Elf
"Those who were born of Fey descent in the world of Uthilith become Elves - the youngest of the races, but the longest-lived. They serve several roles in our world... some coexist with the earth, and some try to monopolize its fruits."
A Brief History of Elves
In the early 100s, the Archfey Titania had received news of a new Material Plane after the death of Exandria in the Second Great Calamity. She was summoned to this new world - a scrappy place called Uthilith - by means of the Gate spell in Astrid's last years on the plane. The two communed in the forest that would one day become the magnificent fey city of Twinvale, making merry and enjoying each other's company. As their fête came to a close, Titania made a request to the elderly empress. She hoped that the grounds they stood on now could be used as a sort of 'safe haven' for any Fey who require respite as the Feywild repositioned itself from the now-dead world of Exandria and attached itself to become parallel with Uthilith. Astrid agreed to Titania's request, and with their shared magical prowess, created a great ward over the forests of Faron - one in which any who attempted to navigate its winding paths would become lost for eternity, should they not possess a Fey-touched individual in their company. Those who crossed the gate were mainly of Seelie descent - Nymphs (encompassing Dryads, Naiads, Sylphs, and Oreads), Satyrs, and the race that would transition from its Fey identity and into a more mortal identity - the Eladrin. Once within the Prime Material Plane, the Eladrin grew curious about what the world had to offer. They dispersed from the fledgling settlement of Twinvale and scattered across the world, adopting cultures and identities of their own. As Uthilithian magicks and Ley Lines began to influence their very being, the four core elven ethnicities sprang into being: High, Sun, Moon, and Wood.Other Elves
Uthilith remains home to other species of elf, though they appeared in the new Material Plane through means separate from that of the Twinvale gate and subsequent migration. The Sea Elves appeared in the early 300s, when a mysterious gate to the Elemental Plane of Water opened on the northern coasts of Chaelwyth. This new culture was forced through, and so they created the settlement of Potamoi for all aquatic races to thrive in. The other ethnicity of elf that was not born of the Twinvalian gate was that of the Drow, often called Dark Elves by the racially insensitive. Since the topography of The Underdark detached itself from the original Prime Material much faster - partially in thanks to the goddess Lolth; partially in thanks to the creatures within caring little about the destruction above - nearly all of the Underdark counterpart races were able to make it out of the Calamity relatively unscathed. Some emerged from the natural passages from below to the world above - such as the entrance at the Body Temple or the one in the Schneespitze Tundra. However, the world's only major settlement of Drow - a village called Charion - was created by pilgrims from the Hressian Hellmouth.Naming Traditions
Family names
Several Elven family names are descended from Temporan dynastic rule, and thus have become quite common among the general citizenry of elves today. However, these are almost solely of High Elf descent - thus, the family names will be detailed in that particular article.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
Almost all elves are able to fluently understand Elvish, with very few exceptions. Similarly to Common, Elvish has distinctive dialects based on the dominant ethnicity of a region - but even those from the most removed settlements would be able to understand one another on a basic level.
Art & Architecture
Elvish architecture is as intricate as it is diverse. With the exception of Nurn Durahl (as it's a dwarven-dominated settlement) and Misty Run (the major institutions are even older than the modern elves themselves), most important cities utilize either High Elven or Sun Elven architecture as the basis for their significant buildings and palaces.
Foods & Cuisine
The most important culinary contribution made by elves to Uthilith was that of sushi in the mid-300s by Sea Elves. It's a dish of prepared vinegared rice (usually with a little sugar or salt), and a variety of ingredients, ranging from raw seafood to finely prepared vegetables. Even though Sea Elves are far from the most dominant ethnicity of elf in the world, it has become so ingrained in the cultural perception of elven cuisine that even other elven ethnicities have adopted their own adaptations of the dish to sell to non-elves.
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
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