"A Legendary Race both Ancient and Fair" (quoted from the Everlasting, Book of the Spirits, page 248, © 1997-98 by Steven C. Brown)
The following quote is being re-printed from pages 130 and 131 of The Everlasting, Book of the Fantastical, and describes a little about these ancient and beautiful beings:
Long before there were homo sapiens there was a race of magickal beings given birth by the cross breeding of Adapans and the Fey folk. These beings became known as the Beautiful Ones, though their true name in the adapan language has been lost even to the dragons. Today, they are known to most people as Elves, though they call themselves the Avlari. The mating of humans and various sorts of faerie folk over the millenia produced many varieties of elves who, in turn, reproduced among themsleves creating the Elven Nations.
Elves exist not only on earth, but upon countless other worlds. In many cases their origins differ and, for the most part, the elves of different realms have no contact with one another. The vast majority of earthly elves have never seen any member of their own race who inhabit other worlds, though one entire earthly nation of elves came from another realm long ago.
There are seven elven nations today. They are actually nations only in name, shared interests, and heritage, for none of hte nations now control any large scale dominions on earth, save for the dread Dru'Galeeth, the labyrinth dwellers. The elven nations are actually extended clans, each of which consists of elves of shared heritage and lineage for the most part. In rare cases, elves born into other nations may join new others, renouncing their old loyalties.
Elves are strange, beautiful, fierce, and magickal. The elves maintain an unbroken civilization dating back long before the Great Deluge. The elves have perhaps the most advanced culture, as a result of this, in terms of language, philosophy, art, music, iturature, and their understanding of the universe. Elves possess awe-inspiring elegance and intriguing wisdom. They are equally at home within the untamed wilds as they are within the human's cities. They have learned to live among humans with ease and comfort. While all the elven nations maintain their own traditions, internal loyalties, and family bonds, the do not let it limit their freedom. While most elves do live in secluded elven strongholds during their childhood years, during times of study, and while raising children, they do spend most of their adult years living among humans pursuing careers and protecting their nations' interests.
Elves have been described throughout history in both myth and fantasy. The elves enjoy this attention. Indeed, some fantasy authors and mythologists are elves who keep ther beauty and majesty of the elven people alive in the human consciousness. It is said that some elven magicians can tap into human beliefs and use their astral energies to replenish their own animus.
Elves are a sturdy race, belying their slender and graceful forms. They are among the greatest warriors in history, producing many heroes whose sotries ahve been told in fantasy fiction and through the elves' own songs and epics. Elves are hunters, breeders, and protectors of nay legendary creatures, such as cockatrices, basilisks, and shimerae. The elves actively maintain their own national interestes by waging war on all other eldritch who pose threats to their security. They also defend many magickal sites on earth from exploitation by magicians.
Magick comes naturally to the elves. While they are not the greatest and most powerful of practitioners, the magickal arts are common among the members of their race and some few elves do attain great power by concentrating their studies on magick. For the msot part, magick is viewed as but one of many necessary skills required for survival. Elven libraries are perhaps even greater repositories of magickal lore than the libraries of human mage societies, since the elves possess manuscripts and tomes dating back before humans possessed written language.
Beauty and learning are necessary for elves to have enjoyable lives. All elves dress beutifully in both elven and human fasions. They enjoy all the finer things in life immensely, but see the joy and beauty in even the most simple and mundane things. As far as learnign goes, elves have long been invovled in astronomy nad other sciences, as well as history and the other arts.
The elves actually ahve littel contact with their distant relatives, the faerie, as they view the fey as too alien even for them to understand. Some faerie view elves as lesser beings, which only furthers the gap in their relations. Despite this, all the elven nations control territory within Faeryland. Some elves favor the replenishment of the disintegrating realm, while otehrs would prefer to let it disappear.
