High Elf
High Elves in Ghemjana are often called "Sun Elves" and are the most common subrace of Elves in Ghemjana. Originally descended from the Eladrin Elves of the Feywild, High Elves found their home in the material plane to be much more to their liking. Over time they spread to nearly every world and plane, only outmatched by the humans. A smaller group of High Elves, known as "Moon Elves" are also prevalent in the world, though few outside of elven society can tell the two apart, save for skin tones. While both groups are high elves, they have very different temperaments and mannerisms.
Basic Information
Ecology and Habitats
High elves thrive in larger communities than many of their elven kin. Wood Elves, for example, become restless, agitated and even moody when confined too long from open spaces and the fresh air of nature. High elves go and live anywhere, and are quite at home in nearly any environment, with one caveat; high elves tend to like to stick together and not be alone or away from their kin. While not impossible, elves have a very connected experience through their gods and the reliving of past lives every night during their trance, and this makes separation from their kin to be a unpleasant or even painful experience, if gone on for too long.
Behaviour
Due to their longevity and strong ties to the otherworldly magic of the Feywild, high elves have a detached view of the world outside of their sphere. High elves as a whole have difficulty believing that the events occurring over mere "years" affect them in any major way, with the exception of major tragedies such as the Time of Troubles or the Spellplague. High elves instead look at things from a much longer perspective, unconcerned with anything that has consequences that stretch over anything less than decades. However, while some high elves are content to seclude themselves, others stalk the lands as champions battling the evil just outside of a high elven city's magical wards.
This detached view of the world could make high elves seem distant and intimidating, not to mention haughty and arrogant. Furthermore, the powerful fey nature of high elves might frighten less magically talented races. High elves, however, take friendships quickly to heart and can react with rage when their compatriots are threatened. Combined with their general intelligence, bravery, and arcane power, this loyalty to friends makes them formidable allies and dangerous enemies.
Though perhaps haughty in their view of it, many feel a need to explore the world around them and are curious, particularly in their youth.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
In Ghemjana, high elves can be found on every major continent, but are most prevalent on the continent of Southland, where the Great Elven Empire is located. On Hestoria, the high elves gather in large numbers in Ak'na Dul, particularly in their magically warded cities.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
High elves are graceful, intelligent beings, with a greater capacity for intelligence than most humanoid races while also possessing an agility comparable with their elven kin. High elves are also unusually strong-willed and have a natural resistance to the effects of enchantment spells. High elves also have no need for sleep in the same way most humanoids do, instead going into a trance. While in a trance, high elves remain fully aware of their immediate surroundings. Furthermore, high elves needed only rest for four hours to get the same effect that most other humanoids get from six hours of sleep.
Perhaps most notable, however, is an ability possessed by high elves prior to the First Sundering and regained after the Spellplague. This ability, known as fey step, allows a high elf to slip out of the Prime and into the Feywild, or vice versa, with relative ease.
Civilization and Culture
Common Dress Code
High elven clothing is often simple and functional, but does not lack beauty and grace any more than other clothing, with complex and beautiful patterns woven into the cloth. The clothing, while otherwise non-fanciful, is often made of superior materials to those used in other clothes. Most high elves prefer clothing of natural colors such as green, but others will wear garments of garish hues, particularly during holy days or festivals.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
High elven society long straddled the boundary between the Prime Material Plane and Faerie. High elven cities are magnificent marvels of elegant architecture made of wondrous towers and structures that blend seamlessly into places of natural beauty. Many high elven cities are found in locations where the border between the Prime and the Feywild is particularly thin—isolated mountain vales, green islands, storm-wracked coasts, and the deepest reaches of ancient forests. Some high elven realms exist entirely in the Feywild, or at least partially so, most famously in the case of Evermeet. Many of these cities cross over occasionally into the Prime before winking out of existence entirely.
High elves live in grace with the touch of magic found throughout their lives, as exemplified by Corellon, the patron god of all fey but particularly his chief creation, the high elves. High elven practices of all sorts are influenced by this, from dance and song, to swordplay and wizardry. The cities of the high elves are stunning locations of beauty, formed and shaped by the blending of magic with graceful and elegant designs.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Most high elves train themselves in the use of a longsword, a weapon important to their culture, religion, and heritage.
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