Monster Essays: Subspecies of Elves (Patreon)

I wanted to do this for a bit and finally got the mood to do some dry evaluations on the various forms of elves in my modern monstergirl stories. I'd named a few in passing, and I swiped a few from other stories while making some up on the spot. Shadow elves were an early favorite we brainstormed up in the Discord, so plan to use them for something or other in the future. I decided to avoid using moon elves from the Moon Elf Reputation story, mostly because it's a less spiteful setting and their entire backstory is about the gods cursing them, but I've never indicated any actual gods in this setting.
I always tend to play elves as the standard of monstergirls. Liking elves is kind of like liking blondes. At this point, it's so plain I'm just like "Okay, AND?" unless there's some other special hook in there. I've got an old unfinished one saved that's just an elf that wants to impress her boyfriend on their first time, but also doesn't want to show that she's got hundreds of years of dating experience on him.

Dylan Eywind

Interspecies Relations Masters Study

The Elven Rainbow. Subraces and Subcultures of Elvenkind.

A-. A thorough handling of the subject without overwhelming the reader with the broadness of the subject.

While I have discussed elves in my earlier writing, I have neglected most details on the nature of their subraces. While an oversight at first, this can be more accurately viewed as a requirement. The fact remains that so many branches of the elven family tree have become so numerous and strictly defined that the emergence of elves to rejoin the mortal plane with other monsters has further blurred the lines between them. Many have determined that, as with children from interspecies relationships or who have undergone transformation magic, elves are generally able to identify themselves as whichever particular race they deem fit. There are finer points to the requirements to represent them on the elven council in their homeworld of Everwood, but elf politics are slow to change when each of them have endless lifespans to ponder the consequences.

The origins of elves can be drawn back to the “high elf,” believed to be the most common type of elf. They tend to be fair-skinned and light haired with slim, conventionally attractive builds and pointed ears. They are a highly magical race by nature, and while it seems impossible to know the true origins of the races at this point by magic or science, they possess some of the oldest records of written history. They were among the first of our world to harness magic, and their history shows that when other species were evolving into more physically imposing forms, elves chose to create their pocket dimension of Everwood to use as a sanctuary. Some speculate that the origins of Hell and the demons were the results of a similar situation, or that perhaps the early demonoids were the threat that ancient elves were trying to avoid.

As elves advanced along their own path, the sanctity and preservation of Everwood remained their highest priority. Over the centuries, several smaller groups of elves disagreed or had plans of their own and broke off from their world tree, creating realms of their own on the magical planes. They were free to leave but the Everwood borders remain very carefully overseen to this day in order to prevent outside threats, corruption, or pollution. This has given the average high elf the reputation as being uptight, law abiding, and formal by nature, particularly those fresh from their homeworld.

The exact history of when and how all the other sorts of elves were founded are hazy at best. Some left quietly while others stormed off in noisy huffs, and which exactly became which elf was left unclear until they made themselves known later. Several even came as a surprise to the high elves when they began to enter the material plane, presumably offshoots of other offshoots that they were not informed of. Here, we will be cataloging the primary ones as recognized by elven society as possessing a sizable enough population and social identity.

One of the earliest and most notable subsections of their kind became known as the dark elves. They possess darker features than high elves, with skin varying from dark browns to obsidian black. Their hair tends to be a much brighter color, and they tend to be more curvaceous and athletic in build. The dark elves (referred to as drow or drae in elvish) were radical separatists who left Everwood and severed all ties with them at the time of secession. This came with the price of losing their natural immortality as they were no longer connected to the vast mana of their homeworld. This led to several centuries of abduction, slavery and feeding on others by draining their unused mana. It is also suspected to be the reason that drow have far more sexualized builds and society while high elves are famous for their smaller endowments.

Drow society grew hedonistic and established a clear status of servants (often those from other races) and the fewer but powerful nobility. The process originally involved ritualized sacrifice, but it was soon deemed wasteful when mana transfer via sex became seen as far more humane, practical and a higher show of status by keeping said slaves longer. These bonds and the introduction of modern society gradually shifted these views until the true slavery was outlawed in their homeland as well. Some longtime servants remained with their masters as lovers and sources of mana, but modern dark elves must, like succubi, feed off the immediate suffering or pleasure of a nearby host. Considering the process, there tend to be plenty of volunteers and services that provide this kind of feeding.

Wood elves are a much more physical counterpart to most of their kin. They tend to be lean but muscular with tan skin and slightly shorter builds than other elves. Most theorize that they left their magical sanctuary to create one closer with nature, drawing their mana off of a more primal and simple source. This strongly encourages a spiritual and naturalistic lifestyle among their kind. Many of their beliefs involve a free-spirited mix of herbal medicines, martial arts, meditation, indulging in drink and pleasure, and ritualized hunting and exploring. Their agility and strength tend to exceed their fellow elves, known to be expert climbers. While they can live in more urban areas, they can experience nausea or weakness if they do not visit a more natural area every year or so.

The shadow elves were similar in their branching out to pursue their own spiritual interests. Their long-lived reflections led them to consider a life of modesty, self-reflection and shame, creating a domain of constant darkness to conceal themselves. Shadow elves are extremely pale with tendencies towards dark hair that give them a grim, gothic look if not for their plump, pouty lips. Shadow elf culture claims these are signs of well-kept secrets and ponderous thoughts, but are also quite sensitive. Their mouths and tongues can detect fluctuations in the air, not unlike a snake to compensate for their sensitive eyes. This has also been known to stimulate them, with the term “mouthgasms” arising around shadow elves in particular to express a sexual euphoria from using them.

