Elves and the Elven Nations

AT A GLANCE:
The Elves are one of the major races of the Forgotten Realms, and ruled large sections after the time of the Dragons and before the coming of men.
Now the majority of these long-lived beings have retreated from the onslaught of mankind, seeking quieter forests, and thier numbers in the Realms are a faction of those even a thousand years ago.

ELMINSTER'S NOTES: 
The Elves of the Forgotten Realms are of human height, but much more slender.
Their fingers and hands are half-again as long as men, and delicately tapered, and their bones are light and surprisingly sturdy.
Elven faces are thinner and more serene, and Elven ears, as ears in half a hundred Known Worlds, are pointed.

There are five known Elven sub-races in the Forgotten Realms, and four of them live in relative harmony.
Cross-breeding is possible between the sub-races, but in the case of the Elves, the child will either take after the male or female parent's race (there are no drow/moon Elf mongrels, and the child of such an unlikely union would either have all the traits of a dark Elf, or of a moon Elf).

The sub-races are:

Gold Elves are also called sunrise Elves or high Elves, and have bronze skins and hair of copper, black, or blonde.
Their eyes are golden, silver, or black.
Gold Elves tend to be recognized as the most civilized of the elven sub-races and the most aloof from mankind.
The majority of the native Elves of Evermeet are gold elves, though they are led by a moon Elf royal family (see EVERMEET).

Moon Elves are also called silver or grey Elves, and are much paler, with faces of bleached white tinged with blue.
Moon Elves usually have hair of silver-white, black, or blue, though all reported colors normally found in men and Elves may be found in this race.
Their eyes are blue, or green, and have gold flecks.
They tend to tolerate men the most of the Elven sub-races, and the majority of adventuring elves and half-Elves are of moon elf heritage.

Wild Elves are also called green Elves, forest Elves, and wood Elves, and are reclusive and distrusting of non-Elves, in particular humankind.
Wild Elves of the Forgotten Realms tend to be copperish in hue, with tinctures of green, their hair tends towards browns and blacks with occasional blondes and copper-colored natives, and their eyes green, brown, or hazel.
They tend to be the least organized of the Elben peoples, and while there is not Elven nation made up entirely of wild Elves, there are wild Elves in every other elven nation and on Evermeet.
<(=Wood Elves, not Wild Elves (Grugach), if you are using UA.)>
<(could/should be renamed to Wood )>

Sea Elves, also called water Elves, are further divided into two further divisions:
those of the Great Sea (incl. all salt-water domains such as the Shining Sea and Sea of Swords), and those of the Sea of Fallen Stars.
Great Sea Elves are radiant in different shades of deep greens, with irregular patches of brown striped through their bodies.
Fallen Star Sea Elves are various shades of blue, with white patches and stripes.
Both have the full variety of eye and hair color found in all the Elven peoples, and have webbed feet and hands, and the ability to breathe water.

Dark Elves, also called drow or night Elves, are the most sinister and evil of the Elven race, as if this sub-race seems to balance the tranquility and goodness of their cousins with unrepentant maliciousness and evil.
Drow have black skin that resembles nothing so much as polished obsidian, and eyes and hair of stark white.
The variation of the other Elven sub-races is missing here.
Most of this fell race have been driven under, and are shunned by the other Elven sub-races.

The Elves call their own race Tel-'Quessir, which translates as "the People."
Strangers, in particular non-Elven strangers, are generally placed under the category "N'Tel'Quess," or "Not-People."
Most elves treat the not-people with respect and politeness, as a host would a stumbling child, though the drow fiercely enslave any who are not of their race, and consider the other Elven subraces "N'Tel'Quess."

The elves are generally ruled by noble houses, which have held control of their nations for generations (and given the nature and long life of Elves, the rule of a wise king may exceed the history of a human nation).
The elven rule is autocratic and absolute, and it is the theology and philosophy of these elves which prevent abuse of such complete power.
The monarchs of the Elven Court make pronouncements rarely, preferring to remain outside the normal course of their subject's lives.
Once such a decision is made, whether to declare war or retreat to Evermeet, it is followed by the bulk of the population.

The oddest phenomenon of Elvish life (to human observers) is the Retreat, which is viewed as a lemming-like drive to sail beyond the sea.
In the case of the Elves of the Forgotten Realms, the reason is not some biological drive, but rather the decision of the leaders of the Elven nations to withdraw to less hostile lands.
Such a decision is made after years (mankind generations) of thought and meditation, and once made, is irrevocable.
In the case of the recently-voided Elven Court, the decision to retreat was made some 500 years after deliberation began, so that while for the humans the disappearance of the Elven Court is regarded as a sudden vacuum in the heart of the Realms, for the Elven Court itself it was as inevitable (and as important) as a merchant moving his shop further down the street to increase the distance from a competitor.

The Elves in retreat always make for Evermeet, and there whatever nobles led the retreat swear their fealty to Queen Amlaruil, who is that domain's monarch.
Long ago the elven nation of Evermeet made the decision to fight those men who came to her shores, and as a result is both the strongest power of the sea, and a haven of the other Elves in retreat.

Those Elves on the Sword Coast and with easy access to teh sea make the passage to Evermeet by boat, protected by the Navy of the Queen.
How those further inland cross is not known, for none see their passage out of the world of men.
The everyday Elven folk know not the method, for after they retired one evening, their leaders and mages worked great spells or appeased the gods, for they awoke in their new homes.

The former Elven nations of the Realms include Illefarn, where Waterdeep now rises from the seacoast;
Askaver, which is now called the Wood of Sharp Teeth;
and the Elven Court, which once ruled Cormanthyr, the forest country that ran from Cormyr to the Moonsea. <>
Current Elven nations include Evermeet in its seaward seclusion and Evereska,
which has just set up a colony in the Greycloak Hills.
In addition, there are scattered group of Elves found throughout the Realms, including wild Elves, groups without noble rulers, the dark Elves, those who have found Evermeet not to their tastes and departed, and adventurers.

GAME INFORMATION: The Elves are in retreat in the North, but this does not preclude the play of Elven characters.
Such Elves are adventurers, and as such exempt from the dictates of their noble rulers.
These Elves will be aware that the nobles of their race may move their nations away from humanity (some say by stopping time itself), but not the method.

Elven PCs are usu. moon Elves, though there are wild and gold Elves as well. <>
Play of sea Elves and dark Elves is not recommended, save by agreement with the DM.