Silver Elf
But we are spirits of another sort. I with the Morning's love have oft made sport and, like a forester, the groves may tread. Even till the eastern gate, all fiery red, opening on Neptune with fair blessed beams turns into yellow gold his salt green streams. But, notwithstanding, haste, make no delay. We may effect this business yet ere day.
Silver Elves are Elves who were captured by Unseelie King Oberon and grew in the harsher Unseelie Court. While they evolved similarly to their Golden cousins, it is in starkly oppositional ways. They embraced, or were molded by, mana empowered by Autumn and Winter and gained skill in arts of stealth, secrecy, and cold harm.
Still, it has been many millenia since the Silver and Gold Elves have been sent back to the material realm, and while some aspects of their former existence remain, they have largely evolved onward in a path similar to their cousin Elves, being embraced (sometimes with reservations) into the various cultures that sprung post-unification for Hippolyta.
Historical Origin
Long after Elfkinds manifestation from Mortal Forms, the Fae courts that represented nature in all its glory gazed upon them and grew ever curious. They were the first heralds of nature, and the first to come from its life, and yet the Elves too came from the trees and roots and flowers and boughs.
Out of curiosity, the leaders of the Fae wondered if taking the Elves and putting them in their realm would turn them into Fae, as they had the same origin. Thus, Queen Titania of the Seelie and King Oberon of the Unseelie played a game, each would lead a village of these Elves into their realms, and whosoever made them Fae first would be the victor.
Neither of them would get the victory, however, as they underestimated the Mortal Forms ability to adapt to their environment, so even without becoming full Fae, the captured Elves quickly acclimated to their new environment, quickly evolving into their own demographics.
Primary Differences
Physical
While older generations of Silver Elves had starkly different appearances, taking on bug-like or bestial traits from their time in the Unseelie Court, but younger generations have lost many of these adaptations, save for cases of atavism. For the most part, a modern Silver Elf may have strange eyes or have a set of non-functioning wings along their spine, but will be like their cousin Elves.
Silver Elves also tend to be rather lithe and have difficulty developing muscle, with next to zero sexual dimorphism and the largest chance of intersex children among Elves.
The largest differences that remain are their pigmentation and their innate magical ability. Skin tone wise, Silver Elves are commonly, well, Silver with various undertones bringing out some semblance of saturation to their skin. Melanin differences can change this silvery hue from anything between a light gray bordering chromatic white or, on the other end of the scale, a dark gray nearly chromatic black. The aforementioned undertones can present in any hue, but tend to be more cool toned on average, with their eyes and hair following suit.
In terms of physical changes, Silver Elves also tend to have sharper, predator-esque teeth, although it doesn't seem to get in their way for other forms of food consumption. They also tend to have quite the alcohol tolerance, allegedly, but a thorough study has not yet been performed in a scientific manner.
For their connection to magic, Silver Elves have an innate talent at wielding mana, either for spellcasting or in more subtle ways, and like the Fae that began their evolutionary line they can change with the seasons.
On the subtle side of things, Silver Elves' undertones and hair/eye coloration becomes more saturated in the Autumn and Winter, and they tend to have more internal energy. They also have a knack for feeling out changes in mana around them, the general Elven trait of sharpened senses being turned towards the magical and ephemeral in their case.
On the spellcasting side, Silver Elves have a knack for the "left hand" schools of magic, Illusion, Necromancy, Oration, and Destruction. This doesn't mean that they are locked in to these schools or using them in destructive ways, but the energy that goes into them flows more easily through Silver Elves.
For those who are born spellcasters, or train to be one, they do tend to gain some guidance or connection to the Fae, either in their blood a la sorcerers, or through the education they adopt later on, such as Wizards and Pactmages.
Cultural
By and large, Silver Elves are seen just like any other Elf, especially abroad. Most of the dramatic effects of Unseelie life have faded several generations ago, but some cultural impressions remain. Overall, the cultural prejudices around Silver Elves revolve around eccentricity, with both them and Gold Elves being seen as mercurial and dramatic. Silver Elves particularly are also seen in much the same way as full Unseelie, cold and harsh with an eye for malevolent mischief.
This isn't aided by several Silver Elf families in Hippolytan high society having such attitudes and thanking their heritage for it, giving them a "brutal edge to break the competition" in their own words. But, as can be expected, these are not guaranteed, but when has that stopped assumptions before?
Some Silver Elves have, in fact, gone the complete other direction, embracing the bleakness and dourness of the Unseelie court to an exaggerated degree, playing up the stereotypes to the point it's nearly comical. While the exact ways this trend is enacted depends on the various cultures these Silver Elves find themselves in, it's a statement against assumptions overall, and is more prominent in Hippolyta itself since other national cultures care little about Elven prejudices.
When it comes to magic, the Silver Elves of yesteryear did aid in better understanding of the Unseelie Courts, and many prime researchers into the Court or the various schools of magic they have talent in were Silver Elves themselves. Where the Sun and Moon Elves mastered Agriculture and Hunting/Foraging, Silver Elves are seen as masters of the aforementioned Left Hand Magic, and added their skills to the Moon Elves hunting to form the backbone of Hippolytan military tactics.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Silver Elves only have origins in Hippolyta, since they were stolen from and returned to the land by the Unseelie court. Obviously, as modern members of society, they have spread all over Edda, especially where Elves are more common, but Silver Elves are not naturally occurring from other locations like Elves who evolved naturally.
Silver Elves still retain the Elven trend of camouflage marks, but instead of for survival any marks that are on a Silver Elf tend to be ornamental and assign some manner of lineage. History has forgotten, hidden, or changed a lot of these markings, but some theorize it was a way to show which Silver Elves were owned by an Unseelie of certain stations, before the subspecies was sent back to Hippolyta.
When these marks are prominent, many have decided to wear them as personal icons or fashion statements, like a dazzling birthmark or an iconic tattoo, both to remove the theorized stigma of ownership and to flaunt what they've got.
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