Elves

> "We Elves are proud, wise, and beautiful. The Empire is built on the arts, crafts, and sciences of the High Elves. Our pure blood protects us from disease, and makes us superior spell crafters."
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**Elves** are humanoid beings which originate from Germanic mythology and English folklore.

## Abilities

Elves are known to be long-lived or immortal and they have magical powers attributed to them, especially powers related to nature.

## Appearance

Elves are often pictured as youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and other natural places, underground or in wells and springs. Elves have many forms; some are tiny, some are tall and female elves often seem human, but some say they are empty from the back, like a hollow tree.

## Culture

The Elves consider themselves the most civilized culture of the worlds, a claim which holds some merit. The common tongue of the Noverian Empire, Common, is based on their speech and writing. Most of the crafts, arts, and sciences used in the Empire are derived from Elf tradition. The clothing, manners, arts, and crafts of the Elves are refined. While their achievements are admired by the races of Earth, their culture is considered less important, as they focus on their glories in martial tradition and their mastery of sorcery and enchantments. They are not evil but might annoy humans or interfere in their affairs. They are sometimes said to be invisible. And although elves could be considered to be beautiful and potentially helpful beings in some sections of history, it also attests to alignments of elves with demons and more sinister behavior, such as harming or killing humans and livestock.

The feudal monarchy in place in Elven territory has a long history of conflict and instability, and the elves believe themselves to be proud, wise, and beautiful, and believe that their pure blood protects them from disease and makes them superior spell crafters.  Over hundreds of years, the Elves have formed pure bloodlines. They reproduce as often and as quickly as humans do, but always killed nine out of ten of their new-borns in order to keep their bloodlines pure. Uniforms and high speech are also regarded as important in Elf culture, and their wildlife and trees have, much like the Elves themselves, been bred to be as perfect as they can be.

### Necromancy and the undead

In regards to Necromancy, it is legal for some Elves to practice the art. Those of the most respected noble and scholarly families have permission to study the dead in the open, focusing on research on how to further extend their lives. Non-Elves caught performing necromancy in the Summerset Isles are punished in some of the worst possible ways.

The Elves see the undead with the same prejudice as they do wild animals. They acknowledge that certain forms of undead, such as the Lich, Wraith, or Vampire hold power, and mildly admire it. Even so, the Elves always remains guarded in the presence of such entities, as they always desire something from the living. In order to learn from the undead, an Elf must maintain certain appearances. They must show humility to the undead and speak to them like they are their elders. They must also show intelligence, to make their undead host know they are not to be trifled with. The third and last appearance that the Elves must show is discipline. If the undead host is willing to enter in conversation, the Elfmust carefully pick his or her questions, as an undead will only provide knowledge willingly, or not at all.

The Elves venerate their ancestors by respecting the passage of these beings from this world to the next. Elves believe it to be cruel and unnatural to keep the spirits of the dead on Earth. To display body parts of ancestors in ghost fences or ash pits is considered barbaric by the Elves. Instead, the Elves inter their dead.

### Architecture and Language

Elven architecture is high and graceful. Showing curved gables and steeples which are strong and pointed to emphasize height, Elven architecture tries to contrast its structures from those of the other races. Rather than seeking innovation, the Elves seek refinement, being hesitant to perform large-scale changes, but are willing to tinker with their arts. As a result, their architecture shows precision, harmony, and orthodox compositions, which are often in repetition.

The Elves consider language, specifically the written word, of critical importance, as it not only preserves their history, but also captures and defines their lineage, ensuring that every elf knows their place in the hierarchy. Because of this, Elven society is one of the most well-structured in the universe, which according to the scholar-priests of Elven lands is the will of their god himself. These priests are also said to preserve an ancient tongue which was long forgotten by the rest of Earth.

### Society

After the society of the Elves grew, a hierarchy came into place. In this hierarchy, the people were put in classes, with the higher classes holding the most power. These classes are the following, from highest to lowest: The Wise, teachers and priests, artists, princes, warriors, landowners, merchants, workers, and finally beasts. The social class of the beasts were attributed to those below workers, such as the goblins the Elves enslave to perform duties which they consider themselves to be too high for.

Elves were still said to have humanoid slaves until the seventeenth century.

Elves who engage in dialogue and disagree with their opposition, prefer to settle the affairs through talking. Long conversations and thinking, combined with wine and fellowship often have the result of settling the affair. In the event where talk does not have a satisfying outcome, matters are put to an end by means of a duel. The rules of such duels are the following:

1. Both combatants are only allowed to arm themselves with a traditional Elf duelling foil, banning the usage of long swords, axes, flails and other such weapons. The foil must be washed in mineral water, thoroughly dried, and well-polished.

Before the start of the duel, both combatants must recite the full name of their opponent, alongside calling upon certain bad deeds of their opponent where appropriate. If one stumbles or mispronounces the name of their opponent, they must stop and recite the name in full twice more.

2. Both parties must ensure a witness is present during the duel, who are honour-bound to intervene in the combat should one of the parties commit an honour-infraction, such as fleeing the field, casting dirt in the eyes of their opponent, or harassing their opponent.

3. Whoever comes out victorious must engage with their opponent in a humble and courteous fashion, providing them with physicians, aid, and other services to heal their wounds. The defeated is required to admit error, and request forgiveness. This way, both parties finish the conflict with their honour intact, a good thing, as the Elves consider honour the most important thing on Earth.