Dark Elves

The dark elves are a race of elves who were once the same as their Primordial brethren, but claim they were followers of a fallen god, known as Kunin. The dark elves believe that Kunin rebelled against his fellow gods and that elves who stayed loyal to Kunin during his uprising were bestowed a drop of divine blood. Dark elves believe that this blood covered his followers, changing their appearance to show that they were his faithful servants. Dark Elves or Tenebrin, as they came to be known amongst their elven kin, have a dark greyish skin tone, with jet black hair, and their eye color typically takes on the shades of lilac, red, or a pale silver.

After the fall of Kunin, the dark elves believe they split into several clans, all tied together by their veneration of Kunin, but differing in their approach. Some were more subtle and influenced others to spread the faith, while others took a more aggressive approach attacking those they deemed as enemies of their now fallen god. It is unclear exactly when these clans developed, but it is known that the more aggressive clan were systematically eradicated by the Elven Empire of Salazuir. The more docile clans were allowed to live only because the government at the time did not see them as a threat. Even so, the Dark Elves very quickly became ostracized from the rest of society and barely acknowledged, what had both benefits and downsides. While being left alone meant they could practice their religion in relative peace and grow their communities internally; it also meant that if they need aid they would not get it and if they tried expanding their territory they would be met with hostile force. These dark elven settlements became overpopulated and squalid thanks to anti-dark elven laws preventing them from living elsewhere.

Around the year 17,000 BC the current regime of Salazuir decided the dark elves were a threat to society. They decided to put pressure on the Dark Elven population and forcefully relocated them to the southwestern coast, giving them just enough land to survive but not enough to thrive. The government hoped that by displacing the dark elves and giving them no aid or property of their own as compensation, the dark elven population would drastically decline. This, however, backfired slightly on the Empire, as now all Dark Elven peoples were in one spot and now began to create a general sense of community and a unified Tenebrin society. The Tenebrin used magic and worked hard in their new lands and actually began to thrive and become self-sufficient, creating a semi-autonomous region within the Salazuir Empire. This infuriated the Salazuir government but couldn't risk a war in their own territory as their military strength was beginning to wane due to the deterioration of Primordial technology, for which they had no suitable replacements for. The attrition toll of such a campaign was estimated to be more than the empire would gain by exterminating the dark elves.

The Dark Elves soon began to differentiate themselves even more from their kin by developing a unique culture and architecture and refining their religion. The Dark Elven architecture flourished and took on a gothic look, compared to the typical elven one. While it still held the awe inspiring beauty and elegance that all elven architecture possessed, it had a much darker look. Due to limited resources, their culture became one that focused on power and control, but not always through direct conflict, rather through espionage, assassinations, and blackmail. This molded the Dark Elves to become a race who not only valued physical strength more compared to the other elves but that also valued intellectual strength as well. This would later make them into one of the most shrewd politicians and warriors amongst elven kind, but also some of the best spies, assassins, and criminals. Their religion also became more unified during this time, whereas before they had different mythologies and methods of worship, which had created many different cults. One group known as the "Order of Kunin" became extremely popular and powerful, almost completely overtaking all other denominations and other forms of worship. The Order of Kunin soon became the official doctrine that almost all Dark Elves followed and changed its name to "The Holy Synod of Kunin".

Later, around the year 16,000 BC, the Tenebrin held a council to determine the future of their people. When the council concluded, the decision was made to go into exile from Salazuir and travel south. The reason for this decision remains shrouded in relative mystery as some say that they received a revelation from Kunin, while others say that a new continent was discovered, among many other theories. But the end result was the same- the Tenebrin left Salazuir and sailed south to this new land that they named Yyradayn, meaning "New Dawn"(could change just can't think of anything right now~ Me). After their arrival on their new home they quickly began to dominate the native people of the land and after a few millennia they became the most dominate race on the continent, pushing all other races to the outskirts of their society. The advantage elves held over other races, such as powerful magic and a long lifespan, as well as sophisticated technology gave the dark elves an insurmountable advantage over the other races on Yyradayn. By 11,000 BC, the Dark Elves began to prosper and flourish; developing their society, politics, religion, and culture even more, soon becoming a rival to Salazuir. For 11,000 years the Dark Elves had a thriving society, becoming one of most influential races within the realm.

