Nefifi - The Dark Elf Domain

Nefifi is the underground Domain of the Dark Elves. Though they have remained largely to themselves in the past, in recent years they have shown signs of agitation and aggression, which came to a head 20 years ago when they invaded and took over the Star Elf Kingdom, and they seem to be preparing for war once again.

### Demography

#### Population

Due to their reclusive nature, few have been able to reach Dark Elven communities and even fewer have seen enough of Nefifi to put good estimates to its population size. However, all reports agree that even the smallest communities are larger than some Moon Elf towns, and seldom welcome other types of elves into their homes.

#### Language

Due to their isolation from the rest of the Elven world, their language has transformed into its own dialect of Elvish, with further dialects within their own small communities. Most Dark Elves have also learnt Undercommon, though few have learnt its surface counterpart, Common.

### History

#### The beginning of AM (500 BM-100AM)

'Nefifi' is a derivation of the Old Elvish word for 'home of dark', or possibly simply 'dark': *Neflim*. The Dark Elves migrated to the Underdark before the time of magic and the Elven Elite, and so had no access to magic to help them fight back against the monsters within. The constant fighting left the male population of the Dark Elves significantly smaller than the female population, and due to the pressures of war men had little education outside of military strategy and combat training. This led to a cultural view of men being the grunts of society, fit only to go out and do manual labour, while the women would work on science and technology, and took the highest positions in society. This tradition was further bolstered by the coming of the Elven Elite, and the rising of the Dark Goddess, Nerimys Orat, who brought magic to the Dark Elves, allowing them to dominate over the other creatures in the Underdark and end the ceaseless toil and suffering of the Elves. However, the other Elven Elite viewed Nerimys with hostility, and in the Great Battle she was injured to the point that it changed her magic. Alongside the other Elves' abandonment of them to the ever-present dangers of the Underdark, this led to a greater emphasis on combining magic with technology, as well as resentment and xenophobia towards the other races of Elves.

#### The Rise of Dark (100AM-9300AM)

Over time, as their technology and magic developed, the Dark Elves took over and spread throughout the Underdark. Though their knowledge of the arcane was inferior to the other Elves due to their greater emphasis on technology, they went down a different avenue of study compared to the other Elves and discovered secrets that would have befuddled even the greatest of surface Elven scholars. Their combination of magic and technology also created a greater emphasis upon skill and knowledge than innate magical power, making Dark Elven society much more meritocratic than the lineage-based aristocracy of the surface Elves (though their society was still not without its flaws).

Their continued production of more children gave them a huge population, which proved both a blessing and a curse. The larger population size provided a large number of men to fight on their behalf, and many women to develop new technologies. However, once they spread throughout the Underdark, they had nowhere left to expand to. With ever more mouths to feed, the Dark Elves started looking towards the surface as a route for further colonisation.

#### The Uprising (9300AM-present)

The Star Kingdom caught wind of the Dark Elves' plot and sent a delegation to dissuade them from launching an attack on the surface realm, but when returned all that was left was their bloodied heads. It seemed that the Dark Elves had their sights set on war, and nothing could turn them from this bloody path. Ten years later, the Star Kingdom was no more.

### Culture

Very little is known about Dark Elven culture outside of the broad strokes due to how closed off and hostile they are towards the other subraces of elves.

Dark Elven society is somewhat meritocratic, and one of their highest callings is to become a military scientist or engineer, as they value knowledge very highly. In fact, due to their use of magic being mostly as a bolster to technology, the science one has done and the technology one has created provides far more societal clout than simply talent at using magic, though the latter is still highly valued.

Dark Elven society is also highly matriarchal, with men being highly encouraged to go into the operation of machinery rather than their creation. Men are also rarely seen in political discourse and the upper reaches of society, and are generally less common in positions of power.

As a holdout of older times, Dark elven families are usually quite large, with each mother having 5 or more children, and men are sometimes passed between families as one might a prize breeding horse. Children are usually looked after by their grandparents, so that their parents may spend more time productively and contributing more to society.

### Politics

Not much is known about Dark Elf political systems due to its geography and hostility towards outsiders.

### Geography

Maps of Nefifi are notoriously hard to create, as the cave and cavern systems that the Dark Elves live in means that maps must also display the place in a third dimension. The Dark Elves' isolationist way of thought in conjunction with this makes trying to gain a thorough understanding of the geography of this place an exercise in futility.