The elves, long-lived as ever, have become set in their ways. The ways of five hundred years ago work just as well today as they did then, because these same people are still alive. While their cities tend to be low in population density and their farming is done with a loving tenderness for the earth, the elves have not yet seen reason to move beyond their bows and swords for hunting and the defense of their lands. Yet it is their magic which helps keep the coastline free from assault by the human ships. It is only the elves who remain in touch with nature anymore, and their contact is a strong one. The druids of the elves conjure up storms or send fire to the ships that would do harm to their lands, and for this a wary distance is kept from the elvish coastline.

As the humans have squabbled between themselves for dominance, the elves have provided a united front to outsiders, allowing them to remain aloof in the squabbles of others, and backwards in the eyes of humanity.

Religion in the Elvish lands tends to be a very private affair. There are gods of all sorts, from stone gods to tree gods, big gods of the sun, small gods of the house, but all are revered and important in their own way. This tends to lend itself to a lack of a true priesthood, and elvish clerics are for that reason non-existent. Because of the harsh caste system, those deities that are seen to have more "noble" and "grand" ideals attributed to them are worshiped exclusively by the higher castes, and the "insignificant" are worshiped by the lower castes. While there is no official punishment for transgressions, it is rigorously enforced socially.

Elves tend to favor lighter, more "natural" armor, and use bows and swords primarily.

In the beginning, there was the Tierwald, the Lifefont River, and the trees which grew near it. The roots stretched far and wide, seemingly yearning to reach the waters of the Lifefont. Those that made it drank thirstily, imbuing themselves with a slow sort of sentience. The shapers willed themselves into more mobile forms, so they could plant more trees along the Lifefont and grow their ranks, gently shaping the trees which so drank into forms to match.

Over time, lost to history, they became both separate from, yet still a part of, the Tierwald. Thus, the Elves were born.