Dana
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Revision as of 14:03, 26 May 2007
Elves:
The elvish race has a long and glorious history, stretching back into the mists of time farther than any other known earthly race, except perhaps for their bitter enemies, the slaan. Elves are tall, graceful beings, noted for their agility and for the longevity which brings them lifespans stretching over a millenium and a half. The rise, decline, and fall of the mighty Altrian Empire would have fit within the span of a single elf's lifetime -- provided that elf did not perish in the foul machinations that brought about that realm's demise or in its final, fiery destruction. Elves are not known for strength and hardiness of body, though their strong mental and magical talents seem to most adequate compensation. Their sensitive eyes are capable of a degree of nightvision, and perhaps an elf's most distinctive feature is the high points on his ears. Like many fey folks, elves display a certain vulnerability to weapons forged of iron, though this certainly does not bar them from their use.
Elves are generally forest-dwellers by preference, though different individuals and groups make their homes in any number of terrains. The beautiful tree-cities of such realms as Lothlorien and Jaakurrah are the result of elves' talent for creating dwelling-space in harmony with nature, though the latter is inhabited by many peoples. The apparent elven preference in both lifestyle and philosophy tends toward lightheartedness and a will for experience of beauty.
Do not mistake elves for a folk unwilling to fight, however; they display strong talents with the bow and sword, and many great wars have been waged by elven nations, from the continual battles against orcs and their kin to the wars against the dwarves for which many of each race still bear the other ill-will to the tragic Kinslayer War, fought between the elven island civilization of Nibenay and a coalition of other elf states. The latter war drove the Nibenay elves deep into the earth, where they would one day become the people called the drow.
Elves speak a beautiful, lyrical language called Sperethiel, which they share with their aquatic cousins, the quessae; the drow language, Zadjalin, has drifted so far from ancient Sperethiel as to make speakers of the two mutually incomprehensible.
