Elves

Elves - High Elves especially, suffered greatly during the second cataclysm known as The Sundering, when the realm was separated from the other planes and arcane magic was impossible. Due to their innate connection to arcane magic, many elves simply withered and died, and those that survived were left to survive without the magics they had grown accustomed to.

High Elves

At one time the most powerful and numerous race in Verimitha, the High Elves suffered more than most during the time known as The Sundering. The High Elves had built their kingdoms around the use of the arcane, and indeed their very being was tied to the arcane. Their traditions also were tied heavily to their extremely long age, and when The Sundering took place, it was the eldest of the elves that suffered the worst effects.
Left without the wisdom of the elders, and the inability to summon up the magics they had built their entire society around, the elves fell into a swift decline. Though the race has made a bit of a comeback, the echoes of that time have left their mark. Most high elves now live amongst the other races in the larger cities where, thanks to their longevity, they tend to gravitate towards influential positions. Golden Elves especially live amongst humans and are the most numerous. Silver Elves, however, have rebuilt a few cities in the old High Elven traditions known as arcannum. Because of this, the silver elves, unlike their golden brethren, believe that they are superior to the other races, leading to tension with the more cosmopolitan nations.

Wood Elves

Though the wood elves did not suffer as badly as their high elf cousins, the effects of The Sundering were still felt amongst their kind. Because wood elf cities were built closer to nature and without nearly as much arcane magic as high elf cities, their territories tended to fare better. Wood elves, however, were never very numerous, as they tend to live more in balance with nature and thus maintain a smaller population.
At the center of every wood elf settlement is an area known as an ancestral grove and in the center of that is the mother tree. Some wood elves, usually as they approach old age, hear a call from their mother tree to come to the ancestral grove. Upon entering the grove, these elves find an open spot in the grove and slowly turn to wood, becoming an ancestor tree, passing on their wisdom and life’s experience to the mother tree.
Wood elves seeking aid or advice can enter the grove and beseech the mother tree for assistance. Occasionally, individual wood elves can hear a call from a mother tree asking for tasks to be done. It is considered a great honor to be given a quest from a mother tree, and refusal of a request leads to the elf being cast out from wood elf society.

Lifespan

800 years

Average Height

5 - 6 ft.

Average Physique

slender