The aelves are a long-lived and magically potent humanoid species whose population still remains relatively small across the Mortal Realms. Aelves are most common in Azyr, Hysh and Ulgu. The aelves of each of those realms often have radically divergent cultures and goals.
Aelves, (sing. aelf), once known as "Elves" in the World-That-Was, are one of the primary intelligent species who live among the Mortal Realms. They are tall, slender humanoids with pointed ears known for their potent, inherent magical abilities and extremely long lives.
The aelves have always been rare in the Eight Realms -- a handful of Lion Rangers in their mountaintop monasteries, a solitary Loremaster in the White Tower -- and almost all were originally found within Azyr, the Realm of Heavens. A few proud aelven nobles did forge kingdoms in the wider realms during the Age of Myth, but these were small holdings or else comprised entirely of other intelligent mortal species and ruled by an aelven elite. Yet many aelves now call the Realms of Hysh and Ulgu home, though a large population can still be counted among the Free Peoples who live in Azyr and among the Cities of Sigmar founded in the Age of Sigmar.
Soon after their awakening in the Eight Realms, the four aelf Ascended gods -- Teclis, Tyrion, Morathi and Malerion -- discovered the souls of their lost kin from the World-That-Was had been consumed and incorporated into the essence of Slaanesh, the god of pleasure and pain, and in the last days of the Age of Myth they enacted a plan to entrap the Chaos God and release the aelven souls it had greedily consumed following the End Times.
Thus began a late flowering of aelven civilisation in the Mortal Realms. But the aelven souls reclaimed in this way were no simple reincarnation of those who had been taken from the World-That-Was. They had been marked by their ordeal while imprisoned within Slaanesh's essence, and each would be powerfully influenced by the specific magic of the aelven god who guided them towards rebirth.
Three of the major aelven factions of the Mortal Realms
The aelves born to Malerion, in Ulgu, the Realm of Shadows, are dark and terrible to behold. Those crafted of Hysh, the Realm of Light, by Teclis and Tyrion are numinous creatures of white light and soaring pride. The Scáthborn of Morathi, meanwhile, are serpentine or winged monstrosities, twisted by the vileness of their captor -- or perhaps their creator.
All aelves share physical characteristics, the signature tapered ears for example, as well as sublime physical grace and beauty. Aelves possess an average height of 6 feet, 5 inches and no aelf ever seen in the Mortal Realms has yet grown a beard.
Aelves have an inborn sensitivity to the underlying natural forces of the realms, allowing them to adapt to extreme environments where even an orruk would struggle to survive.
This same inherent attunement to the realms fuels their natural affinity for the magic that defines each of the realmspheres. From the deep-sea-dwelling Idoneth Deepkin to the arboreal Wanderers, aelf and realm share an almost symbiotic bond.
Aelves are extraordinarily long-lived, although this too can vary between lineages. No one is quite sure how long aelves can live, but there are some aelves who claim to have seen the Age of Myth with their own eyes. For instance, Khainite Witch Aelves with their rejuvenating blood rituals are almost immortal, whereas an Idoneth would be fortunate to see the end of their third century of life.
All aelves, regardless of origins, are beings of lofty arrogance. This manifest sense of superiority can often appear as callousness or cruelty, but even the most benign regularly cross into condescension when dealing with "younger" species.
Aelves live long and varied lives. During their many years, most aelves seek a calling or focus to help ground them in the Mortal Realms. Some are drawn to study or a particular craft, while others hone their body to peak performance. Whatever they choose, there is a ritual to it, marked by stages in learning and progression. These incremental steps are used as a tether to mark their place in the ever-flowing river of time.
History
During the destruction of the World-That-Was, the Chaos God of pleasure, Slaanesh, gorged itself nearly unto sedation on the souls of the people called the Elves, the spiritual forerunners of aelvenkind. By the time the Ascended gods awakened in the Mortal Realms during the Age of Myth, only a few free aelves could be found, most of whom had settled in the Realm of Azyr.
