The daydreams of gods made flesh. At least, that's what the original elves of my Amberos campaign were. Their descendants are but echos of that vivid dream. (Incidently, goblinoids are the night terrors of the gods made flesh...). They prefer to dwell in harmony with the world, leading them to create wonderous things formed of nature itself. They are undying
The subraces of elves on Amberos
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Elves
The elves of Amberos claim to come from the dreamlands of Aurora, where they are the living dreams of the ancient gods. Certainly, the elves have a beauty and haughtiness to match the
Ancient Ones, and their immortal lifespans give more credence to their claims.
Unlike the mortal races, elves do not die. However, the years can wear heavily on their mortal frames, and after a time – usually a thousand years – elves feel the need to leave the mortal realm and return to the dreamlands of Aurora.
Elves first arrived on Amberos during following the sundering of the great mountain
Tsre Vestu. The mighty cataclysm that rocked the mountain and raised the continent of Amberos from the sea likewise tore a hole to the dreamlands, and through it passed curious elves to the mortal realm, taking bodily forms as they passed from dream to reality.
The elves competed with humans in the early years of history; the elves point to many calamities humans created (including the rift to Aurora) as reasons to reign them in and rule them. When humans awoke the ire of the
Ancient Ones at the end of the
Technological War, the elves were able to enslave humans and solidify their positions upon Amberos, creating the
Evanthium Coridium. As the fantasy of Aurora merged with reality of Amberos under elvin magic, uncounted years passed.
However, the elves were eventually undone by the goddess
Ziga, whose claims of elfdom were spurned as were her dark,
goblinoid ways. Seeking revenge, she laid the undoing of the elves and inspired the disaffected among the elves to join her in rebellion against the great Ymin of the elves. Yet, she herself was betrayed and her plans, to an extent, were thrwarted. But the leader of the
Evanthium Coridium fell, and with his death, the connection to
Aurora was severed, stranding the Amberos elves forever after on Amberos.
There are three major branches of elfdom that mingle with the surface races. The most common are the High Elves, either from the ancient Elvin Kingdom of the
Evan Cordum or from splinter kingdoms spread across Amberos.
The second group, the
gray elves, are actually nobles among the elves, who gain their pale skin and vast intellect via special concoctions they administer to their kind. The secrets of these concoctions are a highly guarded secret among the elves, and if it were not for these infusions, they would be mere high elves.
The last group, the wild elves, arose from those elf clans who refused to become part of the once-vast Evan Cordum. The wild elves are more in tune with their natural heritage than the other two branches of elves, and often see high (and especially gray) elves as corrupt as the
dark elves.
There are other subgroups of elves known to Amberos; often these elves were transformed to live in specific areas of the world or their transformation allowed them to perform special duties; the magical and mutable nature of the elven form allowed for many varieties of elves to come into existence such as light elves, coral elves, sea elves and falcon elves.
However, the greatest shame to the elvin race is the
dark elves – the fallen elves whose dark hearts embraced
Ziga’s evil and plotted to overthrow the rightful rulers of the ancient elvin kingdom. These elves, whose skin blackened with their dark deeds, fled to the deep earth when
Ziga’s plans failed. If ever elves were to know hate, it is directed at these traitors to their kind.
Another branch of elvindom are the
shadow elves, those whom have given themselves over to the dark secrets of
Gwieze, the lord of shadows.
Lastly, there is a final branch of elfdom that is no longer elf. In the time where the great dragon
Guaradrell rampaged across Amberos, spreading death in his wake, the newly created god of death,
Jhalah, threatened to devour the dead elves slain by the mighty dragon’s rampage. However, in return for sparing the elvin souls so that they could return to Aurora to dwell in peace, the great
Ymin (King) of the Elves struck a bargain with the lord of the dead. Several elvin nobles became the progenitors of priests to find and feed
Jhalah in return for immunity to his soul-devouring hunger. However, late in the
Elvin Golden Age,
Jhalah and these priests plotted with
Ziga against the elves. In his greed to increase the slaughter,
Jhalah betrayed
Ziga. In her anger, she plucked out the left eye of each of Jhalah’s treacherous elvin priests and imprisoned their soul within the eye. These foul priests became the creatures known as
occulus, who to this day still serve as the eyes to their hungry master.