However, this would abruptly come to end when the Great Calamity struck. It came without warning and devastated the land of Yyradayn and her people. The calamity killed up to 40% of the Dark Elf population according to some reports; roughly 25% fled to other continents and other the remaining 35% stayed on Yyradayn, either due to the inability to leave or not wanting to abandon their home. And so the once proud race of elves were fractured and spread to the winds. Of those that fled Yyradayn, they mainly settled on the continents of Ifyrial and Ærellion, but some would later travel to Mortvügg, Halyren, and Telgren. Those that settled on Ifyrial rebuilt along the coasts in the southern half of the continent, hoping to one day return to their homeland. These elves began to strengthen their hold over the lands they now inhabited, indulging in high amounts of slavery and genocides of the natives (mostly Varaiden). They also began to purge anyone they believed to be dissidents, believing that if they weren't unified they would never reclaim Yyradayn. Those that traveled to Ærellion were there mainly to serve as mercenaries for the local lords, to create a broader trade network (slaves and other valuables), or to escape the purges that were happening on Ifyrial, but they would eventually fully colonize some of these areas and began to build their own countries.

The Dark Elves on Mortvügg differ from their brethren on Ærellion and Ifyrial, as instead of wanting to go back to Yyradayn or play petty politics , they wanted to create a new homeland for the Dark Elves or to spread the Dark Elven culture to others so they could become more "civilized". However, some also saw an opportunity to expand the trade networks to make more profit.(Note:Pillars of Kunin, this will become something later - me)

As shown throughout Dark Elven history, they are a very politically organized race, with large international factions based on their beliefs on the future of the dark elven race. These factions are composed of a number of clans who share common ideals or goals in the modern era.

Traditionalist Factions

• Dark Elven colonies on Yyradayn: Reclaim Yyradayn from "radicals" and return everything to pre-calamity (what exactly that means differs greatly)
• Western Dark Elves on Ifyrial: Establish colonies on Yyradayn, same as above
• Roughly half of the Dark Elves of Southwest Ærellion: Establish Dark Elven states in the region and retain isolation from others

Radical Factions

• Cult of Sanomudra: Own everything and establish a new religion for the Dark Elven people, destroy Kunin
• Eastern Dark Elves on Ifyrial: Kill or enslave all Varaiden or Nagas in the region and establish Dark Elven ethnostates
• Theocracy of Kunin: The most radical faction, turn Mortvügg into the new Yyradayn

Neotraditionalist Factions

• The Watchers: Strengthen the cult of Kunin and wipe out those who are "weak" in their belief, "purify" Yyradayn
• Most Yyradayn Dark Elves not elsewhere: Varying goals mainly involving survival

Moderate Factions

• Westernmost dark elf/Vntokai nation and city state: Establish coexistence between Vntokai and Dark Elves
• Dark Elves of South-Central Ærellion: Make a fuck ton of money selling slaves and trading
• Enlightened Despots of Mortvügg: Bring "civilization" to the primitive peoples of Mortvügg (considered radicals by other Dark Elves despite their fairly moderate beliefs)

Moderate Traditionalist Factions

• Eastern Dark Elf/Vntokai nations: Establish a society where Vntokai form a second class of citizens but are allowed to remain
• Island Dark Elves near Ganarat: Retain a pure Dark Elven society while trading with the Varaiden "degenerates" for profit
• Northern Dark Elves in the West of Ifyrial: Colonize Yyradayn while trading with local humans to obtain supplies, sees humans as a reasonable but still lesser race
• Dark Elves of Archelin: Trade in slaves and remain semi-isolationist
• Roughly half of the Dark Elves of Southwest Ærellion (including all the ones under Solar Elves): Establish Dark Elven states in the region while working with Solar Elves to some extent
• Opportunists of Mortvügg: Exploit the weakness of Mortvügg's people for profit, but allow them to remain as second class citizens if it benefits the state

Revolutionary Factions

• Southern Dark Elf/Rayisudi nation: Form a pluralistic society with equality between races

Unaligned Dark Elves

• Dark Elves of Telgren: Integrate with the surrounding peoples, mostly High Elves (Note: They have been successful in this and are mostly assimilated)
• Dark Elves of Halyren: Improve their standing within Gnomish society