Mountain Elves

The Lost Elves

When thinking about elves, the most obvious are the wood and island elves, which are the ones with big nations and long histories, that continue to be written to this day, some might even mention the grass elves, but none other than scholars and historians now remember the mountain elves.

Origins

The mountain elves developed from a group of northern wood elves that lived north of the Yavin River during the Stone Age, and ventured into the black mountains, now called black rock, they were the first corporeals to live here, and they had dragons and giants to compete with. But they lived, and they adapted to this new, harsh, lifestyle. They did so with the aid of magic, and over time, they even developed a culture of Ynue worship, which was much more common in those times. Their favorites were Mallakar, Appolyus, and Bo-Rak, who were most capable of granting them the strength they needed to thrive.

Society

They lived in small tribal chiefdoms, which, over time, grew into larger tribal confederations, as they spread through the mountains. Their society was based on hunter and warrior culture, with strict codes of honor and discipline to guide them through life. It is believed that this was the same for men and women, because their graves are seen with primitive weapons and armor, clearly heavily used, buried with men and women alike.

Elves of the mountains

The elves of the mountains became one of the great elven civilizations, even when the forest retreated, and gave way for the humans to invade the south, even was the grass elves fought and struggled, the northern wood elves, were decimated by repeated wars, the mountain elves stood strong, no human army was ever able to defeat them, and they launched many raids into the lowlands to aid their kind, but alas, it was in vain. Their mountains gave them a defensive advantage that allowed them to repel much greater armies, but they were too few in number to sufficiently aid their kin in their wars of defense.

Faith

Their three main deities, edged them on, they had led them to dominate the mountains, helping them push out the mystics who were native there, and now they wanted their elves to conquer the world, especially Malakar, the elves were strong in their faith, and they were eager to please their masters, who had granted them so much, and on the promise of greater power, the mountain elves agreed to launch a war of conquest against the tribes down below, elven and human alike. They were successful, they managed to take much of the foothills, and a large part of what is now the rend, and their gods were pleased.

Fate

Their gods, the Ynue, were true to their word, and they granted their subjects the power they sought, they transformed them into the three orc races. Each of the three main Ynue they followed is said to have created their own orc race, these orcs were changed not only physically, but mentally as well, their tribes, and their organizations, broke down within days, this was not what they had expected when they were promised power. Some among them were pleased, reveling in their new greater strength, and their fangs. Others not so much, they hated the monsters they had become and gave in to despair, and the end of the Mountain elves.

The End

This was the end of the mountain elves. Their loss of organization led to them being sent back into the mountains just as quickly as they had come down, and there they stayed, although they spread further into the mountains of the world, especially the northern End Mountains, where later, a population of orcs changed further into goblins, which spread farther across the world than any of the orc races ever did.

Remains

These elves are now studied as one of the ancient civilizations. They didn't leave behind any writing, but there are temples and ruins of ancient buildings. Their rock quarries have now become home to many orc tribes, and even tho their legacy has been grown over and built over, there are still many secrets etched in stone and preserved by the magical signature of a race long gone.
There are many such magical artifacts that are used as family airlooms, especially by orcs, who possess many of these, but some have made their way into grass-elven, or even human hands. Many of these artifacts are in the form of weapons, such as bows, and clubs, which were maintained, and protected by the passing of time by the runes painted on them or carved into them.

Related Articles:
Elves
Black Rock
Descendants:
Orcs
Goblins
Associated Ynue:
Mallakar 
Apollyus 
Bo-Rak 

We have done what you have asked of us, my lords, we have conquered the lowlands, we now ask of you, grant as the power you have promised! Grant us this strength, and for your glory, we will conquer the world!

-Leader of the Mountain Elf Coalition

Appearance

Over time, they diverged from the rest of the elves, becoming their own distinct ethnic group, their dialect turned into a separate language, and eventually, they were completely their own. Their hair was dark, not unlike their woodland kin, but their skins greyed, until they matched the rock of the mountains, and their faces hardened under the pressures of the mountain life.

Culture

They used to dress in furs, to shield them from the cold of the mountains. They were said to have herded goats, the ancestors of the creatures that were later domesticated by the Rendish humans. They used the skins of those animals to produce their clothing, along with the skins of any creature they could hunt.
Depictions of them show them wearing body paint, generally blue, black, and red. These colors were made from lapis, charcoal, and iron rust respectively. These colorations were said to display tribal allegiances.

Technology

These elves lived in the Stone Age, and they primarily used stone and flint tools, although their magical knowledge was in some areas much greater than it is today. The mountain elves left behind many temples filled with strange magical relics, covered in runes, the meaning of which has long since been lost to history.

Language

They had no written language, and their spoken language is said to be a descendant of ancient northern wood elven, rather than the closer grass elven language. It is believed that their transformation into orcs didn't greatly affect their language initially, although the modern orcish language is completely unrecognizable when compared to any of the elven languages, and that is not even mentioning the goblin language. in the days of the mountain elves, they are assumed to have been able to communicate with other elves just fine.