They believed their cause just and the death of their enemies a mercy and waged war upon the titans with burning light and Winged Death. Intent to tame the land, elves prepared to hunt the pillars of the earth and their witless and soulless workers. But earthquakes shook the cities they'd built, throwing down their work. It rang with its own harmony, and elvhen hoped that if they listened to it, great works would unfold and they would make the Earth blossom. However the Earth was the demesne of its pillars, the titans. Elves maintained close relationships with spirits, who acted as keepers of knowledge and teachers. Some of them manifested outside the Fade and built cities on the Earth. But they made it forget.” ― ColeĮlvhen sought both to explore the stillest roots of the Fade and to master the unchanging material world, delicate and stubborn when subjected to magic. Ancient memories tell of a city of blue glass spires and enormous green parks, with figures strolling along the pearly, glowing strips as if they walked on solid ground and bodies of lovers colliding in the air in an endless dance. They existed in a world without the Veil and called the Fade the "sky". When night fell, the roads were lit by stones like these, bright enough to find your way safely, but soft enough that you could still see the stars."” ― Felassan See also: Category: Ancient elven loreĮlves were once a race comprised of beautiful, ethereal immortals who lived in harmony with nature and who never changed. “Every statue fountain could speak through the water that poured from her mouth. Imagine beings who lived forever, for whom magic was as natural as breathing. “Imagine instead spires of crystal twining through the branches, palaces floating among the clouds. The Dalish attribute the failure of their gods to protect the people to the trickster god Fen'Harel, who had deceived both the elven pantheon and their nemeses, the Forgotten Ones, and had trapped them in heaven and in the abyss, respectively. Elves were enslaved, and human contact quickened their veins until every captured elf turned mortal. Then Tevinter magisters used their great destructive power to force the very ground to swallow Arlathan whole. According to the Dalish, when the city was breached their ancestors chose to flee rather than fight. As the human Tevinter Imperium rose to power, they moved to conquer Arlathan (aided, it is said, by demons and dragon thralls). Fearful, elves immediately moved to close Elvhenan off from the humans to preserve their civilization. Furthermore, those who spent time with the humans found themselves aging. They contracted human diseases, some of which proved lethal. Elves viewed the other race as brash, warlike and impatient. The Dalish tell that when humans first arrived, elves named them "shemlen", or "quicklings" for their short life span. A rare few ancient works of great beauty depicting cooperation between them still remain. The dwarven Shaperate also speak of a Thedas entirely devoid of humans, when elves reigned over the land and dwarves ruled the underground. The Dalish have no legends about fighting the dwarves, although they have a story about how the dwarves fear the sun because of Elgar'nan's fire. Īccording to the elven calendar, they made first contact with the dwarves in -4600 Ancient. Arlathan was a place where the best of the ancient elves would go to trade knowledge, greet old friends, and settle disputes that had gone on for millennia, with homes, galleries and amphitheaters that stood for ages. The city was presumably located in the great forest in northern Thedas. According to the elven calendar, it was founded around -7600 Ancient. As a result, human scholars came to believe that it was the only elven settlement of note. Most Dalish stories, however, focus on the fabled city of Arlathan, or "this place of love". It is said that elves built multiple cities. The Dalish believe that magic is the gift of their gods, and all elvhen once had it. They were not immortal, but they did not suffer from deterioration of mind or body. The Dalish retained vague memories of early history, when elven gods walked the earth, spoke to the people and provided them with knowledge, counsel and protection, while the people prayed and made offerings to them amongst lush forests and ancient trees. From time to time, our ancestors would drift into centuries-long slumber, but this was not death, for we know they wandered the Fade in dreams.” ― Dalish tale See also: Category: Dalish lore They felt no need to rush when life was endless. “Before the ages were named or numbered, our people were glorious and eternal and never-changing.
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