Elf

Elf, Thulean

The elves of Thule are a fading people, sinking deeper and deeper into dreaming lassitude with each passing year. Before the rise of Atlantis they were one of the dominant cultures of the continent, but as human civilization arose and grew strong, elven civilization grew old and decadent. The mighty elven kingdoms are long gone, leaving only a handful of crumbling city-states and lonely strongholds where the last ves- tiges of this once-great race pass their days in reverie and ennui.

Elves are few in number and have generally moved past a life of doing to a life of being. They love learn- ing, study, reflection, and things of beauty. The great works of the elven race in the current day are now songs, studies of nature, and philosophical constructs that reveal the meaning and purpose of existence. They have little use for gods, and generally ignore human deities. The one practical talent in which elves still excel is magic; long ago, elves discovered and explored arcane lore, and much of Thule’s arcane tradition is based on this ancient elven knowledge.

Some elves find themselves cast in the role of tutors and mentors to the younger peoples of Thule, and in that role they can excel—but many other elves are so enmeshed in their own dreamlike concerns that they see little reason to engage in the mortal world at all. Others, such as the decadent nobles of Imystrahl, have embraced the worst excesses of hedonism or cruelty in order to impart some meaning, no matter how dark, to their empty existences.

Elven heroes, of course, are made of different stuff. They are exceptional members of their race, throw- backs to the days when elves battled terrible monsters for mastery of Thule. Some fight to protect the weak- ening enclaves of elven culture that remain in the world, some adventure to experience something new in their own long centuries of life, and still others seek to find the vitality and ambition in other races that their own people have lost.