Elves

The first Elves did not walk on Malkor. In fact, they can trace their origins to Asakar itself, creations of the goddess Freyir. Such legends are still told in the elven lands, though certain kin of elves prefer other stories to Freyir's.
Though they hold stronger feelings of alliance towards each other than the younger races, the elves are finely split between themselves, and share little goodwill toward each other. Only in the face of a greater adversary will they put aside their differences. Elves live long lives, and hold even longer grudges.
Elves encountered outside their own lands are commonly travelling minstrels, favoured artists, or wandering sages. Human nobles compete for the services of elf instructors to teach swordplay to their children.
Elves take up adventuring out of wanderlust. Being long-lived, they can enjoy centuries of exploration and discovery. They dislike the pace of human society, which is both regimented from day to day but ever changing over decades, so they find careers that let them to travel freely and set their own pace. Elves also enjoy exercising their martial prowess or gaining greater magical power, and adventuring allows them to do so. Some might be rebels, usually against unjust repression, while others might be champions of just causes.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Elves are tall, slender humanoids. Their ears are slightly longer, and much sharper than a human's.
Elven anatomy is quite alien, in comparison to other creatures of Malkor. They possess two hearts and their bodies are made as living conduits of magical energy.
High elves are the most human; They look like beautiful, slender humans, though their ears are far longer and sharper than other elves (and of course humans).
Wood elves are horned, and their bodies are thinner than most elves; A normal misconception is to think that wood elves are malnutritioned.
Drow are more powerfully built than their cousins, and their ears are much more on the scale of humans, only having the sharp edge at the top.

Biological Traits

All elves can trace some of their traits to a different plane. From an ancient magical contract, the wood elves have more fey energies than the other elves, hence their horns. The high elves have longer ears and look more human than their fellow cousins, token from the Silver Spires constantly drawing mana from Malkor and saturating its people. Their ears are often very expressive, not unlike several animals' ears. The high elves themselves often restrain themselves to not show it, however.
The drow, however, have black skin, unfailingly silver hair, and eye color varying between yellow and red hues.

Genetics and Reproduction

Elves reproduce like humans, though their impregnation period is longer, roughly five times as long.

Growth Rate & Stages

Elves take more than two hundred years to properly mature physically. In the case of wood elves, their horns don't grow until they reach puberty, which starts when they reach fifty years old.

Ecology and Habitats

Elves live close to mana nexi, and integrate their structures and housing close to the world's leylines.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Elves need monthly intakes of mana in addition to daily nutrients. To compensate, they have designed several different kinds of food injected with mana.
Without magical nutrients, elves literally wither. They become scrawnier, lose muscle mass, and look far older in appearance. This state is reversed simply by ingesting mana. To clarify, an elf doesn't need mana for actual survival, but must consume mana to ever reach their physical peak. It should be noted that in the current day, it's very easy to find magical food, and almost taverns and restaurants serve mana food to their patrons.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

High elves are focused in the north, around the Silver Spires, the high elven capital. The high elven lands are vast, but very sparsely spread out.
Wood elves are spread throughout the Larinia forest, which stretches from the western ridges of the edges of Malkor's western seaside, far into the dwarven barrens.

