The Lusterless

Many years ago when The Ruinous Rifts were freshly created by a council of mad wizards from The Shattered Collective (Region): many were those who thought themselves up to the challenge. Over time as each group descended into those dark caverns and few ever managed to return in piece - or at all, the time between each attempt grew longer and longer.
In the far southwest edge of The Trolloch Federation (Region), a race of elves dwelled in the mighty and ancient deciduous Shimmering Forest. They were a solitary group who did not take well to outsiders treading in their forest, and did not do much interacting or trading with any other groups from their own region of the island or any others. Over time they drove any other groups out of the area, and the Shimmering Woods were well tended for many years.
Eventually the leader of the tribe was succeeded by the young mage Dar'Mal. He was talented and always looking for a way to get more knowledge; more power. Through scrying afar he learned about the caverns underneath Voze Island and a seed was planted. He knew he would be the one to lead an expedition below and return triumphant. A few years later he had made his preparations - fully half of the tribe had been outfitted in armour and arms created by himself to 'withstand the powers below', and his persistent propaganda about 'Taking their place in the world' and 'Showing the world the power of the Shimmering Forest' had been taken to heart. Only the elders remained unswayed by his ideals, and as the legion departed their home vowing to return in triumph or not at all. There were no moons above to guide them, and the stars were obscured by storm clouds - hardly an auspicious start to a glorious campaign into the unknown.
Some time later they arrived at the island and he used his exceptional magical prowess to unlock the Gate stone and the elves descended into the caverns. Their armour and his magics did provide a great deal of protection from the numerous planar energies ebbing and flowing through the cavern, but they did nothing to protect them from his own mind affecting spells as he worked to make them more his own legion than the tribe of elves they once were. As the days turned into weeks since they had seen the sun or the stars above they began to lose their desire to ever return above. It wasn't long before they made the Ruined Rifts their home permanently, and made a new home for a new people below.
None of that expedition ever made it back to the Shimmering woods: None of them had a desire to return, for even Dar'Mal had fallen victim to his own desire for more power: And the power available in those dark tunnels was unfathomable. Theirs was the last great expedition below, for the ritual of opening had been lost for some time even before The Death of Magic ripped much of the worlds arcane knowledge and power away.
These days no-one even remembers the glory-hungry army of elves who marched across the island to find their fortune below the world. If one were to encounter them today however, they would see quite a different group of creatures indeed. 'The Lusterless' as they call themselves have no need for the light of day anymore.

Appearance

The Lusterless are a lithe people of with an average height around 5' 5". Their skin which was once pale and shimmering in the light has grown dark and now seems to absorb any light cast upon it. Their hair tends to be black or a dark brown, a far cry from the once sunbleached blond so common among their ancestors.