Elves (Elfquest)

The comic book series Elfquest, created by Wendy and Richard Pini, features a race of elves on the World of Two Moons, searching for their origins and place in the world.

Contents

1 Origin 2 Physical characteristics 3 Tribes 3.1 Wolfriders 3.2 Sun Folk 3.3 Gliders 3.4 Go-backs 3.5 Wavedancers 4 Longevity 5 Magic 6 Sex and relationships

Origin

The elves are descended from a spacegoing race known as the High Ones, who were accompanied by small workers (later to evolve into trolls) and winged flitters, later to become the preservers. One isolated group of High Ones, seeking others of their kind, encountered an unknown planet with two moons inhabited by humans.

Scanning the planet from orbit, they learned of human legends which suggested that other High Ones had once visited the planet. Intending to communicate with the humans in order to learn more, the High Ones reshaped their bodies into elfin form and their spaceship into a Medieval-style palace. Just as they were about to land, the troll servants rebelled and caused the ship to jump back in time 10,000 years, to an age when humans were at a paleolithic stage of development. The primitive humans killed some of the elves and drove the rest away. The preservers followed some of the elves while the trolls, freed from their masters, established underground colonies.

Thus the elves were both the cause and the result of a time paradox, because the legends the High Ones had seen were about their own time-shifted descendants.

Most of the High Ones died out, and their descendants forgot their origins completely until Cutter's quest led to their rediscovery.

Physical characteristics

The elves of Elfquest are broadly human in appearance, but are distinguished from humans by the following characteristics:

• Ears - the most obvious elfin characteristic. Much bigger than human ears, and prominently pointed. Their tips are supported by prominent bony ridges on either side of the skull.
• Eyes - larger than human eyes, with slanted eyelids.
• Cheekbones - high and prominent.
• Noses - small and narrow, so much so that they appear almost too small to breathe through.
• Hair - much finer and silkier than human hair.
• Facial hair - none, except in the case of Wolfriders (see below), who develop "face fur" - mutton chops, beards and moustaches - at the age of a few centuries (see Longevity, below).
• Fingers and toes - only four digits on each hand and foot.
• Height - some elves, notably Savah and most of the Gliders, are as tall as or taller than humans, though generally thinner. Most of the Wolfriders, Sun Folk and Go-backs are much shorter following long generations of adaptation, and have an average height of around 4 feet (120 cm).
• Skin color - elves generally exhibit the same range of variation as humans. The Sun Folk, adapted to desert conditions, have dark brown skin; Wolfriders, adapted to cold temperate climates, are pale pink but tan in hotter climates; Go-backs, living in the tundra, have pale skin.

Tribes

Subsequent to their arrival on the World of Two Moons, the elves splintered into a number of different tribes. These tribes differ considerably in culture and even physical appearance

Wolfriders

The Wolfriders are a hunter-gatherer society of nocturnal elves who possess wolf blood, which gives them characteristics unique to their tribe.

Sun Folk

The Sun Folk are a sedentary, largely agrarian desert-dwelling tribe whose dark skin helps protect them from the powerful sunlight of their home, a village called Sorrow's End.

Gliders

The Gliders are a tall race of elves, almost all of whom possess the power of gliding (see Magic below). To avoid human persecution they have cloistered themselves inside the hollowed-out Blue Mountain, devoting themselves to art and contemplation. In the process they have become arrogant and decadent, none more so than the black-robed Winnowill.

Go-backs

The Go-backs, as their name suggests, desire to return to the Palace. But the Palace is claimed by King Guttlekraw's trolls, and so the Go-backs have become a race of brutally barbaric warriors, constantly fighting the trolls until war has become their meat and milk. Unknown to the Go-backs, their chief Kahvi actually has Wolfrider blood.

Wavedancers

The Wavedancers are a tribe of elves who took refuge in the oceans of the World of Two Moons. Thanks to elfin flesh-shaping magic, the Wavedancers have in some cases undergone physical alterations such as fins and fishlike tails to help them adapt to an aquatic life.

