Elf

*"The martial prowess of the elvish ancestry is shown through the methodical dance their blades and bodies preform, they are not to be underestimated." - Naeven Drevdris, Helmsguard of Newtbrook*

## General Information

### Subspecies

Sun, Moon, Star, Qo, Y'ro, Ai'iri, Aquatic, Shadow, Livinian, Sidrin

## Sociocultural Information

### Languages

* Eldmati
* Laimin
* Qo
* Sudai'in

### Distinction(s)

* Elongated pointed ears
* Wings
* Goat-like noses

### Place of Origin

* Neraida

The elves, also known as the Qasire'fae in their own language of Eldmati and its sublanguages, are graceful and both martially and magically blessed by their patron goddess Arndalus Elsinthael, the are formidable foes in combat but most prefer peace rather than confrontation. There are many different subspecies of elves so it is often that they fight amongst themselves in order to prove which of the subspecies is the best.

## Description

Elves averagely stand around roughly 6 feet tall, men and women alike, and weigh about 150 pounds; pureblooded elves are naturally slender, athletic, and fiercely compassionate. They have similar physical characteristics to humans, though the Sun, Moon, and Star elves more closely resemble Etherans as they are more closely related to their ancient ancestors with Sun elves having more yellowy skin, Moon elves have paler white skin, and Star elves have somewhat glowing white skin. Elven hair was typically fairer than a humans with blonde, ginger, and white being among the most common, more uncommon colors like black and gold are not completely out of the question. Elven eyes were most commonly gold, blue, green, or hazel and often seemed to glimmer brighter than your average humans, a hint at their innate magical connection. Their ears were elongated and pointed like their fae ancestors, though not nearly as long, and they had translucent intangable wings pale grey or white in color. Finally their noses were somewhat goat-like, flatter, another nod to their fae ancestry. The Elves, like their ethereal ancestors, were often uncharacteristically beautiful but there are those that are warped over time.

Elves mature much slower than humans, considered a toddler until the age of 10 when they become a child and a child until teenagerhood at the age of 15 where they would remain for a long 50 years until finally becoming an adult at the age of 55; though mentally an elf reached adulthood at the age of 21, akin to most humans. With elves aging much more slowly it is less apparent when they are reaching old age as they still appear youthful and active up until about the last 2-5 years of the their life, the most notable tell of their aging before then being slight wrinkles and/or grayed hair.

## Abilities

All elves have a natural grace and agility about them granted from their goddess Elsinthael, an agility and grace which outweighs that of the average human. In addition to their enhanced dexterity, the elves are also blessed with innate magic which can vary from ancestry to ancestry with a few remaining as part of their elven bloodline.

### Innate Spellcasting

The innate spellcasting elves gain from their elven heritage and patron god allows them to cast several cantrips and spells once they reach a certain age or experience level. From birth an elf can cast these cantrips: Illuminate, Druidcraft, and Bonfire. Upon reaching teenagerhood they gain access to Charm Person and after reaching adulthood they are able to cast Chaos Bolt; both spells could only be cast using their innate magic once per day.

## Society

### Origin

The elves are descendants of ethereal ancestor who migrated to the magical realm of Neraida to live a life of peace amongst the ever-blossoming plant life and while their ancestors were once native to Neraida before once again migrating to the realm of Xaekla, they have near to no ties to the realm themselves though their blood still holds massive amounts of the magical influence thus, in part, giving them their magical powers, the other half of their magical powers comes from their patron god, Elsinthael, god of the elves and nature. Elsinthael adopted the elves, so to speak, several hundred years after their ancestors migrated to Xaekla; granting them great boons for their continued servitude.

### Subspecies

#### Sky Elves

* Sun Elves: also deemed gold elves, the sun elves are the most wealthy of elven society, taking positions at the head of elven societies; be it as kings, queens, or representatives, the sun elves are the most charismatic of the elves.
* Moon Elves: also called silver elves, moon elves are extremely adept in combat particularly with melee weapons that have reach; like spears, glaives, and javelins; they typically act as the head soldiers or knights in elven society.
* Star Elves: also called pale elves, they are the favored subspecies of Elsinthael and thus often acts as her divine clerics and priests in elven society; though they are not the only of the elves which may become one of her divine servants.

#### Ground Elves

* Qo: also called forest elves, the Qo are among the most abundant of the ground elves and live in highly nomadic small tribes of 25-50 Qo. They are skilled with stealth and many ranged weapons like the crossbow and bow, additionally they are often considered the "peasants" of elven society by the sky elves due to their seemingly uncivilized nature.
* Aquatic Elves: also called merfolk elves as these elves were created from the unison of a merfolk and an elf, the resulting offspring lacked a tail but had gills, fins, and sharp teeth for a largely carnivorous diet in the water.
* Y'ro: also called the dark elves or stone elves, the Y'ro live in the cavernous underbelly on the realm of Xaekla, banished there by the sun-goddess Zafrielia after a group of their ancestry slew her son, the Seer, Zariel. Thus when exposed to the sunlight the Y'ro suffer blindness and so they do not stray far from their dark dwellings.

#### Realm Elves

* Ai'iri: the result from the union of any elf and a celestial being; god or other alike; the Ai'iri are also called Celestial elves and hold high status within elven society, especially if they are children of Elsinthael or his allies.
* Livinian Elves: Elves dedicated to the lich god Livist who underwent intense bodily change and training to become his fateful servants, they live on his realm of the Screaming Waves.
* Shadow Elves: Elves whom travelled to the Shadow Realm and were tainted by its influence, often they have also succumbed to the ruling demon lord, Beliya'al, and has become one of his faithful servants.
* Sidrin Elves

#### Related ancestrys

* Half-elf: the result of an elf having children with any of the other species, can often be used as somewhat of an umbrella term as Ai'iri fall under half-elf but are still considered a subspecies of elf.