Elf

Elf
Creator	Xero
Information
Average Height	190cm-240cm
Average Lifespan	250 years
Hair Colours	Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, Orange, Black, White
Eye Colours	Gold, Silver (Glowing)
Skin Colours	Purple, Pink, Blue, Grey
Current Leader	Archdruid Leronas Moonfire
Capital	Nytlerei
Continent	Gwynbrenon

The Elves are known as amazonian warriors that revere the wilds and serve as protectors of nature. They have long studied the ways of the wilds and adapted to it, some even growing physical animalistic traits like horns, antlers, animal ears or even tails. Many Elves practice Druidism, a school of Magic that focuses on binding one self with the wild nature around them to forge a strong bond with the wilderness, allowing them to manipulate the land around them to some degree with wild growths and storms. Druidism has also become the core religion of the Elves through which their culture flows, believing that nature is a living force that protects them from harm but that they must also protect it in return from anyone who may defile it.

Morrigan and the Cinniunach

The origins of the Elves can be traced back to the third Age of Auria, where following the fall of the Sagazi empire the world of Gwynbrenon was left split between two major factions - the Aest Wolfen and the Cizin Trolls. While the former held much of the western continent with some maritime colonies on the shores of Saren, the Trolls ruled most of eastern and souther tranquilon, holding control over the mountains and the jungle. The centre of Tranquilon was reserved for the Cernunni tribes, who were respected by the Trolls but less so by the Wolfen, who believed the Cernunni were too passive in their worship of the wilds. Thus a defensive pact that formed between the Cizin Trolls and the Cernunni tribes, the Trolls swearing to protect them in-exchange for healing when they need it most.

In one Cernunni tribe there lived three sisters - Anu, Badb and Macha. They would be known as the Triplet Priestesses and though they were young they were also highly revered for conducting rituals and tributes in the name of Renoria, the Goddess of Life. Each one had different responsibilities - Anu carried the blessings of the divine unto their crops and healed the sick and injured; Badb led the song and dances in every ritual; and Macha acted as the bridge between mortals and the divine, speaking on behalf of both sides. All three sisters viewed their combined roles in different ways - Anu saw it as a job, believing in the mutual benefits that the mortals and the gods gained from this; Badb was carefree and simply enjoyed doing what she did out of the thrill of it; and Macha was deeply devoted and held a great love for their matron goddess.

One day their tribe would come under attack by a savage force of Demons which the Cizin did not thwart, resulting in the devastation of their home. The priestess' prayers for protection reached deaf's ears and they would all be crushed under the weight of the shrine collapsing on top of them as the demons' fire spread all over. From the ashes, one of the sisters would rise - Anu, her body protected by the prayers of her now-dead sisters. With her tribe gone and her only family dead before her, Anu would succumb to vengeance and revoke her faith.

In the years that followed, Anu would rename herself to Morrigan and begin a campaign to unite other Cernunni in a cause to rebel against the Gods. They would forgo the Siorain Oath and forget their ways of healing in favour of becoming warriors that believed in deciding their own fate - the Cinniunach, they would call themselves. The Cinniunach, led by a vengeful Morrigan, would find a new source of power, a dark and eldritch power that Morrigan twisted into a harness that she and her people could wield into combat in the ensuing Cinniunach War, where Morrigan declared war against the Cizin Trolls. She wanted them out of central Tranquilon and was ready to die on the battlefield for that goal, wielding both a great glaive known as Cinachrann and the black magic of the Otherworld to do so. She'd eventually be successful in splitting apart the Trolls and forcing them into a retreat, but as the eastern front quieted down the western borders would begin to rumble with newfound rage as the Aest made their move against the Cinniunach next. Morrigan has anticipated this and had commanded her people to be ready to ambush any who dared attack.

Much of the Cinniunach's strength came from the eldritch might they commanded. They had construct great black obelisks throughout the land which served as beacons connected to Morrigan's influence, allowing her eyes to view her land through those obelisks and quickly travel between them. Thus when the Aest attacked they were caught completely off-guard by the sheer speed, strength and guile that Morrigan wielded against them, appearing like a phantom throughout different points on the battlefield and striking where they were most vulnerable. A second successful push led Morrigan's forces to take over the Aest colonies and completely purge the Wolfen from her lands.

The Third Calamity

For the centuries that followed the Cinniunach War, Morrigan would ascend to the ranks of the deities in the eyes of her supplicants. She had become a figurehead of prosperity and protection for them and though she never let that stop her efforts, it allowed her a semblance of peace in her mind to know that she had done the right thing. The Cinniunach would enjoy peace during this time, allowing their nation to advance and evolve under the shroud of twilight and the eyes of Mother Morrigan.

Generations of tapping into the eldritch powers would transform the Cinniunach Cernunni into a new, twisted form - their fur would be shed and replaced by darkened skin, their hooven legs becoming straightened and feet-like, their ears becoming pointed and long. They were twisted into creatures known as the Elves.

