Dark Elves

Once amongst the most magically advanced peoples in the world, the Dark Elves have been reduced to little more than slaves who live for no purpose other than to serve as a reminder of the High Elves' conquest of ages past.

The Dark Elves were originally among the many elven city-states of Elthinien, ruling over the great city of Ylthenin. among whom they rose up to become paragons of virtue and strength. As their great power and prestige grew, they began to grow restless- for it was said that once one of the elven kingdoms proved themselves worthy, their mother-goddess would reach out and guide them to the Eternal Land, where they would prosper for eternity.

But the mother-goddess remained silent. And so they reached out to her, demanding to know why she had not yet shown them the way. And she told them that they were not yet ready, and that for all their glory, they were yet overly vain and prideful. Their pride wounded, the angered elves of Ylthenin constructed a great fleet and sailed west, determined to find the Eternal Land on their own. Angry that they had chosen to defy her, the mother-goddess cursed them with a hideous appearance, turning their skin to ashen hues and making them appear old and haggard, and robbed them of their immortality until such a time as they could reclaim it. Further enraged by their godess' punishment, the elves of Ylthenin cursed the goddess and denounced her for eternity, swearing that her name would be forgotten by all their children.

Realising too late just how deeply her punishment would wound them, the mother-godess left the people of Ylthenin, now the Dark Elves, to their own devices, electing to be more lenient with her children in the future.

The newly created Dark Elves were distraught at their loss and began to question if they would succeed, but continued their voyage, too ashamed of their hideous appearance to return to Elthinien. They eventually landed upon a foreign continent to the west of Elthinien where they chose that they would settle. But the land was savage and wild, and they were harassed by goblins, drakes, and trolls, ever being forced to abandon whatever lands they chose to settle as the dangers proved too great. Eventually, they happened upon a fertile and mountainous land, and there they carved out a home for themselves within the mountains and the deep places, choosing to live in darkness so that they would not have to witness their hideous appearance. They called this land Ylfahl.

It didn't take long for the the native empire of the Fomorians to take notice, switfly sending envoys to make contact with the newcomers. A trade relationship was quickly established between the two, as the Fomorians realised that these subterrenean dwellers would be useful as a source of stone and ore. Over time, their relationship developed further and they became allies, before ultimately, the Dark Elves joined their empire of their own volition, standing as the Fomorians' equals, even if low in numbers, and their homeland was made a semi-autonomous province. The Fomorians shared their magical knowledge with the Dark Elves, who quickly mastered the art and proved themselves even more adept at the magical arts than their allies, making them an invaluable asset in further research of magic and the creation of powerful artifacts.

The golden age was not to last however. The great winter that shook the world did little to cool their subterranean dwellings, but food became sparse, and the Fomorians were struck hard, leading many of them to seek refuge in Ylfahl. Even as Fomoria reeled from the short ice age, the High Elves came to the continent, having fled their homeland in search of the utopian land to which their mother-goddess had guided the Antilosians to escape the frigid cold. These new arrivals soon came into conflict with the Fomorians. It was also around this time that the Dwarves were discovered, having built their kingdom unbeknownst to the Fomorians as they could not keep watch over the ancient lands of the Khiir. The Elves and Dwarves soon met as well, and realising they had a common enemy, forged an alliance to battle the Fomorians and the Dark Elves.

The war lasted for nearly a century, with many periods of peace intercepting the conflict. Ultimately however, the Fomorians and Dark Elves suffered a crushing defeat in what would be known as the Battle of Red Hills, a final confrontation in which both sides brought to bear every soldier at their disposal. The battle earned the region the name, the Red Hills, as is it said rivers of blood flowed amidst the sea of corpses that littered the ground.

In the modern day, the Dark Elves are but a shadow of their former selves, living in cold, damp slave dwellings amidst the ruins of their civilization as the High Elves lord over them from the surface. It is said that somewhere in the deeps, a Dark Elven city yet stands, having sealed itself away near the conclusion of the war, and that it prepares for the day when it can strike out against the High Elves and rouse their cowering brethren to rebellion- though this is considered little more than a myth to which the naive cling for some spark of hope that they one day may be free.