Of The High Elves

History and Lore:
"In my life, I've fought four battles upon this, the red fjord of The Eol. I defended your people against the orcish horde before we gave you knowledge of steel. Perhaps they would be standing here instead of you if I had made different choices. Now? You come to oppose me, a thing that you cannot possibly understand well enough to object to with more than symbols and misplaced idealism."

Note: While socially, Avariel are considered 'High' elves; they are biologically distinct rather than culturally and have their own entry elsewhere.
 

It is difficult to talk about High Elves - more so than any other race - without getting into their history. The High Elves have a rich past filled with conquest and before the rise of men 'The People' ruled much of the known world. The region around Orcrest itself was but one western province of the greater empire of Aer Arnad. Though the High Elves have retreated easterly, and Imperial ambitions have abandoned most of the province of Orcrest after several recently failed wars: Individual High Elves may still feel honor or duty-bound to attempt to maintain or regain their ancestral holdings in the region - high elves are nothing if not arrogant and entitled.
 

Of the blood of the Eladrin and Faerie to which they are related, the High Elves are the elves most unlike the race of men. Every High-Elf is not simply 'of the blood' but has taken a pilgrimage to the dreamworld of The Feywild and has witnessed the dreams of mortal men. Living nearly twice as long as the average elf - nearly a thousand years - and being more magically adept; High Elves are virtually immortal unless killed and represent what is most alien to men about the elder races.

High Elves come in a few varieties: The Dark-haired Moon-Elves, and the pale-haired Sun-Elves and the Star Elves that are of mixed blood. In appearance High Elves are often significantly taller than the average elf, and are usually more powerfully built, but because many High Elves as part of their ascension spend extended periods exploring the Feywilds, their appearances can vary wildly from those of Sylvan Elves or even one another: Unusual luminous eye-colors, strange skin-tones, enlarged breasts or prominent ears or eyebrows that extend several inches similar to those of other Fey creatures. The High Elves are incredibly fond of and skilled with cosmetic alteration through magic and will often utilize such spells upon themselves or their servants.

High Elves are the source of many Elven and Human cultural norms. Often seen as hedonistic, while they are Imperial nobility they typically marry for life, remarrying only after the death of a spouse - usually for political purposes - but often take and keep consistent lovers and concubines outside their marriages and many noble households frequently keep entire harems of concubines of Sylvan Elves, Humans, or even other unwed High Elves: In order to compete with human birthrates, care is often taken to be certain a human or Sylvan Elf do not impregnate the Household Matriarch, though complex sexual and romantic relationships as well as cross-Household Alliances are commonly part of such arrangements.

Although all elves tend toward art and leisure, because of their long lives, they often accrue great wealth and usually prefer to keep servants and slaves to perform most menial work. High Elves tend to be warriors, often mixing both magical and martial talent, blending them into an art known as Bladesinging. High Elves have a quiet intensity and unusual focus; combined with their meticulous and immortal patience, they can often be intimidating or offensive to those not prepared for their certainty, eccentricities and noble entitlement.

Because even a young elf is often far older and more experienced than even the oldest humans, High-Elves often have difficulty taking humans seriously or considering them equals - though they are rarely rude about this and it is only because of the slow decline of the elves that humanity has begun to rise in prominence. Because of the rise of men, The People have finally been forced to take humans seriously in politics and warfare.

It is important to note: Though elves when born are given names by their parents, these childhood names are often set aside or discarded as the elf comes of age and reaches maturity. Members of their immediate family and childhood friends may or may not continue to call the elf by their childhood name -- any given elf may resent, be embarrassed by, or still appreciate their childhood name depending on family relationship and history.
 

Physical Characteristics:

+ High Elves may be as tall as humans.

+ High Elves may not be younger than 101 years of age or older than 800, although most elves eventually stop counting and many of their historical recollections can be found to be incorrect, giving older elves reputations as historical revisionists.
+ Elves do not sleep, and cannot be physically or magically compelled to do so, tending to rest for up to four hours a day while performing leisurely tasks such as reading, writing, drawing, or meditating, though this is not biologically required.
+ All Elves have long, sharply pointed ears that are capable of animal-like movement. Animated bento ears are recommended but not required.
+ Cosmetic Magics may dramatically alter the appearance of even the average High Elf from Elven Norms. High Elves are vain about their appearances and each family and blood line often has distinctive features such as specific eye-colors, unusually long hair that requires servants to carry behind them, magically illuminated caste tattoos or other remarkable features. High Elves who spend long periods of time in the dreamworld of The Feywild may also have extended, feather-like eyebrows to blend in among Fey-culture ('Court-brows') relating to how time passes differently there; though these are often but not always trimmed after returning to the prime material plane.
+ Half-elves due to a quirk of biology cannot bear natural-born children which has prevented the clean merging of human and elven culture. Because of population decline, far-sighted elves tend to be discouraged from becoming pregnant with the offspring of humans, and the majority of half-elves are born of human mothers. Because of this, male elves are sometimes stereotyped as lotharios and older female elves as prudish by humans; though these are mostly inaccurate generalizations of conscious effort to maintain their own people's populations.
+ Half-elves being sterile - particularly those born of nobility - are often sexualized in Imperial culture, with euphemisms such as 'Love without consequences'. Because of this objectification, many half-elves are incredibly resentful of High Elves but tend not to get much better treatment due to the mistrust humans have for Elves in general. Half-elven children are often little more than footnotes in the memories of long-lived Elven Lords, so brief are their lives.

RP Quirks & Ideas:

+ It is strongly recommended that High-Elven players be familiar with the entries for 'True Nobility', 'Avariel', 'Sylvan Elves', 'Half-Elves', 'Drow', and 'Half-Drow'.

 + High Elves tend to believe that the rules do not apply to them and that their own necessity in guiding 'The People' should take precedence over social norms; because of this they are often curt, and prefer for Sylvan or Half-Elf servants or advisors to speak on their behalf to humans.

+ High Elves are sometimes accused of hypocrisy or the practice of forbidden magic.

+ High Elves were often the rulership class of The Old Empire, and because of their age and biology tend toward affluence. Wealth accumulation is seen as a natural consequence of knowledge, long life and not being required to sleep; often even inheriting from humans spouses and half-elven offspring.

+ Regardless, younger elves - including high elves - tend to be eager to ally with or at least attempt to live around humans, finding their dramas, struggles, and emotional highs and lows to be a fascinating contrast to traditional and predictable elven culture.

+ Though few in number, High Elves are the rulers and war-lord caste of The Old Empire. After several disastrous battles against the superior numbers of petty human kingdoms, The Empire of Aer Arnad and many of its High Elven Sorcerer Overlords receded to the east toward their capital of Helmrast, though some remain, attempting to maintain or regain ancestral lands they believe themselves entitled to.

 + Because of their small numbers, High Elves tend to organize their family structure into harems, with an affluent leader of either gender (matriarch or patriarch) keeping multiple high-elven wives or husbands, and a number of lesser concubines - which may often be Sylvan elves of either gender or occasionally human women, eunuchs or a Half-elf given the High-Elven cultural obsession with maintaining Elven blood-lines and keeping up with humans.
+ Because of the sexual environment of High Elven harems, the complexity of their family trees and insults commonly associated with nobility, High Elves are sometimes accused (mostly) incorrectly of incestual relations. The closest this usually comes however is a sterile Half-elf being offered as a concubine to a blood cousin too closely related for marriage with an elf in exchange for political favors later.