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The dark elves, or Dökkálfar as they are now known, had their origins on the solitary world Earth. Though it is where they began, it is not where they remained for long, at least not in the lives of elves. Their cousins, the high elves, warred with the dark elves long ago, forcing them underground. For many long centuries they remained, hidden away from the eyes of the growing human populace, but it was not for long. The dark elves, also called Drow by some human myths, delved deep in the ways of magic and technology alike. Though they were advanced in many ways, they remained in a state of evolution that made them appear far less advance than the humans that had taken over the surface. But grow they did, in many ways, their magic evolving enough to perhaps make even the gods take interest.
Finally they made a discovery that would change their history, a discovery so great that they feared their cousins would find it and take it from them. This discovery? The dark elves learned to open a portal to a new world. It took a great many years and many mages to finally sustain the portal for any period of time, but once they had the dark elves abandoned their home under the ground in favour of a world of their own. They named this world Svartálfheim, from the Norse word Svartálfar for ‘black elves’. With their new home only a short step away, the dark elves began their work. They packed up everything from their cities deep below the surface and, for the first time in many long centuries, they took to the surface of a world.
At first, it was difficult for the dark elves to live in the light of their new world, which was much like Earth save for the lack of intelligent beings. The dark elves took their world by storm, but they were careful not to destroy as the humans had their world. They kept to their simple way of life, never letting their knowledge of technology overwhelm the world. They maintained a civilization that did not use engines or firearms. They used their strange single-handed crossbows, shooting poison darts to paralyze their game so they could finish the kill. Finally the drow became accustomed to their new home and the portal, sustained for roughly ten years, was finally closed. The knowledge of how to open such a portal has remained, but the magic it takes is great to open it for any long period of time or to open one as large as before. Few dark elves have mastered the art, as it is safely guarded by the highest council members to protect their world from outside influences, lest their paradise be destroyed. Those who have managed to master the art can open only a small portal that remains open long enough for perhaps only three people to pass through. It is also impossible, as of yet, to open a portal to any specific place, though the council and mages work diligently to discover such thing.
Though human myths state that the dark elves are evil of nature, this is a fact most untrue. The dark elves, deemed evil due to their strange colourings, are actually no different from their cousins. The war that wrenched the two factions apart was one born of beliefs. The drow have always believed it was best to leave humans alone, while the high elves held a great curiosity for the growing human race. So it was, while man was still fresh in evolution, that the two broke after a long war, brought on by their different views as so many wars are. The high elves remained on the surface while the dark elves moved below the earth, building the vast cities that they later abandoned. The truth of the drow that the humans captured was in their odd weapons, physical features and their great power.
{For more background information on dark elves, click here. This site is the source for the basis of my version of dark elves. Note that I have taken only some of the details, not all, as I have decided to add my own twists on old myths.}
}~{ More may be added later. }~{
Nicole Laurin · Fri Dec 12, 2008 @ 01:40am · 0 Comments |
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