Elves

**Elves** are a mammalian humanoid species originating on Loom. They are one of only two humanoid species known to have emerged exclusively through the process of evolution by natural selection, with the other known species being orcs. Elves are highly social and gravitate towards living in densely populated settlements with complex social structures composed of familial groups (formed by both consanguinity and affinity) and various kinship networks, with a variety of methods of governance and sociopolitical organization. There are a wide variety of elvish social norms, rituals, and constructs, with significant degrees of variation depending on culture. Elves are also considered to be an ethnoreligious group - a majority of elves, in both diasporic populations and populations on the Sundered Isles, identify as culturally and/or religiously Elvish. The Elvish religion is a monotheistic ethnic religion, and is one of the oldest organized religions on Loom.

Anatomically modern elves emerged around 20,000 to 10,000 B.E.M., with the small initial populations existing only on the Sundered Isles. The first migrations of elves onto the Alesirian continental mainland is believed to have begun between 8,500 and 7,000 B.E.M., with exploratory ventures and subsequent migrations to other continents occurring between approximately 6,000 and 2,500 B.E.M. The earliest evidence of elves outside of Alesir are archaeological sites located on the southern coasts of Carnelsica & the far northern coasts of Kesair. For much of elvish history, all elves lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers. The emergence of agriculture, particularly the domestication of livestock animals, enabled elves to begin to develop semi-permanent and then permanent settlement (including stewardship and management of ecosystems). However, settlements with a significant degree of agricultural activity will often still source a large portion of food from hunting.

The elvish lifespan is one of the longest natural lifespans of Loom's sapient humanoid species, with the average elvish lifespan being approximately 850 to 1,000 years. Due to this longer lifespan, however, elvish perception of time typically differs notably from that of other humanoid sapient species. Research and written work in the fields of chronoception and sociology comparing humans and elves, for example, has indicated that elvish perception of time appears to differ from that of a human by roughly a factor of ten - meaning, for example, that an elf is likely to conceptualize approximately 10 years of their life similarly to how a human may conceptualize 1 year of their life.

Elvish biological variation, including the lifespan as well as physiology, body size, disease susceptibility, mental and physical ability, etc., is influenced considerably by genetics and the environment, particularly the ambient & active aether (aether being the energy and forces that flow and move throughout Loom that are responsible for magic/the arcane) in the environment. They are incredibly sensitive to aether, with several elvish physiological processes being dependent partially or wholly on relatively stable aether in the surrounding environment for optimal function. Elves are not capable of long-term survival in completely anaetheric (without aether) environments. In an anaetheric environment, they are forced to draw on their internal "reservoir" of aether (essentially a form of autophagy). Once this is gone, however, core physiological processes can no longer be carried out, and death inevitably follows. Death in these circumstances is termed 'anaetheric syndrome', and typically occurs as a result of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, anaphylactic shock, and/or circulatory shock induced when tissue breakdown causes uncontrolled internal hemorrhaging.

Elves are hypercarnivores, despite being omnivorous. Typical elvish diets consist of approximately 70% meat, along with a variety of fungi and plant materials (fruits, vegetables, grains, etc) added both for nutritional benefit and culinary/personal use. Elves use fire or heat for the preparation and cooking of food, with some of the earliest evidence of wider control of fire by elves for this purpose dating to (year). They are generally crepuscular or nocturnal, and require between four and ten hours of sleep per day. Sleep requirements varying widely from individual to individual and are dependent both on environmental factors (season, light levels, temperature) and individual factors (health, level of exhaustion, and emotional state). As elves are a strongly altrical species, both the birthing parent and non-birthing parent provide care for elvish children, with both parents being aided by several members of their familial & kinship networks.

## Habitat and population

Early elvish settlement had a 'semi-permanent' phase before the ultimate move towards more permanent habitation as agriculture and domestication of livestock became more widespread.

