Svartalfar
- Thread starter Dora190
- Start date
BCalchet
Human, all too human.
Probably old Norse. Translated, it'd be "Black elves". (As opposed to the Ljosalfar, or "Light elves").
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Well, scandinavian atleast... 
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The name for the Ljosalfar and Svartalfar are from norse mythology, though they were more inspired by the Seelie and Unseelie courts of Celtic mythology (Nikis-Knight refers to them a lot in his writing as the summer and winter courts which I always liked).
And of course you have some additional FfH schenanigans on top of this. Varn is actually from a line of elves that were taken into the underworld during the Age of Magic (and before the split of the Ljosalfar and the Svartalfar) to serve a powerful archmage who had died and created a new home for himself in the underworld. The archmage (Laroth) brought the elves through to serve him, but he was not a kind lord.
Eventually the elves owerthrew and escaped from Laroths "dungeon" (this dark corner of the underworld) and used a portal they found to enter the shadowed vale, a valley obscured by mist that sat between creation and the underworld. Varns father stayed behind to hold Laroth off as the elves escaped and never ended up coming through the portal.
The elves ended up living in the rift, largely seperate (and ignorant of) the battle between the ljosalfar and the svartalfar. The rift and the underworld were very dark, making them appear more similar to the svartalfar (pale elves who hate the light) but they only share the common ancestery.
Other interesting facts:
1. Haerlond is Varn's older brother and leader of the elves in the vale. The two brothers have taken dramatically different paths and the effect of the time in the underworld and the weight of responsibility of protecting his people wears on the very pragmatic (if not cynical) Haerlond.
2. The elves brought things with them when they escaped. One of those things were books that Lartoh wrote that contained rituals to prolong life and to become an immortal, souless living beings. These books were later used to create the first Sidar.
3. The portal from the vale to the underworld that the elves escaped through is the same portal that Rathus enters in his pedia entry. In that entry the elves in the rift are called "once-elves" and Haerlond is mentioned. The "angel" Rathus meets isnt a servant of Arawn but a servant of Laroth who wants Rathus to kill the powerful in creation so Laroth can collect their spirits in the underworld to build an army.
4. Varn didnt leave the vale on good terms. He was trying to protect a group of kids that found the vale and were being framed for stealing an artifact that the elves had taken from the underworld (the heartstone). One of those kids was the young Auric Ulvin who was just begining to dream of a great white dragon and believe that he was more than just a man. In that escape Auric (who has an incredible but largely uncontrolled affinity for magic) destroyed the mist that seperated the vale from creation, flooding the vale with sunlight that burnt and blinded the elves that had lived for generations without being exposed to it. It was in this light that Varn had his religious ephinany and after leaving the vale (and seeing to the kids safety) he began worshipping Lugas.
And of course you have some additional FfH schenanigans on top of this. Varn is actually from a line of elves that were taken into the underworld during the Age of Magic (and before the split of the Ljosalfar and the Svartalfar) to serve a powerful archmage who had died and created a new home for himself in the underworld. The archmage (Laroth) brought the elves through to serve him, but he was not a kind lord.
Eventually the elves owerthrew and escaped from Laroths "dungeon" (this dark corner of the underworld) and used a portal they found to enter the shadowed vale, a valley obscured by mist that sat between creation and the underworld. Varns father stayed behind to hold Laroth off as the elves escaped and never ended up coming through the portal.
The elves ended up living in the rift, largely seperate (and ignorant of) the battle between the ljosalfar and the svartalfar. The rift and the underworld were very dark, making them appear more similar to the svartalfar (pale elves who hate the light) but they only share the common ancestery.
Other interesting facts:
1. Haerlond is Varn's older brother and leader of the elves in the vale. The two brothers have taken dramatically different paths and the effect of the time in the underworld and the weight of responsibility of protecting his people wears on the very pragmatic (if not cynical) Haerlond.
2. The elves brought things with them when they escaped. One of those things were books that Lartoh wrote that contained rituals to prolong life and to become an immortal, souless living beings. These books were later used to create the first Sidar.
3. The portal from the vale to the underworld that the elves escaped through is the same portal that Rathus enters in his pedia entry. In that entry the elves in the rift are called "once-elves" and Haerlond is mentioned. The "angel" Rathus meets isnt a servant of Arawn but a servant of Laroth who wants Rathus to kill the powerful in creation so Laroth can collect their spirits in the underworld to build an army.
4. Varn didnt leave the vale on good terms. He was trying to protect a group of kids that found the vale and were being framed for stealing an artifact that the elves had taken from the underworld (the heartstone). One of those kids was the young Auric Ulvin who was just begining to dream of a great white dragon and believe that he was more than just a man. In that escape Auric (who has an incredible but largely uncontrolled affinity for magic) destroyed the mist that seperated the vale from creation, flooding the vale with sunlight that burnt and blinded the elves that had lived for generations without being exposed to it. It was in this light that Varn had his religious ephinany and after leaving the vale (and seeing to the kids safety) he began worshipping Lugas.
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