Elf

Illus. by Brandon "Rogue" Williams

Description
The average elf, which is about 6-7 feet tall when fully grown, is usually very slender and beautiful. They have rather large almond shaped eyes that almost seem to stare into a person’s soul, and long pointed ears. Elves do not grow any body hair other than the hair on their head, which is usually long and silky. Their skin is pale to white and very soft.

Origin
The Kaltrin Forest in the northern end of Antaklani is the home place of the elves of Caxtrin. The scenic natural beauty of this forest goes undisturbed even though the elves have traversed every inch of it. They know the area very well despite the size, and will go to all ends to protect its boundaries. Anyone foolish enough to cut down a tree within this forest will be cut down with a hail of elven arrows.

Most elven cities within the forest are small, yet all of them (even the larger ones) have their buildings mix with nature as to not upset it or destroy the aesthetic beauty of the forest. No tree was harmed in the construction of the elven cities, and they are always well populated with animals. Elves love allowing vines to overrun the outer walls of their structures that help to disguise their towns, as well as keep the beauty of nature around them constantly. This also makes it appear as if their homes were naturally part of the forest, and have stood there as long as the trees have.

History
Elves believe that they were the first intelligent life that was put on Caxtrin. Other races came later, and these were all a poor attempt of the Gods to recreate the perfect race, as they believe themselves to be. Humans have always seemed as a pest to them, believing that they are barbaric and have no respect for life as elves do. This is blamed on the humans’ short life span and their need to take what they can in what little time they have to live. There have been many wars between the elves and humans, most of them because the humans have desecrated elven lands or homes and the elves had to protect them out of desperation. Elves are not a very violent people, but they will protect their homelands at all costs.

Most of the elven towns and cities that are hidden deep within the Kaltrin Forest are well defended, but still feel the brunt of a Darkyn attack from time to time. Presently, the elves and Darkyns are at a standoff, but some of the elven towns have been lost to the evil creatures of Deltayn. Those elven cities that have not fallen to the Darkyns are now fortified with increasing power, and will probably stand for quite some time.

Beliefs
Elves are usually very close to their Gods or Goddesses, and will sometimes put their faith towards many of them, as they do believe in all of them to be greater beings. Mostly, they will follow one of the creators, which are Ensis (God of Light), or Centairia (Goddess of Balance). Sen (God of Darkness) is usually not followed since an evil creature of this race is not common. More of their favorite deities include Kaltrin (Goddess of Nature), Lunix (God of the Moons), and Shyta (Goddess of Love).

Habits
Elves have a love of their surroundings and a very high respect towards life itself. Killing and murdering their own kind is considered to be the worst crime anyone could commit. They do not believe in capital punishment, and would never hang or torture another of their kind, no matter what their crime was. They will instead send the guilty convict away from the town, never to return again under any circumstance. This is a very severe punishment to the elves since they are all very close and family oriented. Only in extreme situations or out of self-defense will an elf kill another of his or her kind.

Since elves have an extremely long life span (500-1,000 years), they do not like the idea of quick or sudden changes. They will take their time in completing anything that is not of utmost importance, and see no reason to hurry things along since “there’s always tomorrow.”

Abilities
These characters have the option to view the world through infravision when desired, which allows them to see heat patterns. This cannot be used near bright lights.

Elves receive +1 Lg Rg ATK when using an elven bow. If the character is a shadow elf, he or she receives +1 Maximum FP instead.