Ash Elf
Ash elves are those light elves that fell under the sway of evil and turned against elvinkind in an attempt that failed. For their failed betrayal, their powers of light were stripped and they were left full of darkness.
Most ash elves are thieves and murderers who are bound by their restless curse to keep on the move. They owe their allegiance to none, and will even stab those in the back who deem to work with them, striking as soon as their own goals are in sight and an ally shows weakness or lets down its guard.
Ash elves were once part of the royal guard who protected the elvin king during the
Elvin Golden Age.
Ziga managed to convince many of the elves, including some in this illustrious order, to betray their king. However,
Ziga’s plan failed, and in her anger, she cursed and transformed the traitors into Ash elves.
Now, the ash elves live agonized lives as wanderers, causing havoc wherever they tread. Forever denied the chance to leave Amberos and travel to the ageless lands of Aurora, their mere existence is a hellish tedium, and this has spurred the ash elves to even greater heights of cruelty and depravity.
Dark
The very word "drow" means treacherous in the elvin langauge. These black elves are traitors to their own kind, who during the Elvin Golden Age, were willing to turn upon their own kind for power, allying with Ziga to slay the great Ymin of the elves,
Greensbeech Earthlayer. Though
Ziga did kill the Ymin, he laid down a terrible curse on the elves who had betrayed them, turning their skin forever as black as
Ziga's so that other elves would know immediately of their treachery. The drow and their families were forced to flee into the deep earth to escape elvin retribution, and have remained in the dark caverns of the world below ever since.
Falcon Elf
Falcon elves are much taller than normal elves. They are much more lithe than even a common elf, and their frailty tends to show in their low strength and poor constitution. Falcon elves have golden to light brown skin, with hawk-like eyes and feathers instead of hair. They have two arms and legs, and a pair of great bird-like wings that sprout from their backs. They tend to wear robes or loose fitting clothing, though warriors tend to don light armor when entering combat.
Falcon elves tend to be a peaceful, if arrogant race, seeing themselves above the non-winged races. They have a dislike of the “barbaric” birdfolk, whom often raid their cities for baubles. Falcon elves tend to have even less to do with dwarves or the other races that deign to live underground.
The Falcon elves are usually more advanced than their neighboring brethren races, and this shows in their lofty architecture and access to magics unknown to even other elvin races. Males and females are seen as equals in society, and the their culture encourages creativity, thinking and exploration, especially among the younger generations.
During the
Elvin Golden Age, the king of the elves transformed several of his subjects into specialized forms to help him run his vast empire. The falcon elves were transfigured so they could be messengers among the elves. Most falcon elves reside in lofty aerials that float above the
Evan Cordum.
Gray
By means of a secret and magical concoction, the royal elves of the
Evan Cordum transform their bodies to become even more graceful, ethereal and cognizant. The magical concoction they receive in their early years of life transforms their skins to a gray, almost granite color and tends to wash out the color of their hair, making it nearly white. Gray elf eyes tend to be silver, black or purple, and like high elves they only sport hair atop their heads, though some gray elves have been known to use magic to grow goatees or beards.
Draemani
As in the ancient days when the elves curried favor with the
dwarves of the hills and mountains, many elves have fallen in love with humanity, and vice-versa. The results of these unions have not yet produced a race unique on Amberos, but instead a mix of the two races. It is partially believed that something in humanity is too strong – or too weak - to fully fuse with elvin blood.
High
The most common sort of elf, high elves are the offspring of the dreams of the very gods. Their race originally hailed from Aurora, but upon passing to Amberos, they assumed a mortal form. High elves tend to be thin and lithe, with heights ranging from slightly shorter than a human to nearly six and a half feet tall. They have sharp, pointed ears and almond-shaped eyes that range in shades from green through blue and brown. They only sport hair on their heads; the rest of their body is completely devoid of any hair whatsoever.
Light
Light elves are slightly taller than normal elves, with a regal bearing and speech. They have golden skin, hair like golden flax and sky-blue eyes. They wear the clothing or armor of nobility, and are surrounded by a constant silver glow. When enraged, this glow becomes a blinding weapon against evil.
Light elves have an extreme hatred of
ash elves,
shadow elves and
dark elves (drow). They will seek to root out and slay any such beings that they learn of. Likewise, light elves have a dim view of the
goblinoid races, and will not hesitate to destroy them if given half a reason.