Elves rely on food, air, water, and rest (although not sleep, as they use what amounts to a state of relaxation that is more like the deep meditative trances that some humans use, however they can come out of this trance almost instantly if disturbed) for sustenance. Elves also have a very heightened sense of awareness and perception, being able to see colors more vividly and across a wider range of the electromagnetic spectrum, especially in the infrared range, thus allowing them to see heat at night. Their sense of hearing is incredible compared to that of most other beings, as is their sense of smell and taste. As a people, they tend towards being curious and having a thirst for knowledge. However, like all everlasting, they also suffer from a Torment which is refered to as the Yearning. Which is a state that comes over them after having spent incredible amounts of time on the earth, after which they yearn for a release from the worlds troubles and tragedy. This is due to their incredibly long life spand and the fact that they experience life and all the sense to a much deeper degree than most other beings.
There are several elven nations, however these nations are not a geographic area but rather a set of values and beleifs which members of each nation follow and hold to be sacred as well as usually being of a common lineage or heritage. The following are the primary ones which comprise of most of the elven people:
Aedrith- are the one of these nations, also known as the Wanderers of Many Wrolds, the Gray Elves, and Otherlanders. They originated form a distant world that was taken over by an evil force and which has become lost within the Agartha. Thus they shorter than other races of elves, with light colored hair and skin as well as eyes that vary from deep burgundy to purple. They have access to strang and alien technolgoies as well as using odd architectural designs for their strongholds. They have been on the earth for such a long time that they often travel to otehr worlds, hoping to relocate their home world and possibly try to save it, however they have been unable to over the past several millenia.
Dru'Galeeth- are also known as Dwellers in the Darkness, Night Elves, Drow, and the dark ones. They are the darkest and probably the most dangerous of the elven nations, sometimes associating with and working for (being manipualated by) the demons. They are descended from Sagrus, the elf responsible for bringing about Urgestos, or the "Shattering" of the elven antedeluvian civilization. After which he and his followers fled into hidden undergorund places, isolating themselves from and developing a hatred towards other elves ("day elves" as they commonly refer to the other elven nations). Those of Dru'Galeeth tend to have two very opposite skin colors, either black or a very pale white. Eye colors tend to be either various metalic colors, blue, purple, or grey. Hair color also varies, being either black, grey, silver, or some combination or shade of the above. Clothing tends to be black, although colors along the lines of those of their skin, hair, or eyes are also worn, with some also wearing red sometimes. They are usually of slim build with a cat-like grace and speed and strenght that is beyond what would be expected. Despite their coming from these undergorund environments, many do live on the earth's surface among humans usually trying to blend in. It should be noted that anyone submitting protagonist concepts who align themselves with the demons will likely be turned down, as the intent of the Everlasting is to battle against the concepts of evil (however one who has such a past and is changing their ways due to some life altering event might be possible).
Dumasta- also sometimes refered to as Changelings and mindwalkers. They are probably the most faerie-like and strangest of the elven people. The Dumasta are very secretive as to their true form and identity, and as such within human society most maintain several different appearances and identites. This is accomplished through the use of illusions, which they have a mastery of, as well as having psychic abilites that not only work on the real but also the dream and astral levels of perception. It is also not uncomon for many of this race to look slightly different each time that they are seen by others, as they change the appearance of their appearance on a fairly regular basis. Their true form is known to have larger than normal ears, as well as tending to have hair of black, or briliant metalic colors, however due to their illusions they can appear with nearly any hair color imaginable. Likewise their eyes tend to be of briliant colors and often give the apperance of being able to look right through you or as if they are peering off into the distance or into another realm of existance. They have a grace that is nearly etheral. Their strongholds often co-exist within both the Reverie appearing as hills with finely crafted tunnels and halls) and Faeryland with the look and feel of fantastical castles, with parts of their laberinthian stronghold only existing in one or the other realm but with numerous connections between them. They typically posses incredible mental powers, being the greatest Mentalists among the elven people. As such they can communicate telepathically and being able to enter the minds of others easily but at the same time being masters of clouding their minds from others. Unlike other elves, the Dumasta have the ability to sleep (although this is not required for their survival as is the case for humans) and can thus consciously enter the Dreamworlds. While their mastery of illusions is their greatest advantage, it also tends to cause a rift between themselves and other elves due to others considering them from disconserting to downright alien. Their illusions are so complete and encompase all five senses that it is very difficult even for those who are familiar with the concept of illusions to have a difficult time discovering them as such.
