What It Means To Be High Elf

[Sporadic 2844]

On the tranquil squares of Outer Laurelin, you overhear a human in white robes addressing various passing High Elves, quill in hand. Snippets of conversation reach your ears.

... Perhaps High Elves have lived here so long they feel the same as the Wood Elves who cultivated these trees?...

I know that they are tall. ... Yes, they do show an aptitude for magic ... Don't act so scholarly you presumptous fool. Have you even read the books that explain this aptitude? .... Didn't think so ... No I haven't either, but that's not the point.

... You, young lady ... yes I am aware you're ten times my age. Would your parents allow you to be married to a Human? How about an Orc? ... Would you marry me? .... Ah! Would you say the High Elves have a taboo on marrying to other races?

No, I wasn't insulting you ... I just heard that history shows that High Elves tend to be proud to the point of arrogance ... No, sir, and you should be proud of being an High Elf!

Intrigued by the man's pressing and curious tone, you move in closer...

[Mithradites 1168]

Curious about the stuttering exchange, Pontus picks himself up from underneath his tree and joins the chatter.

My apologies for barging into your conversation, but may I ask what you are speaking of?

[Esterlen 4499]

((Yay, we have a FAQ thread now. Ask any questions you would like about 2.0's high elves (Culture, history, etc) and we'll try our best to answer them.))

[Ranovak 15]

Looks at the human with inspired eyes and wonders about his time in Malinor

It it time, my kin, that we settle for ourselves. We lived in the lands of Malinor for far too long. Far too long we have hiding our culture. From what? Ridicule? We are the high elves, we must have pride in what we do, not sit among the elves as we get assimilated into their culture.

Feels he's added his two minas to the inspirational speech and walks off, only to sit in the distance to watch where this goes.

[Yuln 265]

what? are you saying you want to build a new high elven city?! Yes, thats a great Idea, we need to become independend again and increase our knowlegde once more!

[firespirit44 1323]

((A bit difficult to ask questions about this oocly since you rped the FAQ))

[Sporadic 2844]

Curious about the stuttering exchange, Pontus picks himself up from underneath his tree and joins the chatter.

My apologies for barging into your conversation, but may I ask what you are speaking of?

Rivell whirls around, his drying quill leaving the paper momentarily

Greetings. Have you been to any libraries recently? The books on High Elves, they're severely lacking. It's always about Elves, sometimes Dark Elves, but these supposedly 'proud' and 'literary' High Elf... nothing!

He points his quill towards the trees in a broad stroke.

Look! Just look at these tree homes. High Elves don't belong there. Just look at how tall they are, they're not meant to climb canopies and canoodle in leaves. I can't be the only one who've noticed.

[Sporadic 2844]

((OOC questions may be addressed here, too, but they will be handled separately and cannot be used in-game, meaning you won't be able to act on it and this MIGHT be a shame ;) )

[Baelavel 3]

((OOC Question about OOC questions...

If we are a high elf, are we allowed to use the information revealed here as we are high elves and know it already? Unless of course there is some small bit of knowledge that an average high elf may not know...

And another OOC question...

Also, just a bit curious, how do high elves talk? As in, I know that elves in general seem to be semi-formal and articulate and such when speaking as well as having a usually large vocabulary. They also view the passing of time in a much different way than humans and such due to their long lives. In terms of behavior, they are a proud race and such and I assume that this will also affect how they speak with others. I do realize that some high elves will have distinct personalities, but the basic, or average, standards for a high elf are what I am asking about.

And a smaller question, will high elves become an independent group almost like the dark elves seem to be becoming?

I guess those are my only questions for now, I may have forgotten something. And I have read the wiki articles on high elves, though I may have forgotten something within at the time of writing this post.))

[Esterlen 4499]

((OOC Question about OOC questions...

If we are a high elf, are we allowed to use the information revealed here as we are high elves and know it already? Unless of course there is some small bit of knowledge that an average high elf may not know...

And another OOC question...

Also, just a bit curious, how do high elves talk? As in, I know that elves in general seem to be semi-formal and articulate and such when speaking as well as having a usually large vocabulary. They also view the passing of time in a much different way than humans and such due to their long lives. In terms of behavior, they are a proud race and such and I assume that this will also affect how they speak with others. I do realize that some high elves will have distinct personalities, but the basic, or average, standards for a high elf are what I am asking about.

And a smaller question, will high elves become an independent group almost like the dark elves seem to be becoming?

I guess those are my only questions for now, I may have forgotten something. And I have read the wiki articles on high elves, though I may have forgotten something within at the time of writing this post.))

(( Well. This is going to be difficult.

First, some clarification.

There are very limited documents on the high elves of old of which modern day high elves are descended from. That means very limited as in almost non-existant - the descendants (Player-made high elf characters) have been integrated and assimilated into wood elven society with no knowledge of their ancestry. Your character can have a desire to create a society of high elves however the only character who should know even a tiny bit about this is Rivell, as he's basically dedicated a lot of his in-character to the study of elves. The only thing your character should know is that he is in fact a 'high elf'. Not that of a past empire/culture.

Now that's over, time to answer some questions.

High elves are very articulate indeed and put a lot of emphasis on learning and vocabulary, probably more so than other elves.

They will become an independant group but not a nation. Our plan is to basically find the ruins of the ancient high elven empire, acquire the land from the mori'quessir and attempt to rebuild it and create a town.))

[Yuln 265]

((what you said there is not completely true, Aurea comes from a city that looks a lot like Ancient High elven cities, both in Architecture and in Society.))

[Esterlen 4499]

Even if she does, it is not the same one that lies in ruins.))

[Yuln 265]

((no, that is true, but she knows more about high elves then the ordernary high elf from malinor))

[Sawses 58]

((Haha, this oughta be fun. My character's a High Elf who has spent her entire life with humans, so she's not going to fit in well at all. xD

Anyway, on to my question: Will High Elves be very exclusive, and not let anyone of another race or sub-race in? Rather, I'm especially curious about sub-races. Will Wood Elves and Dark Elves be allowed into the city?

Also, is there a taboo on High Elves marrying others from a different race or sub-race, as the wiki says? I'm told to never trust the wiki,so....Looking for confirmation. :P))

[Baelavel 3]

~snip~

((Alright, thanks for all of that clarification. I figured it'd be best to ask questions now rather than mess up when RPing as a high elf. Now knowing this, I think that trying to redevelop a high elven culture or trying to discover the old one will be very interesting. Come on Asulon, I can't wait!

Thanks!))