Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 9133904" data-attributes="member: 58172">Regarding the origin story of Elves, according to Forgotten Realms, I am trying to sort out the planar implications, if any.Corellon is a literal ancestor of the Elf species. I view them as an actual member of the Elf species, albeit a primordial one, who retains the ability to shapechange at-will. They is gender-fluid in the sense of becoming extremely masculine, extremely feminine, androgynous, or any other gender expression, in addition to an identity of any item or natural feature. The multitude of identities corresponds to the pronoun they. Their interests resonate with the Bard tropes of magic, beauty, art, and war.They is a Celestial whose will emanates the astral dominion (?) of Avandor, part of the network of dominions (?) that together comprise the alignment plane of Chaotic Good, Arborea. Gates and whirlpools link these dominions together (?).Corellon is ethically Good, and Chaotic in the sense of heightened individualism − in every way a compassionate free spirit who champions liberty. The elven origin story seems to fall short of this ethical ideal in places.The Elves came into existence asexually in a process of budding (blastogenesis), taking form and independence, while emerging from the shapechanging blood of Corellon. These primordial Elves are like their parent in every way, and are likewise mercurial shapechangers.Corellon spilled this blood in a battle with Gruumsh who would go on to construct the Orc species. Both Corellon and Gruumsh have military interests, and their clash was a violent one that both survived. Corellon emanates a part of the Chaotic Good plane, and Gruumsh emanates a part of the Lawful by Lawful Evil plane of Acheron, name his dominion (?) of Nishrek which is there in Avalas. Thus their battle often characterizes as Good versus Evil. However, despite Gruumsh often listing as if Chaotic Evil, his own will emanates a dominion implying he himself is Lawful Neutral with Evil tendencies. The alignments of the battle are asymmetric. It seems less about Good versus Evil and more about something else. If ethics are in play, it seems more a clash between Lawful (group identity) versus Chaotic (individual identity).The alignments of Corellon and Gruumsh have little if anything to do with the elven children of Corellon or the orcish creations of Gruumsh. Elves and Orcs are independent persons of free will and can choose to do behaviors of any alignment.Where did this battle happen? Did Gruumsh attack Corellon in Avandor? Was the conflict somewhere in the Astral Sea between their respective dominions? There are many versions of this story despite the participants remaining alive. Because time can flow differently in different planes, along with other kinds of relativity, differing perspectives of the event can be equally legitimate.Perhaps the battle actually took place in the Feywild, or rather what would eventually become the Feywild? More specifically, perhaps while fighting across various planes of the multiverse, the blood of Corellon spilled in the Feywild. Thus, the parent is Celestial, but the elven children are Fey.I view the Feywild as the aspect of the Ethereal Plane that Positive Energy perfuses. Fey is Positive Ether while Shadow is Negative Ether. They are frequencies of energy that can pass thru each other unawares, each echoing the same features of the Material Plane.I also view the primordial Elves as creating the Feywild (similar to how Dragon and Giant create the Material Plane). The Elves dont control the Feywild but they catalyzed it and are part of it. It may be their Celestial Positivity infused the Ethereal Plane causing the Feywild to come into existence. In this way, the Elves are primordially Fey beings as well as Celestial immigrants. In a realm of thought, ethical alignments regulate the Positive Energy of the Astral Plane, thus the absence of Positivity is Evil. But in a realm of forces, lifeforce and vibrant existence regulate the Positive Energy Ethereal Plane, thus the absence of Positivity is death.The versions of the elven origin story often portray Corellon as if a neglectful parent − and even spiteful. Perhaps the truth is, the Elves would rather be Fey than Celestial, Corellon respects their freedom and their decision.Now parent and children who deeply love each other are still figuring out how to make this work. There are no "bad guys" here.</blockquote>

Verification