Grey Elves


The True Elves

Grey elves are at once the most noble and the most reclusive of the elves. They have withdrawn from the world after making their mark, which was to insure that the world was well on the path to goodness. The grey elves view themselves as the protectores of good in the world, but they will stir from their mountains and meadows to protect the "lesser" races only when they are faced with great evil.
Grey elves act much like human knights--supercilious and condencending, full of their own importance. They think nothing of speaking their minds, providied that this remains within the bounds of elven decorum. They are often haughty, disdaining contact with most others, including all other elves save grey elves.
This subrace garbs themselves in wool tunics of gold, silver, white, or yellow. Over these, they wear cloaks of dark blue or purple. Their dress alone often makes them the most striking elves, and their elegant bearing and pure beauty make them almost appear as supernatural creatures.
When arming themselves for battle, they don shimmering suits of plate or chain mail, protecting the head with winged helmets. Their weapons, created by master elf crafters, shine brightly under any light. Mounted warriors ride griffons or hippogriffs into battle, swooping down upon their enemies with dreadful perfection.
Taller and more slender then the other elves, grey elves typically have silver hair and amber eyes. This does not give them any special abilities, but it does serve to distinguish them from their high elven brethen. Somewhat rarer are those grey elves who have pale golden hair and violet eyes. These elves are often known as faerie and are probably those who first made contact with humans.
While not exactly bigoted toward other races, the grey elves do believe in the purity of theelven line. They are the least tolerant of other races, and they take great pains to ensure that they remain secluded from all--sometimes even other elves. Only the mightiest mages of other races are allowed within their mountain citadels, and these are greeted with suspicion. The greye lves are not rabid in their dislike of the shorter-lived races, but they do fear the corruption that the other races can bring the elves.
Because of the ir reverence for the sanctity of elven blood, grey elves have striven to maintain their origional ideas. They consider themselves to be the purest form of all elves. They believe thatsince the other elves do not concern themselves with maintaining their purity, their roll in the elven world is less then that of the grey elf. These feel that they are "true" elves, and that others are somehow lesser versions. They grey elves staunchly believe this to be true, despite the fact that they are an offshoot of the origional high-elf line.
Of all elves, grey elves rely the most on intelligence. While other elves are by no means stupid, grey elves trust less in physical prowress than they do the mind. Their line breeds more mages and mage combinations then any other, and some of the most esteemed of their subrace are scholars.
Their entire existance is based on developing and discovering new knowledge , and they therefore spend less time on the pleasurable pursuits that occupy other elves' lives. Their mages are without peer in the elven world. Even mages of greater power from other races speak of the knowledge of the grey elves with no small measure of fascination.
Like all elves, their crafters have had centuries to perfect their art. Since the grey elves have a much fiercer dedication to perfection than other elves, their products are finer then any others in the world. Only some dwarves can rival the expertise shown by grey elves--but even then, they can not rival the sheer beauty exhibited in elven manufacture.
It is a guarantee that almost any grey elven work can hold the strongest magics and enchantments. The very qualities of the manufacture work subtle charms into the item, making it more receptive to whatever potent magic a mage might use to enhance it. The grey elves have produced most of the magical items attributed to elvenkind. THey are particularily devoted to the creaton of scrolls.
Grey elves often have the most extensive libraries of anyone in the world. Any grey elf community of more then 50 years will have a communal library rivaling those of any major city or wizard. Such libraries are open to all elves who wish to better themselves and increase their knowledge. Since the grey elves value the constant expansion of their stores of books, many spend their lives in research (either magical or scientific) writing learned treatises.
Because they spend so much time in research, grey elves often have little time to spare for physical labor, although this does not preclude craftsmanship. In order to maintain their cities, they must rely on "lesser" elves for the upkeep of their realms. Since almost all of these servant elves have been brought up in the particular atmosphere of the grey elves, they believe that their lot in life is to serve the grey elves. Although some do leave, most do not have the spirit to do so. Many are truly happy performing tasks for their masters and would not dream of departing. The stratified society offers them security and comfort.
Grey elves are not harsh taskmakers, but neither are they forgiving. When a servitor elf fails in a task or performs it poorly, punishment is swift and to the point. Few make the same mistake twice.
Grey elf society is among the most rigidly defined in any world. They are ruled by a hereditary monarch, either male or female, who can be succeeded by any other members of the House Royal. This is subject to the approval of the House Noble. The ruler must have all decisions ratified by such a majority.
Beneath these two Houses are the Merchant Houses, of which the Guild Houses are a part. The House Protector is equal to the Merchant Houses. Beneath the Merchant houses are teh Servitor Houses. Beneath them are the casteless elves, who have almost no voice in grey elf society.
Interestingly enough, most other elves to not readily befriend grey elves, for they see the grey elves as far too serious and arrogant. Indeed, some elves think the grey subrace is far closer to the word "human" then "elf". Thye think the grey elves have lost the elven joy of life, for the grey elves perfer to spend their time with books rather than revel in the outdoors and goodness of life. Instead of exploring the boundaries of life, they are learning to be serious.
In some eyes, the grey elves have gone so far as to enslave other elves--if not in fact, then in spirit. They grey elves' "servants" have none of the typical elven love of life, nor do they have that spark that is so particularly elven. This causes many elves to shun much contact with grey elves Even though the servitor elves are there by choice, such order and lawfulness inherent in the grey elf society seems repulsive and even dwarvish to most elves

The Grey Elves' City

The grey elves have an abiding love for all things perminant. In their mountains, they have found nothing so perminant as stone, and so they make virtually all of their beautifully sculpted buildings from this material. Although their skill is not that of hte dwarves, grey elves have learned a trick or two with stoneworking, and they put them to good use in their cities. When the rare dwarf is admitted to these lands, tears have welled up in his eyes at the beauty the grey elves have wrought in granite and shale and other stones comprising their mountains.
The grey elf cities are strictly divided by caste. Those of lower social level are kept well away from those of higher social class. Still, even those of low social standing have permanent housing. Grey elves know the importance of a secure home, and they provide it for all who dwell in their cities.
Grey elf cities are also divided into at least five walled concentric rings, with those of higher classes closer toward teh secure center. On the outter rings live those of the noncaste, or of extremely low class. As one progresses through the rings, the finery in construction and ornamentation increases as well, until one reaches the palace and government buildings in the center of the city. The few humans and other races who have seen the center of a grey-elven city have often sworn that there was no more lovely sight in all the world, and that they must be in the home of the gods. While it is true that the centeral portion of a city is is elaborate, even the meanest sections of the city are stunningly beautiful--crafters work on these sections in their spare time. Not only does this arrangement keep each social class physically distinct, it allows for tremendous protection of the most important parts of the city. Further, all grey elves are trained in at least the rudiments of weaponry, and the people themselves provide an ideal defense against any unwanted visitors.

Grey Elven City

Yes, I admit it. All this stuff is copied word for word from The Complete Book of Elves which is an AD&D book, copywrited by TSR. I have no right to use this info, but it's here for all personal use, and I'm not makin' any money from it.