Elf
Have a handful of powerful city states along the coasts of the Arolend Sea. Dozens of colonies spread across the world. Commonly found in the cosmopolitan city states. The sub races of elves seem to predate the Arc Ship and may come from the fact they were already extensive interstellar travelers.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Elves are tall humanoid beings with slight features and distinctive ears. They have thin frames and extremely refined motor control.
Biological Traits
Elves do not need sleep. They enter a 4 to 6 hours meditation and as they review memories and thoughts different parts of their brain sleeps, but they never loose consciousness. Elves don't dream, but they can have visions while awake. In those with developed sorcery these can be predictions, in others it is their subconscious working on problems and then their brains shows the solution breaking their consciousness for a few moments.
Genetics and Reproduction
Elf reproduction is the same mammalian live birth as humans, and their gentics allow them to breed with humans producing hybrids. Elves are fertile at age 20 and gestation is 14 months. There is often a link between the mother and the child where they can communicate feelings to each other by the 12th month.
Growth Rate & Stages
Elves are born and develop slowly. They are babies for about 2 years, toddlers till about age 6, they reach puberty around age 18 to 20 and become adults around age 30, but their minds continue to develop until they are around 100. an 80 year old elf may look like a young adult and think like a teenager. By their first century they have fully formed and think like adults.
Ecology and Habitats
Elves prefer sub tropical and temperate climes, and are poorly adapted to extreme cold and heat. They can survive in these temperatures to the same degree as humans. Elves prefer forests to all other environments.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Elves are omnivorous but largely are vegetarians and eat meat only occasionally. Their bodies convert carbohydrates, fats, and sugars into protein to build muscle, they store very little fat. This means they fair poorly in extreme climes as they have issues regulating their temperature. They also starve and dehydrate faster than a human in the same conditions.
Biological Cycle
Elves age slowly, but live a long time. Their bodies do not age the same way as other creatures and they appear young for the majority of their long lives. On average they live 750 years and some individuals have lived as long as 1000 years. When they get to around 730 their hair begins to gray, they may get some other signs of aging like worn joints and stiffness.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Elves have a family structure of parents and children. Parents and children will try to live together in a family unit. Extended family are usually separate.
Facial characteristics
Elves have narrow angular features, pointed ears and large eyes. They have thin lips and noses. Males and females lack facial hair.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Elves are spread all over Alterra but their original home and is Origin Island and they have adapted to other locations, but prefer the forested portion of those lands.
Average Intelligence
In general elves are more intelligent than a human. Some of this is their heightened perception allows them to make conclusions faster, some of it is the longer experience and ability to learn over their long lifespans. But given a new task to learn the elf will learn it faster, or solve a problem slightly faster.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Elves have heightened perception above the human norm. They poses dim light vision, can hear frequencies above a human range of hearing, and have a better sense of smell. Overall they process sensory input faster than humans. Elf cognition gives them an advantage in tapping magic energies, and many sub races of elf can develop innate sorcery to a limited extent by the time they reach maturity.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Elves as children are called "Child" at some point they will want a name and they have to think of one on their own. This is their child name and they will have it until they announce to their peers they are an adult and ready for an adult name. Elven culture usually does not dictate an age someone is an adult, the individual has to declare it. This happens between 80 and 120 years of life. Once they declare it they present an adult name and it recognized by their family. They usually change their dress, hair styles and other features to appear adult.
Beauty Ideals
Elves love nature and the sinuous beauty of trees, roots, and living things. They love decoration and filling in space with natural patterns and shapes.
Gender Ideals
Elves have dramatically different male and female garb, hair styles, but are not gender fixed themselves. Both can have power if of a noble house. males and females both train for combat, but males are the more common front line troops, females tend to be home guard.
Average Technological Level
Elves are technologically adept and fine craftspeople but they don't invent or tinker, they make items to an ideal state of perfection and don't tolerate failure well. They are less likely to try unorthodox solutions or take risks to discover something. Overall they can quickly learn how use items, and will take the time to master it if they so choose.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Elvish is an ancient language and is lyrical and musical. Elvish is a language that makes even the worst things sound beautiful. It has a complicated alphabet and writing style.
Elves if they choose can take the time to learn languages that most humanoids can not speak. Languages such as draconic, aarackocra, the language of the Lizard Folk - Sokobaki.
Common Etiquette Rules
Elves love tradition, courtly life, and pleasantries. They are seen as prim and perfunctory but it is because they believe in respect and that requires these actions.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Elves are only a few dozen generations removed from the founders of their lands and believe that their people were destined to soon join the Star Walkers as equals. They do have a deeply held tradition of seeing all other beings as also child races and they as a parent race, one that should be leading and advising these developing peoples toward returning to the stars.
Common Taboos
Elves are fairly tolerant of mischief, and stumbles by other beings, because they are still underdeveloped. However amongst other elves there are many taboos around relationships, oaths, and fealty due to their long relationships with each other they need to avoid making situations that could take decades to work out.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Elves are going to try to be friendly and peaceful toward most intelligent beings they meet. There have been longstanding clashes and disagreements with the lizard folk of the Soki cultures.
Again in general they consider most beings as children who need direction. The younger elves who have not declared themselves adults are more tolerant and equitable towards other beings.
Elves never feel xenophobia, however, so they will be unlikely to attack something just because it looks monstrous.
Origin
Many home worlds
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
750 years
Average Height
6'-6" to 7'-6" tall
Average Weight
100lb to 120lb
Average Physique
Elves are thin and very dexterous, their muscle mass is long and narrow, so even though they make look like they are fragile they are very quick and strong for their weight.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Elves are usually pigmented across a spectrum from pale white, pale purple, pale blue, with some having metalic specs and coloration looking from bronze to gold. Their hair ranges from white to blond, dark blue, dark brown, and black. Their hair is thin and usually straight. They do not have body hair outside of the heads. Their eyes are usually metallic blue, green, gold, purple, red or yellow.
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
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