Elves and Half-Elves

Description

When the Gods first created the mortal species, Aurora was given the first opportunity to create one, being the patron Goddess of Creation. She decided to created a species with refined senses, artistic skill and the longevity to pursue their artistic talents for centuries. However, much to her dismay, these tall, slender and graceful humanoids grew languid due to their long lifespans and did not pursue their talents with as much passion as shorter-lived races. Rather they take things slow, considering they have plenty of time at their disposal anyway and to rush would only shorten their lives. Because elves do not die of old age.
What ends up killing them is their memory. Elves have an excellent memory and rarely forget something, but this is as often a curse as it is a blessing, for their brain capacity is not unlimited. And with all the memories they collect over their long lives, they eventually run out of space and then it all breaks down. They go mad, switching between different memories as they can no longer process all of it, and at some point their certain bodily functions will shut down and they die. An elf who lives a calm and uneventful life may live up to nearly a millennium, while one that constantly goes on grand adventures or studies diligently everyday may die at the 'young age' of two or three-hundred. On average though, it is rare to find a sane elf older than five-hundred years.
Elves were created from Elemental Water, and they still have an affinity for the element, as they often reside near bodies of water and their bodies liquefy upon death. They do not have a solidified gender either, being able to switch between malen and femalen form through a ritual that they can perform every other year at most. While they technically have visible reproductive organs in both forms, the Gods have left them barren in their femalen form to prevent them from overbreeding during their long lifetimes.

Instead they are now a created race, borne from the blood of an Elf in malen form and formed through an expansive ritual that each Elf can only perform once every hundred years. Many Elfs choose to never perform this ritual as the experiences of creating and raising a child quickly fill up their memories and shorten their lifespan significantly. This is part of why their population size remains relatively small, despite their long lives.

In the Duwalan Forest

The Duwalan Forest is the original ancestral homeland of the first Elves and currently home to the Faeborn or Duwalan Elves who are, a subgroup of Elves and still the largest among them (~75% of the world population of Elves). Like all other Elves they are slender, graceful and generally unearthly beautiful although their fashion sense can be somewhat odd. They live for many centuries and this colors their perception of time as well. The Duwalan Elves are calm, aloof and uniquely change only over a long period of time to the point where they sometimes appear unchanging to shorter-lived species. They share quite a few traits with the Fae of the region and they are generally believed to be descended from them in some way. This assumption is incorrect however, and it is a lie that is purposefully propagated by the Duwalan Elves. With their grace and intelligence they consider themselves far superior to other civilized humanoid species. They are not so different however and they cannot stand the idea that they are only separated by lifespan. Most of their 'lore' that they spread is nothing but propaganda stating they are descended from, or connected in some way to, the Fae of the forest. Some stories even claim their souls return to the Faewylde when they die.
Meanwhile, these Fae live with them in the forest, and while they are curious about the behavior of the Elves, they do not understand them. While the Faeborn are definitely affected by the Fae and the Duwalan Forest (much like everything else in the forest), a lot of their behavior is them consciously trying to mimic the Fae. Their attempted assimilation of the unorthodox mindset of the Fae has further alienated the Elves from other civilized species.
Due to their long lives they are able to study the arcane extensively, and the Duwalan Forest is a magical place full of wards and charms that can divert a traveler and protect the Faeborn. This has kept them safe from invasion for centuries, as those who tried to attack them all failed miserably. But with industrialization on the rise, and the Faeborn not taking part in it at all, they are once again at risk of being out-muscled by neighboring countries. Not to mention that their lands are rich in resources and thus a desirable target for conquest.
Some within their ranks clamor for change, to aggressively deter potential invaders through preemptive strikes, but their elders think it will all pass without issue.

Regional differences

Just like the Fae, the Faeborn are distinctly different between the Felurian Woods and the Rydonian Hills. The Felurian Faeborn are grey skinned and have slumped postures. Their dark eyes seem to stare into nothing and sometimes they do not even bother to react to stimuli in their direct surroundings. They rarely bother to plan ahead and instead wallow in the moment. As such their villages tend to consist of simple hovels and wooden walkways. There are many of these villages spread around the swamps in the Felurian Woods, each lead by a village elder who the others look to for wisdom. Many of these elders base their authority on a supposed connection to the nearby Fae that they would have developed over the years.
The Rydoni Faeborn tend to have bronze or copper complexions and eyes like pools of liquid gold. Unlike the Felurians, they dress in bright colors and constantly invent new artful clothing shapes. The Rydoni are eccentric and constantly come up with new extravagant ideas for grand building projects or inventions. Their towns and villages are a hodgepodge of (often unfinished) buildings of different shapes and colors. They are not as receptive towards authority and many of these villages are barely governed at all. The citizenry largely just do what they feel like and criminals are dealt with by the rest of the group, if they haven't committed suicide already.
Of course not all Elves want to imitate the Fae to this extent. These are not considered Faeborn, but they are still Elves. These individuals can be found all around the world, as they are not at home in the Duwalan Forests. They will be occasionally met with suspicion in other regions however due to the reputation that their 'wilder brethren' have carved out for themselves.

