Elves

The elves, or Sylvaan, are a race of humanoids who look largely like humans, save for their pointed ears, svelte frames and angular faces. The elves are the oldest known race of Caledon and [...]

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The words "elf" and "elven" derive from a poetic name the elves once used for themselves which is now regarded as archaic: a-efellen, meaning "the fallen leaves", in reference to the story of their creation, which tells that the elves were made from the fallen leaves of autumn.

Biology
The elves are the longest-lived race on Caledon, the average total lifespan of an elf being around eight centuries, though some elves have lived for up to a thousand years. An elf is typically considered an adult by elven society at the age of two hundred years, though from the age of fifty would look like an adult to a human.

Diet
The elves tend to eschew the concepts of land ownership and serfdom that are the usual necessities for large-scale farming of either crops or livestock. As such, the elven diet contains relatively few grains or heavily-cultivated foodstuffs and dairy products are completely absent, as elves become lactose intolerant after weaning. Most food is either hunted or foraged, so the elven diet consists largely of meat, fruit, vegetables and fungi supplemented with wild grains. Meat is eaten raw relatively often, as the animals elves hunt tend not to carry the diseases or parasites that domesticated animals do.

Reproduction
Elves have a very low fertility rate which serves to balance out their exceptionally long lives. An elven couple could expect to sire no more than three children over their entire lifetimes, barring the conception of twins. Because of this low fertility rate, [???]

History
The first written records of the elves were written by the elves themselves, during the Leaf Age. It was the elves who first developed the written word (a-efell masa, "the talking leaves") and this is what gives the Leaf Age its name. The elves claim that they were created by Elissiel from the falling leaves of autumn to act as the stewards of the natural world.

During this age, the elves had formed a nation called Aderannor, which spanned the width and breadth of Caledon. [more on Aderannor]

Following the beginning of the Ash Age, the elven leaders decreed that the Fall of Aderannor was punishment from the gods for abandoning their duties of stewardship to the natural world. The remaining elves fractured into small, tight-knit communities and established the houses, remaining small, self-sufficient units that acted as guardians of areas of wilderness. Most lore and knowledge surviving from the Ash Age and earlier has been passed down through the original houses.

Language
The elven languages as a group are called a-masaera, meaning "the tongues". Owing to the long lifespans of elves and a naturally conservative attitude, elven languages have diverged little despite the relative isolation of each house. Each house speaks a different dialect, though the distinctions are largely subtleties within verb conjugation and vocabulary.

Written form
The elven writing system is called a-efel masa, meaning literally "the talking leaves". The script is ancient, developed at the beginning of the Leaf Age, and has changed little since then. There are two main registers of a-efel masa: the first is efel'pele (true leaves) which is more common with modern elves; the second is efel'carra (stone leaves) which is an archaic variant altered to be more easily engraved on stone, predominantly used during the Aderannor Period. Both registers are traditionally written left-to-right, but for artistic reasons can be right-to-left, vertical or even spiral. The beginning of the text can be determined by which end the leaves and vines appear to sprout from, which is often referred to as the 'root' of a passage.

Society and politics
Each house is a tribal group, normally a few ten-thousand individuals. The houses are overseen by an elder, who is always the oldest member of the house. Each house is largely self-sufficient but the houses do communicate.

When matters that concern all elves present themselves, the houses will call a Sira'Massan. Such meetings are exceptionally rare. The elders of each house, along with their entourages, meet in a single place and engage in a debate over the issue that will last at least a few days but often continue for several weeks. The process takes so long as the elves decide matters by consensus rather than democracy, so all attending elders must agree before the Sira'Massan can be concluded.

Relations with other races
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A contentious issue between the elves and the other races is the exploration and uncovering of elven burial sites, especially Aderannor tombs. Despite the elves regarding their previous empire as the height of their own hubris, they maintain that the tombs of their deceased are still sacrosanct and should not be violated. This conflicts with the interests of humans, as Aderannor ruins, tombs included, have provided a wealth of historical information that has been of great help in advancing knowledge of magic and improved quality of life significantly. As it stands, excavation and exploration of elven burial sites is done only outside the jurisdiction of elven houses, though many ruins remain unexplored, even by the elves, within the houses' lands.

Magic
Practice of magic within the elven houses is common but not centralised as it is with human mages. Elves largely pass on magical knowledge in the form of master-apprentice relationships that usually last for a century or more, which has limited the dissemination of magical knowledge and theory within the houses. Their insular culture also limits the exchange of knowledge between houses. However, the long lifespans of elves means that each mage has much longer to study and experiment, giving most modern elven mages a similar proficiency as that of chartered human wizards.

During the Leaf Age, the elves achieved a level of magical development that had not been seen in the world since. Centralised magic education and exceptionally long lives, combined with the long period of relative peace and the ease of travel between cities, allowed knowledge of magic to soar to heights unknown today. The elves of Aderannor are known to have direct knowledge of the other planes of existence, including the Astral Sea, and many believe that they visited other planes. Some even go so far as to say they colonised other planes of existence and that some elves from Aderannor survive elsewhere. Reconstructed Aderannor knowledge is also the reason for the Order of the Twilight Eye's portal network, though many questions and inefficiencies remain.

Relations with other races
Elven houses are largely isolationist tend not to initiate contact with other people or groups, though will rarely refuse travellers or merchants who have not violated the sanctity of their domain.

[Elves can be contacted at an 'elfmeet', many of which are distributed throughout a forest. An elfmeet is a carved standing stone, between three and five feet high, with a large cavity carved in the front, usually about the size of a pumpkin. Placing an object in the hole signifies what the traveller wants: a water- or wineskin or eating utensil means food, water or shelter; a coin means trade; an animal bone means a warning or a petition for military aid; a feather means a message; a stone or pebble means something not covered by another sign.]