All elves are really of the same race--they tend to be taller and fairer in the north and shorter and darker in the south, but otherwise there is no real physical difference. Elves have about the same range of heights found in humans, but they tend to be slenderer on the average. Humans are stronger but elves have more endurance. Elves have slightly pointed ears and somewhat larger, more slanted eyes than humans; males have less body and facial hair. Elves of Alfhame tend to have brown or blond hair, fair skin, and blue, grey or hazel eyes. Elves outside Alfhame range from fair to quite dark, and may have any color eyes or hair. Elves have only twenty-eight permanent teeth. Elves have better night sight than humans (though they cannot see in total darkness) but their other senses are comparable to a human's. They tend to be more magically talented. They can live three to five hundred years, and interbreed easily with humans.

The term "dark elf" is used in two ways: the elves of Alfhame, far to the west of Alastari, call all elves who live outside their borders "dark elves," regardless of appearance. The Alfhame elves are mostly of the tall fair variety. The elves of Fratsfa and Monuntial are closely related to them and have only been in this part of the world for a thousand years or so. They are very proud of their Alfhame connections and refer to themselves as "high elves"--although a REAL Alfhame native would consider them rural barbarians and look down his nose at them.

The rest of the elves--the ones in the Ardiventi barony, Cliffhome, Xochithlan, Shagornan Desert and parts south--have been separated from Alfhame for many thousands of years, and in Ardivent they have interbred with the local humans so much that it's hard to tell who's who. The Cliffhome/Xochithlan/Shagornan clans are MUCH more isolationist, and do not marry humans as a rule. This group is what most people in Alastari mean when they say "dark elf."

In Cliffhome the elves are in the minority; they form one or two of the city's noble families. Cliffhome is a decadent city full of intrigue, and there is very little difference between the elves and the humans in the way they deal with it. Xochithlan is also full of intrigue, but currently they are in desperate straits due to the war, and have no time for intrigue; they're too busy trying to rebuild the city.

The Shagornan Desert elves are mainly nomadic tribes which subsist partly by herding horses or camels, and partly by banditry. They are known for being especially fierce warriors. They were also hard hit by the Rirorni, as many of their tribes preferred to fight down to the last woman and child rather than be taken prisoner.

None of these different elf groups like each other much. The Ardiventi think the Frats/Monuntial elves are effete snobs, and the Frats/Monuntial elves think the Ardiventi are mere half-breed human barbarians. Both groups look down on the southerners, who in turn regard the northerners as wimps. And, as mentioned above, the Alfhame elves think the lot of them are hopeless.

Elves are all EXTREMELY territorial, and will fight to the death for their land or clan. They feel that the shorter-lived races really don't know how to take care of a prime piece of property. However, the various races in Alastari (and Ghea as a whole) don't think of themselves as one monolithic block, any more than humans do.

Encyclopedia Alastaria

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