When Exandria trembled at the gods' footfalls, the ancient elves of the north pleaded with the Arch Heart to save them from the world's ending. Corellon did not respond, for it is said that their divine ears still rang with pain after their duel to the death with
Gruumsh, the Ruiner. Desperate and panicked, the greatest mages of the elves performed a ritual powerful enough to encase their entire civilization in ice, in hopes of protecting it from the wrath of the warring gods while the elves escaped into the Feywild.
It is said that the ashes of
The Calamity still blew upon the breeze when, centuries later, the barriers of ice melted and the elves of Wildemount emerged from the Feywild once more. On their return to the world, they found that their ritual had not held fast. The Calamity had wiped almost all traces of elven civilization from Exandria. With only the ruined husks of their mighty cities still standing, the elves began to rebuild.
Even though the human-majority civilizations of the
Dwendalian Empire and the
Clovis Concord view elves as reclusive relics of the ancient past, most elves view themselves as newcomers to the world, for their return to Wildemount is only a generation or two removed from the present day. The notable exception are the dark elves of Xhorhas, who have lived in Eastern Wynandir since time immemorial. Still, it is only in the past few centuries that they have abandoned the labyrinthine caverns of the Underdark and emerged to live on the surface.
Elves in the Dwendalian Empire
Though the dark elves of Xhorhas are the subject of imperial propaganda and widespread prejudice, elves of other kinds living within the empire are generally treated as friends and allies. Imperial humans love to revere elves as ethereal, flawless beings, and to express shock when elves reveal the ways that they are all-to similar to humans. Elves who maintain their "exotic mystique" are most likely to become respected members of society, and many hold great social power within cities such as
Zadash and
Rexxentrum.
Elves on the Menagerie Coast
Elves are commonplace in the Clovis Concord and among the pirates of the
Revelry, and people living on this part of the continent most often laugh at tales of elven grace and beauty. "An elf bleeds just like everyone else" is a common saying on the Menagerie Coast, used to dismiss the fanciful sense of wonder common in the Empire—and the saying has evolved into a dismissal of all overwrought tales, even if the idiom doesn't quite fit. Savvy buyers of curios and souvenirs might say, "Your wares bleed, just like everyone else's" to a merchant who has exaggerated the quality of their goods.
Most elves on the Menagerie Coast are descended from travelers from the desert continent of Marquet, but this area is also home to two rare subraces of elf. The seas off the coast are inhabited by secluded civilizations of water-breathing sea elves, who trade with underwater enclaves of merfolk. All but the most idealistic or mercenary of these ocean dwellers see the petty squabbles of the "boat-riders" of the surface world as beneath their notice. At another geographic extreme, the moon-worshiping
Pallid Elves of the
Cyrios Mountains are new to the world, and are generally viewed with cordial curiosity by the denizens of the Concord's cities.
Elves in Xhorhas
The largest elf-majority civilization in Wildemount is the
Kryn Dynasty of Xhorhas, which is made up primarily of dark elves. The
Drow of Xhorhas are respectful toward people of all races—including other elves—as they believe that their holy cycle of rebirth allows them to be reborn into non-drow bodies. The empathy to be gained by experiencing life in another body is crucial to their religion and their culture.
Elves who live outside
The Luxon's cycle of rebirth are viewed with pity, for they have not yet seen the true path. Elves who dwell within the Dwendalian Empire are a notable exception, their imperial allegiance earning them only the cold bite of a blade.
