World View (EoA)

What do I contemplate as I run beneath the crimson sun? What thoughts occupy my silent reverie? Do I pon- der the now among the rolling dunes, listening to my heart pound a tune and my blood sing its sweet life song? Do I dwell on the adversity that chases behind me, for its jaws are wide and hungry, and its hot, foul breath scalds me with hardships and misfortune? Or do I consider death, awaiting me over the approaching crest and in the cracked canyon, behind the rise of rubble and around the next bend?
With these choices, how can the other races ask such a question? How can a dwarf look behind and a human look forward when either direction is as endless and as bleak as the burning wastes? I think of the now and revel in its moment! I dance to the music of the elf run! I sing the joy of today that swirls in my head!
What do I contemplate as I run beneath the crimson sun? I ponder the now, for anything else is too terrible to imagine!
from Utaa Star Racers Song of the Elusive Now
World View
The minds of Athasian elves are complex and full of seemingly blatant contradictions. They love to laugh and play, yet they are as hard and unforgiving as the vast desert they run through. They are savage warriors, but not bloodthirsty killers. They easily switch mindsets like nobles in the city-states change wardrobes, operating as vicious raiders one moment and friendly traders the next. They appear lazy, lacking the motivations that drive other races. When necessary, however, they can become indus- trious workers, toiling with as much zeal as the hardiest dwarf until the work endsthen they put as much effort and even more energy into the wild celebration that fol- lows. To outsiders, they are untrustworthy liars. To their tribe mates, they are loyal and true.
How do elves justify this seemingly unbalanced behavior? In truth, they feel that no justification is neces- sary. They simply live according to their world view, which holds that only the moment is importantthe moment, or what the elves call the now. The now is time as it exists, the present, where every being resides. To waste time recalling the past or contemplating the future lets the now slip away. Lost nows are gone forever, and with them are lost that many brief chances for happiness in this world of unrelenting grief.
To preserve these easily lost nows, elves live every moment in expressive joy. This outward celebration hides a deep sorrow, however, for every elf knows that tomorrow will be worse than today. Nothing can change that fact. All elves can do is keep moving, hoping to stay ahead of the misfortune and tragedy that follow on their heels like hungry thri-kreen.
To an elf, the goal of life is to live a short, happy exis- tence. They have no desire to endure a long, cheerless one. An elf knows that death and hardship are his con- stant companions in his journey through the Athasian wastes, so he does everything he can to make the now more enjoyable. This outlook should not be mistaken for a suicidal nature, just a very short-ranged view of life. All elves want to live the now to the fullest; they dont want to imagine all the dreadful nows to come (and the inevitable death that waits in ambush among them).
Unlike elves from other worlds, the desert runners have no patience. They are always in a rush, figuratively and literally racing to stay in the now. Emotional in the extreme, elves seem driven by the whims of the moment. This, they feel, is simply a reflection of the world they live in, where fate changes as quickly as the desert breeze.
Elves are free spirits, content with living a nomadic existence. They derive a portion of their daily joy by relenting to the wanderlust that sings in their long limbs. Only when hunting and foraging fail to meet their needs do elf tribes put aside their wanderings and turn to trading and raiding for sustenance. They do not consider these activities to be good or evil. They are simply alterna- tive ways of making the most of the ever-elusive now.