Elf

If Her elves are any indication, The Mother must be resplendent in vibrant tones. She must be the most colourful being in all the cosmos.

Elves are one of four sapient races of Tiyu Amara, following after the dragons and humans and predating the arrival of the merfolk. They are native to the realm of Tiyu Noha, and came to Tiyu Amara during the devastating Collision.

Characteristics

Elves are taller than humans, usually standing between 1.7 and 2.3 metres. Compared to humans they have a greater variety of skin tones, including the human range and adding more saturated yellows and reds. Hair colour is even more varied, with nearly every hue being known to exist.
Elves' lifespan varies greatly by location and environmental factors, but on average they live longer than humans, with many reaching the age of 80 compared to the human 60.

Reproduction and Gender

Unlike humans, elves do not have biological gender, and their reproductive system allows them to bear children with any other member of the species. However they have a far lower fertility rate than humans, meaning they have less children on average. Gestation also takes longer, lasting closer to 300 days.
Elves are capable of having children with any human, regardless of that humans' sexual characteristics, as a result of their unique biology. These offspring, known as either half-elves or half-humans depending on which parent they take after, can be more or less like their elven offspring. Commonly, these children will inherit the elven reproductive system, but after many generations of human interbreeding this may no longer occur.
Due to not having biological gender, elves also do not have social gender in the same way that humans do. While this can cause friction in communities with both elf and human populations, it is not unheard of for elves to adopt human gender roles in order to better fit in with their neighbours. This is very common for half-elves, as their human parents will often impart these roles on them. Many have been known to deliberately toy with the gender roles of the human community they are a part of, as it does not have the same importance to them.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Primordial

Lifespan

80 years

Average Height

1.7 - 2.3 metres

Related Ethnicities

• Ayddzim
• Feortonim
• Kailkoseltii
• Lialpumpámtii
• Shyanhol
• Suungkee
• Youlakei
• Zaimyalkee

History

Unlike humans, elves are not native to Tiyu Amara. Instead they are native to Tiyu Noha, one of a hypothesised 7 worlds created by The Mother, head of the Divinities. For aeons the two worlds were entirely separate, with no way to communicate or travel between them.
This changed with the Collision, in which the Divinity of Change forced the two worlds to collide. With this event, many elves and their physical surroundings were brought to Tiyu Amara as the worlds merged and blended together. They were spread far and wide across the two human continents of Abravost and Thurásin and to many outlying islands. In particular, the City Islands and island of Nowenkayet were created entirely from parts of Tiyu Noha.
The history of elves' interactions with humans are as varied as the cultures and countries, but in many circumstances they were able to peacefully co-exist with their new neighbours, and rebuild their lives together. Some exceptions include the fraught relationship between elves and The Vosti Empire, and the long-term isolation of the elves on the Carved Mountain and the aforementioned City Islands and Nowenkayet.
For a brief period of time between 237 and 326 AC, Portals existed between Abravost and various parts of Tiyu Noha, enabling many elves to return to the lands of their ancestors. Thurasin-based elves, meanwhile, have never had the ability to return.

Groups

While it is impossible to divide any sapient race into clearly defined groups, there are very broad cultural categories into which elves can be placed. The most basic division is between those elves who live on the continent of Abravost and those who live on and around Thurásin, as it appears that these groups had little interaction prior to the Collision and came from different regions of Tiyu Noha. There are possible exceptions such as the Shyanhol elves of eastern Thurásin, who may have had contact with the Lialpumpámtii elves of western Abravost before the Collision.
Within the Abravosti elves, there is a split between east and west. The east of the continent contains many distinct ethnicities, such as the Zaimyalkee, Suungkee, and Kailkoseltii. These groups reside in relative harmony mostly within the Republic of Waal Zaimyatl, and are distinguished by appearance, location within the continent, and opinions towards their human neighbours. On the western half of the continent is only one group, those being the aforementioned Lialpumpámtii who reside within the Republic of Skarhu. Occasionally, distinctions are made between those who reside in their native marshy north, and those who live in the colder "human" south.
Among Thurásin elves is a great degree of diversity, with divisions often following the pre-existing cultural divides of the native human populace. Three clusters of note are the northern Ayddzim, the centrally-located Feortonim, and the eastern aforementioned Shyanhol. The central group is among the most internally diverse, as they are comprised largely of half-elves and take on many of the cultural traditions of their human parents, and thus share in many of the geopolitical complexities of Thurásin's center. Ayddzim are predominantly found within their native Republic of Gze Gu'azhayddzi, while the Shyanhol are part of the titular Shyanhol League.