Queress Iltyr

From the Journal of Serbannen:

I have lived for aeons, time to me is a meaningless concept, I have seen much and understood even less of what I have seen. But that does not mean I am an immortal or a god, call me blessed with a long life due to a Wizard's dabbling in the arts of the arcanist. But one race I do know a great deal about, and pride myself on my sagely knowledge of - are the dark elves of the Lord Obsidian.

So perhaps I best explain where the dark elves come from, and who Obsidian is. And to do that I must go back to the dawn of eternity and to the primordial chaos that spewed forth the powers that be.

One such power is the Lord of Secrets, Mysteries and Enigmas. The one they call - Obsidian. He governs those places of the darkness where such things might be found. As the world grew he waited for a while, watching other powers embrace their own small niches here and there. His heart and soul was enamoured with the creation of races. But he was not a creator, and no matter how hard he tried to mould the forces of life and form. He failed.

He had created a vast cavern where he had tried his experiments at life, and now it stood silent, like a ghost in the chasms of the world. His anger was great and the whole of the dark mountain trembled. He was about to cast down the creation when two forms stumbled into the middle of his rage.

They were of the sunlit lands above and of the race known as elves, pointed of ear and bright of eye. Yet these elves were not like their brothers and sisters, they were tormented by the desire to seek out the darker places. They desired the dark mysteries and beauties of the earth, the savage design of a cleft in the rock and the sweeping majesty of an under earth cavern.

Obsidian stayed his anger and listened to what they had to say when he explained why the mountain shook. What they told him gave the power a much-needed boost to his morale. They offered to become his people, that he may use the form of their body and soul and shape them how he wished them to be. Living clay if you would.

And so he did, he called upon the power of the night - Ithian to darken their skin so they might remain hidden in the dark places they would tread. He darkened their hearts and minds, but only to accept the truths he would show them of the savage under earth. And lastly, he bade Eliriel of the Moon to grant them a shining sliver of light in their spirits. Some have said this is why most of the dark elves that are the least reclusive - have silver hair or white.

And thus the first of the dark elves were born in the deep underground, quickly he granted them excellent vision at night and in the darkness. Their eyes would not be blinded by light of any kind nor would they fall to twisted paths of self-destruction - his teachings would show them how to manipulate the very nature of metal and magic to produce things the world had never seen.

The Queress Iltyr Your average dark elf stands at around six to six and a half feet tall, I've seen a few taller than this, but not too many. It's believed that the reason for their height is simply that their mould was that of the elves and as we all know, the elves are of the fae blood and the fae are extremely tall.

"The true reason for my race's apparent height over humanity is that our Lord desired us to be above the rest of the warmongers and the bringers of chaos. But we allow the humans above all to think that our height is due to what ever their minds desire." ~ Kal Thanon (Technomancer Prime, Enclave Malice)

Their skin is often as black as a pitch-dark sky or at least the colour of an ebony shadow. They have sharp and angular features as though they have been chiselled from the very stone to which their Lord attributes his name. They do not grow facial hair and often are nearly hairless - some are completely hairless bar the hair on their heads. All dark elves I have seen, and they don't have the same foibles about nudity and body that most humans do are in perfect shape, their race is one of an almost flawless physical appearance. I say almost flawless of course, as they don't all have such perfect forms. Those who lose limbs or suffer physical scarring are just as welcome as those who do not.

They do not tend to be weighty creatures and err more on the thin side than the well built. It's not uncommon however to see some of them with a little more meat on their bones and in this they are as common as a lot of the other humanoid races. Their eyes are always one colour and their pupils are the same colour as the whites or rather lack of whites. Colours can range from silver and gold to glowing neon and amber. There really doesn't seem to be much that I haven't seen, apart from pure white - that seems to be a rarity indeed.

Their arms and fingers are often quite thin but still in proportion with the rest of them, slender I would say, as is the rest of their form. The males tend to be a little stockier than the females but none of them are underweight. And as I mentioned previously, their rich dark skin is often tinted with dyes and tattoos - they seem fascinated by the idea of facial and body markings. Jewels and jewellery are openly worn and they also have a fetish it seems for piercings of all shapes and kinds, one of their art forms I would imagine. But I shall devote an entire section on their culture to which this would be more suited. This is a general overview.

What do they wear?

They favour dark cloth which is interspersed with flashes of vibrant colour, probably to add a little bit of interest to some of their more dour looking costumes. Being creatures of the dark and of the shadow they seem to dress in sombre colours and designs. One might even describe their sense of clothing as archaic decadence. Both males and females wear long flowing coats and robes that conceal their forms nicely. Although it is not uncommon to see a male or female dark elf in a poet's shirt or blouse with elegant ruffles and flounces. Cloaks and hoods are a firm favourite amongst them, and they often wear them on the surface as a bit of a joke on the other races.

