Core Race Lore - Elves

[squakhawk 7868]

LotC Core Race Lore - Master Thread

 

“Malin, may your forests be a sanctuary of peace and your children long lived.”

— 'A Robed Figure' from Ancient History as per The Wandering Wizard

 

LotC

Core Race Lore - Elves

 

 

The elves, known as Mali within the Elven language, are long-lived and slim-built inhabitants of many terrains and areas. Their diversity is great, but there are key identifying traits amongst all elves. All elves are identified by their strikingly long and pointed ears, upright and taut. Although the elves are traditionally fewer in number than the extremely prolific humanity, they live long lives and have the time to devote to tasks that the average short lived human does not. Grand citadels of white, huge tended forests older than the buildings of man, and vast cave systems that must have taken generations to carve all serve as the domain of the elves.

 

 

The Mali are widely varied, broken up into three distinct subraces with their own section below. However, as diverse as these subraces are, there are many elves who are mixed between subraces or have no defined subrace at all. As such, this leads to a very wide range of diversity within the full span of the elves. Skin color, eye color, height, body type, and other traits all very. These differences vary from slight to great. However, some general traits can be found amongst most or all elves.

 

Coloration

Elves vary greatly in coloration between subraces. Each subrace has its own distinctive skin tones, eye colors, and hair colors. A Mixed Elf can exhibit a range of these traits from whatever subraces make up their ancestry. A Proto-Elf can also exhibit a wide range of these features, though pale skin is a common trend. An interesting trait some elves have is the existence of mono-colored eyes. This is when both the iris and sclera are the same or a similar color. This exists only in some elves, with many elves still exhibiting white sclera. However, some elves are simply born with it, and in some cases it runs in the family.

 

Height

The elven height range is 5’0” - 6'6” ft. This is a hard height range, as in, no elf can go above or below it without accurate roleplay of possible physiological issues or body types that real life humans experience. Additionally, the different subtypes have their own specific height ranges, that you are expected to follow should you fall into that category. This height range is for the overall elven race, and the elves who do not fit into any of the subraces.

 

Subraceless Elves

5’0” - 6’6”

 

Wood Elves

5’0” - 6’2”

 

High Elves

5’0” - 6’6”

 

Dark Elves

5’0” - 6’4”

 

Weight

The average weight of an elf varies greatly based on height, health, lifestyle, & subrace. However, a certain ‘healthy weight’ can be found. For an elf at the upper height range of 6’6”, such as a high elf, 260lbs is the maximum healthy height range that a very muscular high elf may have. Your average athlete or soldier amongst the other subraces would be more around 240lbs, and even that is for the upper height range for their subrace. Being around 270lbs or 280lbs would be a mixture of more fat than muscle. Should a shorter elf be near this weight, or should an elf be beyond this limit and 300lbs plus, this is extra weight in fat and does not contribute to muscle mass or strength.

 

Lifespan

All elves age similarly to humankind for the first two decades of their life. As with humans, they mature at age 18 both physically and mentally. However, at this point the aging of elves and humans begin to diverge. At this point, an elf will retain the generally young appearance of someone between the ages of 20 to 30, seemingly frozen in time compared to a human who will begin to age further and grow old. The elf does continue to grow and develop as any person does on a spiritual, emotional, and social level. There is no true upper limit to elf aging, but elves are still susceptible to disease and poison and wounds. As such, it is rare for an elf to live to one thousand or beyond. Should an elf manage to live this long, they will grow increasingly susceptible to mental illness, erratic behavior, and insanity. This is due to the sheer fact of living several human lifetimes, seeing nations rise and fall and entire lands come and go. As an elf reaches their 8th century or 9th century, the beginning of this will start to encroach. By the time they are a thousand years in age or beyond, it ought to be in full force. This can culminate in any number of conditions, but no elder elf is left truly unscathed by the passage of time. Some even seem to grow physically old and decrepit from the strain of their long life, though this is not exactly common.

 

Curse

“Malin, I curse you with sterility, you and your kin shall forever lack the children they need. May your forest halls forever be silent, and your hearts heavy with sadness.”

