Elf

Modern Elf-majority territories in dark green, historic spread in light green.

A'Roafan

Acadon

The **Elves** are a race of the Ea species native to Däegarden and the southern regions of Ditarre. There are three Elf ethnic groups: the Ynoforans, the Ydelhiads, A'Roafans, and Acadon.

## History

The Elves originated on the semi-mythical island of Sehoha Ataadinua during the Infinite War. After the conflict ended, the Elves left their island and began settling the rest of the world.

They first settled in the central Garden Continent, where the Ynoforan culture first developed. When Orcs began settling nearby, they forced some Elves to leave the continent and they began settling on Däe, leading to the genesis of the Ydelhiad Elves. A notable Ydelhiad was Däe himself, an Elf who founded the religion of Däeism. Däeism would eventually become the dominant religion amongst Elves. Around the same time, a second group of Elves moved further west into Ditarre, where A'Roafan Elf culture developed, and the religion of A'Thanism was founded.

The first Elf Tulkon was Nyrota, an A'Roafan Elf who united the A'Roafan kingdoms under the flag of A'Roastar. The nation was later reorganized into A'Roastad and would become hugely influential.

In the 400s, the three Elf nations were A'Roastad, Däe Ydelhiad, and Ynoforan Country. During the Iloisa Conquest, Ynoforan Country was mostly destroyed and the majority of its inhabitants were deported to the southern Däe Peninsula, where they formed the nation of Ynofora following the end of the conflict.

After the 40-Year War, elves lost some of their historical territory and most became citizens of A'Roastad or Ynofora. Elf cultural identity in some parts of A'Roastad became much more homogenous, becoming a blend of all three ethnicities, although many Elves still identified with a particular ethnic group. The Ynoforans became nearly extinct during the Immortal War after a genocide by West Gardenian Orcs, but the culture persisted. After the War, the nation of Ynofora was absorbed by A'Roastad, forming the A'Roastad Empire.

Despite their many movements and displacements across the southern hemisphere, many notable Ydelhiad and Ynoforan communities exist across Däegarden that managed to avoid displacement, and have been absorbed into new countries to varying degrees; these Non-Displaced Ydelhiads and Ynoforans (NDYY) have large communities in Nodal, Honsinad, and Gogeget.

### Contemporary Issues

As of 3000 AT, the only Elf-majority nation is the A'Roastad Empire. Historically, Elves have been forced to minimize their territory, previously expanding all across the southern hemisphere to being restricted to a corner between Ditarre and Däegarden.

Modern culture of the Empire is marked by high rates of cultural blending, with the Elven Creoles (elves of mixed Ydelhiad, Ynoforan, and A'Roafan ancestry) becoming an important group in the western half of the Empire. Due to historic losses of territory and subjugation by other peoples, many Elven Creoles have promoted Elven Nationalism as a means of achieving cultural unity and eventually reclaiming their lost lands, as well as promoting Däeism as a pan-Elven religion. Tulkon I'ladas, of Elven Creole and Acadon descent, became an important symbol of the Elven Nationalist movement thanks to his multi-ethnic ancestry. His confirmation also led to a large number of Tulkonist conversions, resulting in conflict between those who viewed him as a Däeist/Nationalist symbol and a sign that the Elves should embrace Tulkonism.

Members of NDYY communities have also struggled to attain representation and equality in their countries of residence.

## Cultures

After the first Elves settled in the central Garden Continent in 500 BT, a series of migrations forced populations of Elves to move westward. Over time, these displaced Elf populations developed into the modern Elven ethnicities.

### Ynoforans

The Ynoforans are the oldest group of Elves. They landed in the middle of the Garden Continent after the Infinite War. During the Iloisa Conquest, they were deported to western Daë, where most of them live to this day. During the Immortal War, they were the victims of a genocide by the nation of Dazzad, but the culture managed to survive. Ynoforans today mostly live in the eastern A'Roastad Empire on the South Däe Peninsula, although other major native NDYY (Non-Displaced Ynoforans and Ydelhiads; members of those groups who managed to remain in their original homelands) populations live on the coasts of Nodal and in southern Honsinad. Most Ynoforans are Daëists or Tulkonists.

