#elf lore

Yes actually! I want them to be kinda etheral, like when you first lay eyes on them you can't help but think "wow how beautiful..." but they are off in a way that you can tell they are not human.

Their skin feels different, it's just too perfect, too thin. It feels like a weird mix of a human's and dolphin's. They are so big yet their skin breaks so easily, blood dripping down at the smallest scratch.

Their gaze is different, it's like they are looking at you but not fully seeing you, they are not seeing an equal. Instead they see a version of you their oh so superior minds assigned to you and accepted as the final truth. A cute puppy is just a cute puppy, even if it occasionally acts up it's still just the same cute puppy. The cute puppy can't solve hard math questions, that's a given, since it doesn't have the same level of intelligence as a human. Even if the cute puppy tries to prove that it can, it's still just a puppy.

Their freakishly tall heights also feel off. Your brain registers them as human looking beings yet they are beyond the height a human being should be able to reach, it makes your head hurt as if you're looking at an optical illusion.

Elven naming table from the 3.5E D&D supplemental sourcebook Races of the Wild. The book gives the following naming advice for players:

Today, on Trans Day of Visibility, the Department of Monster Affairs would like to celebrate by discussing some of the ways that monster species culturally view gender, sex, and human transness.

(image source)

Beyond Monogamy: The Intimacy of the Fair Folk

I was sent this essay on the nature of elven love—not as a provocation, but as a gift, by one who knows me to be both a lifelong Dungeon Master and a lover of the Fair Folk. I read it with the affection of one who delights in seeing elves taken seriously. Yet, as my eyes moved across its words, I felt the truth of lore pulling me elsewhere. The essay mistook the rare flame for the common hearth, the miracle for the ordinary.

The Soul-Bond Is Rare:

Elven texts are plain: the mystical union, the soul-bond, is not the everyday rhythm of elven love, but its rarest peak. The Complete Book of Elves reminds us: very rarely, an elf will form a mystical and unbreakable bond with another being—so rarely that many elves never do. To live a thousand years and never bind your spirit to another is not seen as loss, but as one path among many .

Even the rite of U’Aestar’Kess, often spoken of as a “marriage bond,” reveals its rarity and breadth. The Cormanthyr lore-books tell us it may be performed but twice in a lifetime, most often once with a beloved, and once with a sentient mount such as a dragon or Pegasus . To call this “inherent monogamy” is to misread its very scarcity. It is not prescriptive. It is wondrous precisely because it is rare.

The True Norm: Intimacy:

So what, then, is the elven norm, if not monogamy? It is intimacy. The Complete Book of Elves stresses that marriage itself is rare, much rarer than among short-lived folk, and even then couples may live apart for decades to renew the fire between them . Elves linger in closeness: in the shared memory-song, in the communion of thought, in the act of crafting side by side, in the delight of seasons spent together and apart. Intimacy for them is not constrained to the shape of human marriage. It is the pattern of their souls: connection, renewal, weaving and re-weaving of bonds that outlast human lifetimes.

To say that elves are inherently monogamous is to flatten them into human ideals. Their true nature is more elusive, more wondrous: a capacity for connection that exceeds our narrow models. They may indeed love once in a soul-binding that alters eternity. They may also love a dozen times across centuries, or bind their soul not to a lover at all, but to a dragon’s wings or a Pegasus’s flight.

The heart of the Fair Folk is intimacy, not exclusivity. Their love, like starlight across water, shimmers in many reflections—each true, each fleeting, each immortal in its own way.

Addendum: On Elven Intimacy and the Rarity of Soul-Bonds

• The rarity of the bond

“Very rarely, an elf will form a mystical and unbreakable bond with another being.” (Complete Book of Elves, p. 45).

Most elves never soul-bond at all; when it happens, it is extraordinary, not expected.

• The limits of U’Aestar’Kess

“U’Aestar’Kess is most often used as a marriage rite, though not limited to pairs of elves. The rite may link an elf with a sentient animal mount, such as a dragon or pegasus. An elf can be placed with a maximum of two beings in his or her lifetime, most often a spouse and a beast-mount.” (Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves, p. 14).

This makes clear that even the highest rite of bonding is both rare and bounded, and not always romantic.

• Marriage as rare and flexible

“Elves do marry, but not nearly as often as humans do… once married, elves are as committed as any creatures can be. They rarely divorce, and the marriage lasts until one partner dies. They may, however, live apart for many years, even centuries, to keep the fire bright.” (Complete Book of Elves, p. 46).

For elves, intimacy is not constant cohabitation, but devotion renewed across centuries.

• Tel’Quessir and N’Tel’Quessir

“Elves call all other races N’Tel’Quessir—literally, ‘not-people.’ Moon elves are the most tolerant of non-elves, while sun elves’ prejudice toward other races (humans in particular) can be quite severe.” (Races of Faerûn, p. 29).

