A History of the Elves (Aelferii/Aôlerian)

This is a work in progress. Expect many continuity errors and timespans that do not make sense.

Note: Aôlerian referred to the people as a whole. A group of Aôlerian was an Aôlerii. A single Aôlerian was an Aôler. Now, after they became the Aelferii, the name refers to both the people and a group. A single Aelferii is an Aelfer.

The Arrival

The history of the Elves, as they are known in the Dragonspine Empire, on Jhordunne is long and filled with much sorrow. Approximately 9,500 years ago, tens of thousands of tall, lithe, unnaturally beautiful beings suddenly appeared in the jungles of northern Ankre Ssaln. From where they came, no one knows. Even the Gods find it a mystery or, if any know, they do not say. Though they could not remember their past, they were highly skilled in a number of crafts. They made exquisite bows of wood and horn and made light, but tough, armor of leather. They were also masters of working glass, making items both beautiful and as strong as metal. From this glass, they crafted swords and armor plates. In time, the Dholkhavir found these people to be both immortal and immune to disease. The Gods gave them the name “Aôlerian” – the Ever Living.

Conflict with the Ch’kari and The First Migration

Due to their proximity to the Ch’kari, they were constantly at war with the territorial reptilians. For a thousand years, the two fought to stalemate, as neither could overcome the other. The Aôlerian could not die of old age, but they could die from wounds. Though they were master healers, seeing their numbers decline and knowing they reproduce slowly, the Aôlerian left the jungles of Nashalan and travelled into the wild lands to the north, which they named Toriath.

Time with the Fey

It was in Toriath that they first encountered the Fey, ancient creatures almost as old as Jhordunne. Though the Fey can be vile and are wary of anyone who trespasses on their territories, they felt an affinity for the Aôlerian, even if it was only to make them servants. The Aôlerian spread across the lands the Fey called Dolsidhan. They built small villages near whatever Fey resided in the area; the Fey would not allow the Aôlerian to live directly with them. The Aôlerian learned the language of the Fey, taking it for their own and worshipped the Daemon Gods of the Fey. The Fey treated the Aôlerian as peasants, with themselves as lord or lady. So that the Aôlerian could provide even more for the Fey, the Old Ones gave the Aôlerian the secrets of magic.

Rebellion

Some Aôlerii began to chafe at their treatment. After millennia of living under Fey rule, they felt they should be equals. The Fey demanded ever more tribute in the form of jewels and beasts. Many Aôlerii reached their breaking point when the Fey demanded that they, for reasons unknown, give the Fey Aôlerian children. This led to open rebellion and both Fey and Aôler were slaughtered. Those Aôlerii who fled the Fey hunted and killed any Fey found along their path, as they marched to the eastern shores of Toriath. Many Fey scattered and retreated to the dark, forlorn places of Jhordunne. Some remained with those Aôlerii who were still loyal to the Fey and who stayed behind in Toriath. Those Aôlerii who did became known as Dhollurien – “Those Bound to the Old Ones”.

The Wither

The Fey, being cruel and petty, cursed all Aôlerian for those who revolted. Using dark, ancient magic, the Fey stripped the Aôlerian of their immortality. Their lifespan reduced to a few hundred years, the Aôlerian fell into despair. More was yet to come. The Fey afflicted them with an incurable madness that grows worse as an Aôler ages. The Wither, as it is known, destroys the Aôlerian mind. Eventually, they become mindless husks, simply awaiting death. Referring to themselves as the “Ever Living” now seemed a cruel joke. They took the name Aelferii, which means “Cursed Ones” in their tongue. It is from this word that “Elf” is derived, in the Dragonspine Empire’s Low Tongue, and Älfer, in High Imperial.

Whether by design or by oversight, the madness lasts only until death. Once dead, an elf could be raised as one of the undead and be free from the madness. Necromancy became popular among the elves. It is not at all uncommon for the most powerful elves to prematurely end their lives, before the madness becomes too severe, and then be resurrected as undead.

Rise of the Undying

Without the Fey and their gods, the eldest among the Elves – those who still retained some degree of sanity – grew to hold control of the people. The Dholkhavir rarely spoke to the Aelferii and seemed foreign and alien. The Elves came to worship the eldest among them, living or undead, and venerated them as gods. Temples were raised to each of the fifteen eldest and those became know as The Undying. Eventually, the words of the Undying became law. Sometimes facetious, sometimes grim, so it has been ever since.

