Races of Arthuria/Elves

Elves are one of the major races of Arthuria and its neighboring lands. Their presence predates Arthuria, though their numbers in the area have always been less plentiful than humans in recorded history. In Arthuria and its closest neighbors, Fernian elves are by far the most common elves to be seen.

## Description

Elves, despite having a humanlike appearance from head to toe, are very different from humans. Much like humans, their appearances vary drastically, dependent on their region of origin. However, they are easily distinguishable from humans by their long, pointed ears and their solid-colored eyes with no visible irises or pupils. Many elves also have skin, hair, or eye colors that would be unnatural in humans.

While younger elves are born and develop similarly to humans, adult elves age so slowly compared to humans that many mistakenly believe them to be ageless. Under normal circumstances, an elf can live for four to five centuries; however, they are still mortal, making them susceptible to injury and illness just like non-elves.

### Fernian Elves

Fernian elves are very tall by human standards, with an average elf standing at around seven feet tall. They are also slender, with fair or "pastel" (normally a light green or blue) skin. A Fernian elf's hair is usually light in color, with white and blond being the most common hair colors. Their eye colors normally range from orange or yellow to bluish green.

### Northern Islandic Elves

The elves of the Northern Isles are taller than humans on average, but are closer to human heights than the elves of Fernia. A typical Northern Islandic elf stands at just over six feet tall. They are usually stocky in build, with gray or dull blue skintones and dark eyes. The hair of these elves is usually dark, ranging from black to dark blue or gray, though lighter or warmer hair colors are not rare due to their close connection with local humans.

### Abilities and Weaknesses

All elves display innate magical prowess and have an inherent telepathy that they use to communicate, as well as share knowledge and wisdom. This link allows elves to learn from each other in a way that greatly reduces learning time, as well as trial and error. Consequently, skills that humans cannot develop without years of extensive training can be mastered by an elf in a matter of months. While the specific abilities of elves tend to vary between different groups, this is due to cultural differences rather than biological.

Elven telepathy has a very limited range; only a couple miles is far enough to prevent two elves from communicating telepathically. Consequently, if an elf does not grow up around older, more learned elves to serve as mentors, they will not have the "inherent" knowledge or wisdom their race is associated with. Elves also tend to be physically weaker than humans due to their magic specialty. Since they have such a strong magical affinity, elves are far more likely than humans to become corrupted from strong emotions alone.

## Culture

Much like humans, the cultures of elves vary depending on their region.

### Fernian Elves

Despite their height, Fernian elves prefer an arboreal lifestyle, using their combined magic to grow and modify entire forests to make them suitable for them to live in. They do not typically use fire or fire magic, with some even having a fear of fire. This is mainly due to fire's potential to destroy an entire forest settlement in just a couple hours. Consequently, most elves of this group will eat a raw vegetarian diet to minimize the need for fire. While they don't normally eat animals, though, they are more than willing to use them as sacrifices in religious rituals. Their society is matriarchal; women hold most if not all positions of power.

The religion of Fernian elves revolves around the natural world, and politics are thoroughly intertwined with their naturalistic religion. Druids in particular hold an important role in their culture, to the point that monarchs are expected to act as religious as well as political leaders, and are referred to as High Druids. The elves of Fernia, having adopted the Arthurian pantheon, worship Agresh and De'irkan as their patron deities; however, it should be noted that Fernian elves tend to view them as being two halves of the same deity, rather than two separate deities.

To non-elves, Fernian elves appear stoic or even emotionless. This is because they almost exclusively express emotions telepathically, with outward expressions of feelings being considered animalistic. Many Fernian elves look down upon non-elves as lesser creatures or even mindless beasts. In fact, any romance between an elf and a non-elf is considered taboo to the point that half-elves are virtually unheard of in Fernia. This xenophobia has been exacerbated in recent years by cruelty towards elves during the Red War.

### Northern Islandic Elves

Unlike Fernian elves, Northern Islandic elves are integrated into the local human culture, to the point their culture is barely distinguishable. In fact, they do not consider themselves "better" or even substantially different from humans, and human-elf hybrids are so commonplace that many Northern Islanders have both human and elven ancestors, regardless of their apparent race.

Historically, the elves of the Northern Isles were hunters and trappers, and traditional elven dress consequently includes fur garments. Many still use magic despite the local distrust of it; however, many have pivoted to industrial magics or only practice in secret. Some elves have spoken out against the anti-magic views of their homeland, but most have accepted or even agree with it.