Longevity

Most elves are effectively immortal unless killed in battle or accident. The oldest known elf, Timmain, has lived at least 20,000 years by World of Two Moons reckoning. Wolfriders, however, because of their wolf blood, will eventually grow old and die - something that was forgotten during their conflict with humans because of the high mortality rate in that period. It is not known just how long a Wolfrider can live, but some have been known to survive for more than 1,200 years. This wolf trait can be removed by a healer, but such a profound excision of an inherent element of themselves is an option few Wolfriders find desirable. So far the only 'reverted' wolfriders are Skywise, in an act of desperation, and Windkin, who had his wolf blood removed in infancy. However, Suntop, though of Wolfrider descent, never had wolf blood; his twin sister Ember 'called' the wolf blood to herself in the womb.

After death an elf's immortal spirit survives. Most elfin spirits journey to the Palace of the High Ones, but some - particularly those of Wolfriders - remain to watch over their people.

Magic

Many elves have magic, or psi powers. These include:

• Animal-bonding - the ability to develop an empathic or telepathic connection with an animal. All Wolfriders are able to bond with wolves, and have a particularly close connection with them thanks to their wolf blood, but the power exists among other tribes, such as the Gliders, who bond with giant birds.
  • Animal control - Teir's skills with animals go considerably further, allowing him to be considered part of any pack of animals.
• Astral projection - the ability to 'go out' and communicate with other magic-users in a bodiless psychic plane.
  • Mind-snare - the ability, possessed by strong astral projectors, to 'trap' other projectors in the astral plane, preventing their return to their bodies.
• Fire-starting - the ability to start and control fires. This ability is very rare; the last known possessor who was able to control his magic was Zarhan Fastfire, in the time of the Wolfriders' second chief. It may have been a failed firestarting attempt that created the bad magic pool that spawned Madcoil.
• Freezing stare - the ability to paralyze an animal or intelligent being with a stare; a kind of hypnosis.
• Gliding - the ability to 'fly' or self-levitate, allowing an elf to guide with the winds or with an initial kick off. Strong gliders use the power for more fully for self propulsion, at high speed and maneuverability. Gliding is a very deeply innate ability - Mountain Folk elves have been known to continue gliding while unconscious, sleeping, or having sex. Note that Rayek doesn't actually glide - rather, he uses very powerful telekinesis to move himself, somewhat lacking in finesse.
• Healing - the ability to heal injury or disease. Unscrupulous healers can invert the power by violently stimulating pain nerves to make the target experience agonizing pain. Conversely, the pleasure nerves can also be stimulated with equal strength, producing intensely pleasurable sensations that can dramatically enhance sexual experiences. Healers can also induce Recognition, with varying degrees of success. Go-backs stigmatize healers, believing they make warriors soft and careless. It is possible for an elf to heal a non-elf (such as a human) but this is significantly harder.
  • Flesh-shaping - the ability, possessed by sophisticated healers, to manipulate flesh to shape it to their desires. This can be done on a large scale, such as Winnowill's reshaping of Tyldak into a birdlike being, or on a very subtle level, such as the removal of 'wolf blood' from Wolfriders.
    • Soul-shaping goes one step further; a skilled healer can actually shape another being's thoughts. The only one to ever do this is Winnowill, although Leetah has been sorely tempted at times.
  • Shielding - the ability to protect another from magical attack using one's own healing power.
• Levitation - the ability to telekinetically manipulate objects
• Magic feeling - the ability to detect past and present use of other psi powers.
• Rock-shaping - the ability to sculpt and mould solid rock, but generally this power cannot affect refined metal.
• Sending - the ability to exchange thoughts and feelings by telepathy. All elves appear to have the capacity for sending, but some tribes use it more often than others; the Wolfriders send frequently, whereas the Sun Folk send rarely if at all. Some elves cannot send but can still receive.
  • Black-sending - the ability to send in such a way as to cause psychic pain. Winnowill is adept at black-sending.
  • Power sending - Strongbow's sending is significantly stronger than most, allowing him to breach large distances, or exert his will over weaker minds.
  • Send-shielding - the ability to block or protect against the sendings of others. Venka displayed this power at a very young age.
• Shapeshifting - the ability to assume the form of other living creatures (even humans in some cases). Only the High Ones seem capable of true shapeshifting; experienced healers can flesh-shape themselves to (for instance) grow gills, but the process is notoriously slower.
• Soulfire - a mystic power possessed by high ones (Timmain in particular), used to ward off Winnowill's dark powers
• Tree-shaping - the ability to grow and shape plants.

