Elves

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Elves
Type	Species
Location	Efilim and Aldorei Town in Gavel Province.
Information	An intelligent species who have a deep connection to "The Light" and their own magicality.

Elves are an intelligent species which reside in the Light Forest, most notably Aldorei Valley and Efilim. They have the most magical potential out of all other species. They are in touch with their magicality and have a deep connection with it. They are also the second-most longest living species in Gavel, only falling behind the Doguns, living well over a thousand years.

For an unknown amount of millennia, the Elves have had a strong connection to the Light, which has taught them morals and selflessness. However, their neighbors and allies, the Villagers, did not share their same idea, loving money and being notoriously greedy. This did not bother the Elves all that much, until the War of the Realms began in Gavel: when the Dark Parasite of Decay entered Gavel and started infecting the land, the Elves believed that the Villagers' greed was responsible for facilitating the spread of the Darkness as it goes against the Light's ideals, something which however isn't true.

Nonetheless, they isolated themselves within Aldorei Valley, shutting themselves in and not allowing anyone to enter, unless they passed a harsh test of virtue and selflessness. The High Elves, who led the Elves through their path of morality, also became far more strict with their punishments, not hesitating to exile anyone who defied Aldorei's laws.

History

The Elves are one of the oldest civilizations in Gavel, their history being almost as ancient as the province itself. Ever since the beginning, the Elves have had the deepest bond with the Light out of any other people in Gavel. The Light taught the Elves morality and selflessness, as it was the path to a happy life. The Elves followed the Light's teachings, and frowned upon the neighboring Villagers for leading greedy lifestyles. However, since the Elves and Villagers had been allied for centuries, the Elves still tolerated them.

This changed when the War of the Realms began: while the Nether Portal opened in Wynn, Gavel also had a problem in the form of the Parasite, a creature of Darkness intent on spreading Decay and leeching off of the Light in the province. To fight this, Orphion, the embodiment of the Light, chose the two Elves Lari and Dullahan and tasked them to hunt the Parasite down before it could damage the Light.

However, they failed each time due to Lari's pacifism and reluctance to kill the Parasite, letting it get away every time. This culminated in 800 AP, when the Parasite defeated Lari and Dullahan for a final time and bit Dullahan, slowly converting him to the Darkness. The Parasite itself escaped and migrated to a location north of Lexdale, next to the ruins of an ancient city, and created a nest underground: the Heart of the Decay. It started brooding and creating smaller parasites known as Dernmites, which burrowed across Gavel and leeched the Light from the land's lush forests, turning them into a darker version of themselves: this phenomenon is known as the Decay.

The Elves back in Aldorei Valley, however, were oblivious to the true nature of the Decay, and believed it had to do with the Villagers' greed: since greed went against the morals of selflessness the Light taught, it was thought that their lust for money helped spread the Decay and cause the Light to fade. Even though this is not the case, the Elves still became more and more reclusive, shutting themselves into Aldorei Valley and not letting any outsider in, unless they passed a trial that put their morals to the test. Their laws and punishments also got far stricter.

At some point, the High Elves, the leaders of Elven society that kept their civilization on the track of morality and selflessness, banished the Elves of Efilim for breaking the utmost laws of Aldorei. The banished Elves would wander through the Light Forest, and eventually found three fairies, each of which was in a different predicament. Once they helped all three fairies and reunited them, they led the Elves to a new location just next to the shrine where they lived: this location is where the banished Elves later founded Efilim, a safe haven for Elves and Villagers alike to live in harmony.

Meanwhile, Dullahan, after being beheaded by the Villagers of Gelibord in 820 AP and being revived in the Lazarus Pit afterwards, moved to the Gelibord Castle formerly owned by Villager nobility and claimed the residence as his own, rechristening it after himself. From here, he would seek the souls of the Villagers who wronged him and absorb them, making himself more powerful. Lari soon found out about this and, in horror that her former friend turned to murder, sealed him inside his own bedroom, where he is imprisoned to this day. However, Dullahan has lately been in contact with the Warden of the Lexdale Penitentiary, who herself appears to be an Elf, asking her for the souls of those who have been imprisoned in order to strengthen himself.

Even after Dullahan's imprisonment, Lari has not been having success in trying to enter the Realm of Light to speak to Orphion, due to her being unable of separating morality from objectivity, and being uncapable of doing what must be done, something that even the Elders of Aldorei frown upon.

Notable Elves

• Lari - An Elf from the Light Forest who was chosen by Orphion to carry out the mission of defeating the Parasite and stopping the Decay, bringing the Light back to the decayed areas of Gavel in the process. However, she has been unable to do so due to her pacifism and morals.
• Dullahan - An Elf from Aldorei and Lari's companion, who tried to help her defeat the Parasite numerous times. When the Decay started ravaging Northern Gavel, he was blamed for its spread and was thus executed by the citizens of Gelibord. Lari brought him back, but his Light had already faded, replaced by Darkness. Thus, he was bent on getting his revenge against the people who executed him, and become stronger in the process.
• Warden - The Warden of the Lexdale Federal Prison, which has lately been throwing innocent people from around Gelibord in prison under her orders. She collaborates with Dullahan, who often asks her to deliver him the souls of dead prisoners so that he may absorb them and become stronger. She has little to no backstory, as if her only purpose in life was to serve as the Prison's Warden.
• Togak - The leader of the Sol Embassy, a secret society whose purpose is to lead the Elves through the correct path of morality. He is the one who set up the numerous tests for the player, to confirm whether or not they are worthy to stay in Aldorei.
• Korben - A criminal from Aldorei Valley who stole the Iridesca flower from the secret garden, hidden away from the rest of the Valley, triggering a lockdown of the entire area until the criminal would be discovered. In reality, he stole the flower in order to cure his father's Kerasot poisoning, which he contracted from a trek to Efilim. Since Efilim is considered a village of outcasts by the people of Aldorei, he couldn't tell the other Elves about it, and thus had to take desperate measures to make sure that his father's health would improve.

Known Settlements

Aldorei Valley

Aldorei Valley is the main Elven settlement, with houses and bridges being scattered all around the valley. Although being allowed entrance to the Valley is usually fairly easy, the Valley has lately been under lockdown due to the actions of a thieving criminal who broke into the Valley's secret botanical garden. The main features of the town are the two large buildings which house the library, the bar and the dining hall.

• Aldorei Town - The inner sanctum of the Elves, barred away from the rest of the Valley. Entering Aldorei Town is very hard, and requires the completion of a test that determines whether or not one is selfless and moral enough to be permitted access to this restricted area. The defining feature of Aldorei Town is the large cherry blossom tree, which within it houses the secret headquarters of the Sol Embassy, a secret society headed by Togak whose task it is to keep the Elves of Aldorei on the right path.

Efilim

Efilim is a small town in the Light Forest where Elves and Villagers live together peacefully. Efilim is typically seen as a home of outcasts in Elven society by the Elves of Aldorei, and was founded by Elves who had been exiled from Aldorei for breaking its utmost laws. The town houses the only Charmcrafter Merchant in Gavel, with the only other one in the world being in Wynn's Dernel Jungle.

Trivia

• The Elves are largely inspired from J.R.R. Tolkien's book, Lord of The Rings, which also contains Elves.
  • This is most noticeable with the name of some Elf NPCs, such as Legolus (name taken from Legolas from Lord of the Rings, but the A in his name is replaced by an U) and Elrund (name taken from Elrond from Lord of the Rings, but the O in his name is replaced by an U).
• There are some Elves outside of the Light Forest, such as in the Molten Heights, where an Elf merchant sells illegal hallucinogenic substances in the Maex Black Market.