Elves

Elves are humanoid beings present on many worlds. They generally stand taller than humans and possess a graceful, slender physique. They are easily recognizable thanks to their long, pointed ears, their high cheekbones, their wide and expressive eyes, filled with vibrantly colored pupils, and their colorful, silky hair. All of these traits lead elves to be widely viewed as an extraordinarily beautiful race.

Biological Traits

Elves are agile and nimble, gifted with excellent manual dexterity, able to negotiate narrow or treacherous surfaces, and able to perform tasks requiring a great deal of precision. Their keen sense of vision and hearing allow them to spot faraway objects more clearly and hear faint sounds that an average human couldn't perceive, although their vision and hearing aren't as sharp as that of harpies or nekos. Combined with their incredible reflexes, elves make for a quick-witted and alert race, able to react to danger almost as soon as it strikes. But for all these great assets, elves are cursed with a rather frail form. The bones of an elf have slightly lower density than those of a human's. Though the lighter weight of their skeleton contribute to their signature agility, this lack of volumetric mass leave their bones comparatively fragile and more prone to fracture during a fierce hand to hand brawl. As a result, most elves shy away from close combat, the exception being Scarlet Elves. Due to their skeleton being lighter, elves weigh less than humans of similar height and physique. Both male and female elves grow very little body hair, save for eyebrows and maybe pubic hair.

A seemingly universal trait of elves is their proficiency with ranged weapons. Thanks to their keen senses, they are deadly accurate with almost any kind of projectile weapons, and often naturally feel comfortable shooting a target from a distance rather than attacking up close. Another seemingly ubiquitous characteristic is their sensitivity to magic. On magic-rich worlds, elves almost always make for excellent magic users, possessing an almost inherent talent and understanding of the magic arts, as well as a very slight natural resistance against spells. The reason behind this uncanny ability is unknown, and while they practice varied forms of magic, elves born with innate magical power are far more common than any other species with the exception of fairies, which further contribute to their reputation as natural-born magicians.

Elves in general age much slower than other humanoid species. An elf who at first glance appears no older than a human in their late teens to early twenties might really be 100 or even 200 years old. How slowly they age vary a lot from species to species and is, of course, even harder to tell in Felarya. Oddly, elven pregnancy is almost identical as human pregnancy and lasts about just as long as well.

Elves are humanoid beings present on many worlds. They have delicate, slender bodies, big expressive eyes, and their graceful and fragile features are generally considered to be extraordinarily beautiful. Male elves are slightly taller than females, with darker hair and eyes. Their most typical traits are their long pointed ears and high cheekbones. It's interesting to note that long ears are considered a seductive trait among elves in Felarya, while other races would pay little attention to it. An elf calling another "short-ears" can be pretty offensive, and an otherwise perfectly gorgeous elf lady could feel depressed and down because of the shortness of hers! A deeply individualistic race, elves can easily be seen as egoistical and rather vain. They constantly try to improve themselves in every domain possible and love to show off to others, often through competitions. They love nature and beautiful things, expressing themselves through the arts of drawing, music, and literature. They rarely mix with other races, considering them to be inferior (and short-eared), which in turn gives the elves a reputation as haughty and disdainful stuck-ups.

Elves are numerous in the northern parts of Felarya and come in many different species, sizes, and groups. Some are used to living among humans in cities like Negav, and would last no more than a few minutes in the jungle, while others are very used to living in the wilderness, using their natural abilities, reflexes, and deep bond with nature to survive and thrive there. Elven settlements in the wilderness are usually pretty difficult to find, being either built high in the trees, or covered by illusions of some sort. Elves are usually excellent magic users, have incredible reflexes, and their proficiency with ranged weapons is legendary. They are less skilled than nemesises with bows though, but you'd be well advised to not make that observation in front of them!

On Felarya, the size of an elf varies a lot: some are human-sized (though slightly taller), while others can easily reach 100 feet tall. The theory is that, because of their receptiveness to magic, some elves become infused with the magic of the soil and get a growth spurt that allows them to reach a giant size. It's also assumed some giant elves are created by magical means, growing from a human-sized individual to a giant, through some rituals, such as the Tajyms Khajals. Depending on their size, elves can be both prey and predator. Smaller elves find themselves confronted with a big problem: they taste incredibly good and once a predator has eaten one, it will usually try to catch others. On the other hand, larger elves, such as the scarlet ones, make frighteningly efficient hunters because of their heightened vision and hearing, and their lightning quick reflexes. It is to be noted that it is difficult for a giant elf to even think of eating a smaller elf, no matter their species. It could happen, but it would be a very rare things. Another interesting trait of Felaryan elves is their high adaptability to their environment. Over the course of just several decades, a species will start to develop physical attributes and abilities in order to fit in better. For instance, it is believed it took less than a century for Tajyms to evolve from normal elves to their current state.

Elves took an important part in the History of Felarya, taking part in many events that shaped the world and building the greatest empire on record.