While many have moved past their religiously reclusive practices, the deepest superstition of their people of protecting one’s soul remain. The eyes and the shadow were considered to be the main portals to one’s soul, which is believed to come from a sensitivity to bright lights. Regardless, nearly every shadow elf wears loose, flowing clothing to create a misleading shadow and tends to grow their hair over their eyes (a veil, bandana or large hat will do instead). Exposing them is said to be an immensely intimate act among their people. All this tends to earn them a stereotype of being very poetic, mysterious and intense.

Almost inversely, the sun elves sought to engage themselves with the purity of light and sun. They tend to be blonde with bronze tans and tend to be lively, cheerful and courteous. Their body emits a faint heat and glows like living light bulbs, but can be built up and controlled to release in blinding bursts. Their constant feeding off of sunlight makes them tend to walk around in as little clothing as possible. It is considered a great ask of them to cover themselves up, though they understand that their natural light can be disruptive in some social situations.

Snow elves are well known as the origins of Christmas mythology. They are easily the smallest of the elves, comparable to gnomes in their high voices and short, thick figures. Their small size and natural resistance to cold allows them to thrive in arctic climates unfit for most other creatures. Many have maintained their culture in the North Pole, supporting Santa Claus and his gift-giving endeavors in exchange for comfortable living. Their charitable setup has led to their favoring a colorful, holiday-themed slang and aversion to conventional profanity (though their tempers remain).

Snow elves are presumed to be an offshoot of the sugar elf line. While as tall as most other elves, they are plump and jovial with skin that tends towards bright, shocking colors favoring pinks and reds. Their homeworld was founded on a pursuit of feasts and sweets, to a point where the famously thin to curvy elves managed to actually gain weight over generations. Generosity and hospitality are key for the party-loving people who hold the record for the most holidays per year as excuses to celebrate. Sugar elves require a large amount of food and sugar to maintain their standard diets, but many view them as bubbly and pleasant company.

Some of the lesser known elves are the sea, wind and fire elves. This is due to the fact that they are difficult to reach given their habitats that remain difficult for humanoid life to survive and vice versa. Sea elves, for example, lived among the mermaids at the bottom of the sea. They feature blue skin and fins beneath their ears and at several joints. Much of their practices are a mystery beyond them being perfectly friendly with outsiders. While mermaids are functionally amphibious, the fact that sea elves suffer great discomfort above the surface without magic to provide them the moisture and adapted air pressure they need to survive limits most peoples’ interactions with them.

Fire elves live in a realm of fire and magma, similarly limiting their outside contact. Their intense body heat makes them impractical in most modern environments, burning or melting many surfaces. They have rigid, somewhat boney builds and bright orange skin.

Sky elves are tall and thin with dark green skin. They have wing-like growths by their ankles and temples that adjust for finer aerodynamics. They are free-spirited beings that are highly social with all life and nature around them, flying through the air with a constant aura of magic. Much like their undersea cousins, sky elves are fairly fragile and take extreme care with physical contact, lest it harm or disrupt another’s flight. Their bodies are adapted to the high altitude realm of their homeworld, and thus rarely deal with the surface races.

Iron elves and star elves are similarly reclusive for their own reasons. Iron elves are gray-skinned with short, stocky builds compared to high elves. Their skin is thick and shines like metal, even if it is far softer to the touch. They are stern and methodical people, with most theorizing that they were born from a clan of craftsmen that sought seclusion to perfect their art. Their anatomy is more magical than elves, closer to a demon or magical construct while having no qualms with adapting their body’s shapes. Studies suggest their ancestors magically modified their bodies to better suit smithing and delicate physical labor. They do not need to eat or sleep, and appear to generate their own life-sustaining mana through intense focus and effort. Iron elf culture centers around this productivity and creativity, encouraging taking decades or even centuries to perfect a project. This tends to make them fairly scarce in the outside world, and those that do tend to be intensely focused or soft spoken.

Star elves are unique as they sought to ascend to an ethereal state. Ritual magic led them to form intangible bodies, appearing ghostly and barely visible being of humanoid light with brighter eyes when they choose to be. They pass through the planes and dimensions at will, but even communication with physical creatures is difficult as they cannot interact with objects and lack vocal chords. Considering that touch, speech and even visibility is difficult for them to achieve without proper magic channels, they tend to go unnoticed and seem fairly content to keep it that way.

Several other types of elves exist, though they have yet to be defined by any official source as their own species. Small groups claiming to be goth elves, punk elves, wrestle elves and the like appear to be more of social cliques and trends rather than genetic offshoots. Elven councils tend to hear out most claims to these new subcategories of elves, but most reports show that they lack the credibility or numbers. Of course, the pace of the elven government remains unlikely to make official statements anytime soon.

Given the diversity of their kind, their ability to adapt to and create new environments, and their incredibly ancient civilization, many studies have gone into whether prehistoric elves were the earliest race or even the “original” species of Earth that evolved into the others. While these records appear lost to history, elves of all sorts have provided some of our finest minds in the arts, magic and science across the planet and are, quite thankfully, showing no signs of leaving.