Yet all good things must eventually come to an end and for the Cinniunach it meant another war, one that they could not anticipate coming. From the Cizin Empire, harbinger of the Cosmos invited a horde of Demons to attack the Cinniunach once more. Mother Morrigan would once more jump into the fray to fight off the enemies of her people, fighting side-by-side with her Elven soldiers she had raised up like her own. Unfortunately this war would only be the start of something worse - the Third Calamity, where-in the Cosmos would begin a large-scale invasion on Auria. For Gwynbrenon, this meant the summoning of Ba'Elor, the Eye of Destruction - a giant one-eyed Archdevil who led the demon invasion of Gwynbrenon with merciless intent. Like the other Calamities, this one meant the unification of Auria in its entirely and the unleashing of powerful relics known as the Dragon Relics to combat this evil. The Aest, who were sworn loyalists of the Gods, reached out to Morrigan during this time to unite themselves against a common enemy, but Morrigan refused, citing her distrust towards any but her own people. Even the blessings of the divine were forced away when Morrigan refused the existence of a Dragon Relic inside her borders. This would spark outrage among some of her people, who thought it necessary to forget past grievances for a better tomorrow. Still, the Cinniunach remained united and stood against the darkness alone, their people devastated by a merciless force.

Gyntaffalon's Wild Guard

In the wake of the Calamity, the Elven people were left devastated and broken, much like most of Gwynbrenon was at the time. By the time of the fourth Age, the existence of Morrigan's Cinniunach had faded into legend. Those that carried the Elven blood were now scattered across Gwynbrenon's wilds as a lost and broken people, without leadership or guidance. As new powers rose from the ashes, the Zunazun Empire known as Reinodelos Gemelos planted its roots in Gwynbrenon as the dominant force of southern and eastern Tranquilon.

Throughout Gwynbrenon, communities of Elves would start to congregate around the World Trees, who they saw as beacons of hope in those times. The Elves would become eager servants of the wildlife, finding new masters in the Eidne who promised the lost children of Morrigan safety. Around the mid-way point of the Age, the Elves would begin to unite under the banner of the Wild Guard, a dedicated faction of warriors and druids dedicated to protecting the natural world from harm and defilement. The one that would form the first Wild Guard would be known as Gyntaffalon, an Elven woman who helped regain the Gods' favour for her people. The largest assembly of Elves would take place in central Tranquilon, under the world tree Yegadras, but they also had many numbers in the northern mountains which the Zunazun deemed uninhabitable for a number of reason.

These mountains would later become a staging ground for war between the Dragonlord Charen-Karr and a rebel faction led by Cin-Drerr. The ramifications of the war would lead to the land becoming sundered and enflamed as magma erupted from the earth and created what is now known as Emberos. The wildlife and the Elves that lived there would ultimately fall prey to the devastation, though a united effort between the Wild Guard and the Eidne allowed them to stop the devastation from spreading farther inland, ultimately preventing Gwynbrenon from being destroyed completely.

Though the Wild Guard would remain small in numbers and often at odds with Reinodelos Gemelos, they would ultimately stand the test of time and play a vital role in the defence of Auria during the 4th Calamity. Their culture, their faith and their people would survive the transition between Ages and allow themselves a better future in the coming generations. The city of Nytlerei would be founded on the foot of Yegadras as a bastion for the Wild Guard.

The Wylderin

Beginning in the fourth and current Age, the Elves of the Wild Guard would spread their influence across Tranquilon with greater numbers. Without another empire to oppose them, the Elves were able to congregate and grow intensely. Only the jungles to the south, which had become darkened and corrupt and renamed into the Blackwood, was they wished to avoid getting between the warring tribes of Trolls there, their kind having recently reemerged.

In the 600s, the planets were united once more thanks to the efforts of the Fenik Skyships. The Wild Guard would be wary of the advancements being made and remained isolated, keeping their borders closed from outsiders. Still in the centuries that followed, the Wild Guard would slowly ease into the diplomacy of the world and take part in careful trade with other nations.

In the 800s, the Wild Guard would set their eyes on the foreign nation of Luxfordia when the foreign religion known as the Church of Divinity started to attract young and able-bodied Elves to their cause. Within the secluded Divine Monastery of Archbishop Lazarus Solidus, those same Elves would become subjects of depravity by the Humans. This sick pleasure in the holy temple of the church would lead to the creation of a Hybrid race known as the Asvar who, upon being subject to ridicule, would become a people oppressed by their own creators. What was believed to be a short-lived community would quickly turn into a permanent community of half-Elves in the human nation of Luxfordia.

Later on, under the rule of the Queen Archbishop Martha Judas Saina, the Wild Guard would once more be drawn to diplomatic controversy with Luxfordia. She was widely viewed as a tyrant who oppressed her people and in response to it, the Elves of the Wild Guard would speak out against her rule. This would eventually spark the Battle of the Wilds in 934, a short-lived war where Martha Judas sent her armies led by Lycaon Wildhunt to Gwynbrenon to conquer them. The war was on equal footing for both sides at the start, both sides blessed by their faith in their Gods to fight on yet when Lycaon gave the order to destroy and defile the shrines of the Elves to break their faith, it only invoked the wrath of the Gods as their own divine favour was pulled away from them. Lycaon's army would fall fast when the avatars of the Wolf Gods came down upon them and decreed a just punishment for them in the Afterworld.

