The History of Elves
Tyriedar | Men | Elves | Dwarves | Halflings | Norn | Other
magicplotgeographycharacter sheet

  • Often times considered the 'second' race of Tyriedar.
  • Most likely to develop magic of all the major races. They have schools and institutions for the study of magic, combat, history, literature and art.
  • Elves create crafts which rival those of the Dwarves. These crafted goods are highly sought after by all in Tyriedar.
  • Often times considered extremely racist and self righteous because of their early teaching. There are Elves that basically believe they were created by the Gods as an equal who would eventually come back to Valhalla.
  • Unlike many of the other races who decide power based on your lineage and nobility, Elves elect their officials to serve at the House of 9 in their capital city of Camneas. Their current Prime Minister is Eriandor.
  • There are currently two major Elven cities (among many other smaller cities and outposts). Camneas is in the south while Ornebel is in the Voldarin Mountain Range.
  • To this day, based on history and mostly cultural beliefs, Elves and Dwarves still have a lot of beef between them.
  • The Soundless Elves do not believe that the oldworld teachings are true, including but not limited to being Demigods and going to Valhalla to the Gods. These Elves usually live among the Norn and are not that widespread.
  • Because Elves are so likely to develop magic, there are a few that have turned to dark magic.
  • It is not uncommon to see Elven preachers teaching about Lorsan, and the old ways, in major cities such as Highgate which was built on the ruins of old Olmelluna.
  • There was an Elven city in the north which had a tragic ending. The citizens have miraculously come back with the return of magic and are now a part of society. These Elves are hyper-religious and huge zealots.

In the beginning, the Gods of Tyriedar created Dwarves, strong and hearty and intended to sow the earth and serve them in worship, praise and song. The next day they created the Elves, beautiful and pure in their likeness as intended equals. The Gods and Elves so loved each other as brother and sister, and for hundreds of years they were in perfect harmony. Yet the Elves were not happy with the restrictions of their prison in the heavens. So it was they who chose to leave the grace of the Gods and live their lives on earth with the promise that they would some day return to their ethereal kin.

At first the Dwarves accepted their new neighbors on the earth, showering them with gifts and good fortune. They saw them as God-like figures and worshipped at their feet. Yet the hearts of all Dwarves always turn black with anger, hatred and jealousy. They couldn't stand that the Gods chose them over their own race with the promise of home in Valhalla. It was destiny that the Dwarves would turn on the Elves, drawing up arms against their distant brothers. They were pitted against one another in a battle for the affection of their mothers and fathers. While the Elves felt they should band together against the blood-hungry Barbarians, the Dwarves couldn't handle their envy and refused to leave the Elves in peace.

Refusing to cower in persecution, the Elves fought back against the Dwarves in a series of bloody and brutal battles all over Tyriedar. The Elves fought valiantly while the Dwarves stooped to treachery and bad form, slaying every one of the Elven Elders leading their younger generation in battle. The Gods stepped in to heed the battle and send the Dwarves underground. They rejected the Dwarves for their actions and violence. As punishment they cursed the race with greed and disfigurement, while blessing the Elves with more beauty, immortality and the gift of magic. One day the Elves will return to the Gods and they will live out their lives in paradise.

During the first age Lorsan the Gracious founded the school of Elven History, to teach the other races of Tyriedar about his people, claiming to be the only Elder survivor, gifted to his people by the Gods. The above text is directly taken from his original "teaching." Most races of Tyriedar do not view this as an accurate portrayal of how the earth was made, and subsequently "given" to the Elves as a gift. Generally, this is regarded as Elvish Propaganda. The School was located in Olmelluna, a great Elven city located at the current site of the Human city of Highgate in Mirerenna. The city was sieged first by Dwarves in the first age, yet the Elves defeated them in battle, a moment which was immediately regard by Lorsan as graced by the Gods themselves. It was in this battle that the influence of both the Elves and Lorsan grew immensely.

While the Dwarves expanded their kingdoms, "infesting" the mountains as the Elves would say, the Elves too grew their power. By the beginning of the second age, when Men first came to Tyriedar, both races were heavily invested in their own kingdoms. The Elves chose not to bother themselves with the problems of the other races and set their sights on educating themselves and training in their magical arts of healing and creating. They continued to see themselves as persecuted by the other races, especially when the men and Dwarves banded together against the Elves at the end of the second age. The armies once again poured upon Olmelluna. The fighting would last three solid weeks as the wild hoard fought their way inside the high city walls and the Elves held them off. Yet in the end, their magic was no match against these forces. When Olmelluna fell, their most precious school was torn apart and burned to the ground, marking the end of the Secound Age.

