Here are some Elven facts from my og story (tagged as sq story) that I want to share!
There are two elven ancestries: High Elf and Dark Elf.
Phenotypically, High Elves are most similar to South Asian humans, with medium to dark brown skin, high cheekbones, and wide and/or strong/sharp noses. Dark Elves have the same bone structure as High Elves, but their skin is in shades of blue, greys, and purples due to their adaptation to subterranean environments.
The Elven language is thus largely derived from the Sanskrit language with some names coming from Hebrew.
Though Elves are the longest-lived ancestry in the world, they only live about 900-1000 years, compared to a human's 90-100 years. The oldest Elf to live was recorded as 1197 years old when they died.
They are the oldest known ancestry to exist in the world and have the longest continuous history because of this. Archaeologically, the oldest evidence is 130,000 years old, and their written histories start around 68,000 years old.
Elves detest mage-derived magic, seeing it as antithetical to the creator beings of the world. Even to the point of not teleporting through mage portals, instead, they'd opt to sail for a month around a continent to get to the same place. Elves have an affinity for the natural and blessed druidic arts and promote it heavily, so much so, that noble-born Elves are often sent to druidic schools to develop a rudimentary grasp of the arts.
Their hair color resembles metals and their eyes are colored like gems.
With the former, hair is considered precious and sacred, due to its slower growth compared to other ancestries. And so, cutting it is reserved for special occasions, and outsiders or non-trusted individuals are barred from touching it.
It is considered the height of trust for an Elf to allow someone to touch/comb their hair, especially a non-Elf.
Both High and Dark Elves are considered relatively isolated people with little to no admixing of culture or blood, as such half-Elves are relatively rare. However, there is a notable increase in them due to the Maleficium Age, where Elves and other ancestries had to be in close contact throughout the war effort.
