Elves

"The Twins made us from light and darkness, from joy and sorrow, and from the brightest spark, to the coldest snowflake..." Aeslioth Venndrinn, Elven Mage
"Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies. Elves are glamorous. They project glamour. Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment. Elves are terrific. They beget terror. The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning. No one ever said elves are nice. Elves are bad.” Terry Pratchett

From the shining Elven Floating Cities, standing in the sky like diamonds, to the Greenborn glades hidden from prying eyes, to the Duskborn cities deep in the earth, gathering the heat and steam from the deep parts of the World-Below, and to even the mysterious Oceanborn, whom are returning from years of self-imposed exile, in the darkest depths of the ocean, the Elves are one of the most enigmatic races of the continent, and one that everyone does not entirely trust... They look like they share much of the same values as the everyone else, but let us not forget they are slightly Fae: Their floating cities can pass through the The Mistfae Coast and the the Grasslands of Ikele no problem at all, and they seem to go to war for the slightest of reasons, and even go as far as kidnap sorcerers and not bat an eye at destroying civilizations based on hearsay.
They say they have changed, but, can anyone really trust an Elf?.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Most elves are slender and lithe in comparison to other races, but amongst themselves they also have certain differences. As most of the other humanoid races, they share the same anatomy: two arms, two legs, a single head, but unlike humans, their ears are leaf-shaped, and can see well enough in the dark.
The High-Born elves are the most comely of the three, with aquiline profiles and generally soft-spoken. High-born elves that live amongst themselves might have removed an arm, a hand, or perhaps an eye, only to replace it with a prosthetic limb, animated with magic.
The Green-born are slightly shorter of the elves, and even the most clumsy of their kind can easily hide in wild areas from enemies, they have strong legs and slightly more muscled build.
The Drow (or simply known as Dusk-born) have a similar physique to the High-born, but they have bigger eyes; their skin is pitch black, and their hair is often grey or white.
The Ocean-born are the strangest of the lot, for they have lost their eyes, and skin covers where their eye-sockets should be; their ears are smaller and more shut compared to their kind, and their arms and legs are slightly longer, but are well-defined. In both surface and land, their other senses are well attuned, able to perceive things as if they had eye-sight, to a point; but, they can even sense hidden threats, and the most attuned of them can sometimes even sense the Embers of Magic.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Elves are well-known for their good eyesight (especially in the night) and their hearing, but few know that they also have a keen sense of smell, able to perceive even the most subtle smells in the air.

Civilization and Culture

Average Technological Level

Even before the War of Winter's Fire, the elves in general had acquired a mastery over steam technology, and blending it slightly with magic, making its engines and power much more efficient. After the war, the High-born decided to use their magic to lift their cities into the sky with apallingly powerful magic, which caused many of their wizards to die in the process, but with it, they left to their devices, and now they seem to have not only blended their magic and technology to staggering levels, but also attainted a new way to harness power: Through lightning itself.
The Dusk-born still have a level of Thaumaturge-Steam slightly higher to their early years, but slowly they have progressed, and they share in this technology with others, in hopes that no one is 'left behind'.
The Green-born and Ocean-born disdain this use of technology for different reasons, instead relying on their own brawn, wit, and magic, though the Ocean-born are not above using any tools of artifice if they need to.

