Elves

Should their own historic texts be believed, elves were the forerunners to all civilisation, and while the claim is a little far-fetched, it’s not entirely untrue. Rivaled only by the dwarves in the length of their history as a people, the elves are a collection of ethnic groups each with their own culture. The three sub-races are the high elves, the wood elves, and the dark elves.

In modern elven culture, xenophobia is still rooted within the majority of the elves, particularly the high elves of Jyrin who had experienced the worst of the conflict. Today it is still considered uncouth for an elf to marry or be intimate with other races, as it’s widely believed that disease and misfortune can stem from non same-race couples. This however does not mean that elves are rude towards those they share Bolei and Jyrin with, and most will hide their dislike towards other races in order to not create enemies when allies would suit the elves far better.

Elvish Subraces
The high elves are considered to be the most beautiful beings on the planet, with ivory-white hair, immaculate unblemished skin, and fiery golden eyes. Claiming to have come to the world in the form of falling stars, some high elves believe themselves to be perfect in every fashion, and won't hesitate to prove it. With a passion for reading and expanding their knowledge to new horizons wherever and whenever they can, high elves are universally recognised for their academic accomplishments.

Their cousins the wood elves share a similar, yet more humble, beauty. With tanned skin that ranges from a dusky oak colour to a more tanned pigment, thick brown hair, and eyes that are commonly blue or green, the wood elves seem to have adapted to the natural colours of their forest surroundings over the eons. Often living solitary lifestyles or traveling in small expedition or hunting groups, wood elves often lend themselves to military campaigns as rangers, or offer services as hunters. Unlike the high elves, wood elves avoid drawing attention to themselves, living more humble lives by comparison. Additionally, wood elves hail from the island of Los-Orre, unlike their cousins who are native to Jyrin.

Finally there are the dark elves, who are commonly ostracised from elven communities because of their history. Some 400 years ago, when the human nations first went to war with the elves of Jyrin, it was the dark elf leaders who had surrendered to the humans when they knocked on dark elf doors. In exchange for information in the form of battle plans, it was decided that all dark elves would be treated with more freedoms than their paler brothers and sisters. Many dark elves served as overseers, advisors, and book-keepers during this time. Because of this betrayal however, dark elves were initially barred from joining any post-liberation elven council, and while more and more elves are slowly forgiving and forgetting the sins of the past, there is still heavy prejudice towards the dark elf population.

All elves typically live until they're 600 years old, but can live to see their 700th year if they're careful.