Elves
Basic Information
Genetics and Reproduction
Elves reproduced exactly like regular humans do and pregnancy cycles for elves last roughly the same as for humans. Interbreeding between elves and humans is possible and has happened, although due to genetic differences, it is sometimes difficult to achieve a pregnancy. It’s more common for a female elf to procreate with a human rather than a male elf. This is mainly due to elves and humans viewing each other as enemies and because elven men are typically very proud individuals and feel that any sort of mingling with humans is disgraceful and dishonorable.
Growth Rate & Stages
Elves grew up much like humans and only lived slightly longer lifespans, although the products of old age would only start to show in elves about five to six years before their natural death, meaning they enjoyed longer parts of their lives being healthy and feeling younger than humans would be.
Ecology and Habitats
Elves enjoyed the cover of trees and nature, and although all of the old Elven cities lay in grassy plains, traditional Elven homes featured large amounts of potted plants and nature.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Elves tended to eat a lot less meat than other species, though this mainly appeared to be a cultural thing.
Biological Cycle
Elves were not adapted to cold environments and preferred to remain indoors next to a fireplace during the colder months of winter. Elves also enjoyed longer and healthier lifespans: an elf would only become elderly about five to six years before their death and live longer portions of their lives being “middle-aged”.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Long ears, dark gray hair, pale eyes and small foreheads.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Elves could hear much better than the average human, but as a downside, their eyesight was actually worse. Elves appeared to be slightly more adept at magic, having very good magical perception (they're able to easily tell when magic is being cast) and were able to learn it much quicker than humans could, even though they didn't use it as much as humans did.
Civilization and Culture
Beauty Ideals
Long hair is viewed as a symbol of beauty among both men and women, and while elven women are likely going to walk around with long, waving hair, men are likely to have braids and sometimes equally-long hair.
Gender Ideals
While elven women are viewed as being motherly, and family-oriented, they are also expected to be trained in foraging and hunting. Elven men are expected to be trained as hunters or soldiers, alongside knowing creative arts such as painting, writing or even singing.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Elves all spoke very similar yet different dialects between cities and city-states. Usually, two elves from any two cities could carry out a short yet coherent conversation with each other thanks to their language being somewhat similar. This is why very few people, if at all nowadays, know their language: there were just too many diverse dialects that, after time, became too distinct in some cases to even be considered similar languages.
Common Dress Code
Elves, mostly women, favored dressing up with long, colorful dresses. Elven men would dress up with less feminine types of dresses like kilts or just plain leggings or pants with simple cloth shirts.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Culture usually stayed similar between cities and city-states, and all Elves had the same customs and taboos, although it would be common for certain influential city-states to have their own special rules, customs and taboos which the smaller city-states around them would adopt.
Common Taboos
The biggest taboo in nearly all elven societies was to be a lone traveler. In their societies, family and fitting into a broader society had a huge importance, so much so that banishment (To lose ties with family and society) was seen as a fate far worse than torture or death. Exiled elves were not just barred from returning to their own city, but also to any other city as well and practically forced to become hermits. So, if an elf traveled alone, they could easily be mistaken for being an exile and therefore treated as such. Therefore, elves almost never traveled alone. Often times, if travel was a necessity, they'd bring as much of their family (and sometimes even friends) with them. This also had the effect of better protecting against goblins, bandits and other roadside dangers, but meant that travel almost never happened.
Another taboo is for elves, particularly men, to befriend humans (or any other species for that matter). This taboo only applied to the High Elves of the Silver Age and not to their sparse descendants, but was taken very seriously and as such, led to very little interbreeding. The reasons for this taboo aren't well-known as there's no real authority on the matter left to be consulted, but pride certainly played a major role, as elves considered themselves above all others. That crippling nationalism and pride did not, of course, work out so well for them in the long run when the Onyx Nights struck near the end of the Second Age.
Another taboo is for elves, particularly men, to befriend humans (or any other species for that matter). This taboo only applied to the High Elves of the Silver Age and not to their sparse descendants, but was taken very seriously and as such, led to very little interbreeding. The reasons for this taboo aren't well-known as there's no real authority on the matter left to be consulted, but pride certainly played a major role, as elves considered themselves above all others. That crippling nationalism and pride did not, of course, work out so well for them in the long run when the Onyx Nights struck near the end of the Second Age.
History
Elves were around ever since the Draconian Age and rose to their greatest height during the Silver Age, which was named after the silvery-white color of their great cities. Back during the Draconian Age, Elves served as the The Leviathan Gods' favorites, working as priests and servants to them. From this, it is said they learned great magic from their masters, but decided to keep this knowledge to themselves instead of sharing it with the other species. When the Leviathan Gods were all slain, the Elves, slow and fashioned as they were, fell into a period of grief and isolation, allowing humans from the great southern steppes to carve out massive nomad empires that stretched up to the very edge of the Elven cities.
When the Elves began to slowly reawaken, this spelled doom for the horse lords of the South, as proved in many battles were heavily outnumbered Elven hosts used their innate knowledge of magic passed down to them from the Leviathan gods to destroy the horse lords' armies. In a fateful battle that would mark the end of the Second Age, it is said that a single Elven mage, grief-struck over the murder of his wife, halted Khagan Nandarth the Great, son of Oeddue's armies by opening up the grass beneath them and making it swallow them whole, killing the Golden Khagan himself and ending his Age.
For nearly a thousand years after, the Elves ruled the world from behind their great city walls. During this time they grew greedy, hoarding a wealth of knowledge on magic and the world for themselves until an ancient enemy of theirs awoke and brought with it the Shadows. The Onyx Nights, as they were called, brought the great Elven civilizations to their knees. Slaves rebelled against their masters and every great city of old was razed to the ground, its people murdered by the Shadows alongside the slaves. With the cities empty, knowledge of magic could finally pass down to humanity, and one nation in particular, Caleia, used all of the Elven knowledge to craft an everlasting empire. By the Imperial Age, the only Elves who remained were half-elves and even they began to dwindle.
When the Elves began to slowly reawaken, this spelled doom for the horse lords of the South, as proved in many battles were heavily outnumbered Elven hosts used their innate knowledge of magic passed down to them from the Leviathan gods to destroy the horse lords' armies. In a fateful battle that would mark the end of the Second Age, it is said that a single Elven mage, grief-struck over the murder of his wife, halted Khagan Nandarth the Great, son of Oeddue's armies by opening up the grass beneath them and making it swallow them whole, killing the Golden Khagan himself and ending his Age.
For nearly a thousand years after, the Elves ruled the world from behind their great city walls. During this time they grew greedy, hoarding a wealth of knowledge on magic and the world for themselves until an ancient enemy of theirs awoke and brought with it the Shadows. The Onyx Nights, as they were called, brought the great Elven civilizations to their knees. Slaves rebelled against their masters and every great city of old was razed to the ground, its people murdered by the Shadows alongside the slaves. With the cities empty, knowledge of magic could finally pass down to humanity, and one nation in particular, Caleia, used all of the Elven knowledge to craft an everlasting empire. By the Imperial Age, the only Elves who remained were half-elves and even they began to dwindle.
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
Homo dryadalis sapiens
Lifespan
100 years
Conservation Status
Probably Extinct
Average Height
5'6" - 6'5" or 1.6 - 1.9 m
Average Weight
128 - 176 lbs
Average Physique
Weak
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