Elves

Elves, like me, are one of the oldest races of Thedas. We are an ancient people with a strong connection to magic and the natural world. Generally a bit shorter and wirier than humans, we also have pointed ears to further set us apart. And give people an opportunity for racial slurs. Please don’t call us “knife-ears” or anything like that, it’s not nice. Anyways, thousands of years ago, we used to have an empire. It was called Elvhenan, its largest city was Arlathan, and it was a nice place. But then it wasn’t, and both the city and empire fell, and we were ravaged by Tevinter. They took us as slaves, and during the long period that followed, we forgot most of our customs, history, and language. Later, after Andraste freed us, we tried to have our own land again. It was called the Dales, its largest city was Halamshiral, and it was a nice place. But then it wasn’t, and both the city and country fell, and we were ravaged by Orlais in the name of the Chantry. And, look, I recognize elves weren’t exactly blameless in all these events, but I’m trying to breeze through millennia of history here. History that I discovered isn’t even entirely accurate, which just further complicates things. Anyways, after the fall of the Dales, the Chantry offered the citizens that remained a deal: forget the elven gods, worship the Maker, and submit to human oversight or, well, don’t. That led us to where we are today, with two main groups of elves in Thedas. Those that took the Chantry’s deal are called city elves, and now live primarily in slums, called alienages, within human cities. Those who didn’t take the offer wander the wilderness, intent on keeping the memory and culture, to the best of their understanding, of the Dales alive. Hence the name Dalish elves. And that’s where we are now. A divided people struggling to even understand our former glory, let alone achieve it, living in a world that either dominates or mistrusts us. But, hey, one of us just saved the world several times over, so maybe our collective lot will improve a bit. I just hope one of us doesn’t try to destroy the world now, or something like that, and ruin the good will I’ve created. But, what are the odds of that happening?