Wood Elves¶
"It is believed that modern Wood Elves are essentially Half Elves." — a legend of the Viridian Order (S078)
Contested
The Wood Elf homeland question in Open Questions is pending a ruling; see the account below.
The Wood Elves, the Sylvim, are the elves who learned to live with the wild: earth-toned, short beside their High Elven kin, and in the Fifth Age the one elven people to come through the Hollowing in numbers. They are Fae of Water and Earth, masters of Fae magic who "intentionally weaken the boundaries between the material and elemental planes in their lands", and the people of the kingdom of Luiria and the elven faction of Proturas. Their blood is "by historical standards actually nearly 30% Human," their lifespan "only about 150 years," and "they reproduce nearly as rapidly as humans now".1
Also called: Sylvim, Longears.
Origins¶
Within the Elven Imperium the Wood Elves were already a people apart: the High Elves delegated "some authority to their inferior cousins, the wood elves, as well as other faithful races". In Proturas a legend of the Viridian Order, "a secret society of elves which are believed to have orchestrated several major conspiracies," holds that the most famous of these was "the dilution of Elven ancestry with human lineages," which is "a common explanation for the dramatically increased birth-rates and shorter lifespan of the present Wood Elves". The newest lore states the mixture as fact. For the older account of the Sylvim as exiles see Earlier accounts below.
History¶
Before the Shattering the Druids "were a single order within Wood Elven society," governing "the forests and wild places of Terrun" from the tree fortress Taer'ustol in the forests of Uoreskall, now the desert of Qom; the druidic tradition is treated under Druids. After the Shattering, Elves and Gnomes "embraced and easily put [Mithis magic] to use".
In the Fifth Age the Wood Elves and Gnomes "did not fare well during the War of the Faewild. Being associated with Fae meant they were targeted by many civilizations that had been tolerant of them in the past. They were killed or driven from their homes in many cases. There are still a few small enclaves of them in the West, but their presence in the West has been greatly reduced" (see Faewild Wars). In the Broken Sea census of 704 SM, 4,200 Wood Elves had survived the Age of the Dark Sun and 144,000 were living, 70,000 of them slaves in the Sancturi Imperium, 52,000 in the Riven kingdoms and 22,000 in the wilds. Wood Elves were among the native peoples of Alghert, the island kingdom of Miydal and the melting pot of Uthein. The demi-goddess Gwen'ariel, an aspect of Anariel, "is living with the wood elves" and uses the Kalamite Spear of Radiance "to destroy any threatening hollows and to 'bless' newborn elves (by removing any mithis blood)". In the far west, on the shores of the Amarin Channel, the awakened Eldritch Phaendar "focuses on control of a tribe of Wood Elves (who worship him as a living god)". Among the Necromancer's undead, the Baelim Necromages count Sylvim who were "transformed into undead to avoid their corruption".
After the Redemption the Wood Elves are counted among the Divine Nations with Humans, Hill Dwarves, Halflings and Oesterkull, and separately as a rising power in their own land.
Homeland¶
The two newest sources name the Wood Elves' home differently. The Post-Sancturi lore names "the Elves of Oth'Baelin" as a rising power. The Proturas timeline, written four days later, has "the Wood Elves of Luiria" migrating into Proturas around 670 AL, and the Rivenlands survey calls Luiria a "Wood elven kingdom (Fae)". Both are given below; the ruling is the open question above.
Elves of Luiria¶
"Luiria - Wood elven kingdom (Fae). One of the few elven sanctuaries left in the world. They are always willing to take in elvish refugees and expand their borders into the wild. They make a concerted effort to not provoke the other kingdoms and have given up territory willingly to avert war in the past". Luiria was founded in 691 SM by the survivors of the burning of Vael'Dorais, who "fled west" when the Sancturi reduced the last elven refuge in the west to ash. The elven faction of Proturas was "originally allies of Proturas, absorbed when their homeland was overrun", and the regional timeline enters the Elves of Luiria among the major civilizations of the south-west around 430 AL and their migration to Proturas around 670 AL.
