Lore:Ehlnofey

The Ehlnofey (sometimes spelled Elhnofey),  also known as the Earth Bones (or Earthbones),  of the Dawn Era are a group of   who, along with the  , decided not to abandon  , and instead worked to keep it viable. They remained in the mortal realm and populated it, becoming the progenitors of the modern races.   They are depicted as vaguely Elven in shape, but featureless, similar to how they live on in fading memory.  Many followed the example of   and sacrificed themselves to form the rules of nature,  and it's been found that these "Earth Bones" can be manipulated to some extent.   Perhaps because of their association with the land itself, "Old Ehlnofey" became another name for  , the mystical homeland of the elves.   Their language or languages became known as Ehlnofex.  

Origin
When Magnus the architect decided to flee Mundus, the et'Ada split. Most followed Magnus, but the Ehlnofey are those that, as described above, "sacrificed themselves into other forms so that they might Stay" in Mundus.  It is believed Nirn is an amalgamation of twelve worlds, and a large chunk of one world, the Ehlnofey world, was left relatively intact. The Ehlnofey who lived there were the ancestors of the Mer, and their solidarity allowed them to retain more of their ancient knowledge and power. The other Ehlnofey, who were left scattered around Nirn, had a harder time adapting, and were dubbed the "Wanderers". For whatever reason, a war eventually broke out between Old Ehlnofey and the Wanderers, which would become known as the War of Manifest Metaphors.  The Old Ehlnofey were more powerful individually, but the Wanderers were more numerous, and had been toughened by the hardships of Nirn. It is believed this war reshaped the face of Nirn, creating the first oceans, and what was left of Old Ehlnofey purportedly became  .  When this war occurred is not clear, but the   are said to have left their doomed and ruined continent and colonized southwest Tamriel in the Middle  ,   only to spend many centuries fruitlessly searching for their old homeland. 

Legacy
 
The fracturing of the Aldmer along cultural and racial lines is called the Sundering of Aldmeris. The Old Ehlnofey, or the proto-mer known as Aldmer became the Dwemer (Deep Ones), the Chimer (Changed Ones), the Bosmer (Green or Forest Ones), the Falmer (Snow Ones), the Maormer (Sea or Tropical Ones) of Pyandonea, the Altmer (Elder or High Ones), and the Sinistral Mer (Left-handed Ones) of Yokuda. The Wanderers (Wandering Ehlnofey) became the races of men, eventually splitting into many different racial groups, including the  Nedes, the Atmorans of Atmora, the Yokudans of Yokuda, and possibly the Tsaesci of Akavir, and other aboriginal groups (Bretons). 

Though the protean race is apparently gone, the Ehlnofey are not entirely forgotten. They are thought to have taken on students before they disappeared, passing their knowledge on to emerging races.  Knowledge of most individuals has been lost to time, but many prominent Ehlnofey appear in some form in the pantheons of the various races. The   of   preserved the Ehlnofey's Dawn Era magics and language.  The theories of the   High Craftlord   involved using sacred tones on the   and bending the Earth Bones, commanding the "obedience" of the Ehlnofey. 

In the Second Era, at least one lingering Ehlnofey   may still have been present in the   of southern Grahtwood.   

The Beldama Wyrd are a witch coven attuned to nature. They venerate the Breton interpretation of Y'ffre, Jephre.  They are guided by elemental spirits known as the Guardians,  which are among the extinct Ehlnofey who claim they were once Y'ffre. 

Gallery
 

Notes
The war between the Ehlnofey described in   bears many striking parallels with the war between Lorkhan and   described in  , and the texts are likely summarizing the same events from different historiographical perspectives.

See Also
 
 
 

References