Elves

An elven warrior

*"Oh Sytha, Elera, return to us! Grant us Lordship over all!" - Archbishop Lucien*

The elves, also collectively known as **elvenkind**, are one of the most populous races inhabiting the world of Adoria. They were birthed by the Forebear Sytha the Golden Mother during the Age of Forebears. As one of the noble races, they were among the races chosen to take up lordship over Adoria. Over the millennia, ancient elvenkind has split into a multitude of groups, all adapted to their own environments. The primary elven groups are the bright elves, the forest elves and the ice elves.

## Description

While appearances can differ depending on the elven sub-group, the primary characteristics of elves remain the same. Elves have a humanoid build, although they are often slightly more slender and slightly taller than the average human. They are most recognizable by their long, pointy ears and shoulder-length hair. It is rare for a male elven to be able to grow facial hair, but when he is able to, it signifies that he possesses great magical prowess. elven facial hair, when it occurs, also grows very rapidly, with some being able to grow a full beard in less than a week. When it comes to strength and dexterity, male and female elves possess very similar capabilities.

### Attuned with the Light

Another unique aspect of the elvish race is their ability to emit light on command. They can allow their skin to glow with yellow light, allowing them to shine like a miniature star. Their eyes are also uniquely resistant to light. During day-time, elves can stare at the Stars Above directly without difficulty. These traits have led many elven scholars to suggest that the elves were chosen by the gods to lead the other mortal races. While other races have been cursed to divert their eyes from the stars during the day, the elves have been blessed with the ability to regard them at all times.

### Adaptability

A final unique trait inherent to all elves is their ability to quickly adapt to their environments. Elves can change the color of their skin, the approximate length of their limbs, their strength, and their resistance to cold and heat within only a few generations. While bright elves, forest elves and ice elves are the most dominant sub-species of elves, many other types exist, all adapted to their unique environments.

### Age

Although the most ancient elves could become up to five-hundred years old, nowadays the elves' lifespan has shortened to a maximum of two-hundred years. Elves reach adulthood at twenty-five years old, and are seen as elderly at one-hundred-twenty years old.

### Fertility

Elven females become fertile at twenty-five years old, whereas males only become fertile at thirty years old. For elves, pregnancies only last six months. It is nigh-impossible for elves to give birth to twins (or a greater number of children at the same time). When this very rarely does happen, it is said that only one of the children actually has a soul. Once an elven woman has given birth, it takes eleven years before she can become pregnant again. Elven females remain fertile until they reach one-hundred years old, whereas males remain fertile until they reach one-hundred-twenty years old.

## History

### The Last War

At the tail-end of the Age of Forebears, one Last War raged on Adorian soil. Two Forebears fought for the last remaining seat that would earn them a place in the Heavens: the Illustrious Throne. This battle was fought between Sytha the Golden Mother and Tarak the God-Dragon. Their war had been going for ages, with each occupying the throne multiple times, but never long enough to reach for the Stars Above. One faithful night, Tarak and Sytha met in the field of battle. Blood was spilled, and Tarak took one of Sytha's eyes. Her fate seemed sealed; the serpent took the throne. The gates of the Heavens opened high above, and Tarak flew up towards the cosmos, taking his earned place. But the wounded Sytha fired her bow one last time, and felled the golden dragon. Tarak tumbled down from the sky, his rightful place taken from him. As Sytha took his throne, Tarak the Felled uttered one last curse; that his kin would one day reach into the Heavens and pull Sytha back to the earth.

### The Birth of Elvenkind

After taking the throne, Sytha birthed her own race of noble creatures: the elves. As the elves were the last of the noble races, Sytha could examine the other races of the world and ensure that her own children would not have their shortcomings. The elves were to be perfect; the exact likenesses of their mother. They would be the inheritors of Adoria; masters over all the other races. It became their sacred duty to hunt down Tarak's kin, so that the elves would never have to suffer the wrath of dragons.

