Elf
"An old and varied race. Considered children of the Spirit world, or the Stars, Elves are a wild and aloof peoples. Enjoying their very long lives with little concern for the other races of the world. " - A census of Hijr, by Mel Atoniin, Chief Genealogist at the Spire.
Elves, like all peoples of Fey ancestry, are wild and chaotic by their very nature. Categorizing them into select groups can be quite difficult, but in a pinch the following groups can usually be applied;
- Drow or Dark Elves - Descended from an earlier subrace of elves, the drow retreated from the surface world millennia ago. Now they have built their own civilization in the depths of the Underdark, patterned after the Way of Lolth (one of their evil ancestors). The drow have skin that resembles charcoal or obsidian, as well as stark white or pale yellow hair. They commonly have very pale eyes (so pale as to be mistaken for white) in shades of lilac, silver, pink, red, and blue. They tend to be smaller and thinner than most elves.
- Eladrin or Star Elves - Elves native to the Feywild, a realm of beauty, unpredictable emotion, and boundless magic. An eladrin is associated with one of the four seasons and has coloration reminiscent of that season, which can also affect the eladrin’s mood: Autumn is the season of peace and goodwill, when summer’s harvest is shared with all. Winter is the season of contemplation and dolor, when the vibrant energy of the world slumbers. Spring is the season of cheerfulness and celebration, marked by merriment as winter’s sorrow passes. Summer is the season of boldness and aggression, a time of unfettered energy. Some eladrin remain associated with a particular season for their entire lives, whereas other eladrin transform, adopting characteristics of a new season. When finishing a long rest, any eladrin can change their season. An eladrin might choose the season that is present in the world or perhaps the season that most closely matches the eladrin’s current emotional state. For example, an eladrin might shift to autumn if filled with contentment, another eladrin could change to winter if plunged into sorrow, still another might be bursting with joy and become an eladrin of spring, and fury might cause an eladrin to change to summer.
- High Elf (Including Sun and Moon) or Gold Elf - high elf have a keen mind and a mastery of at least the basics of magic. There are two primary kinds of high elves. Sun elves are haughty and reclusive, believing themselves to be superior to non-elves and even other elves. Moon elves are more common and more friendly, and often encountered among humans and other races. Sun elves have bronze skin and hair of copper, black, or golden blond. Their eyes are golden, silver, or black. While Moon elves (also called silver elves or gray elves) are much paler, with alabaster skin sometimes tinged with blue. They often have hair of silver-white, black, or blue, but various shades of blond, brown, and red are not uncommon. Their eyes are blue or green and flecked with gold.
- Wood or Wild Elves - Having keen senses and intuition, and their fleet feet carry them quickly and stealthily through native forests. Wood elves (also called wild elves, green elves, or forest elves) are typically reclusive and distrusting of non-elves. Their skin tends to be copperish in hue, sometimes with traces of green. Their hair tends toward browns and blacks, but it is occasionally blond or copper-colored. Their eyes are green, brown, or hazel.
- Shadar-Kai or Dread Elves - By far the least common of the elves, Shadar-Kai are descendents of Ellef that were trapped within the Dreadrealm. They are soft spoken, morose and somber. The mysterious shadar-kai venture to Hijr from the Shadowlands to advance the will of their nameless patron. Once they were fey like the rest of their elven kin, and now they exist in a strange state between life and death. Eladrin and shadar-kai are like reflections of each other: one bursting with emotion, the other nearly devoid of it.
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