Once the rulers of the world; now a persecuted underclass blamed for the Wrath.
Before the Wrath
The Elves called themselves the First. They mastered powerful Arts and ruled the Earth as sole rulers — until, per Church doctrine, their arrogance and heed of the Deceiver brought down the Wrath. Leylines are said to be, at their source, of old elvish origin. (S3)
Elves Today
- Physically: similar height to humans, slighter builds, notably attractive, only slightly pointed ears — but sometimes eye and hair colors well outside the human norm (Ari’s golden eyes).
- Most live impoverished in urban ghettos. Church doctrine says they are not Corrupted, but many lay folk believe otherwise.
- Watched constantly for the Arts of Corruption — by the Order of the Phoenix in the West, and the Eyes of the Order of the Eagle in the East. Crackdowns are swift.
- Elf children who manifest a Gift are taken to be raised by the Church; late manifestation triggers investigation for cover-ups.
- Inter-race relationships are deeply taboo; offspring considered abominations. Attractive elves are trafficked in corners of the sex trade, and some untouchable aristocrats openly keep elven partners.
Elves in Hazad
Conditions have improved somewhat under Sultan Fahim’s relatively tolerant policy — elves may own property and take apprenticeships. Those with more than minor Gifts are pressed into service or purged. Waves of western elves fleeing The Troubles have arrived; initially welcomed, they’re now seen as a burden by Hazadi elves.
Current Events
- Rumors blame an elf for an attempt on Baahir’s life; elves have been attacked and at least one house burned. The rumors appeared suspiciously fast. (S3) See The Elf Scapegoating.
- Midsummer 1739: it has gotten much worse. Two lines circulate openly in the capital — “elves brought plague” (an imported western disaster blamed on elven refugees) and “the elven seductress who got her fangs into Bahir tried to assassinate him.” Sadiq, an elf and an Eagle quartermaster, now wears his order’s tabard in public to reduce trouble. Then the capital rioted, a mob stormed the Ulpia estate, and seeing Ari made it angrier. (S6) See The Riot at the Ulpia Estate.
- The riot became a pogrom (S7): roughly half of the capital’s ~10,000 elves are dead, and most of the rest are homeless. The fire that consumed the city started in the elven quarter and got out of control. Five days later, ~100 people described as leaders of the rioters were publicly executed. See The Riot at the Ulpia Estate and The Elf Scapegoating.
- Ari has been building contacts in the Isbi’liyyah elven community for the party. (S2–3) Nobody has checked on those contacts — and the community they lived in has now been half killed and mostly unhoused. (S7)
- Restricted lore: Old Elven writing survives but studying it is dangerous, “lest one invite the Wrath once more.” Written Dwarven may be a variant of the Old Elven alphabet — a claim that gets scholars punched. See Languages.
The Doctrine of Taint (GM)
The Knowledge & Technology primer states the orthodox position — shared East and West — in full strength: old Elven knowledge is tainted knowledge, and old Elven artifacts are generally inherently tainted. Not “possibly cursed”: the intellectual inheritance itself is contaminated — study, interpretation, imitation, and transmission are all dangerous engagement, and a relic does not become safe because it detects as clean. Their surviving works include materials of extraordinary strength and substances that accept enchantment unusually well, which keeps them coveted regardless.
Legitimate deep investigation is expected only from tightly restricted Church authorities; unauthorized systematic study reads as a secret cult or illicit occult circle. See Knowledge and Technology — including the warning there about how much of the party’s current inventory this doctrine describes.