Many works of Elven literature were lost that day, yet the writings of the slain Lorsan survived. The book traveled from Olmelluna in the hands of Eloen deep into the Endless Forest where the Elves hid for many years. The works of Lorsan were copied ten times, each book sent to a different corner of Tyriedar where the Elves would make a new settlement as an effort to preserve their treasured past. Among these settlements was the soon founded northern Capital city of Haaenakadi in the far icy wilds. In no time the city grew to be the largest of all the Elven settlements, a beautiful sight to behold by travelers far and wide. Vaeril, a soldier who fought off the Dwarves and Men at the slaughter of Olmelluna, found himself leader of this town. He was benevolent yet forceful. He trained his people to be strong fighters, smart, steady footed, and extremely powerful in magic. And he made a vow to always protect them at all cost.

Just past the Endless Forest, tucked away in a deep valley of the Voldarin mountain range, the elf Elanil, daughter of Eloen, founded the capital of Ornebel. She commanded they build this city in the same image as their fallen capital, yet much more grand. They built towers that reached high into the mountains, walkways that touched the clouds and a school five times the size of the one founded by Lorsan, which they quickly filled with literature, art and history. Here the Elves knew they could prosper, though they were way too close to the Dwarves for comfort. Their adversaries constantly attacked, constantly tried to push them away from the mountains, yet the Elves stood strong, proud of who and what they were. They founded new schools of magic, government, and began to craft weapons, jewels and armor to rival the master works of the Dwarves.

The Elves also wanted access to the ocean and founded their third capital of Camneas on the far southern coastline. By this time the Elves had mastered the art staying out of sight, using their magic as a way to veil themselves from the other races, and this was especially true in Camneas. These Elves, following their leader Galan, built their city to be a magnificent sight to behold, yet tucked back in an inlet as a way to defend themselves. Much like the other Elven leaders at the time, he built this city with revenge and understanding in his heart, believing the Gods had used their hardships as a way to teach them to preserve their race. Many wandering ship captains would believe the Elves of Camneas to be Mermaids for years to come, and take home tales of the wonders to behold in their southern kingdom.

Toward the end of the Third Age, the Elves chose Camneas as their official capital. While many chose to stay in all of their new settlements, Camneas began to boom with trade and became instantly prosperous and widely known as a place of learning, fellowship and craftsmanship. There the Elves found a home for the House of 9, a governing body that to this day makes all decisions for their race, refusing to believe that one man should ever be an equal to the Gods. For the next 250 years, the Elves grew in power and influence over Tyriedar. Yet at the end of the Third Age, life as they knew it changed forever when their magic, a major source of their power, weakened and soon disappeared from Tyriedar completely.

Far in the north, the beautiful ice city of Haaenakadi had become all but forgotten by the rest of their race as panic set in. Vaeril, refusing to let his people suffer like he had seen them fall that day so many years ago, vowed he would protect them until the bitter end. Having been granted the gift of foresight when the magic ran through Tyriedar, Vaeril could see the heavy road ahead. He had a vision that not only would magic leave the land, but his people would soon begin to starve without their magical ability to grow food inside the glistening castle of ice. He saw that he would then give them the order to venture out of their kingdom, and into battle with the Norn over territory suitable for growth. The Elves would be slaughtered in battle with the Norn, leaving few left who would soon die anyway. Taking matters into his own hands, and knowing all magic came with a price, Vaeril used his final ounces of magic to freeze his people inside their palace, where he sat on the throne alone, for the next 500 years, patiently awaiting the moment when they would be safe. Vaeril eventually died of starvation, his people still frozen solid in his final moments.

When magic disappeared everywhere else, most Elves believed this to be a sign that soon they would be going back to the Gods to Valhalla. Yet they have been waiting to be graced for hundreds of years, and the Fourth Age came and went without a single sign that their time had come to an end. This torturous wait has, however, been far too much for many Elves. The Soundless are the Elves who believe they were in fact not a gift from god. They believe their immortality to be a curse and not a blessing. And they, like most Elves lately, do not really believe in the extremely polarizing teaching of Lorsan. Most Soundless live among the Norn, worshipping the land, animals, the spirit of battle and everything they hold dear. They believe that because they can only die in battle, it is the only honorable and blessed death. And many are friends to the Valkyrie, a secret order of Men and other races, vowed to protect Tyriedar from the evils lurking in the shadows.

Since magic's return to Tyriedar, despite many Elves' straying from the teachings of their past Elders, they feel as though there is a higher calling for them in this world. Now they have opened their schools of magic to outside races, anyone is welcome, while they mostly just get Men and the occasional Halfling students. Simultaneously, high in the Northern Wilds, with the return of magic, the Elves of Haaenakadi have woken up to a world completely unknown to them. With the only clue about who they are and where they come from being the teachings of Lorsan, they have begun to venture south into Tyriedar with stronger conviction than ever. Yet unbeknown to Vaeril, the vision he saw that day so many years ago, was not the slaughter of his people by the Norn, but the Norn people protecting the Elves of Haaenakadi from an attack, welcoming them into their homes, a history that would never come to pass.

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