About the Elves

Personal Names:
    An elf may be named with a sound name or a descriptive name, and may or may not have a soul name, depending on their heritage. In general, the colony started out with sound names and no soul names. Over the generations, soul names developed, and descriptive names came to be used more and more often. Descriptive names began as nicknames given to an elf from the tribe, during the early middle Wandering Years, and eventually became the primary name used. While the elves lived on land these names were taken from the sights and sounds of everyday life in the woods, desert, plains, etc. When the elves moved to the sea, parents began giving ocean-inspired names to their children, and many of the older elves changed their names eventually to reflect their new lifestyle. Sound names are not the most common kind of name anymore, but they are still popular, especially with the more "traditional" elves. Also, the early-generation elves still Recognize every so often, so there are always a few elves with no soul names.

Physical Features:
    The elves of the colony range widely in height, the oldest being as tall as the Gliders, the youngest being more of a Wolfrider size, but they often share a common weight since the younger elves tend to be much more sturdy and well-muscled than their elders. Hair and eyes can be any color, and skin color can be anywhere from brown to blue- or green-touched pale, depending on the elf's heritage and exposure to the sun. All the shaping used on the Palace and its elves has gradually "loosened" the elves' genetic make-up, and pips are sometimes born with odd traits such as multicolored hair, animal-like teeth, or even face fur. Thankfully, due to Recognition, these mutations are never harmful or grotesque. All elves born to the tribe have naturally webbed fingers and toes. It is considered fashionable to have Sahti shape the ears into attractive shapes, and fins are also done sometimes on various parts of the body to make swimming easier or purely for aesthetic reasons. More drastic flesh-shaping is available, and has given rise to three basic "forms": the mer-form, the amphibious form, and the natural form.

    Mer-form: This form gives the elf a mermaid-like appearance. It is never natural; an elf who wants this form must ask Sahti to flesh-shape him or her and be prepared to explain why they have made this drastic and life-altering decision. Gills, a fishtail, and fins are shaped from the elf's own body, (see the article below for details on gills) so the mer-elf is sometimes thinner in build than before the flesh-shaping. The color and form of the fins and tail are not consciously decided by either the shaper or the elf being shaped. Instead, it is a reflection of the elf's inner being that is drawn forth during the shaping by both participants. It isn't uncommon for an elf to end up with their favorite colors, but occasionally the results are shocking. The shaping process is lengthy, tiring for both involved, and painful to the elf being shaped. Imagine such a thing being done surgically, with no anesthesia, and you've got the idea. Becoming a mer-elf means much change, both physical and mental. Changed elves must learn to balance themselves, move around, and interact with their environment in new ways. In the water the mer-form is superior to the others in many ways, especially when it comes to swimming. The mer-elves can move through the water as effortlessly as the fish they are modelled after, and their speed is unrivalled by legged elves. On the other hand, having a tail makes getting around on land clumsy to impossible, it becomes uncomfortable for the elf to be out of the water too long, and (D'oh! What was I going to say here?). Also, it is not possible to join as usual or to give birth while in mer-form. While the surface of the tail is fishlike, the insides are still elfin. Fish and elf reproductive systems are not compatible, so a mer-elf still has an elf's reproductive organs inside the fishtail. Because of this, a mer-elf who experiences Recognition must be flesh-shaped back into a legged form to join with his/her mate. After that, a female elf may remain in her natural form until the baby is born, or may decide to become a mer-elf again until that time. This can be dangerous if the mother is not close to a flesh-shaper when it's time for the baby to be born. For this reason, mer-elf mothers-to-be are hovered over even more than most expecting mothers.

    Amphibious form: This is the most common form for a sea elf to have. While these elves appear to be normal, if you look at their necks you will see three or four gill-slits running down each side. These mean that the elf can breathe underwater without fear of drowning, unless the gills become clogged in some way. It also means that the elf does not need to drink much, since he or she gets enough liquid from the sea. One down-side to having gills is that the elf is more sensitive to their surroundings--a gilled elf near blood or other bodily fluids, octopus ink, poison, or anything foreign in the water will breathe it in and be affected by it unless they can swim away in time. When a gilled elf is out of water for too long, the gills will close over with salt from the water that has evaporated. This is not harmful, and in fact helps to protect the gills from injury. An elf with "crystalized" gills cannot try to breathe underwater immediately when he or she goes back in. Instead, the elf must wait for the sea to soak the salt crystals loose. Elves are not usually born with gills--most elves with them had them flesh-shaped--but it has been known to happen.

    Natural form: This is the name for any elf born with only elfin characteristics, and not drastically flesh-shaped. The natural elves can be very aquatic-looking themselves, with their often strangely-shaped ears and the occasional fins, but they are still pretty much like their forebearers in appearance and function. Elves are born in this form. Most have gills or a tail shaped when they are old enough, but some don't because they are afraid of shaping, find it unattractive, live primarily in the palace, or simply don't see the need. Because of their naturally large lung capacity, the result of living in the ocean's depths for generations, most elves can swim for 30 minutes to an hour before they need to surface for air.

Magic:
    Magic is a natural force that exists within all elves. It doesn't come from outside, from spells or incantations, but from inside, from the spirit, as a form of energy that can be manipulated in various ways. Everyone can send, has a rudimentary ability to sense the presence or use of strong magic, and has a the ability to bond with a suitable animal occasionally. "True" animal bonding, the ability to enter a magical rapport with any animal at any time, is rare, though the ability to "speak" with one or two specific types of intelligent sea creatures is less so. Magics similar to or developed from sending such as deep-sense, echo-location, etc. are the forms of magic most often seen since any elf can potentially develop them. Coral-shaping, rock-shaping, and water-shaping are considered to be relatively common powers, as they tend to pop up every few hundred years or so. Plant-shaping appears less often, but is not uncommon. These four are very important to the colony, as their powers are necessary to maintain, repair, and defend the palace. Healing is a rare power, and one healer is born usually only after the former one has passed away. Shielding, finding, and other miscellaneous powers pop up once in a while Wind-shaping is also rare. Flesh-shaping is very rare; only one or two others besides Sahti have been born with it in the entire history of the Palace. Fire-shaping, metal-shaping, and self-shaping (with the exception of Cloud) do not exist in the tribe.

Animal Friends:
    Many elves in the colony have some animal as a bond-friend. The most common bondbeast of the colony is the dolphin. The vast majority of dolphin bond-friends are bottlenose dolphins, since the pod that often lives in the area is of this breed. However, many different pods pass through these waters, and it is not unknown for an elf to bond with a dolphin from one of these. Other breeds that may be encountered nearby include common dolphins, spotted dolphins, and spinner dolphins. Dolphins are very intelligent, and they understand elfin and human languages well enough. They can also recieve sending at a very close range, and open their minds to their elf-friends for the elf to "see" their thoughts. Other aquatic animals are sometimes bonded with as well. Such creatures as sea otters, seahawks, and even dogfish have been bonded with. All that is required is that the animal be at least moderately intelligent, a reasonable size, and not be predatory towards the other members of the colony. Seahorses, for instance, are too dumb to bond with, blue whales are too big, and most sharks would view elves and bond-friends both as a tasty snack. This doesn't keep the elves from taming friendly animals and keeping them around as pets.

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