Light elves do not generally mate; those at do produce a regular elf with none of the light elf’s special abilities. Once a light elf dies, there are no natural light elf young to maintain the population. So as the years pass, their numbers only slowly dwindle. Because of this fact, light elves have sometimes inducted common elves into their ranks to keep their numbers steady. As a general rule, no elf younger than 100 years is ever transformed into a light elf, and the light elves generally watch possible candidates for decades or centuries before choosing to induct them into their ranks.
The process to become a light elf is a closely guarded secret of the light elves, only known to the most ancient and trusted of the light elves themselves. The ceremony does not exist in any written or recorded form to prevent it from being learned by other beings or races.
Elves of good heart and intentions can count on the aid of an encountered Light elf, but those who have betrayed their kind (including Ash,
Shadow and
dark elves) can only find a quick death at the hand of a Light elf.
During the
Elvin Golden Age, the king of the elves transformed several of his most loyal bodyguards and their families into specialized forms to help protect him from harm and carry out his will. Light elves were his personal bodyguard, elves whose goodness shone like a beacon of light wherever they passed.
Though only a small handful still reside in the
Evan Cordum, they are no longer the king’s protectors and many have taken to wandering the continent to hunt down and destroy the enemies of the elves.
The soul of a light elf who is slain on Amberos is instantly transported to the dreamlands of Aurora, where it is reincarnated as an elvin prince in that land.
Shadow
A shadow elf is shadow made solid, only discernible as an elf by their outline. Their eyes glow a brilliant white, but does not illuminate their form in any fashion. It is impossible to make out details on a shadow elf’s form; they simple appear as a black silhouette in the light, and are utterly invisible in the dark. They are often found working with the drow, and have in many cases become powerful leaders or lords among the drow. They are most well-known for their despicable magics and the vile tortures they inflict on other races.
Shadow elves live in small enclaves where they plot for power and knowledge. They often attempt to insinuate themselves into other cultures, attempting to subvert them for the shadow elves own agendas.
The shadow elves are those elves that fell under the sway of the
Gwieze during the
Elvin Golden Age. Twisted by the darkness within them, they became mere shadows that hide themselves in masks of deceit for their master.
Shadow elves are utter thralls and minions of
Gwieze, the Lord of Shadows. They carry out his mysterious work spreading evil and fear wherever they may. Shadow elves are known to work with, and often lead drow enclaves. Most shadow elves are accomplished wizards who have mastered Shadow magic; it is very rare not to find such a shadow elf without magical talent of some sort.
Surf
Surf elves are multi-hued beings with a humanoid upper torso and the lower torso and tail of a serpentine, scaled fish. They have long, elvin ears and slender features. Males tend to be bald or sport Mohawk-like hair that is stark white and straight, while females often have orange and white hair (like a clownfish), sea green hair or pearl-white tresses. Surf elves have skin colors in shades of fluorescent pink, sea green and mother-of-pearl, though they can consciously alter their skin color to match their surroundings.
Surf elves live in shallow shoals and the edge of rocky cliff bluffs near shore. Though they generally remain in the water, they can use their lower body to slowly propel themselves on land, much in a manner akin to a snake (with their torso upright). Surf elves generally only remain on land for an hour or less before their skin begins to dry and they suffer exposure damage.
Most surf elf communities are small, and rarely are strongly organized, as surf elves are natural free spirits who dislike being told what to do. Surf elves are capable of making their own items, but prefer to acquire items through trade or by taking them from others. They do not keep slaves and have little fear or dislike of other races, though those who have done them ill they will treat in kind.
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In my Crimson Empire game, elves are war-beings created from forest growth by the true fae to drive back humanity and its encroaching civilization from their forests. Their demeanor and appearance change with the seasons, and some are locked into certain states - Autumn, Spring, Summer and Winter. They shun civilization, desiring only to heed the call of the savage wilderness. Though long-lived, elves are doomed to eventually decay and devolve into mindless savagery.
In the Crystal Lattice campaign, elves were created from the refracted light of gemstones (dwarves were honed from precious minerals such as gold and silver). They are creatures of beauty and elegance, but easily blinded by wealth and greed. They have superior magical and psionic ability with which they use to build towers and cities of gleaming gemstones - with cultivated private gardens for their own pleasure, and are too haughty to share it with the "lesser races".