Average Intelligence

Elves are inherently reliant on magic. This even holds true to their sapience. An elf's intelligence is often above average, but it their mind turns sluggish and slow if left without their mana.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Elves see the world with reduced sensetivity to red light, but they can more easily discern the origin of noices. They can also hear further than other sapients.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Elves are considered children until they declare themselves adults, some time after the hundredth birthday, and before this period they are called by child names.
On declaring adulthood, an elf selects an adult name, although those who knew him or her as a youngster might continue to use the child name. Each elf’s adult name is a unique creation, though it might reflect the names of respected individuals or other family members. Little distinction exists between male names and female names; the groupings here reflect only general tendencies. In addition, every elf bears a family name, typically a combination of other Elvish words. Some elves traveling among humans translate their family names into Common, but others retain the Elvish version.
Example Child Names. Ara, Bryn, Del, Eryn, Faen, Innil, Lael, Mella, Naill, Naeris, Phann, Rael, Rinn, Sai, Syllin, Thia, Vall
Example Male Adult Names. Adran, Aelar, Aramil, Arannis, Aust, Beiro, Berrian, Carric, Enialis, Erdan, Erevan, Galinndan, Hadarai, Heian, Himo, Immeral, Ivellios, Laucian, Mindartis, Paelias, Peren, Quarion, Riardon, Rolen, Soveliss, Thamior, Tharivol, Theren, Varis
Example Female Adult Names. Adrie, Althaea, Anastrianna, Andraste, Antinua, Bethrynna, Birel, Caelynn, Drusilia, Enna, Felosial, Ielenia, Jelenneth, Keyleth, Leshanna, Lia, Meriele, Mialee, Naivara, Quelenna, Quillathe, Sariel, Shanairra, Shava, Silaqui, Theirastra, Thia, Vadania, Valanthe, Xanaphia
Family Names (Common Translations). Amakiir (Gemflower), Amastacia (Starflower), Galanodel (Moonwhisper), Holimion (Diamonddew), Ilphelkiir (Gemblossom), Liadon (Silverfrond), Meliamne (Oakenheel), Naïlo (Nightbreeze), Siannodel (Moonbrook), Xiloscient (Goldpetal)

Major Organizations

All elven kind have their own governing bodies and lands; By modern standards they could all be considered autonomous countries.
High elves hold a society built through a caste system, with any political intrigues and dilemmas.
Wood elves are more primitive in their methods, but hierarchy still holds a strong position in their society.
Drow society is almost identical to the high elven, except disdain and betrayal is far more open and bloody than high elven displays of and bouts for power.

Beauty Ideals

Elves find beauty in symmetry, in natural-looking and in "magical" things, though the word "magical" describes a very loose genre. Often an elf will look to find someone else who is also an elf, or at the very least "elf-like".

Courtship Ideals

To elves, importance is to show beauty. Price may be more important at some places, but if it's ugly it matters not the cost of time, money or materials it took.

Relationship Ideals

Because elves are so long-lived, they often look for equally long-lived creatures to establish relationships with.

Average Technological Level

High elves have a higher technological level reached than their other cousins, especially in incorporating magic into their everyday lives.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

All elves speak dialects of Elvish, and though a number of elves show great disdain towards it, they know common, recognizinig its value. It's not uncommon for a high-ranking elf to speak with an interpreter to translate into common for them.

Common Dress Code

Elves dress in clothes that accentuate their own beauty, often choosing simpler designs. Often their clothes can look rather uniform.

History

Freiyr originally designed the first elves as self-aware conduits of mana, intended to be used for efficient mana harvesting and studying of other worlds. But the elves grew in their own directions, and made deals with other forces in order to sever their ties to Freiyir.
Millions of years have gone by since that day happened, and elves have long since forgotten their qualm with the goddess of the hunt. Today, the elves live, disdainful of not only each other, but of the younger races as well, claiming themselves superior to the others.

Genetic Descendants

• Half-Elf

Origin/Ancestry

Humanoid

Lifespan

~4000 years

Average Height

Elves are between 1.6 and 1.9m.

Average Weight

Between ~55kg and ~90kg.

Average Physique

Elves are often toned; It's easy for an elf to keep slim, but harder to build physical muscle. Drow have an easier time building muscle than other elves.
Elves that have not in some way consumed magic for over a month will start to literally wither. They look more malnutritioned, older and more frail, even though most of their physical strength may very well be there. The horns on wood elves turn bone-colored, and their structure severely weakens, the high elves and the drow turn a severe shade paler.

Related Ethnicities

• Drow
• High Elves
• Wood Elves