Dark Elves¶
"Dead. Gone. Extinct. Their blood was infused with Mithis." — a Sancturi-era summary of the High and Dark Elves (S327)
The Dark Elves, the Moradrim, are the elves of the Underdark: "high elven outcasts that have adapted themselves to underground living". They worshipped the Spider Queen Jorogu, fought beside the dragons in the Dragon Wars and invaded the surface in the War of the Moradrim, and trained the forbidden Spellbreakers. Because the Arcane birthright ran in their blood as it did in the High Elves, the Hollowing of the Fifth Age destroyed them; by 704 SM none were left alive.1
Also called: Moradrim, Miradrim, Drow.
Origins¶
The Dark Elves share the origin of the elven race in the Age of Demons, and with the High Elves the birthright of the Worldstone: in the Age of Dragons, Arcane magic "was limited to High Elves, Dark Elves and some breeds of Draconians and Dragons," and after the Shattering "Mithis became available to all beings, not just those with a birthright to it (High Elves and Dark Elves)". The god-lists name Necatus, Lord of the Night, Moon and Darkness, as "Creator of Dark Elves, Goblins, Shade-Demons and various non-corporeal Undead". The Compendium's one-line account is that they are high elven outcasts who went underground.
Gap
No source says when or why the Moradrim were cast out of the High Elven cities, nor how the account of Necatus as their creator squares with their descent from the Lothim. The 2014 phylogeny leaves the Moradrim entry as "??".
History¶
The Dark Elves were among the races that recovered quickly after the Shattering. "In the early 800s MA, many Draconian and Dark Elven societies were practicing dragon worship, leading them to eventually become ruled by Dragons," and these kingdoms expanded "with the help of the dragons" until a third of the continent had fallen. In the Dragon Wars that followed, "the Draconic forces under the leadership of the Primal Dragon Pravustiratel, included numerous Dragons, Dark Elves, Draconians, Orcs, Goblins and Ogres." At the Battle for Gor'Turra a human battalion struck "deep behind enemy lines to cripple a group of deadly Dark Elven Archers," and the enchanter Nexagar "helped neutralize and kill many Dark Elven spellcasters". When the war ended, "much of the Great Dwarven Kingdom remained occupied by Goblins, Orcs and Dark Elves," and the alliance gave up retaking it.
In the Blue Mountains, as the dwarven population of Dru'Bazan shrank after the Shattering, "Dark Elves (the Moradrim) have occupied and expanded several old dwarf holds near the surface," and dwarven tunnels in the Underdark lie "under constant threat from Goblins, Uruks, Dark Elves and Mind Flayers". The Duergar "trade with orcs, goblins, dark elves and worse". In the Second Rift War, when demons spilled from the wizard college of Halath into the Underdark, "Orcs, Dark Elves and Dwarven settlements were overrun". Drow are listed among the intelligent races of the Draconian Empire of Pherox.
The Moradrim's own war came in 2413 to 2431 MA of the Age of Magic. "The dark elves, cultivating alliances with Orcs, Goblins, Demons and Draconians, began by invading the elven kingdoms from their underground strongholds. With the elven kingdoms overrun, the elves became refugees. The Moradrim consolidated their power and then launched an attack on the kingdoms of Eastern Numenia, which was very successful." After half the East had fallen, the other kingdoms joined "after hearing of the atrocities committed by the Moradrim," and "the armies of the Moradrim were crushed between the armies of the west and the east. After a long and hard campaign, they were pushed back into the Underdark". The high elven city of Anoth-Urulien fell in the War of the Moradrim; "many Mages from the Moradrim were hastily buried" at the Tower of Urulien, and their spirits, corrupted by Teneb'Vari, now wander the ruins as "dark ghost mages" that "will kill any living creatures they come across". Dark Elven nymphs still "tempt players to swim in the enchanted waters of Lake Lienne" there.
