness of the first dance the horros of its after math many elves feared a return to something similar to the humans. However the few Eldar that came were able to help establish contact with the Eladian of this worlds Fey Wild and broker an agreement with its Archfey. From here the elves begain to spread, many elves forming societies of their own. Many remained in the land they first arived in moving to an island off the western coast while other begain to explore the land.
Unbeknownst to the elves, the creator had tried to save all that they saw as their creations including those that become Drukari. As the Elves exploered the world they discovered Drukari in hiden corners who saught to take this world for their own. Some presented them selves as survivors of the devistation and managed to infultrate the Elven ranks intergrating themselves into new elven society. Until one day they struck, incuraging the Eldari lords that they should not have allowed the Dragons to take this worlds reigns, they orginized a sort of coupe. In the after math many elven societies were either destroyed or crippled. Leaving the elves with only a handfull of places untuched, most of which were elven enclaves that by and large bent the knee to their dragon masters. These included the island nation the Eldari had established as a new Elven capital on the planet. Those Elves that participated in the coupe were from that point were called Drow, an elvish word meaning traitor to further denote the elves that had choosen to ignore the tentative peace this world had after the dance. After this the elves did settle into their new land for a time, at least until the 6th age.
After the Dragons defeat in the 6th age and the death of the dwarven king of kings line in the 5th year of the 6th age. The Drukari once more stroked the flames of elven wrath. Learning from the past they did not try to derectly force elven rebelion but instead used logic to encurage conquest. "If the dwarves would abandon the surface and the gnome have no want to rule then it falls to the Elves to enforce order". This was a common sentiment at the time that encuraged elves to see themselves as the planets guardians till the next dance. This fead the arogance of the High elves and Eladrian, and warrior nature of the Sand, Sea, amd Wood elves. Leading derectly to the Elven Conquests of the first half of the 6th age. Many historical scholars point to this as the mind set of the elves that finally entered the the Vail river valley of the Vail continent. Particularly the region tht would become Albion.
It was actualy here that the elves established their second largest court outside of Cohn and Avalon and from it we actualy see a divergeance in culture between these locations, see culture and cultural heratige for more. This ended with the 6th age and the rise of an elven king of kings in the 7th age.
Elven rule lasted through 3 dances, the 7th-9th, leading to nearly 3,000 years of elven rule. Through out this age the Drukari and Drow hid, taking pleasure in the control and dominance they had during the elven age. However in the waining years of the 9th age an Drow mage whos name seems to have been struck from the record atempted what is offten called the 3rd betrayal. For the most part this is a story told by others, to most elves it is seen as their greatest folly and what in the end hombles the elves to some extent. The long and short og it is as follows.
The 7th son of the curent elven king of kings wishes to become king and seeks out a spirit that would alligh itself with him in his surch he discovers the being known as The Maestro, Cyric, spirit of memory. Cyric offers the young prince the power to become king but in exchange seeks the elfs help in makeing himself the only divine entity left in the matirial plain be erasing the memories of all other spirits. To which the young prince agrees and the two go about, what can only be called, cheating the system of the dance of kings. Now there is some debate over who's idea it was to erase the memories of the other spirits. Some point out that Cyric was by enlarge a peacfull spirit prior to his encounter with the prince while other beleave he simply hid it well as the same could be said of the prince. The most popular belife is that both the prince and Cyric both simply were a match made in the abyss and brought the worst out in one another. Leading to them to enact the plan that would nearly succeed if not for the efforts of the Arrow the Scheemer and the Savenguard family.
Reguardless of why the event of the 10th dance was the straw that broke many peoples back and lead many to distrust elves even more. Many Albions even to this day bring up the the brutality of the elves during the 6th age, their cuntinued aragance through the 9th and finaly the actions during the 10th dance as reasons to not trust them. For while the princes actions should be seen as his own many elves that would not cunsider themselves Drow or supported the princes actions either would have or did reap benefits from them. In the end after the events of the 10th Dance many Elves were forced to back in verius actions that saw their holding outside of Cohn vastly reduced. with only a handfull of large setlments and Dutchy sized kingdoms left. Most with very tentative peaces with their non elven natives, or absorbed into larger kingdoms. Some by force even.
Lolth’s action were her first betrayal that went all but unnoticed as Kezef caused a greater distraction, but the other fey did not forget. Corellon treated the elves as his own children born of his divine blood, and insisted the Fey Spirits like Lolth to treat them as such, to which they actually greatly accepted.
