Thorn Elves

Thorn Elves are a subspecies of Elves originating from the far lands of [COUNTRY]. After the destruction of their homeland, they fled in large numbers to the Empire of Garfaar, taking refuge in the minority quarters of big cities. With the connection to their holy soil severed, the perfect traits of their Elven ancestors began to degrade. Their ears are often not as long and pointy and their lifespan has seen a dramatic decrease, only being slightly longer than that of humans.   Thorn Elves are devout followers of the Divine Vision, a religion that heavily emphasizes the importance of dreams and their predictive power. One day, a vision of a promised city was granted to Eldarin the Prophet in a dream, who rallied his people in all cities to march towards this place. His path led them to the an abandoned castle west of Aldarr. They settled here, founding the town of Stellcida.   The white eyes often associated with Thorn Elves comes from their heavy use of the Winterthorn, a magical plant native to the region around Stellcida. Its poison induces a deep sleep on a victim. Taking it frequently causes the iris colour and sometimes hair to turn white. In limited dosages, Thorn Elves use it to enter a trance-like dream state during sleep, where they have greater awareness and control. The separation between mind and body allows for great study of the soul, and it is even possible to communicate with other souls in this state. This resulted in the rediscovery of the ancient art of soul magic by the Thorn Elves. They believe that it is their divine duty to further study soul magic, to purify their own souls and regain the perfect aspects of their Elven ancestors. To the Thorn Elves, white cloudy eyes signify devotion and wisdom.