Relationships with non-elves are culturally marked as different, sometimes even suspect.

• On sha’quessir (elf-friends)

“Outsiders accepted into Evermeet’s circles are called sha’quessir—‘elf-friends’—and are accorded nearly the status of a citizen.” (Elves of Evermeet, p. 12).

Non-elves must be ritually acknowledged before acceptance, showing a further distinction between bonds with elves and bonds with others.

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In Sum

My favorite thing about drow/elves is how their aging works.

Like at 100 (for elves) and 80 (for drow) you’re an adult. Like that is their 18. For drow at least I think their 100s are their 20s and their 200s are their 30s. Like imagine being in your 20s for a hundred years?! Anyways. I was talking to my mom and she said “it was not that long ago, only 10 years” and it made me pause because to me (23) 10 years ago *is* a long time. To her though, 10 years ago is not a long time at all.

So it makes me think about drow and about my guy and how often him and other elves will just be like “ah yeah I remember that, that wasn’t that long ago… only 60 years I think”

And I imagine for elves and drow when they’re younger the concept of 10, 20, 60 years is a long time. Then as they get older, as time flies and things change with a blink of their eye. 60 years isn’t as long as they thought.

I think of Frieren a lot (fucking love Frieren) because it to me is the canon elf/drow experience (at least for Llewelyn). Like you don’t think about how time affects humans and shorter lived races if you are raised with other people who live as long as you. So yeah maybe you’ll forget to come back to that one village you promised to help 15 years ago and the when you do they’re like “yeah man we don’t need you anymore that was 15 fucking years ago.” And you’re like “that wasn’t that long ago.” Then they point out how they’ve aged and how things have changed and you’re like “oh… time is different for you guys.”

Since I mentioned them in my tags regarding this post here, @beebookmagic was curious about spellfilchers. Go wild with these funky mage/thieves!

I'll only be including things that I managed to find through my digging rather than any of my own guesses on how things operate within Toril and in-universe implications, but there's some fascinating stuff with spellfilchers. My sources, as well as page numbers, will be included as I mention them.

It is still incredibly funny to me that no one knows book-canon Legolas' age.

Movie canon says that he is 2,931 years old during the War of The Ring, and based on this post people think he is somewhere between 200 to 2,000 years old. Here is said awesome post someone made, for more info:

Considering at one point he says that 500 years is only a "little while", along with saying that the fellowship makes him feel old, he's probably older than 500, and with how the other elves treat him (and his odd unfamiliarity with certain parts of life), I think he is a little over 1,000 years of age. Old enough to not be a baby and have some experience and wisdom, young enough to reflect the youthful demeanor he often exhibits.

I also think it quite humorous that everyone is clueless about Legolas age, very fitting I think. At times he acts quite wise and older than everyone around him, and then like a young adult who, although still wise is almost as clueless as everyone around him.

I also love the idea of this young elfling prince just prancing around with the fellowship, because no one else is close to his age except for Arwen and her brothers. And maybe Tariel, but I don't know much about the Silven elves. I also have the headcanon (based off of movie canon) that Thranduil was one of those parents who shielded Legolas far too much, which is why Legolas is wise but oddly innocent, even for an elf. Also, his temper is a whole thing. (It cracks me up.)

i’m so glad you ask omgg !! they’re facial scars and they have meaning depending on where they are on the face

At a young age they’re given marks as a sort of coming-of-age to reflect a person's personality (or what kind of person they are). The ritual happens at the human equivalent of 14 to signify an elf’s growth into maturity (think quinceañera or a bat mitzvah sort of celebration). Rheannon and the other girls (Amarreth & O’nora) all have scars on a section of their faces that represent who they are.

This ritual also has ties to the elvish goddess or the ‘Ancestress’ as they call her in-world; in the earlier stages of elvish civilization it originated as a form of mourning after the Ancestress passed away.

Rhea has tear-like scars on her cheeks, it’s a spot on the face associated with emotion (blushing), whether it’s embarrassment, anger, or passion. This placement usually gives people the impression that she’s overly emotional and weak. In reality, the scars symbolize her empathy, not her emotions, but the deep connection shes capable of having with people.

*This is also a parallel to the Hound’s tear-cheeked mask

Amarreth’s scars are around her mouth because she’s skilled with her words, she’s silver-tongued. She has a way with persuasion, and captivating people with her speech, from a young age her parents always joked she’d make a wonderful politician. (fun fact: Amarreth’s scars are meant to resemble a cheshire grin or whiskers to make her seem more catlike.)

O’nora on the other hand is recognizing for her mind, if "think before you act" was a person…she’d be it. She’s not very talkative and is always seen watching, observing, gathering information before speaking; when she has the information and opportunity she uses it cleverly to her advantage.

(side note: a few people find O’nora off-putting not just because of how quiet she, is but because of her white hair and striking cheekbones, a lot of people assume she’s older than she is when she’s actually around the same age as the other girls.)