The Elves of Calenor - Types

* This is 'TGL Lore' NOT Greyhawk Canon!

A Dark Elf by Elena Zambelli

Note from Oronir:

I have always thought that Greyhawk has a very Tolkienesque feel to it. It just has more involved gods and entities, weirder monsters, priests and more magic users. Elves in Greyhawk are too DnD-like in my opinion and should be slightly more Tolkienesque .

Too often I see people play an elf as if it is a human with Low-light-vision rather than another species and that just makes me wonder, why bother. So, I will create several articles about the elves of Greyhawk as I see them. Get from it what you will.

What? You do not call these lands 'The Flanaess'

We find ourselves on the world of Oerth, where a large continent takes our attention. It is not the only continent, but it is the one we focus on today.

The Oeridians call the whole continent, even the far western part still left unconquered, as Oerik. The Eastern part of this continent, the lands east of the Crystalmist Mountains, was coined by them as ‘The Flanaess’ after the humans that first claimed its lands, the Flannae. That name stuck with any other human cultures that come into these Eastern lands.

But the elves have named this eastern part of the continent Calenor, The Green Land, for millenniums. It is the first evidence of the human-centric view of the world to expect everyone to call it the Flanaess. Do the Elves have another name for Oerth? Well, yes they do - Dórnothilian or Lands under the moons.

What? They are all the same?

It is also a misconception that elves are divided into sub-ancestries, each with distinct physical and mental characteristics. This is yet another example of a human-centric way of interpreting the world. Non-elven cultures began to refer to elves by different names, perceiving them as distinct from each other, but in reality, they have virtually no differences at all.

The elves of Highfolk, in the Vesve Forest, who historically were the first to open their doors to other cultures, were called High Elves by humans—a term not used by the elves themselves. However, elves who exhibit the same friendly and welcoming attitude towards other cultures as the elves of Highfolk came to be known as High Elves. Elves who engage more with the wider world, allow non-elves to live among them, frequently travel, or live within non-elven societies are also referred to as High Elves by others. The truth is that there is no real physiological difference between them and any other elf.

Confusion arises when shorter-lived people meet an elder elf and discover that such a High Elf might be over 500 years old. This often seems implausible to them. Human cultures began to call these elves Grey Elves, due to their hair turning silvery-grey and their eyes taking on an ancient appearance. It is true that elves over 500 years of age tend to act and live differently, but this does not make them fundamentally different; it merely means they are very old. In rare cases, an elf may even reach 1,000 years of age. Somewhere between 500 and 1,000 years old, elves generally lose the ability to reproduce, and some physical frailty may become apparent. At this stage, they often turn their focus to academic pursuits, magic, mysteries, or high-level crafting, achieving levels of perfection that seem almost impossible.

When travellers venture into the deeper parts of ancient forests, they might encounter elves who have developed settlements and a way of life focused on harmony with nature. Although they are numerous, these elves are more reclusive and rarely seen, dwelling in the ancient hearts of primordial forests. For this reason, other ancestries call them Sylvan Elves. But even these elves are not different from any other elf; they simply live a different lifestyle. Any elf from these settlements who reaches the age of 500 is also called a Grey Elf by other cultures.

Elven culture, as a whole, tends to be good or neutral in outlook. Evil thoughts rarely cloud their minds, but on very rare occasions, there exists an elf who has no regard for others and will do whatever it takes to achieve personal goals. These individuals may not look different, but history suggests that most carry some form of physical taint that reflects their corrupted view of the world. These elves are known as Dark Elves by other cultures, and even the elves themselves have a name for these anomalies: Mornedhel (Dark Elf). Contrary to popular belief, these elves do not necessarily prefer darkness, live in caves, or have dark skin. Such myths were spread by humans to make sense of the world. These elves could walk among other elves unnoticed.

There is, however, one 'type' of elf that is genuinely different from the rest, even physically shorter in stature: the Grugach, or as humans call them, Wild Elves. They differ from Sylvan Elves in that they live in complete harmony with the wilderness and the animals around them. In warmer regions, they wear minimal clothing, only donning what is necessary for survival in harsher climates. Their lifestyle is entirely nomadic, more primitive, and they are not numerous. Encounters with them are rare, not only because of their limited numbers but also because they shun contact with other cultures, preferring the solitude of the deepest forests and the company of wild animals. The Grugach are not seen as outcasts by other elves but are instead respected for staying true to the ways of their ancient ancestors. They are often blessed with the Fey spark, known as Faegildin (see next article for more information).

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Next article will be about facts about of the elves such as age, physical, personality, etc.

Click here.