Elves
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For the playable armies in WAR, see Shining Guard and House Uthorin.
In physical stature the Elves stand slightly taller than humans, with a litheness and grace which comes naturally to their race. Although they appear frail and weak in comparison with men, their slim frames possess surprising reserves of strength and endurance. The greatest advantage Elves have over other races is their affinity with the Aethyr, giving them the ability to distinguish and manipulate magic with relative ease. The Elves worship a large pantheon of Gods and Godesses, however many groups of Elves worship one or a few to the exclusion of others.
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[edit] History
Many millennia before the time of Sigmar, in the Golden Age before the coming of the Realm of Chaos into the world, the Elves were a harmonious race, maintaining a perfect balance between all the aspects of their lives. However, this harmony was shattered during the long struggle against the forces of Chaos when Aenarion the Defender, the first of the Phoenix Kings, chose to draw the cursed Sword of Khaine from its resting place on the Blighted Isle. Although the sword gave Aenarion the power to drive the Chaos incursion out of Ulthuan, it also changed the nature of the Elves forever, destroying the unity of the race and leading to the civil war known as the Sundering which drove an irreparable rift between the Elven kin, separating them into the Druchii, or Dark Elves, and the Asur, or High Elves. Later, after the War of the Beard, the High Elves were driven out of the Old World by the Dwarfs and some refused to leave, becoming the Asrai or Wood Elves.
[edit] Elven Kindreds
[edit] The Asur
Commonly known as High Elves, the Asur inhabit the ancient Elven princedoms on the island of Ulthuan. Since the time of the Sundering, Asur culture has shunned its darker nature, tending to emphasise traits such as nobility and purity. Their poetry and music can seem fairly simple and abstract at first, but it invariably contains dual meanings and hidden depths designed to clear the mind of emotion and focus the attention upon the essence of the piece. Asur craftsmanship is founded on the work of artisans who dedicate centuries of their life to mastery of their craft, as they strive to find the perfect balance between form and function. The Asur are ruled by the twin thrones of the Phoenix King and the Everqueen. The first King was Aenarion, known as the Defender, and the current (and eleventh) one is Finubar the Seafarer. The Asur are famed sailors and once had colonies all over the world, maintained by their strong martial traditions and large armies drawn from all corners of Ulthuan.
[edit] The Druchii
The Druchii, or Dark Elves, were driven from their homes in Ulthuan after the Wars of the Sundering and the shattering of the realms of Nagarythe (founding the Kingdom of Naggaroth in the New World) and the darker side of the Elven psyche has risen to become prominent in the Druchii, driving them to extreme acts of cruelty, hatred and selfishness. They worship Khaine (the Elven God of war) to the exclusion of the rest of the Elven gods, venerating him as the Lord of Murder. The Druchii are ruled by Malekith, the Witch King and son of Aenarion, whose sole ambition is to exact bloody revenge upon those who betrayed him and prevented him from claiming what was rightfully his – the crown of the Phoenix King. In the many millennia since the Sundering Malekith has hatched several elaborate plans to conquer the Asur and gain control of Ulthuan, but he has not yet met with success. The Sorcerers of the Druchii are as adept at controlling magic as any Elf, but they draw their power from the Chaos tainted dark magic of Dhar.
[edit] The Asrai
Little is known about the Asrai, or Wood Elves, even amongst the other elven races, for they are an extremely secretive people and have chosen to remove themselves from the affairs of the world. The Asrai are the descendants of those elves who chose to remain in the Old World after the Asur were forced to retreat to Ulthuan after the War of the Beard. They can be found living in scattered communities in the wooded areas of the Old World, but by far their largest settlement is within the magical forest of Athel Loren where they have formed a bond with the host of woodland spirits living within its leafy borders. The Asrai culture is considered barbaric by most other Elves, but some say that it resembles closely the culture of the Elves from the Golden Age.
