Elves
Elves live in villages and towns scattered throughout Tellene, usually loyal to a prince or a king that rules a loose hereditary monarchy. The oldest and most secluded of these settlements number in the tens of thousands, but these few are rare and exist only in deep forests. Surface elves often gather in cities in the Lendelwood and the Kalalali Forest, while ancient dark elf cities lie beneath the Elenon and Krimppatu Mountains.
The elven races include the high elves (lathlani), dark elves (drow), gray elves (doulathan), wild elves (seleeris), and wood elves (aralarai). To play an elf, simply use the game statistics in the Player’s Handbook, but with Merchant’s Tongue replacing the Common language. They also speak both High and Low Elven. You can use the same statistics for each subrace, or use those provided. Remember that the true difference is in personality and appearance, not mere game statistics.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Ammereia, Asaibakil*, Celamis, Coleiana, Culexi*, Hanivia, Jelanica, Jeshela, Larelena, Mehamia, Seviavena, Tesseia, Tulmeree,Wylameia,Wylixolin*. *Dark elf only.Masculine names
Male: Amascai, Amelak*, Batidell, Cateine, Hullitee, Huridin, Kiteine*, Melidor, Sellitad, Shifyrn, Sinatai,Teleseine,Toratin,Welityrn, Xeb’beth*. *Dark elf only.Family names
When dealing with non-elves, family names are usually translated to Low Elven, since High Elven is the sacred language of their elven ancestors. Also, High Elven is so detailed that it takes even a skilled elven scribe 3-4 hours to draw one character! Some elves translate directly their names into Merchant’s Tongue, so high elves have names such as Whitehelm, Highspear and Lightfoot, while wood elves use arboreal or rural-sounding names, like Woodhall, Oaklimb and Greentree. Wild elf names might refer to animals or locations such as Foxtail or Riverrunner. Dark and gray elves prefer to use their native names, since they are less concerned with making pronunciation easier for the “lesser races.” Gray elves feel that if the humans cannot pronounce Veirseleak, it simply further demonstrates their barbarism and lack of culture. Adralabriria, Aladan’na*, Bereralaen, Calaeclya, Cebaenaryn, Daramariel, Halamaela, Isachariel, Jenneriaeclya, Kexithemios*, Laberiaddlaen, Naedredar, Nalabouranna, Onaeriel, Sharasiki*,Tendriliamar. *Dark elf only.Major Language Groups and Dialects
Standard Low Elven does not use the letters “K,” “Q,” or “X,” although the dark elf language (Drow) contains “K” and “X” but not “Q.” Dark elves also separate all identical consonant pairs with an apostrophe, as well as never using identical vowel pairs (such things are bad luck).