### Ydelhiads

The Ydelhiads formed from groups of Ynoforans that were forced to migrate by the Orcs who landed on the Southern Garden Continent. They developed the religion of Daëism, which most modern Ydelhiads are practitioners of. During the 40-Year War, their homelands were taken over by demons, and they evacuated elsewhere, settling mostly on the Western coast of the Southern Däe Peninsula and the Acadon Islands, where most live today under the A'Roastad Empire; about half of the Ydelhiad population lives in the western Empire on Ditarre, and the other half lives in the eastern Empire on Däegarden. A large NDYY minority lives in western Nodal as well as western Gogeget.

#### Mixed Ydelhiad groups

Some Ydelhiads who remained on Däegarden after the 40-Year War established communities within Gogeget, where they formed highly blended Ydelhiad-Gardenian groups sometimes known as the **Sankari** people. These people practice a hybrid form of Däeism and Savatism, and have maintained a degree of autonomy within Gogeget society, especially in the centuries following the Immortal War, during which they were prosecuted as part of the Ynoforan Genocide.

The **Nolino** people are triracial group of mixed Ydelhiad, Gardenian, and Nodal Ancestry located in southwestern Nodal. They formed when Orc immigrants mixed with the native Ydelhiad and Onor populations around 2000 AT.

### A'Roafans

The A'Roafans are the youngest Elf Ethnic group, forming from groups of Ydelhiads and Ynoforans that continued to migrate west and settled in Ditarre. They lived in three separate kingdoms that were united by a young Tulkon Nyrota. Few A'Roafans still practice their ethnic religion of A'Thanism, as most A'Roafans converted to Daëism. Most A'Roafans reside in the E'Deonad Peninsula, part of the A'Roastad Empire.

#### Mixed Vardo groups

The **Vardo** are a subgroup of the A'Roafans who live in the city of Ygasa Vardo. Ygasa Vardo was founded as an Elven city, but it was also settled by the Iloisa Empire. Modern-day Vardo live a highly multicultural existence, with most Vardo having about half Human ancestry. They speak Vardoic, an Iloisa-A'Roic Creole. They mostly practice U'ma Däeism and occasionally Tulkonism.

### Acadon

The Acadon are the people of the Acadon Islands, an archipelago located between the E'Deon and Däe peninsulas. They are descended from waves of settlers rom Däe who stopped on the archipelago rather than go all they way to E'Deon; they are often considered the sister group of the A'Roafans. While originally speakers of A'Roic, Ydelhiad influence led to the development of Acadon Creole, a blend of A'Roic and Ydelhiad. Most Acadon today live under the A'Roastad Empire, and practice Däeism and speak Acadon Creole and Däegic.

### Other groups

#### Elven Creoles

The term Elven Creole refers to anyone who is of mixed Ydelhiad, A'Roafan, and Ynoforan ancestry. While not technically their own ethnicity, Creoles have become a notable group in the Empire. Descended mostly from Ydelhiad and Ynoforan refugees who intermarried with A'Roafans during the 40-Year War, Elven Creoles mainly live in the urbanized areas of the Western half of the Empire. They mainly speak any of the three official languages of the Empire and various Imperial Creole varieties.

#### Non-Displaced Ydelhiads and Ynoforans

The NDYY community is made up the descendants of Ydelhiads and Ynoforans who managed to evade their deportations and displacements from modern Däegarden, and make up sizable minorities in Gogeget, Nodal, and southern Honsinad. Many members of this community have Dwarven and Orc ancestry as a result of colonization, but have managed to maintain their languages and traditions over thousands of years of isolation from mainstream Elf culture. Members of the Sankari and Nolino cultures sometimes consider themselves NDYY. In the modern age, some NDYY have voluntarily migrated to the Empire.

## Culture

### Real-World Influences

The Elves are primarily inspired by cultures of south, central, and western Asia, especially the peoples of India, Pakistan, Iran, and western China.