Karges- They are the strictest followers of honor and the principles that it sets forth. They are also the most militant of the Elven tribes. They are masters of metalworking and as such some of their most skilled artisans create fine armor and blades that are almost uncomparble. Due to their skills at forging and metalworking, they are sometimes referred to as Fire Elves or the Iron Ones. They prefer cooler and more rugged climates and topographies than most elves, often dwelling in mountain environments rather than forested areas like most other elves. Their complexion tends to be a little darker than most other elves, with eyes that range from brown through grey to ice blue and sometimes even bronze in color. They tend to have hair of darker colors that are common to other elven races, however they do not have the lighter colors that some other elves have, and it is always straight. They tend to be more prone to mood swings and will show their emotions more readily than other elven tribes. They tend to form bonds with fire and earth spirits, which often serve as guardians of their homes. They tend to wear more leather than other elven tribes, especially long trenchcoats or dusters, thus allowing them to carry their finely crafted swords on thier person in public without being obvious. They also often dress in the classic biker type of outfits and do ride motorcycles. Their homes tend to be spartan in style and amenities, thus are simple and practical but yet comfortable. Often they are of brick or stone construction due to its sturdyness and practical nature. They are also the most warlike and competative of all the elves, with a strong sense of discipline and honor. However they also value cunning nad initiative. Duels to show weapon skills is often used within their culture, but rarely ever fight these duels to the death amongst their own folk. Instead they use what they call a "Sword Circle" which is common in most of their strongholds as well as many of their individual sanctums. These are the site for duels, with anyone forced out of the circle three times during the duel being the looser. They are also the strongest allies to the Dwarves of the various elven tribes.
Lethquesti-
Valmori-
Xeysori-
More details of the outlook and background of the Elves and other information is available in the Everlasting, Book of the Fantastical from Visionary Entertainment Studios.
Abominations: 1 These vile and alien beings are the antithesis of nature and as such must be destroyed on sight.
Angels: 6-8 Their powers are a mystery to us, but their beuty is renowned.
Daevas: 5-7 They are as varied as humans, yet far more dangerous. While most serve good causes, they only serve their own. They think themselves gods in their arrogance.
Dead Souls: 2-5
Demons: 1-2
Djinn: 2-8
Dragons: 4-7 These most ancient and fearsome creatures are neither allies nor foes. Do not incur their wrath and they will avoid you if you are fortunate.
Dwarves: 5-8
Elves: 5-9
Faerie: 7-9
Gargoyles: 4-7
Ghuls: 2-5 These gruesome things are sad and deadly. Have pity on them whenever possible, but do not suffer them to harm our kind.
Manitou: 6-9 They are useful allies when we share common goals. Their love for nature is not enough, however to balance their ferocity and unpredictability, making them dangerous for all.
Orcs: 2-3 They are but the canon fodder of their Demon Masters or other dark forces that they serve.
Osirians: 3-5 They are little known to us, but the ones we have encountered are dangerous sorcerers. Remember what they did to our faerie kin.
Possessed: 2-5 While they cannot possess us, for for we do not dream, they are still dangerous. They are trecherous and without honor.
Questers: 7-9 Some of them have lived and worked with us over the centuries. Most are honorable and valiant. Value their friendship.
Reanimates:
Revenants: 2-3 They are unnatural abominations. Their power within human civilization is great and crossing them is dangerous. Avoid them whenever possible.
Vampires: 2-3 The foul bloodsuckers value our blood. It seems to be of exquisite flavor to them, possessing special properties. Slay them at every opportunity.
Wer: 3-4