Elf

An elf is a sapient species not native to the Earth.

History

Elves arrived upon the world after the Burn. Their exact origins are unknown, perhaps even to them. If the elders of the hives know they do not seem interested in sharing that information. Many modern day elves tend to shrug off the idea that they are not of Earth as nonsense. Even their creation myths now refer to the Earth as their home.

Anatomy

Elves appear mostly like a human, but there are many differences.

Elves are short, slender creatures with pointed ears. They tend toward angular and delicate features, often seeming dangerously thin from the view of other species.

Their skin colour at birth tends to range from pale to tanned, but when they undergo their metamorphosis into adulthood their colour changes to reflect their chosen path.

• The Outcast's Path: Tan to deep brown.
• The Queen's Path: Yellow to gold.
• The Weaver's Path: Pale to porcelain white.
• The Widow's Path: Gray to black.

While elves look like their eyes are simply all black, but common enough among other kith, closer inspection reveals their eyes possess a compound, hexagonal structure that permits them great visual acuity in dim or deep light.

Lifecycle

While it is widely believed that only Hive Queens of the elves give birth, this is not the case. Any elf with a female reproductive system is able to carry one or two eggs to birth after a prolonged 13th month gestation. While elves become sexually mature by their twentieth year, most do not seek reproduction until their first century is completed.

An elf child is considered an Unchosen until they enter adulthood where upon they enter into a chrysalis to enter into a relationship with with their chosen goddess' path. They undergo a transformation that aligns them closer to their insectoid deity with adjustments to skin, eye, and hair colour as well as some vestigial features associated with the species of insect their goddess is.

When an elf is considered highly important to the hive or feels they still have much work to do for the hive when they age, some elves will enter into a secondary chrysalis phase that further elevates them in their goddess' form. For instance, those who follow the Queen's Path will emerge from their chrysalis with four arms and insectoid wings.

Abilities

Elves possess keen senses in low-light and possess the ability to telepathically communicate speak with any other elf who is a member of their hive consciousness.