Original Elves article material

Origin: After the First Unmaking, the Nine  sat down together and hashed out creating a new mortal race to be the dominant race on Scarterra. After much debate and compromise, they settled on elves believing a weaker smaller race would be easier to manage than dragons.     Second Age History: With the blessing of the Nine and their spirit minions, the ancient elves multiplied and spread to every land mass on Scarterra. They built massive farms and impressive cities. The ancient elves had dozens if not hundreds of separate nations and cultures too diverse to catalog.   Much as with the First Age dragons, other mortal races were created, some to aid the elves and some to hinder them. Like the dragons before them, the elves fought with each other as resources and land became scarce. They also quarreled with the surviving dragons and various other races.   Eventually an elven king sought to become a god by crafting a weapon out of a piece of Turoch's corpse as the Nine had done ages ago. He ventured into the The Void and emerged with a piece of Turoch’s essence though the king died before he could figure out to use his foolishly stolen prize. His act damaged The Barrier to The Void and allowed Void demons to spill into the Mortal Plane in unprecedented numbers, sparking the Second Unmaking.     Surviving the Second Unmaking : Millions of elves were slain by demons, many had their very souls consumed. The Void Demons turned a large portion of their victims into undead and the undead claimed millions more victims. Those who survived the onslaught struggled to find food and shelter as homes and farms had to be abandoned.   When the Second Unmaking was over, there were tiny scattered pockets of survivors but only four large populations of elves.   Some elves survived the Unmaking by making alliances with forest spirits and Fey creatures. These elves’ descendants are known as "wood elves" today. The wood elves call their nation Codenya.   Some elves survived the Unmaking by pledging their lives and souls to Greymoria to obtain her magical protection. These elves’ descendants are known as "dark elves" today. The dark elves call their nation Kahdisteria   Some elves survived by taking refuge on the island of Lunatus, the most geographically removed and well-fortified location against The Void Demon hordes. These elves’ descendants are known as "grey elves" today. The grey elves call their widespread nation the Elven Empire .   Some elves survived by making alliances with Merfolk and other Scaraquan mortals. These elves’ descendants became known as sea elves . The sea elves call their tiny nation Nerymer.     Third Age  History and Distribution: The sea elves were isolated and not very numerous. They kept a low profile and did not spread out from their small islands. They were so good at keeping a low profile, to the rest of Scarterra they were little more than a rumor.   The smaller pockets of survivors eventually either died out, bred with humans such that their descendants became full humans, or they joined the wood elves, grey elves, or dark elves .   The dark elves and the grey elves expanded their reach early in the Third Age dominating the primitive they came across with their superior technology and magic. Even the wood elves expanded a little bit beyond their forest. At their peak, the three elf nations directly controlled or dominated roughly half of Scarterra’s land surface.   Within in a relatively short period by elven standards, the humans had assimilated most of the elves’ magical and technological knowledge. With their superior numbers they reclaimed their homelands and drove all three elf nations back.   The Elven Empire controls the Island of Lunatus and the smaller islands near it, as well as few minor coastal colonies on the southern coastline West Colassia. Kahdisteria has been pushed back to the eastern coast of East Colassia plus a few very tiny islands. Codenya now claims a large inland forest in West Colassia and nothing else. The elven nations are still forces to be reckoned with, but they are no longer world dominating powers.     Life cycle and Society: While the four elven cultures that survived into the Third Age are culturlally distinct, the elves are physiologically almost identical subject to a few minor cosmetic differences from elemental forces .   Elves reach adolescence around age fifty, they are generally considered adults around the start of their first century. Elf females usually become infertile around three hundred and elf males tend to become infertile around age three fifty. They tend to die of old age around four hundred though a rare few individuals have made it to five hundred.   Most elves are monogamous and they try to settle down before or shortly after their two hundredth birthday, usually with someone around their same age. Societal norms are usually for each married couple to have four or five children.     Religious Practices: These vary widely depending on which nation the elf hails from and elves are often individuals who buck their cultural norms.   The dark elves usually worship Greymoria above all else. They respect Phidas , Maylar , and Korus . They tend to dislike Mera and Zarthus .   The grey elves usually worship Khemra primarily. They respect Hallisan, Korus , and Phidas . They tend to dislike Nami , Maylar , and Zarthus .   The wood elves usually worship Zarthus and Korus primarily. They have a polytheistic bent and rarely try to exclude any deity altogether.   The sea elves worship the Scaraquan versions of the Nine. They worship the three Sisters or Seeyirah primarily (Mera , Greymoria , and Korus ) and view the other deities as lesser beings but they are not shunned or hated.