Hello everybody Jorphdan here the PH is silent.
Let’s talk about Elves.
Where do they come from, why do they have such pointy ears and arrogant personalities?
Elves are found in all kinds of fantasy genres and they’re really different from one another.
For D&D the elves seem to be very Tolkien esque rather than busy making you cookies
or shoes.
The elves of the Forgotten Realms come from Corellon, their ultimate deity.
He got into a big fight with the Orc Deity Gruumsh and was injured.
From his blood the first elves arose.
Which is different from other races who were created by their deity, the elves were created
from their deity.
Which might explain their long lifespan and innate magical abilities.
Corellon because of an uprising from Lolth flug the elves from his presence.
They were forced to take a physical existence on the Material Plane but favored the Feywild
most of all.
The Eladrin were the elves of the Feywild and those elves that migrated to the Prime
Material Plane on Faerun became known as Sun Elves, also known as High Elves, or Gold Elves.
Really all elves came from the Feywild but the Sun Elves most match the Eladrin.
Sun elves are responsible for the majority of the great elven cities of legend.
Although other elf races aided in their city building endeavors.
Myth Drannor is perhaps their most famous city.
Sun elves are arrogant!
They believe they are the direct descendants of Corellon, and thus should be the builders
and leaders of all elves.
These elves migrated to Faerun at some point in history, no specific dates exists that
I could find.
Sun elves believe they are chosen by Corellon to be the defenders of elven tradition and
history.
They are the least likely to take up an adventuring path, seeing little point in roaming around
and meeting other people.
They uphold wisdom and learning.
The leaders of the Sun Elves are usually tied back to a family name.
Where human nobles measure their power by their lands or number of soldiers, a sun elf
noble is known by the honor of their family name.
Also the magical power and lore his/her family has accumulated.
Sun elves get along and have an affection for other elves but at times do not understand
them.
The flighty nature of the moon elfs confuses them.
Wood elves are admired for their connection to nature, and the spirit of nature.
Wild elves are confusing to Sun Elves and they hope to civilize them one day.
Bringing them into the fold of elf history and culture.
You don’t see too many Sun Elves in Faerun, the majority of them left to live on the elven
isle of Evermeet.
Evermeet being the last major sun elf civilization.
This island to the west of Faerun is protected by an array of magical defenses set in place
by the Elf Pantheon of gods.
It’s shrouded in a powerful illusion that conceals it from non-elven eyes.
The elven population migrated in mass in 1344 DR in what is known as the Retreat.
Over 90% of the elves in the forest of Cormanthor migrated to Evermeet or the Moon Elf City
of Evereska.
The Sun elves are happy to remain on Evermeet, but not so with Moon Elves who seem to have
a wanderlust to explore and adventure.
Moon elves also came across from the feywild along with the Sun elves.
Also known as Silver elves they are the most common elf subrace in Faerun.
Moon elves long to be on the road, traveling and exploring the untamed wilderness.
They loved the other races, humans in particular and when you meet a half elf odds are one
of their parents was a moon elf.
Preferring a nomadic lifestyle a Moon elf don’t stay in one place for longer than
a few seasons.
They are comfortable living almost anywhere and in other cultures and are commonly found
with sun elves, humans, gnomes, and even halflings.
When the Retreat happened with the elves to Evermeet many Moon elves went in the opposite
direction, wanting to explore Faerun further.
Evereska is one of the last remaining realms of the elves in the north.
It has become a haven for the elves in Faerun.
It is situated on a large stone pedestal that rises nearly a thousand feet from the ground.
Twelve hills encircle Evereska so that it’s not visible from the valley below.
Carefully hidden and protected with magic it is home to both Moon and Sun elf.
Moon elves are seen as frivolous especially to Sun elves but they are just easygoing and
have a fluid nature to their culture, philosophy, and personality.
You’ll find numerous moon elves as rangers, fighters, rogues, and even wizards.
Clerics exist too as magic of all kids are looked highly upon in elven society.
Wood elves are next.
During the Crown Wars these elves left the war behind them to go live in the forests.
Wood elves are more grounded in their beliefs and outlook on life.
The fantastic elven kingdoms of the past were truly great but they created some great mistakes
too.
Not wanting to repeat their ancestors past mistakes wood elves strive to live in quiet
harmony, not domination, with the wider world.
Wood elves live close to nature, and have created kingdoms within the forests.
Most wood elves stay within their forests they don’t commonly emerge from their homes.
Rarely do they encounter non-elves unless forced to leave their elven communities.Wood
elves are also commonly referred to as Copper Elves.
The Sun Elves and Moon Elves formed great realms such as Evermeet and Evereska.
The Wood elf equivalent would be Earlann, founded in the eastern High Forest.
They befriended the Delzoun dwarves and the Netherese for trade, way back in -3900 DR.
Finally there are wild elves, also known as green elves.
When the Eladrin first arrived on Abeir-Toril the wild elves were the first explorers.
Pushing into the new areas and carving out several territories.
After the Crown Wars in which they lost their homelands the wild elves went into a period
called the “Wandering.”
They moved from land to land for many generations.
The wild elves retracted away from society to live in forests and mountains.
They had little contact with outside races and did not participate in the Retreat to
Evermeet.
They are often considered savage and are rarely seen outside of their forest homes.
Over the course of many years they forgot their ancient lore and focused on the skilled
they needed.
Stealth, survival, hunting, and hiding.
However among their friends and kinfolk wild elves are pleasant and outgoing.
Although they have a love of art, to a wild elf the joy of art lies in the creative process.
The act of creation is just as important as the creation itself.
That’s it for today.
I hope this gives you a better look at the different elves of Faerun.
They are all similar yet have their different quirks.
It might help you make a better Forgotten Realms themed elf character, or go crazy and
be that Wild Elf Wizard you know you want to.
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Thanks for watching everyone, thanks for liking and subscribing.
I’ll see you all in the next video.