Elves and Half-Elves
Elves are extraordinarily rare, and only a few thousand of them remain in the world of Drakkenheim. The elven people have largely lived as nomadic refugees upon the world of Drakkenheim itself — legend claims the elves come from another world entirely. Their mostly-forgotten history is ancient, and their ancestors left behind mysterious ruins in well-hidden places throughout the world. Every elf is mageborn, though not every elf develops their inborn magical abilities. However, in the modern era their numbers are thinning. Most elves today dwell alone as hermits or in small groups on the fringes of civilization. The only known elven community is secluded deep within the Isles of Skye, where the borders between the mortal realm and the Otherworlds of faeries and dreams are thin.
Elven Decendants
Half-elves are now much more common than their full-blooded cousins, as the traces of elven ancestry hold strong through human lineages. During the millennia of dwelling alongside humanity, many elves formed families with humans, Their descendants bear a distinctive elven heritage, though few have a recent elven ancestor. Most instead are later-generation descendants of elves cut. As a result, humans with elven ancestry can be found anywhere and everywhere throughout the continent. Not all are terribly concerned about their elven heritage, however. Many view it more as a curious quirk of their family tree and think of themselves as part of humankind, and in turn, most humans regard half-elves in the same manner. As elves are always mageborn, it is exceptionally common for their descendants to inherit the trait as well. However, they are not universally mageborn like their elven ancestors.History
It is a little-known fact that elves did not originally exist in the world of Drakkenheim, and the exact origins of the elven people are shrouded in mystery. Even the most ancient elves tell their own grandparents had little more than vague recollections of their history. The most common story claims that elves arrived on this world by traveling through shadow realms and faerie gates from a distant and unknown land. Why the elves left, none can say. A few scholars suggest the elves today are but the surviving remnants of a greater civilization which met some sort of disastrous end. They further theorize that crumbling elven ruins sequestered in remote places are all that is left of the powerful magical portals the ancient elves constructed to make their journey here. Indeed, explorers report finding bizarre arcane technology and advanced magic within the alien towers and glistening monolithic structures built by the elder elves. Although the elves seemingly arrived in this world with no recollection for their origins, they did bring with them powerful magical knowledge which they shared carefully with their new human neighbors. Unfortunately, the elves were hunted by the sorcerer-kings of the Arcane Empire who were jealous of their innate magical talents, but centuries later elven archmages were instrumental in founding the Amethyst Academy as a refuge for persecuted mageborn.Creating Elven Characters
An elven character is always mageborn; many embrace their magical talents by becoming a sorcerer or wizard. Elves are counted amongst the most skilled mages of the Amethyst Academy. However, other elves choose to take on more martial paths and only dabble in magic; many elves become rangers. Other elves are deeply spiritual, and seek to find any semblance for the ancestral memories of their people through faith in the Old Gods as clerics and druids. An elven worshiper of the Faith of the Sacred Flame would be a true oddity, however. In contrast, half-elves take after their human cousins. Characters of any class, vocation, and calling can be found among them, especially those more integrated into the nations and cultures of the continent.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