Sex and relationships

Because of their extreme longevity, elves have a very low birth rate. Stable and peaceful elf societies such as the Sun Folk and the Gliders have no deaths for long periods and therefore no births, while the Wolfriders and Go-backs, plagued by centuries of war against humans and trolls respectively, have a higher birth rate in order to stabilize their populations, although still very low by human standards. Because of the low birth rate elves do not practice contraception.

Elves also have a very long gestation period - about two years. The reason for this is not entirely clear, but it does make the eventual birth of a child an eagerly-anticipated event. Amongst elves the concept of an unwanted child is unthinkable, and abortion even more so.

Perhaps because of the low birth rate, and the fact that elves have no sexually transmitted diseases, sex is regarded primarily as a recreational rather than a reproductive activity and there are few taboos. One taboo is that sexual activity takes place out of sight of younger children.

Elves who form casual relationships with partners of either sex are called lovemates, and it is fairly common for an elf to have more than one lovemate at a time. Some elves choose partners, usually of the opposite sex, for life, called lifemates. This is the closest elfin equivalent to marriage; however, there is no bar against one or both lifemates of a pair taking other lovemates of either sex, as long as the other does not object.

These arrangements usually run smoothly, although possessiveness and jealousy are not unknown.

A side-effect of the elves' telepathy and low birth rate is the phenomenon known as recognition. When two genetically-compatible elves of opposite sexes meet, they experience a sudden and immediate compulsion to mate and have children. A Wolfrider who experiences recognition involuntarily surrenders his or her soul name to the other recognized elf. This is described by the phrase, "soul meets soul when eyes meet eyes".

Recognition is a purely involuntary urge that has no regard for pre-existing relationships. This can cause considerable tension between one or both of those experiencing it and their established partners; while recognition does not dictate the formation of a lasting relationship, it is very common. This is very likely due to the two elves involved knowing each others' soulname, removing all barriers to essentially knowing everything about the person. Generally, even if a longer relationship does not develop, a new-found level of respect is formed. Some elves have tried to resist recognition, but this only causes them to experience increasing physical and mental distress. It has been suggested that this could be fatal in the long term, but there is no known instance of such a fatality occurring.

The purpose of recognition is to produce healthy offspring that have their beneficial inherited characteristics maximized. Whatever emotional upheavals it may cause, all elves agree that children conceived in recognition have greater physical, mental and magical gifts than those who are not. For example, the children of the recognized lifemates, Cutter and Leetah, Suntop and Ember have considerable magical potential and physical hardiness respectively. There are also benefits for adults who are recognized. For instance, the recognized union of Woodlock and Rainsong is notedly prolific as far as Elves go.

Among the Go-backs one further form of sexual relationship exists: the orgy. In Go-back society both sexes fight in wars. Thus the night before a battle is usually marked by frenzied dancing followed by group sexual activity. This is partly in order to celebrate life before risking it in battle, and partly to scatter seed as widely as possible so that those females who survive will replenish the tribe. In addition, the founder of this tribe favoured quantity over quality in reproduction and thus Recognition's influence was significantly reduced to allow for more frequent conceptions.