Elf
Elves are a very old species and thus developed into a few sub-species: the àlfars, the skòwens and the dròws. Elves who are mixed are either called half-blood, grey ones or moon-elves according to their sub-species. They're different from half-elves who came from an elf and a parent from another species altogether. Half-elves are very often frowned upon or even rejected by their community.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Elves are often tall compared to humans, slender to fit, with lighter bones so that they can be nimble and fast. They have a third lung, smaller and placed near the heart, which gives them good stamina and makes them more efficient. Thus, they rarely lose their breath. They also have crown-like antlers and a tail but each elf sub-species has their own way of dealing with it.
They have thin, blemish-free skin, thin lips, and usually upturned, almond-shaped eyes. They are beardless and androgynous, often with straight hair. Finally, their ears are pointy and moving to better pick up noises.
Biological Traits
They only need between 3 and 6 hours of sleep that they can distribute throughout the day or night. They also have a great aptitude for magic since they're so close to nature but they have little opportunity to learn it if they are a reclusive community, which is quite often.
Àlfars are the elves with the strongest stomachs, which allows them to have a much more varied diet. As for skòwens, they are a bit less androgynous and they use their tail to maintain their balance, which makes them very good climbers. At last, dròws are the shortest and less androgynous elves. Their eyes also have vertical pupils in bright light, just like cats. Howsever, because of their underground life, they can't handle sunlight for very long.
Genetics and Reproduction
Elves have a very low fertility because of how long they live. They only get one or two children, sometimes 3 but never more than 5. Having twins or triplets is very rare and thus celebrated.
A female elf can only get pregnant once a year and it lasts a year and a half. For the first 4 and a half months, the baby is still an embryo. Then it becomes a foetus, who will begin to make breathing movements with their lungs at the end of the 10th month.
At last, a female elf can't get pregnant after 700 years old.Growth Rate & Stages
Elves are infants up to 5 years of age, toddlers from 5 to 15 years old and are in their early childhood till 40 years of age. Their childhood ends at 55 years old and they then become sexually mature around 75, when their first pair of antlers begins to grow. They only start their adulthood at 90 years old and begin to grow old at 750 years of age.
Their old age is very different from humans': they wither. It means they don't wrinkle but their hair, eyes and skin become dull and then white, and when the time comes, they fuse with their Life-tree.
Their old age is very different from humans': they wither. It means they don't wrinkle but their hair, eyes and skin become dull and then white, and when the time comes, they fuse with their Life-tree.
Ecology and Habitats
The àlfars often live in cities that are not very accessible, in the mountains at an altitude where the temperature and vegetation are ideal. The skòwens live in forests under quite warm climates while the dròws live underground.
Dietary Needs and Habits
They essentially eat parts of plants like roots, stems, leaves, fruits and vegetables, algae, etc... but also can eat mushrooms, fish, eggs and milk. However, they rarely eat meat as they can't digest it well. They are also immune to most poisons and, by extension, alcohols and drugs. As a side effect, their meals are often too spicy or poisonous for members of other species.
Biological Cycle
Every few decades, their antlers fall off and a new pair regrows, except if they surgically removed them.
Behaviour
Most elves act like introverts: they are often quiet, inexpressive, and reclusive from other species. If they physically express their emotions, they will not do so by their face but by instinctive movements of their ears and tail. They are also closely linked to nature and like its peace and quiet. They're very good at agriculture.
Because of their low fertility, children are really precious to them so they're very well taken care of and almost all survive to adulthood. They're also very much overprotective towards pregnant women.
They appreciate sincerity, courtesy, refinement and admire elegance, grace, intelligence and knowledge. Fidelity is also very important in a couple, so there are very few cases of adultery whose culprits are ostracized from society. Curiosity, open-mindedness and willingness to learn are also seen as qualities while tactlessness, stubbornness, lying, ambition and stupidity are looked down upon.
Vulgar, hairy, noisy or old people seem repulsive to them, as do people with scars. To them, those who have ears that are too rigid also appear abnormal, cold and distant. This is the reason why they dislike the company of humans, dwarves, and species with still ears.
Elves know how to fight in melee, with a dagger, a saber, a sword or a bow. They are particularly good at using weapons where agility, speed, and power are important. They also mastered the art of tracking.