Elves have a unique connection to the The Dream Lands, Realm of Twilight, Elven souls constantly undergo reincarnation to better reach Arvandor, Corellon’s domain. But to do so the elves had to prove they were worthy and learn the lessons they needed to learn. But it became obvious that when a soul is reincarnated it lacks the memories of its past, however Elven scholars noticed that the dream lands retained evidence of these pasts and that in rare instances the dream self could be fully aware of certain events. To this extent elves figured out a way to disassociate their dream selves from their waking selves. This made it so that the Dream Self would retain all knowledge of the souls entire existence. However there was a price to be paired for this, The Elves found that they could no longer sleep and there for no longer dream. However still the elves again found a work around, by entering a state of meditation they could still interact with their dream self and learn the lessons of the past they needed. This became the trance that elves are known for.
After their birth the elves called the fey and matirial planes home mastering magical means of freely being able to travers existance. Building a vast transe planar empire the likes of which has never been seen since. At the center of this vast empire sat the fey homeland Arvandor in outer most planes of the Astra Sea. Here Corellon and his chosen fey ruled. To traditional elves this is The Immortal Court were even the non-elven gods came to meet with the elven panthion. it was here that the elves were born from Corellon's wound and treated as his children. Legend say that when Corellon took the primal elven beauty Sehanine Moonbow as his new consort and begain showing love for the other primal elves over his other Fey, that Lolth stoped being subtle.
The ejection from Arvandor and Lolth's Betrayal
In the days after the injury many of Lolth and Corellon's children begain taking more elven aperances, particularly when he begain showing more favor to them over the others. At that time even Lolth had come to find the primal elves as usfull. Hardy warriors they took to the understandings of magic like a fish to water. When the early Primal elves begain showing signs of mastering even the magic of the soul, time and even space she could not help but feel that these young fey could be the best of them. She patitioned Corellon to name her the matron of the Elven pantheon. But when Corellon took Sehanine as his lover and named her matron of the Imortal Court, Lolth felt betrayed for the first time. She had long since admited to acident that had caused the elves birth but ever since a rift had been made btween the two. But to Lolth the act of choosing a Sehanine was seen as a deliberate attack on Lolth. The Court begain the splinter. Among the fey their had always been a slight schism between those of the fey and the rest of reality, however the Seelie and Unseelie were still a united force for their fey mentor. However this action truly fractured the fey.
Lolth had always encuraged the supremisy of the Fey encuraging the Unseelie, some even calling her the mother of the Unseelie. Those that openly begain sideing with Lolth started showing more detestment for non fey entities to show her their support. but not all Unseelied joind they belived themselves above the other none fey races but these fey had begone targeting toher fey. Namley the primal elves, as they saw the elves as the sorce of their "mothers" pain. But then other elves that had manly worshiped at Lolths feet begain showing their loyalty by targeting non fey and presenting these to their elder fey. All the while the Elven deities that were born of Corellon and Lolths unions begain using their worshipers to further twist the knife.
Seeing the conflict that his actions had caused and even the splintering of his children the elves Corellon wept for the lives lost and pain inflicted. But it was when Lolth and their children actuly came for him that he finaly felt the pain that maybe Lolth did when he chose Sehanine over her. Legend again say that in his haste to defend himself he used magics that he did not mean to while some claimed that what he did was on purpose sighting eveidence that he offent thought and acted in apsolutes and caired little for shades of grey or circumstance. Reguardless the magics that he used flung Lolth and their children into The Abyss, The Realm Death, were they was ravaged by the chaotic energies. Those that survived were forever tained and the Devilish Dark Court of the Drukari were born. Now it has been mentioned that the word Drow means traitor in elvish, well the term Drukari means much the same in Sylvan, ancient fey. The second effect of Corellon's magic had banished the elves along with most fey from the Arvandor. While not cast into the Abyss many disfiguered and cursed. Almost all fey lost the ability freely change their forms, all but the most primal of fey were sparied. those called dark fey were disfiguered and cursed, notable were the Famorian's Giants that had been ordered to surve the fey by their father Annam. But Corello's magic unitensonally cut them off, and with out his guidance fell to decadense and madenss. Other like the Darklings were unable to hadle the light of the sun.
