Elvá

The Elvá (EL-vah) were an ancient people descended from the few Children of Ména who were brought back to Elvala by the Holy Sentinels in the Age of Spirits, as the Sentinels sought to carry out their service to humanity after the fall of Ulé and Ména. Due to their proximity to the Celestial Falls in the days before the Cataclysm, and their training by the Sentinels, these originally normal humans were transformed in body and mind by their exposure to intense ethereal power.
Though they retained the basic form of humanity, they appeared as healthy and beautiful figures of human perfection. However, their ethereal enhancement gave them powers and abilities well-beyond those of ordinary human beings. Due to this distinction, the Children of Elvá are often classified as a different species from the Children of Ména.
As a group, true Elváen society existed only prior to the Great Cataclysm. Elváen explorers spread out from Arkhea along the primary Ley Lines, travelling across the world and interacting with human cultures that (at the time) were far more primitive. Their great ethereal power -- and seemingly immortal existence -- set them apart from all other people in the world. For this reason, the Elvá often appeared to the Children of Ména as divine or angelic beings.
The Elvá are the founders of the earliest civilizations in the world. More than any human culture, the ethereal sciences were interwoven into their everyday lives, and all the Elvá had inborn etherical ability. The few direct descendants of the Elvá who survived destruction of their culture and continued in the world, came to be referred to as the Eldar Fae (ancestors of the many Fae subcultures of latter ages).
The Elvá possess unlimited Ultravision, Empathy, and the ability to rest in Reverie. But the single most significant Elváen trait is their regenerative ability, and the incredible longevity it provides them. Elvá do not age in the normal sense of the word, and they quickly recover from most injury. True Elvá recover one lost injury point per minute, even when brought below zero IP. This regeneration eliminates normal scars and disfigurement, and even allows for the re-growth of lost limbs. Though fire damage does not regenerate at this quickened rate, it nevertheless leaves no traces when it does heal.
ANCIENT HISTORY
After The Doomed Ascent, and the exile of the first parents from Elvala, the Janniri struggled to understand their purpose in Arkhea, if not to serve and guide the children that God had created. They squabbled among themselves for preeminence. But as the Janniri began to spread out from Arkhea and discovered the children of Ména lived and thrived in greater Aerith, some sought to fulfill their created purpose by bringing some children Ména back to Elvalar. These Elvari were trained in the etherea arts, and benefitted from the instruction of the Sentinels. Over time, the very presence of the Source altered and enhanced their physical characteristics, providing long life and an innate ability to control active etherea. Just prior to the Great Cataclysm, many of the Elvari were sent to safety in Fae'ri, where they survived the destruction of Arkhea.
DESCENDANTS OF THE ELVA
The few Elvaen survivors of the Cataclysm on the Isle of Faeri were protected from the ravages of the Traullish plague. Sequestered on Faeri, few children were born to them. Later known as the elder fae, their lifespans far exceeded that of normal human beings. They did, on occasion, intermarry with those of other cultures, but with each generation their lifespans shortened, and they lost much of their extrordinary regenerative ability. Descendants of the first Elvani came to be referred to as the "Fae" (i.e. the fair ones).

Origin/Ancestry

Arkhea (Elvala)