Kagonesti

Kagonesti Elves are the original and most pure type of elf upon Ansalon, and are the clan from which all other elves hail from. During the Age of Dreams they were simply known as wild elves, and whilst some of their number chose to build great cities and live behind man-made structures (who split from the Kagonesti and became known as the Silvanesti), many stayed true to nature and lived in the wild. During the Age of Dreams, a wild elf known as Kagonos, who was a Pathfinder and nominal leader of the wild elves, led his people away from the council of Sinthal-Elish, and chose to truly separate the wild elves and the civilized elves. At this time, the wild elves begin to wear tribal tattoos and renamed themselves as the Kagonesti.

Originally the Kagonesti dwelt almost solely in the forests of western Ergoth, although during the Age of Might they were hunted down as a menace by the troops of Istar. Almost wiped out completely, the surviving elves witnessed the Cataclysm and destruction of Istar, and over several hundred years grew in numbers once more. The wild elves were also enslaved by their own race, many of them were forced to work in servitude to the Silvanesti and Qualinesti people in the elven cities. The view of the "civilized elves" was that they were educating their barbaric cousins. The Kagonesti were split between those forced to work in elven cities, and those who remained free and in the wild.

The Kagonesti elves dwell in the various forested realms across Ansalon, living in harmony with nature and animals and protecting the woodlands across the continent, although the majority of them still remain in the forests of Southern Ergoth. The elven people are a mix of the original wild elves, as well as the descendants of the Silvanesti and Qualinesti elves, who have chosen to leave their great cities and return to the wild. Throughout near annihilation by the armies of Istar, enslaved by their own people, and living under tyrannical rule of the Gellidus, the Dragon Overlord, the Kagonesti have remained a strong and unbroken people, who rise in the face of adversity.
Characteristics

The average Kagonesti elf stands at just under five feet tall and weighs between ninety and a hundred pounds. Due to their outdoor lifestyle, Kagonesti elves have tanned skin and are lean and muscular. The hair color of the normal wild elf ranges between light brown to black and they normally have hazel eyes. On very rare occasions, a Kagonesti elf has been born with silvery-white hair, which is sometimes a throwback to an earlier Qualinesti or Silvanesti ancestor. Kagonesti elves are considered beautiful by most non-elven races, but are viewed as wild barbarians and at best exotic creatures by their own cousins. Kagonesti commonly are dressed in leather clothing that has a heavy fringe with feathers and silver jewelry, which they believe deters evil spirits away from them.

The wild elves are suspicious of most outsiders, having been enslaved by their own cousins, attacked by Ogres, hunted by Humans, and having their trees cut down by Dwarves over the course of history. They are peerless hunters and silent in the woods, as well as amongst the most skilled fighters of elvenkind. All Kagonesti have an innate knowledge of nature and the forest, and are normally akin with animals and in the wild and almost lost in a city, until given enough time to adapt. They normally worship the gods of either light or neutrality, but even show a healthy respect for the gods of darkness. However any Kagonesti who was known to worship a dark god, was exiled, and decreed as a dark elf and not welcome in elven lands.

The Kagonesti elves generally live under a tribal system, where each tribe is centered on a chief and his family. Kagonesti tribes either live wild in a forest, or sometimes in portable structures. They do not build permanent structures, as it does not allow them to roam free. The Kagonesti have a strong sense of history and the past, and relate all their tales verbally. The creation tales of the elves has altered over time due to the verbal retelling from generation to generation, however it is the role of the Pathfinder and the shamans of the Kagonesti to remember all the stories of their people.

A Kagonesti child is named based on a certain characteristic that they possess that is likened to something in nature. On passing a rite of passage, they are given an adult name that designates they are to considered an adult in their community. Some elves reach this point at 40 years old, however all Kagonesti elves are considered adults by 70 years of age. The standard Kagonesti elf tends to live up to 500 years of age, however some Kagonesti elves have been known to live up to 700 years old, and a few rare exceptions have been known to live even longer than this.

Qualinesti

Qualinesti Elves are a branch of elves that live in the southwestern part of Ansalon to the south of Abanasinia and are ruled by the Speaker of the Sun who is a blood descendant of their founder Kith-Kanan. The Qualinesti were originally formed when the Silvanesti prince Kith-Kanan led his followers out of the nation of Silvanesti and formed his own nation to the west. From the beginning of their kingdom being founded in the Age of Dreams, the Qualinesti were far more open and easy-going than their cousins, working and living alongside Humans, Dwarves, and other races. Because of this, the Qualinesti have the most interaction with the other races and there are many adventurers and explorers from amongst their number. Their nation was comprised of one major city Qualinost and a series of large towns and settlements in the forested realm, however they were displaced during the War of Souls following the destruction of their capital city, and had since fled their realm and now travel alongside the Silvanesti refugees in Khur, who have also lost their home.