The first two elves that were created were a sister and a brother: Elma and Terrus. It was Elma that build the Golden Church of Sythea around the Illustrious Throne, founding the Sythean Church and establishing the grand capital of Sythea. She became the High-Matriarch of the Church, leading it for hundreds of years after the Church's founding. Her brother sat the Illustrious Throne, ruling as King over elvenkind. He founded the Sythean Empire, expanding its territory, and ousting the dragons from the elvish lands. After their respective deaths, Elma and Terrus ascended to the stars, their duty fulfilled. In the Church's lore, Elma became the Sister and Terrus became the Brother, powerful Ascended Gods that now watched over elvenkind from the starry Heavens.

### Time of the First Kings

It was the bloodline of Terrus that established the line of the First Kings of Elvenkind. It was his sacred blood that became the prerequisite to sit the Illustrious Throne. These First Kings held absolute power over their subjects. Their words were Law Absolute, rumored to have been able to alter the natural laws of the world. The Kings' many wives only ever bore sons, which was said to be a blessing of Sytha, so that their line would not be cursed with impurity. Around them, the First Kings gathered cohorts of nobles. They picked these nobles based on their age and ancestry, believing that their proximity to the first generations of elves gave them unique insight and magical prowess. The First Kings also cooperated closely with the Ecumenical Council of the Golden Church.

After Elma's death and ascendancy, an Ecumenical Council was established to rule over the Church. The Council only accepted female members, all of whom older than two centuries. They attempted to commune with Sytha, the Mother's Star, but no response was ever heard. And so they communed with the Sister and the Brother instead, requesting their wisdom and borrowing their powers over health and rule. They likewise called upon the ancestors of elves, singing their songs, hoping to receive their insights. And so they began their worship of the Common Host of elves.

### Tallasilva and the War of Purity

Over the centuries, elvenkind began to settle new lands, either through conquest or through the taming of uninhabited wilderness. The Sythean Empire blew up like a balloon, gradually expanding in all directions. Eventually, it bordered a seemingly endless stretch of woodlands, with trees as tall as hills. This land became known as Tallasilva. Those that settled these lands grew apart from their Sythean brethren. Histories differ on what exactly happened during this time, but the Sytheans began to regard the Tallasilvan practices as heretical. This triggered the initiation of a holy war between the two groups. At the end of this War of Purity, the Tallasilvans finally managed to reach the gates of the Golden City of Sythea. But then, the Sytheans were saved by a miracle. A young peasant girl named Elera, who claimed to be the reincarnation of Sytha herself, had assembled an army and struck the Tallasilvan forces when they least expected it. The Tallasilvans retreated back to their woods. Elera did not chase them, however; she instead laid siege to the Golden City itself. She claimed that the current king of Sythea, Acrus, had betrayed the stars, and that she had returned to the world to rid the elven people of him. The people of Sythea, whipped up in a frenzy, forced Acrus to give up the crown. Elera, now seated on the Illustrious Throne, proclaimed the reformation of the Sythean Empire into the Elerian Empire. The split between the Tallasilvans and the Elerians became final.

### Cebora and the Banishment

Not all who claimed to be the descendants of Sytha were successful in claiming the throne, however. During the reign of Consus the False, many centuries after the War of Purity, a noblewoman named Cebora claimed that Consus lacked Elera's blood in his veins, and that she herself had the right to sit the Illustrious Throne. Cebora claim was not baseless, and she garnered the support of many nobles. Consus managed to smother Cebora's faction in a single night, however. During the Night of the Naked, agents of Consus' own terror police, the White-Hatters, broke into the houses of the nobles that supported Cebora and abducted them. Then, in the early hours of the morning, all the nobles were stripped naked and paraded through the streets. Cebora herself, too, had been a victim of the White-Hatters. Then, after the parade, Consus personally revoked all the nobles' titles, and banished them all to the icy wastes of Drak'tharim. The region that came to be inhabited by these banished elves came to be known as Ceboria. Her followers eventually became the ice elves.