"This is true, it amuses us to no end to see the humanoid races worry when a group of our kind emerges into their cities - we may only be on a resource gathering expedition. But the sight of so many cloaked and hooded figures has been enough before now to have a full army of town guard as escorts." ~ Lord Ibrith Maesil ~ Chancellor of the Techno Majestica (Halls of Technomancy)

Their kind is fond of deep and flowing clothing that can be used to mask the identity and to also mask the motions of the dark elf from onlookers. They stick to their Lord's tenets of secrecy, enigma and mystery. Of course this often means they attract unwanted attentions and troubles when they least expect it. Other styles of clothing are prevalent in their domains and of late they have become enamoured with wide brimmed floppy hats adorned with feathers. Some have attributed this to a visit to their city by a notorious rogue and scoundrel known as Talon Mane - he apparently ended up having to bring a shipment of these hats to the dark elves when he was repeatedly asked where he'd gotten his own from.

Those dark elves that do not wear robes or dresses of course favour light leather leggings or trousers. These are very often adorned with buckles and laces, perhaps even having sigils carved into the very leather. Their boots are also of a similar design and usually in the style most attributed to the 'Highwayman' or 'Swashbuckler' these would be known as thigh-high or knee-high boots.

What is the average dark elven view of the sunlit lands?

We are viewed as a lowly set of races to most dark elves, they look upon the sunwalkers, daystalkers, mudstompers and other such colourful names as these - with kind of parental contempt, as though most of us are children to be kept away from the dangers of magic and science or to be treated with a certain degree of amusement. They believe rightly or wrongly that the Lord Obsidian's secrets are theirs and theirs alone - they are very cagey and will not reveal these particular ideals lightly.

Those who follow the paths of a warrior are pretty much scorned since the dark elves often believe that the answer to all the world's problems can be found with the combination of magic and science. We call them Techomancers, but they have another name for it. And as is typical for their long-winded way with words and their self serving attitudes it's known as.

"The metallurgical combination of base elements with the arts arcane."

I still think I prefer our word for it, and some of the dark elves have claimed it was they who invented the term Techomancer all along. This is of course to be expected from such a shadowy arrogant culture as theirs. I thought that when I first trod the world with humanity, I had seen some egos but the dark elves have honed the art of snobbish behaviour to an almost razor sharp point. Those who find themselves in their city often wish they'd found themselves facing an angry group of monsters - you can't stop there for long without fear of wanting to ram a book down one of their throats - a big book, something with lots of words and diagrams in it.

The dark elven attitude lessens slightly if they believe that you have the slightest inkling or understanding of magic and those theories arcane. Fortunately, being somewhat of a mage I was able to fit fairly well into their city and the urge to commit textual violence was not so strong. I found myself having a grudging respect for the members of the circle who at least realised that rather than some doddering old dabbling human, I was one of the last of the true mages, the one who acted at the sundering to prevent the world from being destroyed. But that is definitely another story and one that might be told some day if you're lucky.

Their attitude to physical people is much more cutting and shrewish even, they abhor those who settle matters with a sword. Even in their own culture, there are those who have chosen the path of the blade over the path of the mind and this irks a lot of the ruling classes - to such an extent that they have even segregated themselves away from such 'barbarians' as they term anyone with a blade. By making their homes high in the upper echelons of the city, they can look down on those below with an air of disdain, that I swear often manifests as a dark and brooding cloud above the cavern.

While we are on the subject of violence, they also believe that the emotions of rage, anger and hatred are all products of our surface world and have no place in the shadows - I find this slightly hypocritical after watching one of their race beat his carefully crafted machine until it broke with an iron bar. Only to burst into tears and launch into an effusive tirade against every one of those who stood and watched - I can only assume that the dark elves on a whole must be highly strung artistic powder kegs that are capable of great destruction as well as fine creation.

"The old man obviously has not learned the truth about us, we view these strong emotions from the outside as barbaric, but we are perfectly allowed to pursue them if we so desire. After all, ours is a race of enigma and paradox - if we were so predictable - we would be like the rest of humanity." ~ Kal Thanon (Technomancer Prime, Enclave Malice)

So to recap, the dark elves view us all as childlike warmongering races, which live to destroy and despoil - we have little balance and little nature in our lives. What they think of the elves of course vastly differs from this. The elves are viewed as the weaker cousins of their race, considering the dark elves creation myth I can't help but find this a little amusing and hypocritical as well. But I know how minds change over the years, and enjoying Obsidian's unique gifts and knowledge has made them into a proud (if somewhat arrogant) people.

