Elves

The elves are one of the most ancient inhabitants of Ethel, and as a result have a long and rich history. However, their recent war with the dwarves (known as the War of Scorching Earth) has left the elvish kingdoms in a sorry state of affairs. Now only a shadow of their former glory, they have reclused themselves to the Forest of Navarre, and few elves venture past the ancient treelines.

Characteristics

Elves have always been considered by contemporary opinion to be the fairest of all races. Their slender builds allow them to be apt archers and assassins, agile and quick. However, this does put them at a disadvantage when it comes to the brutality of hand to hand combat. They tend to be a similar size to humans if not a little smaller, averaging between four and a half to five and a half feet. Elves have the longest lifespans of all the ancient races, living upwards of a millennium.

Elves do not adapt well to other climates, and as such have remained in the same place for thousands, if not tens of thousands of years. Their historic roots within the Forest of Navarre are ancient and strong. As a result of their long-standing residence in the same place, their physical differences are minimal on a phenotypic level. They tend to posess very fair skin and hair ranging from dirty blonde to snow-white.

Of all the species on Ethel, the elves retain the closest connection to the Gescræft. This allows them to become incredibly powerful spellcasters, and their Sal'Uthurs are highly sought after for Gescræft experimentation and study among other races and civilizations. Due toi their innate relationship with the Gescræft, elves have been able to study it intently for millennia. As a result, many aspiring mages wishing to reach the level of Sal'Uthur make pilgrimages to the various elven schools of Gescræft to learn the evlish ways.

History

The Elvish history is long and closely guarded. Not a soul besides the highest ranking Sal'Uthurs of the Gesmaetha Saelors have access to knowledge of elvish history from before the War of the Planes. The elves call this resposibility the ishanta, or "the burden." The Primarch of the Gesmaetha Saelors claims that this is a necessary evil, intended to prevent a great anguish on the part of the Elvish people.

As far as the accessible histories state, the elves' ancestral home is the Forest of Navarre, and their civilization was largely spared from the War of the Planes. Although they contributed to the fight against Sardakur Rothma, the brunt of the destruction was laid upon the other side of the Gales in the west. The dwarves and elves had struck a tenuous alliance in the face of such a great evil, with the dwarves allowing the elves faster passage through the Gales to engage their common enemy. However, after the War of the Planes had occurred and the threat had ended, the elves still used the Gales to move between the western coast and inland. The dwarves, believing the elves had overstayed their welcome, forcfully removed the elves from their lands and closed their gates, leading to numerous diplomatic disasters. The elves were unhappy at their treatment and the dwarves believed the elves had broken the terms of their agreement.

Tensions between the elves and the dwarves came to a head when the dwarves began expanding their mining operations out of the Eastern Gales and into the hillsides within the Forest of Navarre. The elves saw this as a provocation and a desecration of their ancestral homeland and began to ruthlessly attack dwarven miners and settlements outside of the mountains. The dwarves escalated by sending armed escorts with their prospecting expeditions, razing forests and ancient groves in their path to remove ambush cover, as well as to spite the elves. Enraged, the elves gathered the Gesmaetha Saelors and pooled their understanding and control of the Gescræft, unleashing an earthen shockwave through the Gales. Numerous deep mines within the dwarven cities collapsed, resulting in the deaths of thousands of experienced miners. Thus sparked the War of Scorching Earth.

The war was long and bloody. Tens of thousands perished on both sides, cities as old as time were torn asunder, and wonders of technology and magic were lost to wanton destruction. The war ended only because both the elves and the dwarves could no longer sustain it. An armistace was signed, mediated by the Kingdom of Nordlund, and the war was ended after nearly half a century of brutal conflict. Even today, the elves and dwarves harbor deep seated resentment towards one another. With the war finally over, the elves were able to reconsolidate what remained of their once powerful society. Even to this day, centuries later, the elves have yet to fully recover from the conflict. Their losses were many and the destruction of much of their infrastructure and technology had set them back centuries. The Forest of Navarre itself suffered heavily in the conflict, with much of the forest bordering the Gales still being nurtured back to health

Today, the elves live reclused lives, slowly rebuilding and repopulating their homelands. . Maybe one day the elvish kingdoms will shine again, and the elves will one again reside among the political powers of Ethel.

Size

Medium

Homeland

The Forest of Navarre

Affiliated Factions

The Kingdom of Navarre
The Gesmaetha Saelors

Religions

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