Elvin Race

Elf Physiology and Aging

There are four different Elvin races with similar physiology. All elves go through a metamorphosis, with each transition requiring them to meditate. The time for each advancement progressively gets longer. During the meditation, they slow their metabolism so they age much slower. All elves go through the first one. However, all succeeding ones are optional. Once the time has passed for their transition, they can never advance to the next stage. Without the proper training, an elf may not awaken from the changing process. Each transformation increases the chance of not waking. Those who return after a prolonged meditation state become prominent leaders.
  An elf child matures at the same rate as humans until they go into their first transformation somewhere between the ages of thirteen and fifteen years. During these first years, they learn the basics as with all children. This transition is only about a week.
  The adolescent stage will last for fifty to seventy-five years. Their metabolism slows, and their appearance slows so an elf of thirty looks like a fifteen-year-old. During this time, many begin their apprenticeship or advance studies. Before they are two-hundred, they must decide whether to continue and enter the young adult stage. It is during this time when many decide on their lives direction, whether to be a scholar, warrior, druid, or any other profession. Without this adaptation, their life expectancy three hundred years.
  The young adult stage will last for a minimum of seventy-five years, making them about a hundred and thirty. During this time, elves can join in an enduring union and proliferate. They can become an apprentice in a trade and become a member of the renowned civil defense. Once an elf reaches two-hundred and fifty, they must decide whether to advance to the next stage. The maximum age as a young adult is about eight-hundred years old.
  To become an adult elf requires them to go into a transcendental state for six months. During this period, their metabolism and aging slowed, giving them a maximum age around sixteen-hundred years. It is during this time they can reach the title of master in a craft, or scholar in knowledge, or a wizard with the focus on the arcane arts. They must choose whether to move on to the next phase by the time they are a thousand years old.
  Many elves will make it to the mature adult stage where they can live over several centuries. Only century old elves are on the council of elders. A master have worked in the same business for over five-hundred years. Few races can match the quality of an elf master. The maximum age for an adult is around twenty-five-hundred years.
  The last transmutation for elves last for over a year, with a low survivability rate. However, those that survive the process live lives spanning to four centuries or more. Before going into their deep meditation state, they must relinquish their place in the council and turn over their business to a successor. Those that survive become Hyrru or sage. The council and younger elves seek their advice before making a critical decision.
 

Communities

Elvin cities seldom exceed a few thousand residents, with many numbering less than a thousand, comprising of a few extended families. When an Elvin village gets too large, several families will leave to start their own clan hoping to become a village or a city. Every village has a council comprises the nine to twelve adult members over a millennium, most of them will be closer to two millennium. Chances of stumbling across an Elvin city are slim as they are experts in hiding. Elves will not reveal the whereabouts of their city to any outsiders.  

Wood Elf (Zoav Neov)

Wood-elves short for Woodland-elves, also known as Forest-elves, and Tree-elves. They are about five and a half feet tall with pale to a yellow-green skin tone and earth-tone hair. They are skilled in natural magic and forest survival. Their exceptional hearing and sight is second to none. Their skill with the bow and sword exceeds most expectations. While rare, Wood-elves can conceive a baby with a human partner, with an either a human or Elvin off-worlder nearby. Wood-elves live in the mountains near the tree line, or deep in the woods and in tropical jungles.  

Water Elf (Hiawv Neov)

Water-elves live in large bodies of water. They are about five feet tall with bluish skin and holes in the side of their head for ears. They don’t breathe underwater like a fish. Instead, they hold their breath for up to thirty minutes and can dive to depths of seventy feet or more. They use crossbows like spear-guns and spears with deadly accuracy on land and in the water. Water-elves live in both fresh and salt water, making their homes out of underwater caves with an entrance fifty feet under the low water level. Hiawv Neov have sunk many a ship.   

Earth Elf (Hauv Neov)

Earth-elves have grey skin with larger than normal ears and poor eyesight from living underground. By sending out a high pitch squeak like a bat, they can visualize a space from huge to small. Earth-elves cities are the largest of all the Elvin cities, reaching up to ten-thousand. Using the honeycomb network of tunnels in the crust, they travel great distances in a short time and are the apex in their domain.  

Desert Elf (Cetev Neov)

Desert or Sun-elves live in hot dry places, have a sandy color skin. They stand about six and a half feet tall with long arms and legs. They have normal elf ears with narrow eyes set deep in their head. They can cover great distances in a day without tiring. Desert-elves live on the plains and the Savannah in the middle of Hauv Pem. Their bows shoot farther and do more damage because of their long arms.