Denizens of the Crystal Dunes
One of the creations of
Vulkjornn, elves are one of the primordial gifts, and
Fea's instrument for creating growth in the world of
Virosia. They are graceful, gentle, and slow to rise to emotional heights. They are also strongly devout to Fea, who still lives among them, asking them directly for guidance in life.
"Rare to see your kin, I admit. Your mere existence seems an affront to me, though I loath to welcome you through these halls nonetheless. Tell me of your journeys, new friend, that your immortality may be true." -Korvyre
As immortal creatures, their goals as a society are often quite long-term in scope. The cultivation of
Mythral, for example, has resulted in
Qenaara's existence upon a mountain of the single largest single crystal in the world. It was discovered that the geodes function as something of a seed that can be grown, and their country is pocked with great crystalline trees.
Ethereal Vanity
Elves are generally lithe creatures, around a foot taller than the average human. They posses thin, long necks, pointed ears, and eyes of a singular shade; typically in the appearance of a metallic pool of color adjacent to their skintone, though they still have distinguished irises. Elves always have straight hair in a likewise metallic color to their skintone, and a pair of horn-like protrusions called "straetara" stemming from their temples that can curve forward and up. Sometimes straetara can meet and fuse into a halo-like ring. This doesn't always happen, but if it does, the elf has certainly already passed their first millennia. Straetara take on different shapes depending on the current gossimer of an elf, and so it can be a determiner of what kind of gossimer an elf has had throughout their life.
The elves of Qenaara and those that exist in the dunes of the
Shaelarin share a number of differences, not the least of which is a difference in their skin's "gossimer". An elf's gossimer is the manifestation of their surroundings on their person in one way or another, and is less a physical apparition than a sar-induced illusion, though it's certainly more physical than any traditional illusion. A gossimer can change over the course of an elf's life, though to see such a thing is rare.
Qenaaran elves, known as Qenaarae, or moon elves to
Humans, are the most common elf to see outside of Shaelarin in a political or mercantile setting. These elves are doused in a silver-platinum gossimer, with eyes of silver and metallic skin with striations on their skin in deeper grays of matte. Their patterns are quite similar between elves, but minute difference are detected by those with enough exposure to individual elves. Indeed, to untrained eyes, the Qenaarae are difficult to distinguish. Their straetara are flat and come to a dull edge.
Shaelarae, or sun elves, are the elven kin that preside the dunes and the crystal orchards - the outward guardians of the realm. These elves take on a golden-brass gossimer, their eyes pools of sunlight-orange metal and skin with streaks of bronze. Their eyes faintly glow a yellow hue in dim lights. The straetara of the sun elves corkscrew as time passes, and after they have met, tighten over time; elder Shaelarae can have quite tightly wound corkscrews, and the oldest will begin to see a rise in the midpoint as the corkscrew tightness plateaus.
To Feel Immortality
Elves sense things substantially differently than the other races, not the least of which is what they refer to as the "sense of expanse" or in their language, "geransiyl". This is a sense accrued with time more than anything, and it's known to the elves that this can be learned with time. Some dwarves develop this sense by the ends of their lives, as most elves begin to understand the sense by their third or fourth century.
Below traditional senses are detailed in comparison to that of a human, as well as more detail about the geransiyl.
Sight, despite their estranged eyes, is rather similar to that of humans, if a bit improved. Their eyes are larger than human's and can absorb more light, and their lenses are thicker, such that their long distance sight is notably better, though their nearsight is about the same. No elf needs glasses, unlike humans. Also unlike humans, the darkvision of elves sets in much quicker, and they do not need to adjust lighting when moving between places with bright light to a place with dark light.
Feeling in a tactile sense is identical to that of humans, and thought their skin is of a slightly tougher texture, along with the gossimer over, they can detect as much detail with a touch as anyone else. A notable feeling that elves have, through their centuries in sar-soaked environments, gives them the ability to sense magic through touch. A blinded elf in a cart could tell you precisely when they've entered the borders of the Shaelarin, or if they've entered a room with some kind of spell binding. This sense feels to them like a wave or blanket of something washing over the area of contact.
Hearing is identical to that of a human. Though elves would state that they listen better, their hearing is no more intricate than anyone elses.
Taste is a peculiar sense for elves, and leans them to prefer earthen flavors. Plants and mushrooms have complex and powerful tastes to them while meats are typically more dull, and so their use is opposite to that of humans. While a healthy portion of vegetables will be the main course in elven cuisine, a few strips of venison would be an appropriate garnish. Salt is abrasive and harsh to the elven pallet, though other saltless spices are experienced similar to that of a human. Cinnamon tastes horrible to elves.
Time is felt differently by elves as their lives progress. The geransiyl is a concept that life feels more expansive as time goes on, with the feeling of time both waxing and waning simultaneously at different times. During moments of what is classically deemed "boredom", time wanes, and though an elf can strain to remember these moments, they are quite forgettable. Moments of action and decision, however, wane for them. Memory of these moments expands, and they live these moments for longer periods to the elf's memory. Elves feel that their lives are lived quite fully as a result, as the feeling of settling down never quite sets into them. Thus, their ambitions are lower overall than humans or dwarves.
The other component of the geransiyl, and perhaps more notable, is their understanding of the long-term results of action. Centuries of life results in individuls with scope unknowable to the shorter-lived races. This feels to the elves as though more than meets the eye must be considered at all junctures. What something means not just in the moment, but how its effects shall butterfly into the future. Their sense for this is refined and innate after a long enough life.
