Yu'Lorei

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 may 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.

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.