The war would end with the Wild Guard on top, though they chose not to invade Luxfordia in retaliation as they needed to restore the wilds from the destruction woven by Luxfordia's forces.

Many centuries later, the Wild Guard would be once more beset by danger - a small incursion of Demonkind had discovered a great gate beneath Nytlerei that connects this world to the next. They launched an immediate attack on the city which forced the Elves into defensive formations once more. Thankfully they were not alone this time as from that gate beneath the land a militant force of Dreamwalkers emerged to aid them - Dryads, Wisps and even the Wolfen, the men and women captured by the Wolf Gods during the Battle of the Wilds. With a stronger army, the Wild Guard managed to easily defeat the Demons and secure their hold over Nytlerei.

In the coming years, the Dreamwalkers would find new homes among the Wild Guard, the Wolfen specifically finding new purpose as mortals that have paid their penance and allowed to return. Though they were no longer the same people who once attacked the Wild Guard, there would still be some who wanted to return to Luxfordia and reunite with the families they left behind... or at the very least their successors. Still, most Wolfen would choose to begin new bloodlines among the Wild Guard and integrate as fully-fledged members of that society over any other.

The introduction of a large population of Wolfen and a considerable amount of Dryads would lead to an evolution in the Wild Guard's identity and leadership. The Triskelion would be founded as a trinity of leaders representing the Elves, Wolfen and the Dryads and with it the greater nation of the Wylderin would also be founded in 1318. This reformation of the kingdom would bring about new advancements as the three dominant races all worked together in harmony.

Since the formation of the Wylderin, the Elves have continued to play a vital role in Auria's development. They've played a role of the mediator in many wars and were quick to adopt Magic into their culture when it started to become better known during the Era of Magic, with Druidism becoming an important part of their culture. To this day the Wylderin remains a hallmark nation of strength, unity and influence in Auria, and at its heart the Elves continue to prosper.

Religion and Culture

Elves have a long-lasting respect towards the wilderness and its inhabitants. With Druidism as their religion, the Elves worship both nature's inhabitants as well as the Gods commonly tied to the natural world. At its forefront are the Wolf Gods Fenros and Medena, but the Primes also stand as important figures in their eyes.

Elven culture is a humble one. They respect the freedom to act and choose their own way of life so long as it does not defile nature. They enjoy the weaving of stories and have taken to immortalising much of their history in folktales and legends.

Society and its Structure

At its heart, Elven society is centralised in the Wylderin nation, one of Auria's strongest empires. Though they are not strong in trade or scientific advancements, they make up for it in might, magic and culture. The Wylderin are led by the Triskelion, a trio of leaders from the three races of the nation - an Elven Archdruid; an Alpha Wolfen; and a Matriarchal Dryad.

The Wild Guard remains as the police faction of the Wylderin. They are the dedicated protectors of the land and the enforcers of the Wylderin law. The Knighthood of the Wild also exists within the Wild Guard as a school for Knights and Beastmasters. The Druidic Covens, though ultimately remaining neutral, also tie themselves to the Wylderin when it comes to relations.

Racial Traits

Natural Affinity - Elves are adept at living in the wilds. They have a natural affinity to finding their way and understanding the natural world around them.
Amazonian Physique - Through hardship and training, Elves have evolved to be stronger and more athletic than most other races.
Mythological Spirit - Their ties to the Wild spirits allows the Elves a greater connection to magic as well as knowledge. This combined with their longer lifespans on average allows an Elf to grow much wiser as they age.
Superior Hearing - The long ears of an Elf allow for much better hearing.
Teachings of the Wild Guard - Elves are naturally born warriors and have the instincts of war woven into them.

Physical Appearance and Behaviour

Elves are generally tall Humanoids with long Elven ears and muscular postures, glowing eyes and purplish or bluish skin colour though some have it gray as well. Their teeth are mostly Humanoid though their canines are longer and more fang-like and their hair is often long, some braiding them, with an assortment of different colours it may come in.

The skin of a Elf is known to be tougher than a Human's as they have been known to taking on a direct slashes from blades with minor injury, making them excellent duelists and overall fighters that prefer fight head-on with swords and spears. Elves, like the Asvars, are excellent archers as well though much of the modern military of Nytlerei consists of melee fighters that can wield a bow when necessary.

Elves who are children of a Elf and a Dryad are born with extra animal body parts like tails, antlers or horns which give them a natural connection to the wilds at birth. These body parts are not only aesthetic and the Elf may use them if they see it fit, a tail of an Elf able to serve as a third arm for example.

Elves can be wary of strangers and may demand more respect from them. Those who have gained the trust of an Elf known them to be great allies and apt lovers.