Elven
The culture of the elves is known broadly as the elven culture. Elven cultures are highly diverse, but united by a love of detail, a connection with their Fey origins, and an intense synchronicity with the elves' unusually long lifespans.
There are four basic elven cultures: the sun elves, the moon elves, the wood elves, and the high elves. Sun and moon elves share many cultural and linguistic norms, as do wood and high elves. These two groups are sometimes called the Seelie and Unseelie elves or the eldaterrae and eldasorrae, respectively.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The language of the elves is Elvish. Most elves speak some Common, particularly those in large or Human-dominated settlements, but Elvish is the preferred language especially within the elven homeland of Scalados. In the past century, it has become a mark of prestige and culture for elves to learn Sylvan.
Culture and cultural heritage
Elves are highly connected to their origins with the Fey. Many elves keep shrines or trinkets to particular archfey of the court that uplifted them, in addition to the symbols of their personal gods.
Ideals
Gender Ideals
Elves have recognized the fluidity and plurality of gender since their founding. The mythical first elf Corellon Latharien was genderfluid; according to legend, part of his bargain with the fey stipulated that elves would always be able to shift between gender presentations as needed. To non-elven observers, elves often appear somewhat androgynous.
Relationship Ideals
Elves have a complicated relationship with romance. It is highly valued across all elven cultures and an incredibly frequent subject of songs and stories, particularly as stories of soulmates or great god-ordained loves. Marriages in sun and moon elf culture are practically always love matches, and using marriage for social status or political gain is seen as cowardly at best and outright evil at worst. In wood and high elf cultures—particularly among those in higher echelons of society—these marriages of convenience are much more common, and there is a widespread belief that a good match between families will naturally breed a strong love connection between the couple arranged to be married. Stories of unrequited and forbidden love are heavily romanticized among the elves, but with vastly different focuses. Among the eldasorrae, these stories usually end with the lovers either abandoning their lives to be together or dying rather than live apart; among the eldaterrae, they stress the nobility of holding a forbidden love secret while fulfilling your familial and societal duty.
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