Though to many the banishment of the elves was the hardest to handle, along with the loss of their transmutative abilities. With their banishment the trans planar empire of the Fey stagnated and fractured. Creating the many kin of elves that are known, though some would not come till much later. Those elves that had sided with Lolth were never called Elves but like all that had caused the banishment were called Drukari. The Elven Drukari became the bain of the ancient Elves that now called them selves The Eldar, those elves that had managed to maintain their interplanar abilities.
The Second Elven Empire
This is a secodn hotly debated subject as much of this information is from before the Devistation and much is veiled as legend and hyperbole. After the banishment from Arvandor the elves wondered and explored the multiverse seeking a way to return to Arvandor. Realizing that their only way back was for Corellon to grant them forgivness a forgivenss that would take life times to gain. Unintentionaly this lead to the second Elven empire as it was called in the days before the Devistation. This was the silver age of the elven people when most still called themselves Eldar and travled using ancient fey magics that allowed near instant travle in the matirial plane. It was through this the Elves begain to come to understand their place in reality. Dragon and Giants waged their wars in the distant corners of creation and other races had not taken to or were not shown the same level magic or care as Corellon had shown them.
While the Drukari acted as raiders the Eldar saught to protect the "lesser" races and brought them under they shared protection of the Empire's banner. It was this act that many religus scholors belive brought about the inclusion of many non elvish deities being included in the Imortal Court. And While the Second Elven Empire was manly only in the Fey wilds and the many planets of the Matirial its was still a vast empire that resmbled the one of the pre-banishment. While the elves had lost the fey trasmutative ability they did realize that their mastering of magics could still allow them to augment their bodies with enough time. With enogh time these augments became perminant and certain elven Kin begain to become more common, the Sea Elves and Stone Elves comeing from agmentations to allow the elves to live on worlds that made that would have been more dificult to survive without the ability to breath in water or greater vision in worlds with less light. High elves born of the worlds were civilisation could flurish, and Wood elves in more forested and primal words. It was this that allowed so many veried elves to exist and for unknown ages they did until the Devisation.
Devistation and the arival in E'ven-dra
When the Devistation begain the Eldar had to make a choice. The creator, a being they were well arare of and saw as a sort of Grandfather like being, had offered to bring the Eldar and great number of their people to E'ven-dra. Those that lacked the ability ability to make the trip on their own, lived on the furthest edges of the emipre or would be unable to aide in the evacuation of their words would take the Creators offer and arive first. Mean while those that could make the trip via the Eldar Ships would help evakuate as many elven worlds as posible before making for E'ven-dra. What none could have known was that world was not to be theirs alone and that not all that gathered would actualy be brought. The Creator had told them that he would make a final call and that not all could be or would be saved this way. to this extent many Elves that hoped to transported also gathered with the understanding that this could be their deaths.
As the creator had made it clear that the Devourer would cunsume their souls as well the Elves understood that to not be saved would mean the end of their soul and their place in the sycle of rebirth the elves belived in. Fearing this many Eldar ships offered the right of "Consaqution" to as many as they could, a prossess by which a soul would be instead placed in a Soul Stone or Luxan, beliving that the pull of the luxan was stronger than that of the Devourer. in extreem cases those chosen for the ritual were offered a vial of poison if they so wished to not test this theory. With the Luxan's they could bring a near unlimited number of people that would have not been able to.
Meanwhile those elves brough to Evendra found themselves on a land mase along with several others races most notable among them were their ancient allies and friends the Orcs and Goblinoids (the Hobgoblins, Goblins, @Bugbears) along with Halflings and Gnomes .
However the start of the first dance and the fact that Giants and Dragons took to the event like no other, ment that many elves particularly those that understood the old magics were actually lost. For while the Creator had sent them to this world to save them the Spirits of E'ven-dra emediatly took to treating them as playthings. The Dance saw almost ever elf of standing dead if they were not able to flee tot he Fey wileds. But even here Drukari had hidden away further devistating the elven ranks. Those that could became first of The Fey Elves and Shadow Elves. Others like the few Eldar that came created Bastions of their ancient ways. trying as the could to build great monolith like structurs that were destroyed in the next day by warring Dragons and Giants. Eventualy even other races devolved into simple hunter gather like groups. They saw Humans just trying to survive, those that had seemed to come lacking any true survival skills but instead only caired a sence of intitled self import only to learn that the elves had long since surpased them in may ways.
