Common Elf

Common elves are a species of hominid in the family, Circulifestidae.

Elves are capricious by nature, and few rules govern their long lives. They are fond of circular dances, feasting, singing and gaming and are most likely to be spotted when engaged in one of these activities. Sometimes, for amusement, elves will lure common humans into dancing with them or tasting some of their food. In both cases, the humans will lose all track of time and be trapped unless rescued. If one hears music coming from seemingly uninhabited woods or from underneath hills, chances are the area is inhabited by elves. Elven music is thought to be the source of many great human compositions, but hearing it can also bring on madness.

When walking through the woods, one should pay special attention to hills ringed with thorns or close to streams. Walking around such a hill, one might notice places where the ground is sunken. Travelers should beware these hollow hills, as they are likely to be the dwelling places of elves.

Elves are governed by regional monarchies where a queen has greater authority than a king. Each "court" is said to be either Unseelie (if composed primarily of malevolent elves) or Seelie (if composed primarily of benevolent elves). The monarchs lead mounted parades on May, Midsummer, and November Eve. Although people do sometimes see these trooping elves, more often the only evidence is a strong wind sweeping past only to disappear.

Elven skin is pale and translucent and peels into leafy, petal-like growths on the forehead, shoulders, chest and limbs. The leaves change color with the seasons, just like real leaves. Elves' clothing, made by forest materials, change color in similar pace. Male individuals are often more colorful than women, especially in autumn.

Elfshot are thin, triangular pieces of black stone sometimes buried in trees or logs. They are the only evidence of Elven bows, and in battles they are deadly, burrowing their way into the opponent's heart.

Sometimes Elves enchant the grass around their mounds to disorient travelers and force them to venture the other direction. One way to do this is to place Stray Sods around their mounds. Elves are a race to be wary of, and with good reason. Their ancient fey magic is the cause of many of the natural miracles in our world, and their appearances often are an omen of shiftings in the Balance.

Elf magic can preserve a human for centuries and keep them from aging. However, this side effect once had occurred, if the human had left the elves' mound, all the years they missed while trapped within the mound would have return to them and, depending on how long they were with the elves, the human would have age rapidly or turn to dust. Today though, things are different, humans don't encounter that problem anymore since humans became immune to this side effect so they don't age rapidly nor turn to dust anymore.