History

In the subject of the history of the elves, also known as the shinning sons of Bael-Nost, it is difficult to find truly neutral pieces of researched history, for either those who write it are the elves themselves, or their enemies; alas, I have found several pieces of different points of view on each of the different varieties of these earthbound fey.
The Elves refer to themselves as the Mael-fer-ka-Bael Nost, which in the common trade-tongue means ‘Firstbotn of Bael-Nost’, and according to their history, were the first non-draconic sentient creatures to have came to this world, after the arrival of the gods- despite the Aztelani scrolls dispute this claim, calling the elves simply as the Sons of the Laughing Twins- despite this, all texts seem to agree that the elves were to ‘spread light and life’ in the world. So, they began to spread, and they changed depending on the land they lived.
The Highborn lived in hills and deserts, and began to take domain in the threads of magic that still lingered after the Dragonraids against the Old Ones, so long ago. They weaved beautiful cities from crystal and stone, and elevated mountain peaks, turning them into the floating islands and Shining Cities we see today.
The Greenborn took to the forests and jungles, spreading the Green Threads of Magic in the deepest places of these lush places, turning them into woundrous walking gardens. Some lived with the Highborn, and took it upon themselves to tend the floating gardens, and forests surrounding their cities. They came into conflict with the Aztelani, but eventually were able to convince them to leave them alone
The Lowborn, or Dark Elves as we call them today, tended to the dark places of the world, but instead of taking to magic, they took the natural lore and engineering… Eventually, they learned to forge the Threads of Fire, Mountain, Wind and Water from the runic mastery of the dwarves.
There were others, the Ocearnborn, those who lived close to the waters, and saw the changing threads of Time and Divination, but the closer they lived in the water, something called to them, and not even the elves know what it was… But they all dissapeared, and have not reappeared since then; rumors abound of eyeless elves emerging from the waters at night, and of strange silvery ships emerging from the oceans during particularily fierce storms, but all attempts to divine these sightings have come null.
Many of the previous interactions with other races have ended in suspicion or outright violence due to the almost wild and domineering attitude of the elves towards other races, and many of the stories of children stolen in the night by troupes of marching elves have probably been attributed to past conflicts with the elves, but, all these pale in comparison to war of Winter’s Fire.
In the year 678 B.I. , a terrible war between the elven clan of Vinteraeln, and the goblinoid empire of Shael-karmot, decimated the continent of Kharash, due to the monstrous use of magic and machinery used in the conflict.
The details of how the war began have been lost due to many of the manuscripts having been lost, magic disrupted, or simple due to propaganda from both sides, but the fact remains that the highborn family of Vinteraeln united several other elves from different part of Kharash, united under their banner to fight of the goblins. Many orc tribes, gnome enclaves and human tribes in the north tell stories of this conflict as a ‘twilight of the gods’ as the elves used powerful magic and machinery against the karmotian creations and goblinoid siege weapons; the land was torn asunder in their wake, and several parts of the land were forever destroyed.
Whatever the reason for the war, the result was there for all to see: the Badlands in the Southwest of the continent of where it were the city-states of Mardrak, the Crater Valley the Midland coast, where the strange blackstone obelisks rise from the grasslands, and in the North, to the former Goblin steppes. All these places have been forever ravaged by elven war-magic, causing the land to go sour, rife with chaotic magic, and other strange phenomena.
But the damage is not only in the land, the strange monsters that now dot the landscape, such as Owlbears, Otyoughs, trolls and the like, were of Karmotian design, created first as slaves or pets, but now they ravage the landscape, in search of food. Feral Ogres, mechanical constructs that the Lowborn created as heavy troops, or simple workers, now prowl the land, attacking travelers and taking steel, coal and water to sustain themselves, still working on their last commands.
The Highborn, disgusted in the the devastation they caused during the war, left the continent entierly, and now they reside in their floating cities: we sometimes still trade with them, as they still need resources they cannot extract from the floating islands that sometimes dot the landscape, and in exchange, they trade some of their magic and their use of thunder-tech with us... Though we rarely trust them, as there is something… Wild, and erratic in their behavior; but, they still share many beliefs with us such as honor, kindness, and so for the time being, there has been no reason to cut ties.
In contrast, the Greenborn retreated to their forest homes, swearing to never use the same arcane magic and technology that almost destroyed their home. They still prowl the woods and jungles, and have become a problem to farmers and villagers that ‘do not pay the respects to the woods’: From minor disruption to settlements, to downright raiding parties have been reported in the woods.
The Lowborn, however, have taken another route entirely, they felt betrayed by everyone as their inventions were used by war, and many still harbor animosity to their cousins, and instead have taken the job as teachers to the other races, with mixed results. Today, the Dark Elves have good relations with most human settlements, and have taken places of prominence in the city of Twelve-Towers, as well as in the River Kingdom of Azola.

Average Height

Under 5' to over 6' Green-Born: 4'6" Dusk-Born: 4'5" High-Born: 4'6" Ocean-Born: 4'6"

Average Weight

Slender High-Born and Ocean-Born: 90 lbs Green-Born: 100 lbs Dusk-Born: 75 lbs