The Second Migration – To Sai Torgoth

After freeing themselves from the Fey, many Aelferii travelled over the sea to the east, to what is now Sai Torgoth. They settled in the grasslands on the western shores of the Continent. Several great kingdoms rose across the west and, for a time, the Aelferii knew a bit of peace. They once again became scholars and artists, putting aside their swords and spears as well as one could in such a dark world. Their building craft was unmatched across Jhordunne. Not even the Dwarves of Kh’druin could build such cities. Great spires of glass were raised to touch the sky. Entire stretches of rivers were incorporated into buildings of magnificent scope. Music and wine flowed down stone streets carved with delicate designs. War among the Aelferii was unheard of.

Founding of Tar Oche

The Elves eventually united under the banner of the Aelfer known as Salatherus, backed by The Undying. His new kingdom, Tar Oche, stretched across the continent. It was a kingdom of philosophers and poets. As they had done before, the Elves mastered new crafts, this time shipbuilding and sailing and became masters of the sea. To this day, only the Ogres of Quanshai can match Aelferii prowess at sea. It seemed the elves had finally found a place of safety on Jhordunne.

The Dread Queen and the Schism

Believing the Aelferii had grown soft over the millennia in Tar Oche, an Aelfer by the name Dholthra vowed to return her people to their martial glory. Gathering an army of those who thought similarly, she struck at Q’thalmos, the Tar Oche capital. Her mages rained fire and stone upon the city. Her warriors killed those who would not submit. After only two days of slaughter, Q’thalmos was hers. Expanding her army with conscripts, she marched from village to village, town to town, leaving a decades-long path of blood and gore.

Dholthra underestimated her brethren. As she approached the city of Shalmorae, she was met by an army of Tar Ochen Aelferii. At first, Dholthra’s forces pushed back the elves. Rallying to the horn of Valoque, the Aelferii launched a brutal counterattack, weakening her forces enough that Dholthra was left unguarded. A single arrow knocked her from her horse, the fall breaking her neck.

Dholthra, however, was not yet defeated. Through dark pacts with Tai Shalvar, she rose from death. Given the gifts of Corruption, she attempted to slay Valoque and his warriors with foul magic. Fortunately for them, she was unfamiliar with her newly found power. Her attacks were weak, like a child learning to walk. Realizing she had no chance at victory, she and what remained of her army fled. Valoque followed, hoping to kill the undead witch, but lost her in the wilds of the mountains into which she escaped.

Dholthra managed to reach the frozen mountains and tundra of the far north, were she and her followers settled. They built cities and fortresses within the mountains and learned the ways of the underworld and the ice lands. She gave her people the name Zhan Te Bai – Those Who Will Rise. For over a thousand years, The Dread Queen – as she is known to her people – has plotted her revenge, growing her armies and her power, her hatred for the Aelferii burning deep within.

Blasphemy and the Creation of the Yrchs

In Tar Oche, the Elven wizards had honed their craft, becoming powerful beyond imagining. Oddly shielded from the taint of Tai Shalvar by their own madness, they could practice magics that no human ever imagined. With Dholthra and her forces defeated, Aelferii mages could return to their research into magic. As their power grew, they came to believe they rivalled the Gods in power and wished to do as the Gods had done and create life. In dark rituals, they attempted to replicate the acts of the Dholkhavir, with disastrous results. Their “children” were malformed and utterly insane, prone to bouts of extreme violence and cannibalism.

Looking upon the twisted spawn they had created, they saw the Yrch. This new evil would plague the world for the rest of time. The Yrch they created immediately slew and devoured their creators, in the process spawning more of themselves. They fought their way out of the elven creation temples and fled into the wilds of Sai Torgoth. How they made it off the continent and to other lands is unknown. It is believed they found Rifts into which they were drawn. There, the Vile Princes, reveling in the failure of the elves and in their destruction, spread the Yrch throughout the world.

The Fracturing of Tar Oche

With the disaster brought about by the mages, distrust in them grew. Angry crowds hunted down anyone known to dabble in magic. Public executions became the norm. As the rulers of Tar Oche tried to stop the purges, the anger of the Aelferii turned towards their leaders. Civil war erupted across Tar Oche. In the wars that followed, the Elven kingdom fell apart, breaking into numerous kingdoms, and their great cities turned to ruins. Much has been lost in the thousand years since the creation of the Yrchs and the world may never again know the beauty of the Aelferii at their height.

The Third Migration – Azerion and Älfheim

As they had before, many elves fled to the east, this time to the shores of Azerion and the Dragonspine Empire. The Imperator, seeing how elven craftwork could benefit his empire, granted them the forests between Wostenheim and Mittgarn. Over the 800 years since they settled, the elves of Azerion have drifted away from the empire and the world, becoming more and more reclusive. The forests, now known as Älfheim, have become wild and dark, dangerous to those who stray off the few merchant roads that traverse its borders.