Elves

Elves or Elphen are lithe, faen creatures blessed with eternal youth, reaching physical maturity at the same rate as humans but then aging slower and slower over the following centuries until they eventually come to resemble human middle-age around age 1,000, where they remain indefinitely.

Elves originated on the island of Wryth, before they destroyed it in a calamitous civil war. They are a diverse bunch, and deeply affected by the flows of aether in ways other superficially similar humanoids are not. Because of this, elves are most at home in their natural environments and are not often inclined to leave those places.

Gender

Note: This information is not typically known by non-elves.

Elves have a fundamentally different conception of gender from that of most other humanoids. Elves can change their biological sex at will and often do so as their moods suit them. Between this fact and their extremely long lives, low degree of sexual dimorphism, and inherently magical nature, they tend instead to break down into groups depending on their season or time of birth in a manner somewhat analogous to astrology, though with a biological component in the form of hair color.

Light Elf Gender

• Dawn elves are born near to sunrise. They have blond hair and are considered high-energy and high maintenance. Their traditional partners are Dusk elves. They have names that end with an i or an e in the nucleus of the final syllable, like Seline or Tiranir.
• Daylight elves are born near to midday. They have white hair and are considered honest to a fault. Their traditional partners are Midnight elves. They have names that end with -a like Saria.
• Dusk elves are born near to sunset. They have red hair or brown and are considered soulful and emotional. Their traditional partners are Dawn elves. They have names that end with -o or -u like Murtano or Cilmeru.
• Midnight elves are born at night. They have black hair and are considered mysterious and introspective. Their traditional partners are Daylight elves. They have names that end with -n, -r, or -l like Arinen, Edonar, or Sirinel.

Wood Elf Gender

• Spring elves are born in spring.
• Summer elves are born in summer.
• Autumn elves are born in autumn.
• Winter elves are born in winter.

Dark elves have no strong conception of gender whatsoever.

Dark Elves

Dark elves, called Draven in their tongue, are the most insular of the elves, living almost exclusively in the underground city of Narthrall beneath the hellish ashlands of Wryth. Beneath the black sky speckled with the light of star-bats, dark elves spend most of their lives in complete and total darkness. Suffused in shadow aether and favored by Lamera, the goddess of thresholds, they have developed skin as black as night and hair as white as snow. They are a rare and often feared sight outside Narthrall.

Duality

Dark Elves' souls are born in two bodies. A dark elf traditionally discovers and bonds with their fated soul twin in a ceremony during childhood. From this time onward, their minds become more and more interlinked.

Game Mechanics (D&D 5E)

A Dark Elf PC has two physical bodies that share a single pool of hit points. All mental conditions (charm, unconsciousness, etc.) affect both bodies simultaneously. If an entity taps into the senses of the dark elf, they perceive the points of view of both bodies simultaneously. If one of their bodies is killed, the other body begins taking 10d10 psychic damage every round.This damage reduces by 1d10 every 24 hours until it reaches 0. This effect cannot be terminated prematurely by any means.

Severing

A severed Dark Elf is one whose psychic twin has died. Severing is a painful, traumatizing event that is normally followed by a grieving period and may induce long-term depression or PTSD. Severed dark elves are often shunned and ostracized by Dark Elven society, further compounding these issues.

Light Elves

Light elves, also known as sun elves, high elves, or Aariphen are those who have taken to building grand cities of stone far beyond their traditional homelands. They are touched by the air and the light, and many regard their fair cities as the pinnacle of civilization. Most light elves live in the Araxian Empire, where they make up a majority of the nobility.

Wood Elves

Wood elves mostly make their homes in the forests of Delgar, particularly in the untamed western territory of Edrys, where they live alongside the beasts of the wilds. Many of them are druids or rangers, and most are followers of . They tend to see themselves as the protectors of the forest and other wild places. They are no strangers to traveling the land, and they are not an uncommon sight in small towns and villages, but it is rare for them to settle in cities. The only city with a significant wood elf population is Dumecia.