Alfheim

Alfheim (Elf Home) is one of the Nine Realms, a world inhabited by elves. There were two types of elves that reside in Alfheim: the Ljósálfar, or “Light Elves,” and the Dökkálfar, or “Dark Elves.” It may be surmised that the realm embodied the extreme luminosity and darkness characteristic of its inhabitants. Alfheim was said to be ruled by Freyr, suggesting a deep association with the magic of the Vanir gods. Like the other realms, Alfheim hung from the branches of Yggdrasil, the world tree at the center of Norse cosmology.

‘Many places are there, and glorious. That which is called Álfheimr is one, where dwell the peoples called Light-Elves; but the Dark-Elves dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike in appearance, but by far more unlike in nature. The Light-Elves are fairer to look upon than the sun, but the Dark-Elves are blacker than pitch.’
- The Gylfaginning