In Middenland

As mentioned, elves are not all uniform in their thought, and some do not share their wilder brethren's desire to separate themselves from the civilized races in favor of the Fae. They call themselves the Elvvhin, or Free Elves, for they have freed themselves from the influence of the Faeborn, who they consider near-mindless drones too caught up in their worship of the Fae to notice the world around them. They are a small minority however, little more than a twentieth in population size compared to the original Faeborn.

The farther reaches of the Duwalan Forest never felt the influence of the Fae quite as much, and these Elves are much easier to interact with, although they often hold strange views regarding nature. They believe that nature should be left to run its course, in some cases even refusing to help those being attacked by monsters until after the fight is over.
Others can also be found further inwards Middenland and especially in the Duchy of Rosalia, as it is closest to the Duwalan Forest (although some travel even farther up to the Eastern Steppes). Since their motivation for leaving home was often to be in more direct contact with the other mortal races, they can be quite curious about the cultures of other civilized races and they integrate a bit more easily in their societies than others of their kind. They are more comfortable with technology, and due to their long lifespan often have a better perspective when it comes to long-term stability versus short-term gain. This makes them excellent planners or architects, but their dedication to a single craft also makes them talented artisans, which are always welcome in the trade-heavy society of Middenland.

Half-Elves

Those who live with humans sometimes end up romantically involved with the shorter-lived beings, and from that union a child may be born. These half-elves display traits of both parents, but not to the extent of either. The artistic talent and refined taste of their elven parent, combined with the curiosity, inventiveness and passion of a human means they are often a very progressive people who seek to bring change. Their mixed heritage also means they are rather unwelcome back in the Duwalan Forest unless they were born there, and as such most half-elves can be found within the cities. Their ambitious nature and natural magical talent also means they have an above average presence within the Ryvallen Confederacy.

In the Eastern Steppes

Some of the more ambitious elves and half-elves and up venturing to the Ryvallen Confederacy, a magocracy located in the Eastern Steppes. Here their magical aptitude is not only valued highly, but allows them to ascend to a higher position and study the arcane with far less constraints. Due to their longer lives they have an immense amount of time to study these practices, and especially the necromantic magics that allow them to take advantage of the shorter-lived mortals dying around them. This particular group has slightly worsened the overall reputation of Elves and Half-Elves within the eastern Duchies of Middenland that are closest to the confederacy, where any Elf passing is given some amount of side-eye.

In the Lu'qua Tropics

Along the Mangrove Coast and in parts of the Living Jungle close to the city-state of Kulanakai live a group of Elves, whose ancestors traveled here ages ago. They have specifically adapted to the unusual environment here. To avoid the myriad of natural predators found here, they have adapted to a more aquatic lifestyle, even going as far as being able to breathe water and being able to communicate with marine life. The Mai'akai, colloquially called 'Sea Elves', are proficient hunters and they are more than capable of living off the bounty of the sea as well as the jungle. Being one of the few people who know how to navigate the jungles and obtain some of the resources within, they have drawn interest from other nations who have started up trading relations with them, exchanging building materials and technology for the exotic goods.

In Sabara

Centuries ago, a subgroup of Elves were cursed and cast out of the Duwalan Forest for their disobedience. Their markings left them feeling unwelcome even among their brethren in Middenland, who gave them the name Kurodaka. And so they traveled further and further south, eventually reaching the desert continent of Sabara where they made their new home. Their curse left them and their descendants with dark skin well-suited to the sun, but also with vision that could never quite adapt to it. This is their burden, but they have adapted to it well by shifting their activity to the night-times, when the desert is cooler as well. They have also built many cities into mountainsides or in the underground cavern systems below the desert.

We are the Faeborn, children of two worlds. You had better leave this place, man-spawn.

— Elven village chief trying to scare off a group of Middenlanders

To summarize the different sub-types of Elf present in Levantis, how they correspond to the official sub-races and where they can be found, refer to the table below:

Name	Subrace equivalent	Location
Faeborn, Duwalan Elves	High Elf, Eladrin	Duwalan Forest
Elvvhin, Free Elves	Wood Elf, High Elf (minority)	Edges of the Duwalan Forest, Middenland
Mai'Akai, Sea Elves	Sea Elf	Lu'Qua Tropics (Kulanakai)
Kurodaka	Drow	Sabara