Elf
The children of the Arch-Fey
Graceful and elegant are usually the first words that come to mind when one thinks of the elves. With the Fey blood gifted to them by Titania and Oberon thousands of years ago, they have transcended many of the limitations of human bodies.
Basic Information
Anatomy
At the most basic level, an elf strongly resembles a human. While maintaining a similar silhouette, the elves tend to be more willowy than their more mortal counterparts. Their bones are lighter as well, detracting from their overall potential strength, but allowing them to move much more nimbly and with more speed than the average human.
Biological Traits
Elves are a very adaptable race and as such are capable of living in many different biomes, often developing traits that allow them to more effectively survive in that area. It is common for non-elves to add modifiers to an elf's classification based on where they live.
Stone or Mountain Elves live at higher elevations, typically above the treeline or in areas where what little vegetation there is tends to be small and tough. Elves living in this environment tend to live more nomadic lifestyles, either following herds or simply moving when the area they're currently in needs to recover. It's also not uncommon to find groups of them living within a mountain much like dwarves.
Plains Elves live in areas with large grassy plains. They use methods of keeping animals that are the closest to domestication one would find among the elves, typically luring in large quantities of prey animals to an area where food is plentiful and hunting them down as necessary. These elves will tend to build larger settlements than those living in other areas and are also the most likely to farm crops, though of a more wild sort than one would see humans growing.
Desert Elves, also commonly known as Sun Elves, live in drier climates and employ a similar nomadic lifestyle to that of Stone Elves. They tend to sport more browned skin to help deal with the harsh sunlight common to these areas.
Forest Elves, sometimes called Dark Elves, live in densely wooded areas. They tend to stand out more to non-elves as their skin tones are considered to be more unusual compared to their counterparts. Black, grey, and even dusky shades of blue or purple are all common shades for these elves to sport as it helps them to hide in their surroundings better. They tend to live in small tribes, taking on a more hunter-gatherer lifestyle that strives to maintain harmony with their environment, though this can vary. They tend to have the least amount of communication with other elf groups and prefer to keep to themselves for the most part.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Elves have finer facial features than the average human. One who isn't aware of what they are might say they look like a race comprised entirely of nobility. Some would describe them as having a strange ethereal quality to them.
Elven ears are longer than those of a human, extending at the top up to two inches before ending in a point. This leads some to derisively call them "knife ears", but does afford elves better hearing.
Their eyes are a bit unusual. In addition to potentially being any colour one can see, all elves' eyes have a fine ring of gold around their pupils, as well as gold flecks within the rest of the iris in the case of those who use magic more frequently.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Elves possess superior hearing to most mortal races, their longer ears allowing them to pick up sounds in decibel ranges outside that of humans, as well as sounds at much higher pitches.
While most elves possess only marginally better sight than the typical human, those often called "dark elves" have much better night vision and are able to see on a moonless night as well as if there was a full moon out. They still cannot see in pitch dark conditions, however, and would require a light source if they were to venture underground.
One thing that makes elves truly unique from the other sapient races is their ability to sense magic. The ebb and flow of the Weave around them is an almost physical sensation to them, and this allows them to manipulate it with greater ease and power than other peoples are capable of.
Civilization and Culture
Common Etiquette Rules
While specifics will vary between individual communities, there is always a strict code of being polite. This is especially true when in unfamiliar or mixed company. Elves of the same type will typically refer to each other as "brother" or "sister", and to others as either "friend" or "stranger" depending on how close they are with a person.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Elves almost universally tend to not get along well with dwarves. While partially due to rivalries in craftsmanship and clashing aesthetics and ideals, the typically carefree and boisterous natures of dwarves have a tendency to grate on elves' nerves. As a result, a majority of elves tend to avoid contact with dwarves, with some exceptions.
Humans, with the exception of a few important individuals, are largely unaware of the existence of elves. In some more rural communities, where forest elves may still live nearby, they're sometimes spoken of in children's fairy tales, typically either as ghosts or some other form of spirit in a bid to keep young ones from wandering into the woods alone. A few communities, particularly closer to the border between the two territories, may actually be aware of elves, though their relations with their non-human neighbours vary. Positive relations between human and elf communities are rare.
Orcs and elves living on the same mountain will generally keep to their own territories and avoid overlap in hunting grounds as much as possible. Being relatively neutral towards one another, it tends to only be brash youths that bring about conflict between tribes. Outside of extenuating circumstances, however, the two groups tend to ignore each other.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
~ 1000 years
Average Height
5'5" - 6'2"
Geographic Distribution
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