Wode Elves

Wode elves, or wood elves to mundane outsiders, are the sole denizens of their forests which cover vast distances all across Initia. Their unique dwelling place has given strange shape to their eyes and layers of fur like moss over their enlarged ears. They are as reclusive as they are beautiful and as talented as they are terrifying and they welcome this reputation with outsiders.

In their hermit forest dwellings, called Wodes, they eschew close ties with modern society and especially their High Elf brethren. While they owe their long lives and talent for the arts (especially magic) to their shared Kaian heritage they reject fellowship with all modern nations of Elf and Men. The Wodans breathe heinous accusations of outsiders and their departure from "true life". There is an oft repeated warning for leaders of the empires that house these forest enclaves who dream to impose taxes or integration on these woodland defenders--"fear the trees".

High Elves

Nearly every empire on the surface of Initia owe their start to the High Elves, the first race to ever inhabit the world, resplendent reflections of the divine. Ancient and nearly immortal these divine beings lost direct connection to their immortality and ancestral god, Kai, in a mysterious even known as the First Cataclysm. Despite this they retain incredibly long life, wisdom, and unsurpassed beauty.

Rather than secluding themselves from races they would have ruled in previous eras, such as their Wodan brethren, these elves adopted to a modern life and became collaborative rulers. Despite their efforts to collaborate, however, their trust of the new dominant superpower, the humans, wavers and they find themselves received similarly. They retain their aptitude for magic, greatest among all races, a lingering gift of their diminished connection to their goddess.

History of the Elves

The elves' near immortality stems from their twin creators, Kai and Nivaris. Kai, goddess of the sun, is the patron of the surface elves in the western realms. High and wood elves owe their long lives, magical affinity, and ethereal beauty to her blessings. In contrast, Nivaris, the goddess of the moon and shadows, reigns over the elves who dwell beneath the earth. Known in the elvish tongue as the Shadar, these subterranean elves are cursed to shun the sun—a consequence of the ancient feud between Nivaris and Kai. Even the oldest sages cannot recall how the divide began, but it is known that the Shadar cannot bear sunlight, a condition that has defined their reclusive and mysterious existence.

For over a century, no one has encountered the Shadar and lived to tell the tale. Bold archaeologists have uncovered empty strongholds, remnants of their vanished civilization. Rumor holds that the Kingdom of Everlasting Snow, hidden among the northern ice peaks, is home to Shadar rebels who have found a way to endure sunlight, defying their curse.

Kai’s most zealous followers, recognizing the Shadar by their amethyst eyes and ritual tattoos, have sworn to hunt them wherever they appear. In return, the Shadar harbor a deep-seated reverence for Nivaris and an intense hatred for anything touched by Kai’s light. Their society is said to be strictly matriarchal and fiercely militant, with fragments of a prophecy suggesting that the Shadar are preparing for an apocalyptic conflict. This prophecy speaks of a plan to "veil the sun" and bring war upon Kai's descendants above.

Legends tell of a rare few Shadar-Kai ("shadowed elves of Kai"), who rebel against their matriarchs and, as a result, receive Kai’s blessing. These rebels are said to gain immunity to sunlight, shedding both their cursed visage and the hatred of Kai’s followers. Yet sightings of such elves are exceedingly rare, and their existence remains the stuff of myth and whispered tales.