In the madness of the first dance the horros of its after math many elves feared a return to something similar to the humans. However the few Eldar that came were able to help establish contact with the Eladian of this worlds Fey Wild and broker an agreement with its Archfey. From here the elves begain to spread, many elves forming societies of their own. Many remained in the land they first arived in moving to an island off the western coast while other begain to explore the land.
The 2nd Betrayal and Last Conquest
Unbeknownst to the elves, the creator had tried to save all that they saw as their creations including those that become Drukari. As the Elves exploered the world they discovered Drukari in hiden corners who saught to take this world for their own. Some presented them selves as survivors of the devistation and managed to infultrate the Elven ranks intergrating themselves into new elven society. Until one day they struck, incuraging the Eldari lords that they should not have allowed the Dragons to take this worlds reigns, they orginized a sort of coupe. In the after math many elven societies were either destroyed or crippled. Leaving the elves with only a handfull of places untuched, most of which were elven enclaves that by and large bent the knee to their dragon masters. These included the island nation the Eldari had established as a new Elven capital on the planet. Those Elves that participated in the coupe were from that point were called Drow, an elvish word meaning traitor to further denote the elves that had choosen to ignore the tentative peace this world had after the dance. After this the elves did settle into their new land for a time, at least until the 6th age.
After the Dragons defeat in the 6th age and the death of the dwarven king of kings line in the 5th year of the 6th age. The Drukari once more stroked the flames of elven wrath. Learning from the past they did not try to derectly force elven rebelion but instead used logic to encurage conquest. "If the dwarves would abandon the surface and the gnome have no want to rule then it falls to the Elves to enforce order". This was a common sentiment at the time that encuraged elves to see themselves as the planets guardians till the next dance. This fead the arogance of the High elves and Eladrian, and warrior nature of the Sand, Sea, amd Wood elves. Leading derectly to the Elven Conquests of the first half of the 6th age. Many historical scholars point to this as the mind set of the elves that finally entered the the Vail river valley of the Vail continent. Particularly the region tht would become Albion.
It was actualy here that the elves established their second largest court outside of Cohn and Avalon and from it we actualy see a divergeance in culture between these locations, see culture and cultural heratige for more. This ended with the 6th age and the rise of an elven king of kings in the 7th age.
The 10th Dance and the 3rd betrayal
Elven rule lasted through 3 dances, the 7th-9th, leading to nearly 3,000 years of elven rule. Through out this age the Drukari and Drow hid, taking pleasure in the control and dominance they had during the elven age. However in the waining years of the 9th age an Drow mage whos name seems to have been struck from the record atempted what is offten called the 3rd betrayal. For the most part this is a story told by others, to most elves it is seen as their greatest folly and what in the end hombles the elves to some extent. The long and short og it is as follows.
The 7th son of the curent elven king of kings wishes to become king and seeks out a spirit that would alligh itself with him in his surch he discovers the being known as The Maestro, Cyric, spirit of memory. Cyric offers the young prince the power to become king but in exchange seeks the elfs help in makeing himself the only divine entity left in the matirial plain be erasing the memories of all other spirits. To which the young prince agrees and the two go about, what can only be called, cheating the system of the dance of kings. Now there is some debate over who's idea it was to erase the memories of the other spirits. Some point out that Cyric was by enlarge a peacfull spirit prior to his encounter with the prince while other beleave he simply hid it well as the same could be said of the prince. The most popular belife is that both the prince and Cyric both simply were a match made in the abyss and brought the worst out in one another. Leading to them to enact the plan that would nearly succeed if not for the efforts of the Arrow the Scheemer and the Savenguard family.
Reguardless of why the event of the 10th dance was the straw that broke many peoples back and lead many to distrust elves even more. Many Albions even to this day bring up the the brutality of the elves during the 6th age, their cuntinued aragance through the 9th and finaly the actions during the 10th dance as reasons to not trust them. For while the princes actions should be seen as his own many elves that would not cunsider themselves Drow or supported the princes actions either would have or did reap benefits from them. In the end after the events of the 10th Dance many Elves were forced to back in verius actions that saw their holding outside of Cohn vastly reduced. with only a handfull of large setlments and Dutchy sized kingdoms left. Most with very tentative peaces with their non elven natives, or absorbed into larger kingdoms. Some by force even.
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