Death among the Elves
Whilst the elven people are seen as superior to the other mortal races by many, not least themselves, there are areas in which they fall notably short of their brethren.
Death is not unknown to the long lived elves. They may die in accident or battle, some even fall prey to disease or melancholy, however, an elven lifespan approaches nearly a millennium and elven magic, science, and battle prowess means other causes of death are rare. This causes death to hold a supremely foreboding place in elven culture. For many elves death is by far the most horrifying possibility in any given situation. Elven policy is driven by a reluctance to endanger life by any and all means. Indeed much of the races perceived haughtiness and disdain for the younger races stems from a simple distancing from death. Few elves willingly get to know beings whom they will invariably outlive by centuries. The few exceptions tend to be elven outcasts, the adventurers and mercenaries who live closer to death and are seen as aberrant to the elven people at large. These elves seem much more "human" to most, however, they have been occasionally accused of treating other races like pets. Grieving for a time but ultimately moving on to get a new one when the old passes.
Within elven society death is often treated as a taboo subject. Elven burial rites remain a mystery to those outside and are never discussed even by those who bond with other races. Elves believe that as the oldest race they are the true sons and daughters of the earth. Even the high elves living in cities for eons return to the earth in death. As such elven graveyards are nearly impossible to locate. No markers are erected or tombs used. An elven burial is solemn and without much ceremony. What it does include is grief. Elven stoicism, grace, and manner is released at the grave of the lost and the piercing wails and cries of anguish are reminiscent of the banshees lost elven souls may become. So naked is this moment that few ever speak of it again. A mourning family will go into seclusion for a year and a day, hardly any time in the 900+ years of their life, and return to society as if nothing occurred. In fact in elvish society it is polite to never speak of an elf in the past tense. They are simply absent from this place and time.
Many an elf out in the world left due to a death they could not bear. While elves as a society deny the occurrence, occasionally the year and a day becomes the cover for an elf to leave their brethren. They simply never return from solitude. These elves sometimes fade into the forests or seashores of the world continuing to keen the loss of their loved one and these often become the banshees whispered about in well lit homes and taverns. Some though find solace in companionship and a lust for life they have seldom known. Many an elf seen carousing in a tavern with men or selling their blade in war hides a death they could not bear.
Death bears its own symbols and colors in Elven culture as it does anywhere. Elves identify deaths colors as the ashen grey of the long dead or the sickly pale yellow of the recently deceased. Blue/silver can sometimes be used in association with deaths symbols to evoke the idea of violence and spilled life blood.
Deaths elven symbols are seen as the barren evergreen and the elven skull, high cheekbones and a narrow profile mark these from other cultures as well as their silver sheen.
