Origin Type: Dumped / Native Remnant
Known Regions: Garden enclaves, arboreal ruins, sanctified forest cores
Affiliation: Grovebound Collectives, Spirit-Wardens, Seedguard Cells

Overview

Elves are one of the few races that claim to remember the worlds before Genesis—or at least, fragments of the groves, songs, and spirits they lost. Slender, sharp-eyed, and spiritually attuned, Elves are defined not just by grace but by a quiet caution they extend toward the other races.

They are caretakers of nature, yes—but in Genesis, nature has been corrupted, and the Elves now serve more as wardens than stewards. To them, survival means keeping things contained, not just preserved.

“The root remembers what the flame forgets.”

Physical Traits

• Slender build, pointed ears, and almond-shaped eyes
• Skin tones range from pale bark to sun-warmed tan
• Hair colors reflect seasonal shifts—greens, browns, golds, and deep auburn
• Move with uncanny stillness; often misread as emotionless when they're simply listening

Some Elves bear spiral tattoos or vine-like birthmarks tied to their soul-tree lineage, believed to pulse faintly in areas of spiritual imbalance.

Abilities

• Spirit Attunement – Can sense and occasionally calm corrupted flora or nature-based Echoes
• Verdant Recall – Possess instinctive knowledge of plant life, soil purity, and spiritual disease
• Grovebinding (Ritual) – In select zones, Elves can temporarily restore “green balance,” shielding the area from corruption for a limited time
• Soul-Sense (Passive) – Elves can feel when living things are suffering—even if they're silent

Society and Role

Elves are typically communal, forming enclaves rather than empires. Each enclave acts like a living memory archive, its gardens and elders preserving knowledge too dangerous to record in books.

Roles within an enclave include:

• Spirit-Wardens – Monitor and seal rift-tainted groves
• Foragers – Provide food and resources without breaking local harmony
• Heartkeepers – Memory-bearers and emotional anchors in long-term exile

Elves rarely seek control. Instead, they try to balance the world around them, even as that world erodes.

Culture

Elven culture revolves around ritual, memory, and resilience. Music and oral storytelling preserve bloodlines and cautionary tales. Art is grown, carved, or formed from reclaimed forest detritus.

They revere the idea of “the First Forest”—a theoretical place where no rift has ever opened and no contract has ever been signed. Whether it ever existed, no one knows. But Elves remember it anyway.

Relations with Other Races

Elves approach others with polite distance. They are not cold—but they are calculating. Their trust is slow-earned, and their patience with recklessness is limited.

• Often ally with Wildlia and certain humans, particularly those who revere land and lore
• Distrustful of Broker Wolves, Gnoll gangs, and Echo-aligned beings
• Will provide aid when needed—but rarely without embedding a lesson in the offer

Related Notes

• Some Elves have successfully cultivated rift-resistant flora believed to help in Diver operations
• Records show at least one Elf enclave willingly merged with Wildlia after their soul-trees were destroyed
• A mysterious ritual called Verdancy allows some Elves to become one with their grove—though at the cost of their individuality