Additional Information
Social Structure
They live in towns and villages that are often large because they love wide open spaces. Many elves are therefore rather solitary. Each person can learn one or more trades, each has their own role in society and they are rejected if they refuse to fulfill it. Their social rank is defined by their lineage, their wealth and their talents, except among the dròws who only consider individuals by their actions and skills. The use of jewelery and quality clothing are signs of social status.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Fallen elf antlers are seen as one of the most precious wood by most sapient species and can be used to create intricate jewelery.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
They tend to live close to a forest, generally under a warm climate.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Their senses are better than humans' and they are generally nyctalope. They have a very good sense of direction as well as a keen intuition.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
They have a magic symbiotic link with life-trees: the tree can only survive if connected to an elf and elves use these trees to gain an afterlife and help the Forest Spirit Faëryn grow.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
Àlfheim, Skògarden and Svartheim are the three main kingdoms elves live in.
Beauty Ideals
They consider as beautiful androgynous and graceful people, those who have young, fine and faint features, with skin without imperfections, whatever its color. They also observe the eyes of their interlocutors: light, innocent, melancholic, or smiling eyes are a criterion of beauty while dark, mocking, deceitful or fierce eyes are seen as ugly.
Average Technological Level
They have a great knowledge of the medicinal herbs of their forests and their own anatomy. They're very good doctors who can perform surgery with great precision. Their alchemists are also very gifted which gives them a lot of useful artefacts for their everyday life.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
There are three different elven languages: High Elvish, Common Elvish and Dark Elvish. Common elvish is used by basically every elf and it is used in their everyday life. High elvish is an ancient elvish language only used by some nobles on special occasions. It can also appear in old books. At last, dark elvish is the dròwen language. An older version of this language can be used in dark magic and rituals.
Common Etiquette Rules
Physical contact between two people who don't know each other well enough is seen as too intimate, even for a simple handshake.
It is also good etiquette for àlfars to hide their tail and for people to not touch anyone's tail without consent as it is so sensitive it can become an erogenous zone.
Common Dress Code
Elves feel no repugnance, modesty or shame in the face of nudity since it is perfectly natural to them. Some elves could therefore walk around naked or only dressed in a loincloth, without raising the slightest eyebrow among them. However, this is not an attitude they tolerate in other sapient species.
Àlfars' eyes are sometimes enhanced with red or orange make-up and their hair, often kept long, are tied in an intricate hairstyle. Their ears and antlers may be pierced or surrounded by gold or ruby earrings. Their antlers can also be engraved or surrounded by ivy and decorated with flowers. They are generally dressed in a more or less long dress with wide and drooping sleeves, often in soft colors.
Skòwens' hair, if it is long, is always tied back. They sometimes add a piece of wood, metal, or plant jewelry to the base of their tail. They also wear their clothes close to the body, tight so as not to get tangled in branches and foliage. They often wear forest and dark colors such as black, bottle green or brown. They often also get their antlers surgically removed.
At last, dròws sometimes have light-colored tattoos and/or light paint on their skin, and their eyes may be painted light blue or silver. They are dressed in skins and warm clothing to withstand the cold temperatures of the underground. They also cut their antlers, for practicality, which gives the impression that they have horns that they sometimes paint the same color as their skin. They can have their tail cut off at birth since it can be seen as a weakness.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
At someone's birth, a life-tree's seed is magically linked to them by a priest who will then plant it in the closest Sacred Gardens.
Most elves also celebrate Garden's Sowing.
Common Taboos
Hurting children and pregnant women is the biggest taboo for them. They also forbid foreigners to enter their Sacred Gardens. A life-tree should never be cut down.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
They don't have a lot of relations with other species except for Svartheim, which share some territories with the dwarves and signed a few commercials agreements with them.
Humans don't know a lot about them and are very afraid of their mages who they think engage in dark magic, sacrifices and innatural pratices.
Lifespan
800 years
Average Height
1.85 – 2 m
Average Weight
75 – 88 kg
Average Physique
Tall and slender to fit.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Àlfars: pale skin; blond or silver hair; blue or green eyes.
Skòwens: pale to tanned skin; dark, brown or ginger hair; dark green, tawny or hazel eyes.
Dròws: black or dark blue skin; dark grey to silver hair, red to purple eyes.
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
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