by Derwen

     Wood elves believe they are the oldest race. They possess the oldest written documents I have yet to find, dating back to 3,000 DA. The dates of oral history is much more difficult to define because of conflicting reports, some marking the first to be at least from 10,000 DA, while others indicate the time is 17,000 DA. Only the gods know which race is the eldest; however, if wood elves are not the first race, they qualify as one of the oldest.

     All races sprang forth from the elves as all gods and goddesses sprang forth from Mother Goddess, Arilynvia. She blessed the wood elves with grace and dignity, relishing in their traditions and worship as she gifted them in the arts, in perfection of craftsmanship. Arilynvia cherished her children, her first creation, and as she grew closer to her people, conflicting aspects within her, pieces of her psyche, sprang away into the other gods and goddesses.

     Envious of Arilynvia’s power, the gods and goddesses started a war amongst themselves. The Goddess Valta distracted Arilynvia, and while the Mother tried to restore order among the gods, Valta sneaked up behind her and stole a lock of hair.

     She leached out the magic within and hurled it down onto a proud wood elf, Arbolkopee, while he sat down to a fish dinner. He had turned away from Arilynvia’s light when he publicly slandered an elf, fabricating the evidence and thus, won his way to becoming Emperor, the ruler with the shortest reign in all of elven history.

     The magic, cursed by Valta’s hand, caused Arbolkopee to fracture into many different people of new races. Most of these were black or dark-blue with elfish features, but some, those from the parts of the elf nearest the fish, became the green scaled amphibious fish-men, the teratai. The dark elves, some having sprung from Arbolkopee’s head, were furious at losing the throne. They retreated underground, and became great enemies of the wood elves. The teratai cared little for power, and left peacefully, in search of a watery home.

     The other weak gods longed for followers to worship them. Several gods stole wood elves, changing them with magic, creating the saurian, stalkers, barbarians and humans.  These races are despised and never trusted. Some wood elves on the fringe of society enjoyed travel. They forgot their home, and of these, other gods took in, including the dwarves, sade and lumen. These races are pitied, the shameful cousins who have lost their way.

     Both practical and romantic, wood elves are a duel combination like soft vines supported upon a great oak. They fully believe these legends, and this is part of the reason they’ve chosen such an isolated existence in the spruce and oak forests near the icy northern plains. 

References: Elf, Teratai, DarkElf, Saurian, Stalker, Barbarian, Human, Dwarf, Sade, Lumen