Yu'Lorei

Dark Elf
Race
Pronunciation	Dah-rk eh-lf
Archetype	Elven
Nicknames	Grayskins, Ashskins, Cursed Elves, Machine Elves
Languages	Common (Change Later)
Vampiric Conversion	Possible
Aetherial Affinity	Level 1 - Hard to Cast Magic
Roleplay Difficulty	{{{roleplay}}}
Racial Traits
Aetheriality	Physical
Max Age	280 Years
Strengths	Intelligent, Dark Vision
Weaknesses	Starvation, Vulnerable to Cold
Height	5' to 5'6" Homogeneous
Weight	90 to 180 lbs
Eye Colors	Green, Blue, Lilac, Purple, Amber
Hair Colors	White
Skin Tones	Grey
Average Physique	Slender to Athletic
Aetherial Limit	Class 1 Alpha
Significant Demographics
While this doesn't mean your character has to come from one of these places, it's recommended they do. Island of Ae'Tezan

Physical Characteristics

Dark elves are the strongest elven race, having similar levels of strength to that of a human. They are characterized by their exclusively grey skin and white hair. Their eye color is predominately green but can sometimes be blue, purple, and on very rare occasions amber. Both genders are around the same average height, which is usually in the 5 feet range and occasionally 6 feet. Dark elves can live up to 280 years, the shortest lifespan of any elven race. They reach maturity by 20 years old, and will retain their youth and beauty until the last 60 years of their life. Dark elves are vulnerable to disease but are more resistant to it than humans. Due to their metabolism and physiology, dark elves will never accumulate excessive body fat but are also prone to dying of starvation far more quickly(18 days no food). Dark elves are also incredibly vulnerable to very cold temperatures, causing them to die of hypothermia far sooner then humans or any other elven race. They have great vision in the dark, being able to operate comfortably in significantly reduced light levels. Dark elves lack the agility and precise motor control that the other elven races are known for.

Mental Characteristics

The dark elves are incredibly expressive and energetic, the complete opposite of their high elven cousins. Everything a dark elf does comes from their heart, and they love to express themselves in every possible way. Dark elves can be considered the most intelligent elven race and the second most intelligent sentient race(pureblood vampires are the most intelligent). They have a natural gift for solving problems that other races would find excessively difficult, especially ones that involve a combination of creativity and logic. Dark elves can hardly sense aether and have an even more difficult time trying to channel it, which has effectively resulted in them abandoning the practice in pursuit of technology. Dark elves form very close and strong bonds full of empathy, and as a result are far more cohesive as a group then any other sentient race.

History

The origins of dark elves leads to the tales of seafaring explorers encountering them while sailing in the Exodian Sea. They were considered mysterious and were thought to bring good fortune upon those who encountered them. They made their first connection to the continent of Exodius when the Kingdom of Rivera made a trade with travelling dwarf merchants from the Island of Thandolin. The dwarf merchants had sold intricate small trinkets capable of keeping track of time to a wealthy merchant who lived within the Kingdom of Rivera. These 'clocks' proved to be a very profitable item within the kingdom, and it did not take long for the king himself to demand where these devices had come from. The wealthy merchant referred the king to the dwarf merchants, whom a decade later had returned. The dwarves were hesitant to divulge the origins of their goods, but the king ultimately offered considerable wealth to them. The dwarves accepted the deal and told them of an island in the Exodian Sea where the goods had come from.

The Island of Ae'Tezan is a large post-volcanic landmass located in the Southwestern Exodian Sea. Abundant in resources, the dark elves have lived here for millennia. They claim to have originated from the Exodius Continent, and migrated to the island thousands of years ago. There are no dark elven ruins or traces on the Exodius Continent however, so their claims are still under investigation by historical societies. The dark elves have since provided all their historical accounts to the various historical societies of Amestria.

Dark Elven History

Dark elves are said to have migrated to the Island of Ae'Tezan thousands of years ago, and made the island their permanent home. Over many centuries the elves transitioned from a tribal society living in thatch huts to a sprawling civilization nestled at the base of the island's volcanic mountains. Over the years they have dug mining tunnels through every mountain, and have farmed every open plain on the island. They constructed sailing vessels and rediscovered the Exodius Continent, even establishing trade with kitsune villages during the clan wars period. Their connection to the feudal kitsune villages was severed after the clan wars approached it's climax and the villages they traded with were destroyed. Some kitsune have been integrated into dark elven society, in fact there are more kitsune living in Ae'Tezan then there are on the entire Exodius Continent.

Around the same period of time, the dark elves established contact with the Dwarven Island Kingdom of Thandolin. Trade was quickly established between the two races and continues to this day.

todo change from race centric to political entity centric references

Society

Dark elven society is full of personal expression and innovation at every level. New discoveries are quick to be implemented regardless of how small or large they were. Dark elven society evolves as a much faster rate then other societies, trends are quick to appear and disappear without a moment's notice. These elves are strangers to the concept of aristocracy and stratified economies, and tend to be very communal and group centric. They have very little interest in purely functional objects or trends and embellish everything they create with their culture and identity. Dark elves have the greatest collection of art, music, dance, theatrics, social mannerisms, courtship rituals, and ways to say hello of any race in Amestria. All this freedom of expression is throttled by a very complex bureaucracy and law system that ensures the integrity of their society. Dark elves will often find themselves in a constant struggle between the system of rules and their own personal whims, luckily dark elves dislike persecuting their own people and tend to avoid giving harsh criminal sentences. Dark elves will have an incredibly hard time adapting to other cultures due to the unique nature of their society.

Economy

The dark elven economy is highly dependent on exotic materials required to build their technology and art. The dark elves usually export their creations in order to import the required materials they cannot source locally. They tend to form trade agreements with the largest civilizations as they possess the greatest access to exotic materials. Dark elves have little use for foreign imports outside of raw materials, as they possess goods of greater quality and appeal then what other races are capable of producing. They tend to export an excessive amount of their crafted goods due to demand from other civilizations.

Technology

Dark elves possess the most technology of any race, but lack any aetherial knowledge. This has made them fall short of other more powerful civilizations, which use a combination of rudimentary technology and extensive aetherial knowledge to ensure their place as a major power. The dark elves are discovering new technology at a far greater speed then the other major civilizations of Amestria, but will continue to be unable to secure their place as a major power due to their lack of aetherial knowledge which is constantly being pursued by the most powerful civilizations. Their society is very quick to adopt new discoveries which extends to technology, giving dark elves the most advanced lifestyle of any race. Their quality of life standards are still no where near the luxury achieved via aetherial mastery however.

Interbreeding

Human + Dark Elves will result in a person who has physical characteristics between the two races. They will inherit human skin color and dark elven white hair color. Their eye colors may be dark elven or human. They have an easier time using magic then normal dark elves but still not as proficient as a normal human. They can live 120 years.