The Chaos Elves

Those who embraced the chaos

Do you not see what is happening? This is our world and we can do as we will with it. No one, not even the Gods can stop us. We have the tools. We have the will. We are the ones who deserve to control Cadash and we will do so. Fear not the Chaos my people. Embrace it. Let the power of it flow through your blood. And let the Great Goddess tremble and throw her new creations at us. We will rend the very earth open and heap their corpses until the reach her throne in heaven.

- A quote taken from the leader of the Chaos Elves

Summary

Tales of the end of the second age are many and varied. But they all agree on one thing. Yeno's children began to grow dissatisfied with their role on Cadash. The began to search for other ways to modify their magic and their knowledge. In time some of them found Chaos and its boundless power.
These Elves began to explore and embrace its power. They crafted items they considered as tools to control Chaos and force it to serve them. Their corruption continued, warping them more and more until their arrogance was supreme. They began a path of conquest over all of Cadash.
The First Folk fought valiantly, but were overmatched by the new magic the Chaos Elves could wield. At this point, it is said that Ashtyr created her races to help the First Folk defeat these mad elves. So it was that Dwarves, Humans and halflings joined the battle. Of course Red Talon also appeared at this time to lead the battle.
There are may tales about the exploits of Red Talon, her companions and the eventual defeat of the Chaos Elves. They all vary wildly and seem to have different heroes depending on who is telling them.
The final result is the same. The Chaos Elves were defeated. Their tools to control Chaos were siezed from them and hidden across Cadash. The remaining elves were either enslaved (and became the Brass Elves ), retreated underground (and became the Shadow Elves ) or isolated themselves in the woodlands of Cadash to be called Wood Elves .

Historical Basis

Of course all this happened well before the Cataclysm, so there is very little from the end of the Second Age that is retained in any form across current Cadash. There are rumors of ancient structures from that time period across Reluria, but not much else can be found physically from that time.
Scholars and historians feel that the events must be based up on some facts, because the stories are so prevalent. There is concern among some that the infamous "tools of Chaos" could be discovered again and used to unleash an ancient terror upon the world.
As with anything associated with Red Talon, there is a search for her resting place and those of her companions. Some areas in Reluria have local legends about such places nearby, but none have been found.

Spread

Tales of the Chaos Elves are know across Cadash and among all races.

Variations & Mutation

There are many variations in tales of the Chaos Elves. Sometimes they are lead by a man, other times by a woman, other times by a council of four elves. Sometimes they have wings and control elemental powers. Other times they sound much like Brass Elves in appearance (although many scholars feel that is a recent addition). Sometimes they are a vast horde of elves. Other times they are few but powerful.
Their defeat also changes from story to story. In some tales they are stripped of magic and turned into slaves of the Tyrians. Other times they defeated in a bloody massacre of might crushing magic. In other tales it takes trickery, subterfuge and betrayal to finally destabilize and eliminate them. Scholarly opinion is that all three of those may have occurred over the lengthy battle against them.
That is the final piece that is unclear. Most tales agree that the Chaos Elves wielded power for a long time. But none seem to agree how long that was. In some of these tales it seems like Red Talon fought them for centuries. Other times it seems like the struggle occurred over years, but after decades of rule and oppression. Not even scholars can agree on this.

Cultural Reception

Tales of Red Talon are always popular in these times. Her first victories against the "mad" Chaos Elves are always enjoyed by First Folk and Ashtyr's children alike.
For many elves this is a shameful moment in their history. They will usually gloss over it, or do their best to ignore that it ever happened. There were elven heroes that fought against the Chaos Elves, and many elves will bring them up to point out that not all their people were so obsessed with Chaos.
Brass Elves have taken to admiring these Masters of Chaos in recent times. Some of their names (the ones that are known) have been spoken with near reverence. The Brass Horde stokes these feelings to give their elven allies greater strength and faith in the cause for overthrowing the Children of Ashtyr.