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Message: <blockquote data-quote="reanjr" data-source="post: 1645583" data-attributes="member: 20740">Eol was not dark in color.  He was referred to as the Dark Elf because he lived in darkness is a deep forest.  He was not really that evil either just a bit overprotective and domineering of his wife who basically kidnapped his son from him (and broke her vows to him).  He just wanted the freedom to live life as he saw fit and not under the dictates of a king cowering in a hidden valley.  And he certainly wasn't anything akin to a different race (he was related to King Thingol).His son, Maeglin, on the other hand, might be considered evil "a dark seed of evil was sown," but I think it more referred to the evil that would be brought to Gondolin rather than the boy himself.What tolkien did have was the kingdom of Nargothrond, founded by Finrod Felagund (Cave-hewer).  It was a kingdom of underground Noldorim (elves who had dark features, meaning black hair and dark eyes, not black skin).  These are Tolkien's dark elves.  It's taken almost directly from certain myths about the Svartalfin of the Norse who, like the Noldor, were great craftsmen.Tolkien used the term dark elf or Avari to refer to those elves that had never seen the light of the trees of Valinor.  Again, nothing to do with different races of elves or evil.So, as you can see, dark-skinned, underground, evil elves split off from the others are still all stolen from D&D.</blockquote>