## Biology

Elves are bipedal mammalian humanoids, with an elvish body following a humanoid body plan and consisting of the legs, the torso, the arms, the neck, and the head. Like most animals, they are a diploid, eukaryotic species, and two elves on average will have a genetic similarity of 97.5%-99%. Elvish body systems are most commonly defined as the nervous, the cardiovascular, the digestive, the endocrine, the immune, the integumentary, the lymphatic, the musculoskeletal, the reproductive, the urinary, the respiratory, and the extrasensory. They have a dental formula of I 1/1, PC 1/1, C 2/2, PM 3/2, M 2/1 (incisors, pre-canines, canines, pre-molars, molars/carnassials) and are polyphyodontic - after the initial set of adult teeth has grown in, the replacement cycle begins and teeth are replaced either when damaged/broken or every seven to nine years.

## Physiology

### Senses and Perception

#### Eyes & Vision

Elves can be born with human-like eyes with white or black sclera, or eyes which appear to be an entirely solid color with no visible distinction between the sclera, iris, and pupil. The elvish eye has retained nictitating membranes, which provide protection from flash blindness and often partially close involuntarily if an elf is ill or tired. Elves are able to see a wider range of visible colors, and are able to pick out and distinguish slight changes in hue with remarkable acuity. One interesting side effect of this gap in the color perception abilities of elves and other species is that Elvish fashion is widely considered by other species to tend towards the strange, garish, or even ugly, and many popular Elvish designers utilize patterns and colors that are essentially only fully visible as intended to elves. Consequently, outside of some niche scenes, Elvish fashion and styling has little popularity outside of Elvish circles.

Elves have very acute night-time vision, although they are unable to see in total darkness. They need roughly one-sixth to one-eighth of the amount of light that humans need to see, dependent on subspecies. Elvish eyes have a tapetum lucidum, which in combination with their widely-dilating pupils and the shape of the eye allows them to see in darkness. This also causes elves to have eye-shine, reflecting light back in bright light or with flash photography. However, the tapetum lucidum reduce visual acuity when in bright light, causing their surroundings to appear overly bright and blurry and color-vision to appear washed-out. Elves also contend with an increased risk of eyestrain and eye injury, and a significantly increased risk of severe or even disabling photosensitivity.

Elves living or working on a diurnal schedule will contend with a further increase of these risks without adaptive equipment such as sunglasses or transition lenses, and elves born into diurnal societies will require adaptive equipment until between 200 to 220 years of age (at which point the eye can adequately protect itself without needing constant shielding). Transitioning into a diurnal schedule can take weeks or even months and often involves dealing with migraines, heightened photosensitivity, and nausea until the individual can adapt adequately. Even after acclimation to a diurnal activity window, almost all elves will require regular usage of sunglasses, transition lenses, or other similar eye-gear to avoid damage to the eyes.

Elvish peripheral vision is somewhat less acute than their central vision, and the muscles responsible for moving the eye are less developed. Once an object reaches an elf's peripheral vision, they must move their head to be able to keep it in focus. Similarly to humans, elves will instinctively track motion in their visual field; motion-detection capabilities of elves are highly fine-tuned, but are often overactive especially in higher-light or total-darkness environments.

#### Ears & Hearing

Elves have elongated ears that taper off to a point - it is perhaps the most easily identifiable characteristic of the species. The ears are situated on the side of the head, similarly to humans; however, they tend to be oriented slightly higher. The tapering and length of the ear serve to aid in funneling sound into the inner ear, which has a deeper and more tapered ear canal than human ears. The pinnae in elves are mobile and capable of moving independently of each other; the positioning of the ears is a significant component of elvish nonverbal communication, analogous to eyebrows in humans. While their range of motion is more limited than that of some of their feline ancestors, elves will swivel their ears towards the direction a sound originates from when trying to listen closely or determine origin.

Elves have excellent hearing and can detect a broad range of frequencies. The lower end of elven hearing is ranges from 10Hz - 30Hz, and the upper range between 78kHz and 80kHz, with some variation between subspecies; high elves tend to have the highest hearing ranges and drow elves the lowest. They are capable of vocalizing in the 90 Hz to 60 kHz range, and modern Elvish languages typically have dominant frequencies between 125Hz and 3000Hz. Notably, ancient elvish languages often involve vocalizations in the 18kHz to 40kHz range, which is in the upper end of or above the hearing range of many other species.