Elves of Oth'Baelin¶
"The Elves of Oth'Baelin. They make exclusive use of Fae Magic and intentionally weaken the boundaries between the material and elemental planes in their lands using Fae Vertexes. This makes their Fae casters very potent in their home territory. As it turns out, places where the material is aligned closely with the elemental is not closely aligned with the Rift ... meaning they deal with fewer aberrations". See Fae Realms.
The Wood Elves of Proturas¶
The Wood Elves are one of the primary factions of the Proturan Council, ruled by the King of the Wood Elves, with two of its eleven seats. "They rule the Elven Enclave (in Proturas) and the ?? Forests to the south," and "most don't live in Proturas itself, but in the forests surrounding it to the south." Their soldiers are "Copper Dragons, Elven Rangers, Elven Archers, Greywine Scouts," and their banner is forest green "with a white downward facing crescent moon." They are "allies with the Marlezai, whom they share many ideals and a desire for isolation/non-interference with," and "often vote in a bloc with them"; "they still consider themselves outsiders and are treated as such by most of the rest of the races" (see The Marlezai). Under the Proturan Council of Eigurd Pallidine, "Uk'Zerai and Wood Elves have so far had the political clout to continue to effectively appoint their own Counts and Countesses to govern their domains". The enclave in the city is "a small diplomatic enclave" where an elf in trouble may be turned over to "your people". A rumour persists of "a forested place in the rift guarded and kept by the Elves," the Hidden Oasis, though "nothing living is able to grow in the rift".
Greywine Elves¶
"It is believed the Viridian order are responsible for the Greywine mutation, which has enabled these mutated Wood Elves to move around easily in the Rift. Elves with this mutation frequently have grey-tinted skin and now represent a population of up to 1 in 10 Wood Elves. The first known instance of this mutation was on a ranger named Leaothe, who was nicknamed Greywine". The Greywine Scouts serve among the Wood Elves' military units.
Language¶
Sylvan is "a wood elf dialect of Elvish"; see Languages. The Wood Elves' arcane language is Sylvir, "a common language used by Wood Elves," or "by Gnomes and Wood Elves," noted for the synergy of its multi-domain spells (see Arcane Languages). The Druids kept a secret language of their own.
Ethnicities¶
The 2014 and 2015 archives divide the Sylvim into four peoples.
Etholi'Sylvim¶
"The Etholi'Sylvim are also known as the Longears. They prefer temperate forests, and their skin is usually a light, pale brown. Their settlements are a mixture of tree platforms and earthworks. Large cities are sparsely organized, with only a small, dense center of important buildings. They are excellent scouts, and use their ability to blend into the forests as their means of defense". They were the largest elven people of all, 37 percent.
Xari'Sylvim¶
"The Xari'Sylvim prefer jungles and rainforests, and are generally larger in size, as well as more aggressive, than their cousins. Their skin tone is generally a pale olive". They were 7 percent of all elves.
Doro'Sylvim¶
"The Doro'Sylvim are otherwise called the Wildfeathers. They are considered primitive and reclusive compared to their cousins, and they often use primal magic". They were 13 percent of all elves.
Belli'Sylvim¶
"The Belli'Sylvim were known as the Treeshapers, keepers of the forest, or Forrestals. They lived in great tree cities, in which many large trees were intertwined and subsequently shaped. They are now extinct".
Earlier accounts¶
The 2014 phylogeny gives the Sylvim's beginning: "Historically, the Sylvim elves began during a period when the Lothim were obsessed with pure bloodlines. Impure elves (those with non-high elf blood) were exiled from the great magical cities of the Lothim. These elves became the Sylvim and lived in the wilds and learned to coexist with nature." The 2014 Compendium describes the Wood Elves as having "earth toned skin hues," being "short" and living "only about twice as long as humans," a lifespan the Fifth Age lore has since shortened to about 150 years. The Middle Empire of the Thyssal lands was "populated heavily by Danari(Human), Tholim & Firebeard(Mtn. Dwarf), High Elf, and Wood Elf peoples". The 2014 and 2015 archives spell the ethnicities with hyphens, Etholi-Sylvim and the rest.
Gap
No source names the King of the Wood Elves, describes the Elven Enclave or the southern forests of Proturas, or says how the Wood Elves of Luiria relate to the Elves of Oth'Baelin.