Blood Elf

Blood elves are a type of elf.

They are considered adults from the age of 100, and can live for up to 750 years.

## Myths

The blood elves were originally counted amongst the high elves of Alvheim. Their communities were attacked by Ogru and his orc crusaders, who destroyed their settlements and slaughtered all they could find. Many of these high elves prayed, begging their goddess, Higa, to help them. Help did not come though, and once the orcs left, the survivors banded together and swore vengeance against the orcs. Turning their backs not just on Higa, but on elven society as a whole for leaving them to the orcs, the elves began calling themselves "blood elves", and travelled to Erah, making their first settlements in the jungles at the northern reaches of The Frontier, on the edge of the Tecan Confederacy.

After a number of years on Erah, a wandering elf entered their city of Olymagroth and stood before their council. He named himself as Yagoth, born of the blood Higa wept when these elves left her. The council immediately started questioning him about whether he was here to force them back to Alvheim or to impose the worship of Higa on them. Yagoth laughed, and told them that, no, he wasn't there to do either of those things. Their plight was the cause of his existence, and he was not going to force them to change; on the contrary, he was there to help them prepare for their attack on the orcs. He kept talking, bringing the city's council to side with him. His point was simple: to defeat the orcs once and for all, the blood elves would need magical power, and he told them to gather as much power as possible, through any means possible. This led to a cultural revolution amongst the blood elves: the knowledge of Yagoth spread to the other blood elven settlements, and he then gave them a number of commandments, which they made a central part of their culture:

1. Knowledge is power. Acquire it and keep it so you can use it against those who would oppose you.
2. Magic is power. Make and acquire magic items, study magic in all its forms and learn to make use of them, develop new ways of using magic.
3. Spread the word of Yagoth. The high elves are misguided in their worship of a goddess who would abandon them to the orcs. They are your kin though, so it is your duty to bring them into the fold and properly educate them.
4. Stay beyond light and dark. The gods of light abandoned you in your time of need, and the gods of darkness have harmed you. The blood elves should strive to overcome both of these.

## Lands

The blood elves originally came from Alvheim, but most now live in the northern part of the Frontier and the southern parts of the Tecan Confederacy. Their people's capital city is Olymagroth, which is also considered sacred to them due to it being where Yagoth first appeared to them. Some have returned to Alvheim, generally as missionaries to "properly educate" their high-elven kin. These missionaries and their companions are generally nomadic, owing to the general hatred the high elves have for them.

## Culture

Blood elven culture is generally considered to be cut-throat by outsiders, but that is mostly because, when interacting with outsiders, it is cut-throat. The importance of the commandments of Yagoth to them means that the vast majority of blood elves will look for any advantage they can gain from their dealings with outsiders, and many have been known to capture and torture outsiders, particularly spellcasters, for their knowledge.

Amongst themselves, they are more cordial, and generally won't fight amongst themselves, but the more knowledgeable amongst them hoard their arcane knowledge in much the same way a dragon hoards treasure, and won't allow even their closest confidants to know these secrets, less the knowledge become widely available.

Tattooing has a large role in blood elven culture relating to how an individual sees themself. Typically, blood elves decorate their bodies with arcane sigils, markings representing great personal victories, and designs intended to intimidate people. The vast majority of blood elves feel a spiritual connection to their tattoos, believing that the patterns they adorn themselves with help define their identity. It is incredibly rare to see a blood elf without tattoos, and those who lack them are ostracised until they get some.

## Evolution

While one may believe blood elves to be just a specific culture of high elves based on their appearance, they are actually a separate species. The difference likely arose due to a combination of different environmental factors on Erah, as well as many generations of exposure to high levels of magical energies within their settlements. This has fundamentally altered how magic interacts with them, granting them innate access to spells generally associated with warlocks.