Drow

Also called Svartalfar. A black-skinned branch of elves. They have great skill in magic, and some magic resistance. They are good at handling two weapons at a time. Their greatest weakness is their sensitivity toward light. 
==Possible origins ==
Their origin is unknown, but two explanations compete: One is that when the Sun was created some elves could not stand its bright light. So they literally went underground and began to live in subterranean caves, perhaps in Skandelion. They developed their dark skin in the absence of light. Having lost the contact with much of plant life, they instead made magic their most important tool and developed a partial resistance to magic. And their mentality changed, for though they never grew to hate their surface cousins, they began to hate the humans spreading like a plague all over Bandagora. They did not suffer humans to possess the Book of Enchantments, so they stole it. Apart from that they were a proud people keeping to themselves. But when the Ontainians drove the elves from Lenhviel in 699, enough was enough. Patiently they explored the surface. Their success in stealing the Book of Enchantments had kept their existence secret, and they endeavored to keep things that way. This is one hypothesis. 
Another theory claims that their existence is a direct consequence of the fall of Lenhviel. At the time, Ontaine was one of the strongest nations in Bandagora, if not the strongest. The elves had little hope of winning a war, making most elves resign but a small group turned to Anshar for help. Anshar gave them great magical skills in return for dedicating themselves to Anshar and the destruction of the Sun. In this version, the drow are sometimes referred to as the "Pledged Elves" (see Khalenden).
Regardless of which explanation one chooses to accept, drow were virtually unknown outside Belandria before 1100. In the Ontainian folklore a sort of vampire existed. This creature only came out at night, could create darkness, wielded magic, could kill at a distance and were themselves immortal. There is one written source partially confirming this superstition, the Pendragon Order Chronicles. In 825, Gold Dragon XXXI describes the two bodies of his dark attackers thus: "They look like elves dyed with ink, except for their fair hair. Their armor and weapons have elven strength and suppleness, but not elven grace". The Gold Dragon tracked his attackers back into Ontainian territory, to a "Temple of Darkness" about 20 days north by northwest of Pandesa. 
==Recent developments==
When the omens of the Ring Saga began to appear, the drow saw an opening. But this demanded an end to their status as mythical creatures. Only a very few names of drow are known, Azemilk was a leader, Darmiel and Tazil Radu are possibly still active on the surface.