 

The curse of the elves, as granted by Iblees, is infertility. It is juxtaposed with their long lives, it being much harder for an elf to conceive children than for any of the other Descendant races. This culminates in a variety of traits and details to all elves, as a result of their curse. Twins, by elven physiology, are impossible. While one may be able to theoretically, albeit extremely rarely conceive twins, it is with complete certainty the mother would die in childbirth without chance for revival from the inhumane stress placed upon their bodies. Elves are only capable of having children every 15 years, applying to both men and women. Should they have a child, they will be unable to conceive another for a full in-character 15 years. Elves have an identical gestation period to humans, that being around 9 months. Finally, an elf becomes fully sterile after becoming 500 years old. Any reproductive capability they have is gone, and they are fully sterile for the rest of their long lives.

 

Mixed Elves

The term "Mixed Elves" refers to elves of mixed lineage. This is an elf that is a mixture of one or more subraces. The only differentiating feature about a Mixed Elf is that their features are a muddled hybrid of the subraces that went into their creation. They are within the middle of both subrace's height spans, with the full span of features from both parents' subraces being possible. However, some discerning feature must be there to differentiate them from a pure elf of a subrace. An off skin tone, a different eye color, et cetera. Even should an elf be nearly alike in all ways to a subrace, if they are a mixed Elf then there ought to be some feature of theirs that is distinctly of their other half.

 

Proto-Elves

The term "Proto-Elves" refers to elves without a defined subrace. The subraces developed from specific circumstances, and some elves escaped becoming part of a distinct subrace. As such, they have been given the title of "Proto-elves," a diverse crowd of elves with no true subrace. They tend to be pale and tall, with muddling and mixed features of things that can be found across the subraces. Such things include eye color, hair color, et cetera.

 

Elves Without Distinction

There exists a group of elves that inhabit not bound to a 'subrace', yet are not counted among either the proto-elves, nor considered strict 'crossbreeds'. Diverse, nondescript, and varied, they're neither definable as strict 2-elf crossbreeds, or as their own specific group. Usually born as 'mutts', or heavily mixed elves, their features are usually a unique hodgepodge due to millennia of mixed blood. Though some groups of these elves claim themselves to be their own distinct group or subrace, born of specific sons of Malin and given features due to magic of adaptations, the consistency of these elves exhibiting mostly traits only possible to other subraces of elves creates contention to such a belief, rather affirming that they're but mixed blood elves. These otherwise described 'generic' elves are defined by their individualism, both in philosophy, culture, and appearance. It is not uncommon to see these standard elves integrate into societies not dominated by racial lines or purity, many even being found living amongst humans, or in non-racially affiliated settlements. The skin color of these elves may vary madly, from most natural shades of human skin color, from dark black to vivid pale white, to even faint greys, and even vague pale blues, with their available hair color encompassing most shades of blond, brown, red, orange, black, to even grays and whites, though it is not uncommon for these elves to dye their hair outlandish colors. These elves also exhibit an extreme range of eye colors, comprised of nearly every shade of the rainbow, to even stark whites and vivid blacks. Their available builds, weights, and variance of heights matches both the highs and lows of humans, with little difference. Given the extreme variance of features, many who may be considered members of other subraces by initial appearance may very well be of extremely mixed blood.  So though may one look akin to a wood elf, one whom is taller, or shorter than the norm may usually be assumed to have some form of vague mixed blood, and fit within the category of regular, or 'mutt' elf.

 

The bulk of the Elves are made up of three distinct subraces. These are the Wood Elves (known as Mali'ame in Elven), the Dark Elves (known as Mali'ker in Elven), and the High Elves (known as Mali'aheral in Elven). Below, the specifics of roleplaying each of these three subraces can be found. Each has their own relevant height spans, skin tones, and other physiological details.

 

Mali‘ame (Wood Elves)

LotC Core Race Lore - Elves: Wood Elves

 

Mali'ker (Dark Elves)

LotC Core Race Lore - Elves: Dark Elves

 

Mali'aheral (High Elves)

LotC Core Race Update - Elves: High Elves