Whilst the Qualinesti people are ruled by the Speaker of the Sun, they are in fact governed by the Thalas-Enthia, which is the senate whose members are the leaders of the powerful guilds and communities within Qualinesti society. The Thalas-Enthia govern Qualinesti and how it should be run, however the Speaker has the power to overturn any decision to ensure his people are ruled wisely and properly.
Characteristics

The average Qualinesti elf stands just less than five feet tall and is of a slender build. These elves bear tanned skin and have hair that ranges from honey-brown to blond in color. Qualinesti have either blue or brown eyes, and are extremely open and friendly in their manner towards others. Like their cousins, Qualinesti normally dress themselves in clothes of earthen hues, and their clothes are normally fashionable as well as functional. The Qualinesti people are not as amazingly beautiful as their pale-skinned cousins, however they are still lovely in comparison to humans. The average elf reaches adulthood at eighty years old, and the normal lifespan for a Qualinesti elf is between 550-700 years old.

Qualinesti elves bear the elvensight of their race, which allows them to see extremely well in the dark, and also are much more diplomatic than other elves, given their exposure to the other races of Krynn. The Qualinesti worship the gods of light, as well as the nature god Chislev. They do not venerate the gods of darkness at all, and any elf caught worshipping an evil god is exiled and considered a dark elf by every other Qualinesti elf.

Silvanesti

Silvanesti Elves are a branch of elves that are considered the first civilized elves to live on Ansalon. They are descended from the Elderwild Elves (who would later call themselves the Kagonesti and are those elves who chose to live in cities during the Age of Dreams rather than remain in the forests. Silvanesti elves are known to be haughty and proud, considering themselves better than any other race, as well as considering themselves superior over any other type of elf. The Silvanesti elves are ruled by the Speaker of the Stars who is traditionally a member of House Royal.

The proud elves built their nation of Silvanesti in the forests in the southeast portion of Ansalon, where they erected large beautiful cities and towns. As time progressed, the elves became more isolationists until they almost never dealt with outsiders at all, and certainly did not openly trust humans, dwarves or some other elves. A large part of the Silvanesti mindset has been the concept of racial purity, and keeping the Silvanesti bloodlines pure. Because of this, Silvanesti try to avoid contact with other races where possible, although in the post War of Souls age, this has become increasingly difficult with the invasion of the elven nation.

For over 3000 years, the Silvanesti way of life barely changed, and in the early part of the Age of Mortals they even raised the Silvanesti Shield over their nation to protect themselves against outsiders and dragons... although this turned out to be a scheme by the green dragon Cyan Bloodbane. However now that the Minotaur Empire has claimed Silvanesti, the Silvanesti elves are now a displaced people searching for a permanent home alongside their cousins, the Qualinesti in Khur.
Characteristics

A normal Silvanesti elf stands at five feet tall and weighs approximately ninety to a hundred pounds. They are a fair-skinned race, who have hair color that ranges from light brown to white blonde, and hazel eyes. Silvanesti possess an almost supernatural beauty and are considered the most graceful and lovely of the elves. Most Silvanesti elves never possess facial or body hair, although ancient male elves of 500 years and older have been known to grow wispy beards from time to time. The high elves normally wear flowing garments that are green or brown in coloring.

Silvanesti elves are able to see rather well in the dark, bearing elvensight, which enables them to see twice as far in the dark as humans. The Silvanesti normally only worship the gods of light, although some of them do pay homage to a couple of the neutral deities that are focused around nature, such as Chislev and Zivilyn. As the first children of the gods of light, the Silvanesti elves have a natural hatred of the ogres, who were the first children of the gods of darkness, and will normally attack any ogres on sight. The elves are also intolerant of the followers of darkness in general, and if they learn of Silvanesti elves who follow the dark gods, they will be put through a Ceremony of Darkness and exiled from their people based on the verdict of the ceremony.

In their former nation, the Silvanesti lived within a strict caste system. This system was operated through a series of Houses, in which each House was given a set of specific tasks, which they carried out. House Royal, House Mystic and many others followed a number of actions to ensure that the Silvanesti elves lived in a well-structured and productive environment, in which each elf knew their place in society.

The average Silvanesti child is allowed to do certain chores/tasks depending on what House they are in. On reaching forty years of age, an elf is no longer considered a child and is an adolescent. By this time, the elf will have grown to almost their full height and will have developed the slender build that is typical of the Silvanesti people. At sixty years old, a Silvanesti adolescent has the Ceremony of Starlight, in which they dream of who they will marry and the form in which their Starjewel should take. By the age of eighty, a Silvanesti elf is considered an adult, and is formally given the tasks of an adult within their relevant House. Most Silvanesti live to around 550 years old, although there have been some notable exceptions throughout history that have far surpassed this lifespan, such as Silvanos.