#### Smell, Taste, and Touch

The elvish senses of taste and smell are roughly equivalent to humans, with some minute differences. Elves have marginally fewer sweet and bitter taster receptors than humans, owing to their diet being more heavily slanted towards carnivorous food sources. They are also more adept at distinguishing between different scents. Elves typically have a high tolerance for capascin, and spices are a central component of elvish food across Loom. Appetite for elves is often more strongly linked to smell than taste, although there is very strong variation between individuals in preference.

The elvish sense of touch is somewhat muted, with particular difficulties in perceiving pressure and touch when an elf is outside of their ideal temperature range. While their somatosensory systems do register fine touch, without deliberate focus very little fine touch is registered autonomously. An elf who is not paying particular attention may be able to only identify that something has touched their leg where a human could identify that something brushed against their ankle.

#### Balance

Elves have little to no inherent physical sense of proprioception, and rely on extrasensory perception in order to make up for this. Consequently, when elves are unable to receive and process extrasensory perceptive feedback (whether it be a temporary condition or an acquired or congenital disability), they experience significant disruption in their senses of touch and balance, and in some extremes may struggle to be able to maintain balance when walking or standing. They have a vestigial righting reflex - while unable to automatically right themselves to land on their feet while falling, the reflex does aid in twisting or angling the body to avoid severe injury. Elves also have a fondness for sitting in high places and tend towards perching, though whether this is cultural or innate is unclear.

### Organ Systems

#### Musculoskeletal System

Elvish bones have dense regular connective tissue integrated into their bone structure, providing flexibility and tensile strength to resist pulling forces; specifically, pulling forces attempting to bend bones or joints backwards or out of place. Elvish bones will break quicker and easier, but they will bend before they break. Their spine is thinner, longer, and slightly less prone to injury and chronic pain. Elves are incredibly flexible, with the standard range of motion for elves easily being within the hypermobile range of motion for other species. However, elves have a moderately elevated risk for connective tissue disorders, which - due to the integration of connective tissue so significantly into the skeletal structure - can be debilitating or even fatal.

Elven muscular tissue is denser and stronger per-pound than human muscular tissue; however, it is considerably slow-growing and has an extended and delicate recovery process when injured. The slow-growing nature of elvish muscular tissue accounts for the fact that the average elf will have only approximately 75-80% of the body strength of the average human. Some elves who have pursued intensive strength-building routines over extended periods of time have achieved body strength up to three times that of the average human.

#### Cardiovascular System & Blood

Elves have a four-chambered heart situated slightly lower in the chest than that of a human. Owing to their elevated metabolisms, elves have an average heart rate between 90 to 200 beats per minute. Elves have haemocyanin; copper-based blood. When oxygenated, their blood is green; when deoxygenated, it is copper or rust hued. Consequently, when they perspire, their sweat contains traces of copper salts. This necessitates caution when living in close quarters or being in intimate relationships with humans, who absorb copper salts through the skin and are vulnerable to copper toxicity. Often, humans living with or in relationships with elves will take supplemental zinc in small quantities, which reduces the amount of copper the human body absorbs.

#### Immune System

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Elves have considerable immunity to a wide range of pathogens that impact most other species, in part due to haemocyanin. However, there are elf-specific diseases; viral, bacterial, aetheric, or fungal pathogens. Pathogens that have evolved to specifically target elves have a rate of mutation and evolution that is between 25% - 50% that of pathogens that do not target elves.

#### Nervous System

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Particularly problematic is the fact that traumatic memories and experiences will frequently have direct physical consequences in elves. There have been recorded instances in which, when exposed to repeated traumatic incidents and extended isolation from others, an elf's brain has reordered neural pathways in an attempt to rewire itself to reduce or eliminate the negative stimuli and disruption caused by trauma and isolation. However, when this occurs, there is a high risk that the brain literally lobotomizes itself. There is also a significant risk of synaptic pathway degradation that will lead to death.

#### Digestive System & Diet

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Elves are hypercarnivores, deriving the majority of their nutrition from animal matter despite being omnivorous. They are able to digest and benefit from fruits, vegetables, and grains; however, it would be impossible for them to live entirely vegetarian diets. They are unable to metabolize B12 from plant matter, and have reduced absorption of several vitamins and minerals from plant matter as compared to meat. Elvish metabolisms are typically significantly faster when compared to human metabolism.