High Elves

**High elf** can refer to two races in Wyneira, both predominantly found in the Unseran city of Lle Ystyriol. Most commonly, it is used by foreigners in reference to a group of diurnal elves natively known as *Grein'ai*, or Sunborn. It can also refer to a group of nocturnal elves natively known as *Geal'aí*, or Moonborn. To most outside Lle Ystyriol, the Gealaí are more commonly referred to as **dark elves**, or by their dwarven name *Drau* (commonly spelled by Folk as *Drow*).

## History

### Chapter 1: Lle Ystyriol and the Children of Dusk and Dawn

In the far north of Unsere, beyond the Gottmarke and the Vanemwood, tucked on the shores of Gwybodus Bay at the foot of the Tarian Mountains lies the wondrous city of the high elves: Lle Ystyriol. Unlike their woodland cousins to the south, who despite their wild and polar temperments are not so dissimilar from the Folk or Dwarves, the High Elves of Lle Ystyriol are a culture truly unique not only to Unsere, but to the known world. Unlike most surface civilizations, the High Elves are made up of two ethnic groups split between the diurnal (known as the Grein'ai) and the nocturnal (known as the Gealaí). In many ways, they are two separate peoples living under one shared roof, brought together

The Grein'ai could, at a glance, be mistaken for their wild elven cousins in their appearance, albeit with more of a taste for the extravagent and refined, as well as a cultural love of learning and the arcane. To foreigners, these are typically what are thought of when one thinks of "the high elves." The Gealaí, while certainly similar and unmistakably cut from the same cloth as the Grein'ai, tended towards colder, if not always outright darker complexions, but with the same thirst for knowledge and love for the arcane as their daylight counterparts. Often referred to as dark elves by the other races, the Gealaí first arrived on Unsere ages ago from a corner of the Feywild for reasons only the most venerable of elders rightly recall and found refuge in the then strictly diurnal Lle Ystyriol.

While the Grein'ai would effectively provide protection for their Gealaí brethren during the daylight hours, the Gealaí would in turn provide the Grein'ai with a workforce naturally suited to the nightly hours that had otherwise gone nearly to waste. Moreover, the Gealaí served as a potent weapon in the eyes of Lle Ystyriol's neighboring nations, for no other developed nation in the known world had an entire retinue of able-bodied soldiers not only capable, but entirely comfortable fighting in the dark. Together, the Grein'ai and Gealaí had formed a potent symbiotic relationship that has not only provided tangible benefits to both peoples, but has enriched both cultures as they've amalgamated.

### Chapter 2: The Twilight Guard

While the shared city of Lle Ystyriol is by most measures a grand success story of two cultures coexisting, it is far from a perfect utopia. As is to be expected in a city comprised almost exclusively of two distinct but similar ethnic groups, living on top of one another with mirrored waking and sleeping hours, there is still crime and dysphoria to be found between the two. Questions of fairness, equity, and representation are always on the minds of the city's inhabitants, with strong opinions held on both sides.

There are many among the Grein'ai who despite the many benefits they've brought to Lle Ystyriol, resent the Gealaí. They see the dark elves as outsiders, leeching off the hard work and accomplishments of the Grein'ai. Those in this camp tend to be more than happy to propagate the association of "high elf" with themselves, and all too eager to treat "dark elf" as a derogatory slur. Meanwhile, there are those among the Gealaí who feel that, despite the refuge their people found in Lle Ystyriol, they would be better served in forming an independent nation, free to govern themselves without the sense of superiority and entitlement they feel is a constant in the minds of the Grein'ai. When the most extreme members of these schools of thought meet, the results have historically been less than ideal.

In response, the combined leadership of both the Grein'ai and the Gealaí agreed to the formation of specialized task force and series of courts designated exclusively for the matters of crime occuring between the two sibling peoples. In the expresss interest of presenting this new branch of their judicial system as fair and just, it was determined that any who applied and were accepted into this force, whether Grein'ai or Gealaí, would sacrifice the burial rights usually associated with their respective culture, and would instead adopt those of their cousins. Grein'ai would be buried as Gealaí and Gealaí would be buried as Grein'ai. While this has certainly stemmed the flow of applicants to fill positions in this specialized branch, it has ensured (in theory) that any elves with jurisdiction over legal matters between the two peoples would be largely free of the prejudices that could otherwise be expected.

This elite branch of law enforcement is known as the Twilight Guard.