A dark elven outpost in the Underdark below the Sancturi lands, "a large single rock with windows" on a U-shaped lake, yielded Aurumite vambraces worked with "a spider eating a dwarf," a spider-shaped kite shield and an emerald and gold spider necklace, all Hollowed save the uncorrupted Mithis metals, and the wraith of a drow warrior.
Religion¶
The Dark Elves worshipped Jorogu, "Demon Goddess of Spiders, The Spider Queen, The Dark Widow," a demon princess who holds the astral dust of Darkness, Deception and Fate as the Golden Web. Her pantheon is the Dark Elf pantheon, her avatar "a Female Drow" or "a Large Nephila spider with drow head between the spider eyes," and her worshippers, "Dark Elves, Chitines, and occasionally other races (Assassins)," are called Jorogites. Her rites are humanoid sacrifice, binding the victim's soul to her shard, and "tests of power." Her half-demon daughter Estridaa, who appears "as a Female Drow with Jet black eyes, tall pointed horns and golden hair," has "a small following of Good-aligned drow, chitines, choldrith and arachne/driders in south central Numenian Underdark." In the Fifth Age Jorogu "has begun to create children in her own image".
Magic¶
The Dark Elves were Arcane casters by blood. With the Orcs they developed Ghezzic, "a somewhat uncommon" arcane language of high energy. They were also the last keepers of the outlawed art of annulment: Spellbreakers, or Vacators, who turn Mithis "into a negative state (Mithi'Nulias) which results in complete destruction on contact with normally charged Mithis particles." Employed in the Spell Wars and since "outlawed by every magical order," the art survived because "only the Dwarves and Dark Elves are known to train them", or, in the earlier draft, "only the Dark Elves". See Mithi'nulias.
The Fifth Age¶
When the Mithis fell under Asmodeus, the races "which had high concentrations of Mithis in their blood became pawns of the Devils (the name given to Demons following Asmodeus) or were destroyed outright". The Broken Sea census records 2,100 Dark Elves surviving the Age of the Dark Sun and none alive in 704 SM, against 8,500 who should have been. After the Redemption, "High and Dark Elves never recovered (they are extinct)". The Necromancer's Baelim Necromages include Moradrim "transformed into undead to avoid their corruption", and in Etterwood the Boreal Elves corrupted by Teneb'Vari look "a lot like a Dark Elf with slate colored skin".
Ethnicities¶
The 2014 and 2015 archives divide the Moradrim into three peoples.
Terus'Moradrim¶
The Terus'Moradrim, "also known as the Veiled Elves" and in the Compendium's table as the Drow, "live primarily underground and build deep subterranean cities. Their skin ranges from deep charcoal pitch to black in color, and they are traditionally shorter and more slender than their cousins on the surface". They were the largest dark elven people, 15 percent of all elves.
Sic'Moradrim¶
The Sic'Moradrim, the Umbral Elves, "are renowned bandits, thieves and assassins of the underdark. ... they generally organize into small syndicates which prey upon the other denizens of the underdark. They are neither builders, growers nor laborers. Some of the weaker and less fortunate Umbral Elves are often found in the slums or as slaves in their cousin's cities. Their skin is usually a burnt umber or very deep brown". They appear only in the 2015 notes.
Opes'Moradrim¶
The Opes'Moradrim "are surfacers and prefer low light environments such as deep forests and mountains. They are known widely as the Twilight Elves," or the Night Elves in the Compendium's table. "Their skin is traditionally lighter than that of their other cousins underground. Usually, it is a shade of grey-blue," or "grey-blue or purple". They were 5 percent of all elves and already marked endangered.
Earlier accounts¶
The 2015 Compendium dates the War of the Moradrim to 3013 to 3031 MA rather than 2413 to 2431; the dating of the Age of Magic wars between the histories is an open question on the History side. The 2014 profile of Jorogu is the same text as the 2021 one without the Fifth Age note on her children. In the 2014 Compendium the Dark Elves are not a third race but a note under the two: "Dark elves are simply high elven outcasts."