Towards the end of the Age of Myth, the aelven gods found Slaanesh and hatched a plan to free the aelven souls from the Dark God's essence. Teclis, Tyrion, Malerion and Morathi worked together to drag Slaanesh into Uhl-Gysh and began extracting the souls from its stomach. These souls were divided between the four gods, which they shaped to their wills, creating new variations of the aelven people. [1][2]
Following the Age of Chaos, the civilisations of the aelves split apart and diverged. The Highborn either retreated to Azyrheim or defended their own enclaves,[4] while the Wanderers and Exiles travelled throughout the Mortal Realms. [5][6]
Related Races
Though many aelven souls were freed from the essence of Slaanesh, they were tainted by the experience of being part of the corrupt substance of the Chaos God and became something other than aelves. The souls freed by Morathi were made by her into the Scathborn, such as the Melusai and Khinerai.
Any aelven souls that were too weak to truly be reconstituted or too corrupted became the leathanam, a class of enslaved labourers. [1] Teclis created the Cythai, but when they rejected his teachings they became the Idoneth Deepkin. [2]
Though not truly aelven themselves, the Sylvaneth mimic the Wood Elves of the World That Was, who they remember as "The Protectors." [3]
Aelven Gods
The new aelven pantheon of the Mortal Realms
Many gods provide patronage to the aelves; some were gods that also served the ancient Elven people of the World-That-Was, while others only became Incarnate gods after its destruction.
Old Aelven Pantheon
- Khaine: Though Khaine was killed by the Chaos Gods, Morathi tricked the Daughters of Khaine, claiming that he was merely weakened and that they will be able to reconstruct him through worship and devotion [1]. Morathi now held Khaine's iron heart, the only vestige of him in the Mortal Realms, yet the prayers and offerings of the Daughters power her instead.
- Mathlann: Mathlann saved the last of the aelven souls from the World before Time, but to no avail. He died alongside the last of Aelvenkind. The Idoneth Deepkin can channel the souls of their deceased people alongside old memories of him to summon the Eidolon of Mathlann. [2]
New Aelven Pantheon
- Alarielle - Alarielle is the Ascended goddess of life and nature. Though originally an aelf, Alarielle instead spends her time with her favoured children, the Sylvaneth, and is the mistress of Ghyran.[3]
- Tyrion and Teclis - The Ascended god of light and war and the god of light and knowledge, respectively, the twin aelven gods rule over Hysh.
Aelf Names
Aelves tend to have two elements to their name. The first is given at birth, while the second is usually based on a deed or describes the aelf or where they are from.
Nomadic aelves often adopt a "deed name," such as "Caith Drakestalker," whilst a city aelf may have a name based on where they are from, like "Glorian Tor-Liminis."
Aelves of high status sometimes use only mononyms, discarding the second part of their name as they grow in stature.
- Example Aelf Forenames: Aedarys, Aemothis, Aethrian, Ahnika, Caith, Eldorel, Gallanglaen, Giléan, Glorian, Gwyth, Ilnarion, Ímren, Krylla, Kuva, Lotann, Maesa, Maleneth, Narquellian, Oscus, Radharcith, Raith, Selendti, Shevanya, Thystra, Ubraich, Vhorskaya, Vizrin, Weshalin
- Example Aelf Surnames: Azureye, Defthand, Drakestalker, Flaxenmane, Heartseeker, Silentstep, Swifthand, Wayfinder
Sources
- Warhammer Age of Sigmar - Soulbound - Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 23-24, 29-31
- 1: Battletome: Daughters of Khaine (2nd Edition)
- 2: Battletome: Idoneth Deepkin (2nd Edition)
- 3: Order Battletome: Sylvaneth (2nd Edition)
- 4: Games Workshop - Warscrolls Compendium: High Elves (PDF)
- 5: Games Workshop - Warscrolls Compendium: Wood Elves (PDF)
- 6: Games Workshop - Warscrolls Compendium: Dark Elves (PDF)