How dark elves view their own people.

We have talked about how the dark elven people view the surface world, and we have been informed a little on how they view others of their kind. So now it is time to take a deeper look on such things as their people, their views on each other and the stratification of their society. Once more I found the circle was of a great help and after copious notes I think I have something legible and informative to tell you.

There is a definite caste system in place in their cities, and theirs is a society ruled by the scholar not the bladesman or woman. Above all others are the mages who blend magic with the dark elves science.

Technomancers for want of a better word. They rule the roost so to speak and their words are law. These are the guardians of Obsidian's darkest secrets and they provide the culture with much needed mysteries and enigmas, most often or not given by the god himself. They are the ruling classes and so you could say that the dark elves are governed by a magical enclave of sorts - a thought which I find highly heartening, since at least the progression of their race is not in the hands of just one man or woman. I have always felt that a ruling body should be in the hands of scholars - scholars are less likely to start wars over land and religion than Kings or Queens.

The Arcanists are the next down the ladder from the Technomancers, and these are what I would term either failed Technomancers, or aspiring Technomancers - depending on how kind you're being at the time. The Arcanist has a smattering of magical knowledge but concern themselves with the arts of science much more than magic. Or rather the laws and theories behind the combination of both magic and science - while the Technomancers govern the Arcanists often are those who teach. They are still scholars and thusly well respected in dark elven society as a whole. They fill the rank and file of all kinds of jobs, lower administrators, clerks and various minor nobles. The key point that I cannot stress enough is that the dark elves are a bunch of intellectuals with some darker arts studied.

Mechanista tend to be fairly reclusive like the rest of their race, but they are often also covered in small dustings of swarf metal and dark thick oil. I'm most surprised that they haven't invented a machine yet that turns excess oil into a form of beverage considering their love of strange and unusual devices. They enjoy quite a reasonable life and as long as they are left to work on their devices they're quite amenable people to talk to as long as you learn how to speak to them while they are working, or around them, most often not to their faces. You must also learn to duck, step to the side or clear the room if you do disturb one while they are engaged in an experiment. There is one story of a thief from the sunlit lands who tried to pick a Mechanista's pocket just as he was bending over to make adjustments to a crop thresher. The startled dark elf turned round to be confronted with a headless, armless and very bloody corpse stuck to one of the less dangerous parts of the machine. My thoughts on this tale are this - if that was a less dangerous part of the machine, never let them learn the arts of war - for a dark elf war machine would be a terrible thing to behold.

Workers, this is really a catchall term for anyone in the dark elven society who is not a Technomancer, Arcanist or a Mechanista. It is reserved for those people who fill the smaller and sometimes more important jobs than the other three. Shop owners, tavern keepers and other staples of a successful economy and society. These are usually not of noble birth or blood and are not allowed to join an Enclave - they are forbidden from rising into the ranks of the ascended and always live down at the bottom tier in the city. They eke out a modest and still sometimes better life than those who ride the high life above them. They are expected to show respect to all who are of a great social standing than they are and they are always the last to receive any kind of reward. I find this a sad fact, considering without the farmers, tailors and other workers their society would be hard pressed to keep their current lifestyle intact.

Warriors The final rung belongs to those who have taken the way of the blade to heart rather than the way of the mage or a study of machinery. The dark elves realise that at times not all who come to their City will be friend, and there might be a time when even their magic fails them. So they do allow a small portion of their society to train in weapon based combat, blademastery and other barbaric diversions. Of course they are the lowest of the low in the eyes of all but the Mechanista - who are too concerned with their love of machines and clockworks to bother with much else. Warriors are not numerous but provide a useful and tolerated service to the various Enclaves and Echelon's of the City, they fill small niches and act as bodyguards and defenders. They are even allowed to train within the lower parts of the Tiers and they are also the only ones who are allowed to walk around with their blades unbound from any peace binding. Usually they have a mage or two as backup as well.

Clarification If you have read news elves and news elves2 you will have noticed that all elves are given certain base-like natural abilities as part of their natural link to the forces of nature. The only exception to this are the Iltyr who chose to turn their backs on the natural world and walk in the path and shape of Obsisian. Iltyr do not have the special abilities of the elves, they cannot walk on soft ground and leave very little mark and the weather affects them fully. Since the Iltyr are an underground dwelling race use common sense to determine what thay can and cannot do. They cannot ignore the effects of their weight on snow or mud, they can be blown around by strong winds and they are not in tune with the surface world's natural forces.

Iltyr that remain on the surface and begin to adapt and embrace the surface way of life, begin to change however and slowly - over time, begin to exhibit these abilities once more. Sadly they fade if they remain underground too long.