The Nevae
The Nevae, also known as the dark elves, are an ethnicity of the elven species. They tend to have cool hued skin. They share a common ancestor with the other elf species, but are an offshoot that is the most biologically distinct from the other ethnicities of elves. This is because, many thousands of years ago, they made a migration into the large subterranean network beneath the world. This was done for unknown reasons, though some theorize there was some sort of warring between elven tribes that led to the splitting of the groups.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The dialect of the Nevae is quite distinct from the rest of the elven language. Its spoken form is near indecipherable to a non-Nevae Elven speaker, though the written form remains quite similar visually to that of the other dialects.
Art & Architecture
The Nevae are known for their eerie art that portrays sinister feelings both visually and musically.
Dark elf visual art began with cave paintings in their underground realm. Much of their original painting style remains to this day. Realism and perspective are seen as unimportant in getting across the message of their art, so it remains hieroglyphic-like. In the modern day much of their art has become digital, using holographic imaging of their pieces on flat walls, to display the lines in bright light while remaining in the relative darkness dark elves are accustomed to. Many of these pieces tell stories in a linear timeline, reading from top right to bottom left. A common subject is a tale of some nefarious deed, using the piece to show the dichotomy of how the deed was both ingenious and cruel. The coexistence of virtue and cruelty are a common theme in dark elf artwork.
Dark elf music commonly features plucked string instruments playing modes of a harmonic minor scale, where the #7 in the original Aeolian #7 scale is a microtonal note laying between the natural 7 and the sharp 7. Their music follows long, sonata-like forms, that are constructed very deliberately, with many repetitions followed by surprising changes. Much of their music is vocal as well, either adding a singer's voice to the stringed instrumentation, or comprising of a small group of a cappella singers singing on the same scales.
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