Elf
Deep forests, overgrown with thorny vines. Spaced woods where lone songbirds speak. Timbered valleys between mountains. All these are where the elves feel at home.Hospitable and just a little snobbish to those uninitiated to their customs, elves gain light humor from someone unaccustomed to their ways but help them understand, even if lightly sardonically. Elves love to speak about what they enjoy, but will not initiate the conversation to it, though hinting is not off the table. If questioned, the elf will happily explain almost every facet of their favorite topic. This is due to their long lives and thus their long experience with such topics. It comes from a place of knowledge and understanding, but also a dash of boasting. They are writers, crafters, sometimes adventurers. They do defend their homes fiercely, and do not prefer to invade or attack.
Origin
Originally created by the Trinity of Leaves in the Feywild, the elves migrated to the newly formed P.P.M. with their deities' blessings. They found the deep and dark woods and dim valleys between tall mountains to call their home. Indeed these darker and secluded places were redolent of their old home. They decided that their current place sufficed and focused on perpetuating their culture and art.Living & Reproduction
Lifespan
Elves are well-known long-livers. They can live upwards of 750 years, with very few making it past that. The average lifespan is 600–700 years.Maturity
Elves reach physical maturity about 20 years old, but they are not considered "wise" enough in society to be adults until they achieve more more worldly experiences, which is around 100 years. Until then, they are still called children or "tweens" for being in between child and adult.Reproduction
Elven anatomy and genetics favor a slower pace to reproduction. Mating rituals — for they are rituals — take place over the course of a month with mating being just less than a week. These are the preferred mating traditions, elves may be inclined to reproduce quicker, but the process still takes a few days.Gender
Since their arrival, elves have followed in the footsteps of their holy trinity, adopting a third, androgynous gender called filé. Corellon is filé themself.Marriage
Due to the long life of elves, many do not remain constant to one partner for their lives. The marriages are monogamous themselves, mostly, with discussed and sometimes predetermined endings. The divorce is not tantamount to sin since they consider it against nature to be with one person for several hundred years. They call these intermittent marriages "block marriages."Inclinations
Of course, not all elves are the same, though they are guided by the blissful hand of Corellon and the other Three.Alignment
Most elves find freedom and joy and expression paramount in society, if they prefer society at all. The "wild blood" flows strongly and they perpetuate this through their society and cultural standards, for better or worse. Of course, not all elves behave in this way, and some may cast aside the "wildness" to search for restraint or simply disregard. Such actions are seen as taboo in elven society.Time
Due to their long lives, elves do not have a normal concept of time. "Deliberate" is the best way to describe elves when they consider important issues. Everyday or small issues don't require much thought, but with big issues or corrections, elves prefer their time to consider possibilities. Others see this as needless pedantry, but the elves see it as simply the best way to approach a situation. Their mindset is since they live a long time they have plenty of time to arrive at a conclusion. This delayed thinking can be construed as elves simply waiting out the problem to see if it resolves itself. After all, if they have hundreds of years to burn, what's five or ten?Revelation & Religion
Revelation
Elves were the first of the mortal species to receive their Revelation, becoming Raptured. Although the dwarves are equally likely to have received their revelation at the same time if not sooner, elves embraced the title and pursued their purpose of crafters and creators and defenders. This seems broad, but that is because the elves are close guardians of their purpose, and do not like to reveal it, fearing thieving of the spark again.Religion
The elves are deeply religious and spiritual. They worship many gods, but prefer the Trinity of Leaves. Corellon is considered their chief deity, but this is not always the case (see the elves of the Holy Forest who prefer Sehanine and uphold her ideals). The clergy are treated fairly well above others. They do not dispense wisdom of the gods like others, but hold sermons in a slow, melodic tone, using that tone to tell the story and the sermon.
Origin/Ancestry
Fey (created)
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
Related Ethnicities
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