Elves

Elves are the most ancient of the sapient humanoid races. They are also the only humanoid race to have an immortal soul. Ancient elves were created by the titanic fae wyrm, Ormsalfr, who also created the dragons. The two sibling races are often in conflict, even in modern times, due to both's immortality.

Lineages

High Elf

Most elves fall into the category that mortal races call "High Elves". The elves themselves, however, feel no particular connection to the label, and accept it as merely mortal simplification. In reality, High Elves are elves that do not feel the call of the wilderness strongly enough to eschew living in great settlements, often alongside mortal races. The elves themselves tend to see themselves more through family relationships than lineage. Mortals often characterize High Elves as haughty, arrogant, and aloof. Most High Elves care very little about how mortals see them.

Wood Elf

Like "High Elf", "Wood Elf" is more of a mortal simplification than valid classification. All elves feels a strong affinity towards the wild and pure places of the world, planted in them by Ormsalfr. Wood Elves, also called Wild Elves, feel this pull more strongly than others, such that they cannot bare to live in civilized places for long, inexorably feeling wanderlust that pushes them out of cities and towns, and towards pristine places. As a rule, they are far more individualistic than High Elves, feeling very little familial bond. They are more likely than High Elves to form strong bonds with mortals, but they are as likely to befriend a human as a deer.

Dark Elf

Dark elves broke away from other elves early in the species' history, due to a schism between the patron god of the elves, Ormsalfr, and the titan of the moon, Selardi. Her worshippers were driven from their homes and branded "dark," due to their nightly worship habits. In the millennia since, relationships between dark elves and other elves is mostly repaired, although there are always some who view the nocturnal as suspicious.

Alvans

The Alvan Empire are a group of elves who left the Elven Home during the War of the Gods, rejecting the new arcane magic, and instead forging a deep connection to the fae wood called the Wald. They lived there for 20,000 years under the rule of Queen Boadicea, until they were massacred by Ambition's forces in the Ascendant War. The refugees dispersed into a world completely unfamiliar to them, and very few have since had children. Cut off from the powers of the Wald, the Alvans' bodies have returned to normal proportions, although they are still easily distinguished from other elves by their generally humble manner of dress and decoration. Despite this, all Alvans feel a deep, desperate thirst to reclaim the power of the Wald, and many turn to other methods to fill the void left in its absence.

Half-elves

Half-elf is a catchall term for any child born to an elf and a mortal humanoid race. Half-elves are often called cursed, because they have their elven parent's immortal soul, but their mortal parents aging body. They age slowly, generally becoming elderly around 300 years old. Because they will not die of old age, many half-elves opt-in to alternative end-of-life plans, generally administered by elves, who view it as a sacred duty to care for their children. A common choice is for the half-elf to be magically changed into a tree in a so-called "Cemetary Forest."

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

Elves are immortal, and thus reproduce incredibly slowly. It is common for an elf to feel no pressure whatsoever to have children.

Growth Rate & Stages

When elves do have children, they are usually sent to special, secluded schools, where they will spend about 100 years in their childhood. Upon reaching adolescence, they return to their parents or other close family, where they often remain for another 25 to 100 years. This time is generally spent learning the "family business," as it is often called, which could include many complex plans spanning thousands of years.