Their hair tends to be darker. Their eyes are almond shaped and slitted like a cat, with green irises. (All Elves have green eyes, but the shade goes from a forest green to a light green.) They tend to have excellent vision in general, and can see in full moonlight.
They live long lives, usually 500-700 years. They "age" as a human, stopping growth about 18-30, depending on the individual. This appearence is constant (unaging), until at an arbitrary point arounf 600 years, the Elf begins to suddenly age. The Elf ages swiftly, and dies within 5 years.
Elven magic erodes the caster's ability to handle magic each time it is cast, so that the wizard grows by degrees less and less able to cast. Therefore, the more advanced Elven Wizards tend to "burn out" as they age, eventually dying totally unable to cast.
In certain susceptable individuals, the use of magic erodes their grasp on reality as well. This may start out as mild eccentricity, but as enough centuries pass, it may develop into full-blown madness. When this happens to a powerful wizard, it is truly a thing to fear. This only happens to a very small percentage of the population, however.
Both effects are diluted, however, when multiple wizards pool their powers, as there is only a certain amount of erosion that can take place per magical act. In this case, the spiritual erosion is spread evenly among the casters.
Though the Elves are aware of this erosion of spirit, they as a people feel that the gains outweigh the losses. All Elves have a wide range of simple cantrips at their disposal, such as lighting a room, starting a fire, and other day-to-day things. The use of magic produces within the castor a subconscious feeling similar to that produced by a mild hallucinogenic drug, which the Elves interpret as "The Touch of the One", which shall be explained further on.
Spellcasting takes two components. The first is the song. Simple spells are invoked with simple musical phrases, while incredibly complex songs like the activation of the huge lightning-emitter crystals used on the battlefield, take the combined harmonies of many. The second component is the spirit, which has already been dealt with. If the caster is not an elf, the caster's blood substitutes for spirit.
...written on parchment in ancient script, guessed to be 100,000 years old. Collected in The Book of the Return:
There was the One. The One was all. [script obscured for two lines.] The One became Many.
Many came...[unknown script, possibly "earth" or "here,"], and they yearned for the Joining. When they [unknown verb, probably "died"], they were Joined again for a time. But the ties were strong, and they separated.
The One protected the Many, sending... [unknown word, pssibly "guardian," "protector" or "overseer"] so that the Many may come to be with the One. The Many guided the One, each unique.
Many yearn for the One, as the One for the Many. They will...[parchment ripped.]
The key to Elvish society is its religion.
The Book of the Return teaches that all Elves were once one, and somehow they were fragmented in The Many. (Silvanos, in Elven.) Each Elf lives his life away from The One (presumed by elvish thinkers to be the union of elvish Katra who are not among The Many, but little is known.), but upon death, Silvanos return to The One.
How long they spend at The One depends on their attachments to The Many. Even unconciously, the most Silvanos have a desire to return to the world. Only through a long period of contemplation can an Elvish Katra stay with the One.
A Katra is an elvish "soul," though there is more to it. A Katra is a unique facet of The One. A Katra is immortal, and will continue to return to the earth as long as it has ties to it. Each Katra has its own personality (again, a facet of The One) and memories.
When an Elf is born, a Katra from The One enters its body. However, despite this, an Elf will not remember all that his Katra knows. He is simply an ordinary Elf. He may have a similar personality or dress habits, but but pre-ferma it is difficult to impossible to know what Katra is in a particular Elf.
Sometimes an Elf will be doing something that his Katra did-perhaps a favorite sword move, a certain sort of painting, a certain life of argument, or a favorite phrase. Suddenly, in the space of a few moments, his Katra will awaken within him in a process known as ferma. From this point on, the old personality is subsumed in the Katra.
Typically, at this point, the elf spends time "remebering" his life in the past and reorganizing his thinking. This normally takes up to five years, during which the elf will sit in meditation.
After five years, the elf will return to life, and show who he is by opening his Katra's Quelin. A Quelin is a vault-like structure in which are stored many the Katra's prized possessions - a brilliant painting, a treatise or a favorite weapon. The lock on the vault is a 30-step combination lock, magically sealed. Thus, for all practical purposes, only one Katra can open a certain vault. The sucessfull opening of a Quelin is a Quelinihan - a Quelin test. At this point, the Katra has officiallyreturned. These Quelin Vaults are scattered throughout the foothills south of Eldillya and around the borders of the Forest of Glottis. The Elf instinctively knows/remembers where his Quelin is located.
There is normally a marked change in the Elf who has undergone Quelinihan. His old personality is still present, but the Katra's personality is now very much in evidence. His friends remain the same, but he will probably seek out old comrades. (Katras who have been friends for thousands of years are not uncommon.)
Because each Elf is an immortal soul, journeying through his lives on his way to rejoin the One, removing a Katra from circulation is to diminish the whole. Therefore, the Soul-taker weapons used by the Nathi represent the ultimate blasphemy against Elvenkind. This is why they are at war, and this is why the war will never end until the Nathi are wiped out or subjugated.