Elves

Elves are an ancient race native to Alandor. They are graceful and clever and can be found across all the lands.

Origin
Elves are one of the base races in Alandor and are known for their magic and architecture. They have good relations with the other races, who sometime feel jealousy over the elves' long lives.

They can be found all across Alandor and have a good reputation when it comes to their hunting abilities, magic and skills with the bow.

The Planar Clash & the Silvan
The Planar Clash didn't affect elves at a ground level, but it brought with it the Silvan. They were alike elves in stature, except that they were made out of the very wood itself. Wood Elves immediately took to them in the belief that these were their ancestors who they hailed from. With no way to prove that they weren't, the Silvan now trade cautiously with the elves. Many elves go to the Silvan to enjoy their crafts and presence.

The Trial and Coming of Age
Elves come to age when they turn 100, but they are not considered achieved before they go through their Trial. This trial can occur before or after the 100th birthday, by many years even.

The young elf is summoned to the Clan Elder when the Elder feels they are ready. With the help of the magic residue in their blood, the Elder gives the elf a quest. Sometimes it can be spiritual, sometimes physical. The elf can then begin to strive for the goal that has been set.

When it has been reached, sometimes taking many years, the elf returns to the Elder and they go through the same ritual again. If the goal has been reached, the elf pass their Trial and are welcomed fully as accomplished members of the elven race.

Some elves never pass their Trial, and while it is not exactly a shame, they might feel unaccomplished or not entirely whole. It is unknown where the ritual comes from, but it has been around for as long as the elves can remember.

Names
Elves are considered children until they declare themselves adults, proving themselves after the Trial. This happens some time after their 100th birthday, and before this period they are called by "child" names. When declaring themselves adults, the elf selects an adult knew, though friends and family might still call them by the child name. The adult name is a unique creation. There is little distinction between male and human names.

Elves also carry a family name, typically a combination of elven words. Some that travel among other races that speak Common, might translate their family names into Common.

"Child" names: Ara, Bryn, Del, Faen, Lael, Naill, Rinn, Syllin, Thia

Male names: Adran, Aelar, Carric, erdan, Hadari, Immeral, Laucian, Paelias, Riardon

Female names: Adrie, Anastrianna, Birel, enna, Ielenia, Leshanna, Nalva, Quelanna

Family names: Assatirdan (Curving Arrow), Riaelan (Wanderer), U'vunblar (Starflower), Lea'vune (Starlight), Era'vunlean (Nightglow), Adahl'amelan (Treekeeper), Iseth'syl (Warmbreeze)

Appearance
Elves are generally slightly shorter than humans, but still tower over the other small races. Slender and lighter, their coloration has a very wide range and is not always depended on where in the world they live.

No elves can grow facial hair and they have little bodily hair elsewhere. Their ears are long and pointed, some longer than others, and they have sharp facial features.

Age
Elves age at a slower rate than most other races and only reach maturity around their 100th birthday. They then go on to live for several more centuries before stepping back and passing away. Elves don't look very old when they reach their late years, but the burning in their eyes die down. One would describe a very old elf as simply lackluster or lifeless looking.

Personality
Elves live for a long time and may take on different approaches on life during the long years. Elves revel in their clans and not many leave them for a long time, but all elves travel more or less during their lives. They are cautious by nature but enjoy personal relations with other races. The hardest part is that most races pass away long before the elves, and so they may have many friends or lover during their long years, almost living several different lives back to back.

Half-Elves travel the most, not exactly at peace with their half-half nature and feel like they don't fit in. They also have a shorter lifespan (around 200 years) and so feel like they need to see the world a lot faster than the other elves.

Subtypes
There is little difference between the subtypes, only their location and societal values.

High Elf
High Elves have keen minds and are masters of magic. They are honourable and always true, believing in justice and making things right. High Elves build grand cities deep in the woods, where no one else can and will, and they truly are a sight to behold.

High Elves have almost glowing skin and nearly radiate light. With sharper features, they keep their bright and thin hair long and straight. High Elves are colourless and both their skin and hair take on all colourless ranges.

Wood Elf
Wood Elves have more keen senses and intuition, and their fleet feet carry them quickly and stealthily through their native forests. They live in large villages and keep life simple, instead dedicating their time to the great hunts.

Their skin tends to be copperish in hue, sometimes with traces or gradients of green. Though they mostly have brown and black hairs, it can occasionally go more blond or copper. Eyes are usually green, brown, hazel, or other nature tones.

Desert Elf
Desert Elves live in harsh desert lands where only the resilient and cautious can survive. Their philosophy of "take only what you absolutely need" is ingrained in their sparse lifestyle. They are nomads into their very souls and use what is available to them: often using for example polearms as tentpoles in their temporary shelters. Desert Elves live in small travelling communities and while some live alone in peace, some might take on banditry as a way of life.

Desert elves have darker skin and hairs, but take on bright clothing to both blend in and avoid the frantic heat of the deserts. They are shorter and thinner than most other elves, but their faces are fuller and watchful dark eyes rest deep in their faces.

Sea Elf
Where most other elves are quite secluded and isolationists, Sea Elves are more sociable, living off of the ocean and what it can provide them with. They are expert divers and fishermen, using spears and tridents. Unlike Sea Gnomes who build floating cities, Sea Elves live on large, flat ships, creating a fleet that is often tied together where they bob on the water. One fleet can contain almost 10 large ships. Unfashionably, Sea Elves are sometimes nickname Kelp.

They have more body fats than most other elves but have slim muscles coating their arms and legs. Dressing in tight, hanging fabrics that don't get in the way of their work, they also keep their hairs long and flowing. Sea Elves range in pale and cold colours, with cut cheekbones and strong jaws.

Mountain Elf
Thick forests grow all over lower mountain ranges and there is no reason for elves not to inhabit those too. While their cousins stay in warmer and more comfortable climates, Mountain Elves live on the cold tundra, under heavy hides and leathers. Lifestyles can be quite different: while some put down villages near the coasts to live off of the sea, other wander as nomads, and others might dig deep into the snow on the plains to create hidden cities. They are extremely isolated, but always welcoming.

Mountain Elves have thick dark brownish skin to shield themselves from the burning cold and the glares from the sun. Their hairs range in most natural colours, as do their eyes. They are stockier and shorter than the other elves and their jaws are particularly thick.

Half-Elf
Half-Elves are children of elves and humans and they are either raised with their human parent, the elf parent or in homes with both. Depending on by whom and where they are raised, they learn the customs of that people. Read on the other Subraces above.

In some elven cultures, Half-Elves are seen as weak or lesser, the offspring of someone who couldn't do better than a human. In some human cultures, they are seen as strange or outlandish and are often mistreated because of their small statures. As a result, many Half-Elves don't stay with their clans for all their lives, instead taking to the road or settling in other cultures.

Trivia

 * Elven is entirely borrowed from and created by The Elvhen Lexicon, a fan-made lexicon for the Dragon Age Universe