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The Fey

Elves are the species most popularized in culture, and for a reason. There were many of them, they were powerful and domineering, and their history lasted for many thousands of years, and continues to this day. Elves have many divisions, but they rarely coexist for long periods of time. Each so-called elf culture is a separate subspecies, which later gradually gave way to a new one. The subspecies differed not only culturally, technologically and in lifestyle, but also externally. Cultures could exist simultaneously, but the older one inevitably died out over time, while the new one became more and more numerous.   Also, elves are probably the most stereotypical type of Inhumans according to the Fringe: they built their power on magic and religion, and the gods they created were among the most powerful on the planet.  

The Ancient Culture

  The first culture of elves is called "ancient", and almost nothing is known about it: neither how they looked, nor where they lived. It is only clear that they were skillful users of magic and, quite possibly, built their civilization even before they "met" people. The lifespan of ancient elves is unknown  

The Salt Culture

  Salt or "Light" elves were distinguished by their snow-white skin and hair, and would have been indistinguishable from later mints if not for their pointed ears. It is believed that it was the salt elves who first came into contact with humans somewhere in the foothills of the Eastern Alps. This culture flourished in the Bronze Age and grew through an active trade in salt and tin. The salt elves were actively in conflict with the dwarves from the Alpine Stones, and, probably for this reason, they put a lot of effort into strengthening their own deities. Salt elves lived, on average, 60-80 years: more than humans, but fewer then subsequent Elven cultures.  

The Spruce Culture

  Spruce elves, or wood elves, are the most famous subspecies. These are what we call the Celts. These are what we call Gauls. They have dark hair and woody skin. They prefer to live in cities built on the banks of rivers, preferably near dense forests. Having spread throughout Western Europe in Antiquity, they first continued the trading traditions of their ancestors, but then gradually shifted north to their new center of power - the Loire Valley, where probably the greatest goddess in history, Danu, was born.   The spruce elves also began to adopt the customs of their humans, altering them in their own way. As descended from Indo-Europeans, the Celts especially revered horses, they were a symbol of status and nobility in their culture. The elves were able to raise another powerful goddess around this - Epona. Thanks to advanced magic and the support of the gods, wood elves could reach the age of 200 years.  

The Marble Culture

  The marble or "sunny" culture of the elves, for the most part, is an aberration: it was newer than Spruce, but at the same time it rather regressed, having adopted many of Salt Culture's elements: white (although less bright coloring) skin, ash hair, love of mining and a desire to trade... Even in the matter of life expectancy, they regressed: 120 years was the maximum for the marble culture. This allowed her to exist in parallel with the wood elves, but in the end, the children of the forest survived the children of the marble. The Marble Elves began to settle in the foothills again, spreading from the Alps through the Balkans to Anatolia. The Fringe society is very surprised by these migrations: representatives of culture abandoned their human pupils, moved to a new place and gathered a new mass of people around them.   The last Marble elves lived in the region of Anatolia known as Galatia. And on the site of the last settlement of culture, which was deserted in the II century AD "thanks" to the Romans, many centuries later the settlement of Zamandar was founded.  

The Dusk Elves

  The Dusk Elves are not called Dark for nothing. Their black skin and whitish hair reflect the reality of the elves, who were repudiated by their own gods during the Roman conquest. These are elves of captivity, who preferred to settle in deep, impenetrable forests, hiding from the Eagle. The dark elves began to rely only on their own physical abilities: agility, excellent eyesight, accuracy. During the reign of Rome, the Dusk Culture was practically obliterated on the continent, and the remnants of this subspecies of Inhumans lived in the British Isles for some time. In the Middle Ages, they were thinned out again, now the Vikings, and those that survived became literally slaves of the English state. The last triumph of the Dusk Culture was during the Hundred Years War, and then it gradually went into oblivion: by the 17th century, they simply did not remain. Dark elves are captive elves, slave elves, and they lived as long as humans, rarely reaching 60 years of age.  

The Dawn Culture

  The Dawn Culture separated from the Dusk one when the Romans finally left the British Isles. Unlike the Dusk Elves, the Dawn Elves have abandoned any hope for humanity and concentrated on the magical and religious achievements of their forest ancestors. Possessors of light skin, like ivory, and light, and often bright red hair, the so-called "high" elves lived longer and longer with each generation, and their ruler Oberon became eternal. The survival of the dawn culture was ensured by their gradual isolation from people on the islands between Albion and Iceland. Contact grew weaker with each passing century, until it ended completely in 19th century Scotland with the onset of industrialization in Great Britain.   It should be noted that there are people in the society of the Dawn Culture. However, their elves do not teach, do not educate, as it was before - they are ruled by them. At the court of King Oberon, people are slaves, lured by deception or kidnapped in infancy. They are used to strengthen faith in the gods, although this power is only a pitiful ghost of what the Celtic gods could.  

Fauns

  Satyrs are a "hybrid" Inhuman race belonging to the fey family. Originally from Western and Central Europe, they were an idle people who preferred to leave the creation and support of the gods to their distant cousins, the elves. The satyrs themselves, mainly, entertained themselves, ate and harmed those who tried to force them to do something useful. They are known for their rather harsh banter and pranks, and are generally considered pranksters and deceivers, and treated them as a sense of humor dictated: those who had a sense of humor, loved Satyrs. Those who didn't - hated them.   This Inhuman species is also characterized by a rejection of centralized power, arrogance, personality cult, and the power of the few over many. A satyr named Pan, finding himself in Bronze Age Greece, disliked the local hero and demigod Hercules, and made fun of him rather harshly. On the other hand, satyrs were always ready to help someone who was considered noble enough, but too weak, in danger. Thus, in the 4th century BC, these non-humans actively helped Philip the Great and his son Alexander.   They perceived the conquests of Alexander the Great as a way to spread independent Greek culture throughout the known world. However, after the collapse of the Macedonian Empire, they themselves began to turn into supporters of kings and despotic rulers, at least at first. Realizing this, the satyrs began to leave the courts of the Hellenistic kingdoms and try to settle separately, mainly in the forests. Many even returned to the Celts, under the wing of the wise elves. There they were overtaken by the Roman purges. However, individual members of this species survived, hiding on the borders of the Roman Empire, returning to Greece after softening its mores. But even there they did not stay long: already in the 15th century AD, the remnants of satyrs tried to get to their historical homeland, France. Many did not survive the transition, and those that could integrate into existing human societies. Fauns still exist today, preferring to settle in large cities full of parties and entertainment.

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Cover image: by NeocoreGames

Comments

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May 2, 2021 06:48

А что насчёт современных эльфов? К какой культуре они относятся? Ясно, что рассветные дожили до наших дней, но относятся ли к ним все современные представители или они образуют новую ветвь? (Еловую культуру покарёжило немного)

May 2, 2021 09:32 by Andrew Belenkiy aka Teyvill Dost

Я сначала думал, что тоже звучит не очень (про Еловую), а потом решил, что нет, достаточно атмосферно для эльфов.   Современные - да, все рассветные. Новых ветвей пока что замечено не было. Обычно для создания новой ветви требуется какое-то большое изменение в образе жизни :)