Elves
From The Inheritance Encyclopedia
| About the Race | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Elves |
| Loyalty: | Against the Empire |
| Foundation: | Alalea |
The Elves are a race not native to Alagaesia. They are a magical and beautiful race that oppose the Empire of Galbatorix. They are an immesurably important ally to the Varden.
Contents |
History
Elves are one of the most ancient folk living in the land of Alagaesia. They came many years ago, from Alalea, a land across the sea. They are competent in magic and the Ancient Language, and their skills far exceed any human's due to the pact with the dragons that they made after the Dragon War. They have fair features and are graceful in battle, as well as immortal unless fatally injured or poisoned.
Place of Origin
Little is known about Alalea, the elve's native land. The only thing that we know is that it was a land across the sea to the west from Alagaesia, but what made them come to Alagaesia, we do not know. However, the first Urgals came to Alagaesia by following the elves, so it can be assumed that Urgals and elves lived close or on the same land.
Wars
When elves came to Alagaesia, there were already dragons and dwarves present in the land, the two oldest intelligent races in Alagaesia. The elves foolishly thought that the dragons were just like any other animal: prey that could be slaughtered. One day, a brash young elf went so far as to kill a young dragon just as he would a deer. The other dragons became furious at this act, and they killed the elven youth.
But the dragons did not stop there. They were furious that the elves believed that they were no more than giant beasts. They attacked elven towns and villages, killing many of the elves. The elves, appalled at their great misunderstanding, fought just to defend themselves at first, but in due time, the dragons forced them to fight for their own survival. The bloodshed lasted for many a year, and soon came to be known as The Dragon War, or Du Fyrn Skulblaka in the Ancient Language.
The fighting would have continued on if not for an elf by the name of Eragon, who discovered a lone dragon egg. Its mother and father apparently dead, Eragon kept the egg and surprisingly, it hatched. Eragon saw the potential importance of raising a dragon--it could even end the great war. Naming the dragon Bid'Daum, he secretly raised the dragon. When Bid'Daum grew enough, Eragon revealed himself and his dragon to the feuding elves and dragons, convincing them that their fighting was folly and that they could live in peace.
Queen Tarmunora, the leader of the elves at that time, formed a pact with the dragons to end the war. They agreed that something needed to be done to make sure that conflict would never start again between them, so they formed the Dragon Riders. The elves made a powerful enchantment, and together with the strength of the dragons, they entwined the souls of elves and dragons together. Later on, humans were added to the enchantment, but never dwarves. Thus the Dragon War ended and the Dragon Riders began.
Current Location
The elves currently reside in the great forest of Du Weldenvarden, located at the northern part of Alagaesia. The capital there is Ellesméra, where Queen Islanzadi resides as ruler. Her mate, King Evandar, was killed in a battle for Ilirea, so she rules alone. Her daughter Arya is constantly out of the realm, either as the egg-bearer of Saphira, or at the Varden.
Languages
The elves speak the Ancient Language, which is also the language used in magic. The Ancient Language is very powerful, for the words in the language are not only words for something, but they are the word for something. Knowing someone's name in the Ancient Language gives one control over him or her. Only elves instinctively know their true names, humans and dwarves have no idea. Dragon Riders often went on quests to find their true name.
The Ancient Language is the basis of magic. Magic is derived from the Ancient Language. In order for a spell to be cast, a word must be thought or said in the Ancient Language.
Common Features
Elves are very fair and graceful, hence they are known as the "fair folk." As described in Eldest when Eragon first enters Ellesméra, "The women wore their hair unbound. It rippled down their backs in waves of silver and sable braided with fresh blossoms, like a garden waterfall. They all possessed a delicate, ethereal beauty that belied their unbreakable strength; to Eragon, they seemed flawless. The men were just as striking, with high cheekbones, finely sculpted noses, and heavy eyelids. Both sexes were garbed in rustic tunics of green and brown, fringed with dusky colors of orange, russet, and gold." (Eldest, pg. 223) They can also use magic to change themselves.
Religion
The elves have no religion. As Oromis says in Eldest, the elves believe "...that the world behaves according to certain inviolable rules and that, by persistent effort, we can discover those rules and use them to predict events when circumstances repeat." (Eldest, pgs. 541-542) In other words, elves think that whatever happens is because of specific rules in the world. There is a rule for everything that happens, and with time and effort, the elves can discover those specific rules and use them to predict things that will be coming.
Elves do not believe that gods made the world. Instead, they believe of the creation of the world in a more scientific matter. They have studied nature for a very long time, and probably through that, they have gained some sort of scientific idea about the making of the world, not that gods made it. Oromis also says that elves have never seen a miracle. Some things have happened that the elves cannot explain, but nothing miraculous has ever happened to them.
Elves do not have a religion or believe in gods simply because there is no proof that gods exist. They only give credit to something that can be proven. Since they cannot find any proof about gods, they ignore religion. However, Oromis says that having no religion is better for the elven world. He says that it's, "a place where we are responsible for our own actions, where we can be kind to one another because we want to and because it is the right thing to do instead of being frightened into behaving by the treat of divine punishment." (Eldest, pg. 544) This contrasts the beliefs of the humans and dwarves, who are polytheistic. The elves are, in short, atheists.
Oromis also stated that if they saw something they considered a miracle they might just believe in that god/goddess.
Culture
Many elven customs are different than those of humans in Alagaesia.
Vegetarianism
One of the more prominent distinctions is that Elves do not eat meat, except if it is truly needed. Eragon finds this odd and hard to get used to at first, since he's so used to the meat. After his training though, he understands why the elves refuse to consume flesh. They have a very strong connection to nature, this including plants and animals alike, so they are able to sense the life around them and feel the pain as a creature dies.
Social Customs
Since elves are virtually immortal, feuds between each other could last for a millennia. Because of this, the elves try hard not to have arguments between each other, so they set up a strict rule of customs and formality to prevent feuds. Elves find mates and stay together with them for as long or as short as it pleases them. Elves do not fall in love with a human, or try not to at least, for humans are not immortal, nor are they as old and wise as elves are. Elves may have more than one mate, and if they do, then their previous one feels no hatred towards them. If an elf has a child with their mate, it is considered one of the greatest bonds of trust.
However, Elves rarely have children. When Eragon goes to Ellesméra, there are only two elven children living in the city, and they are treated with the utmost greatest care. Because having a child is so rare, if two elves do have a child, it proves that they have put forth their fullest love and trust for each other. If an elven child is born, raising the child is considered one of the greatest and most important tasks in an elf's life.
Elves grow bored easily because they can acheive almost anything through magic so many elves have hobbies to keep themselves busy including many artistic hobbies such as pottery, artwork, ect.
Formality
One of the biggest ways that elves avoid feuds is with their formalness to each other. As Arya says in Eldest, "Courtesy is the only way to prevent such hostility from accumulating. It doesn't always succeed, but we adhere to our rituals rigorously, for they protect us from extremes. Nor are elves fecund, so it is vital that we avoid conflict among ourselves. If we shared the same rate of crime as you or the dwarves, we would soon be extinct." (Eldest, pg. 160)
The first example of formality is greeting another elf. When two elves meet and greet each other, they will stop and touch their first two fingers to their lips. This shows that they "...shall not distort the truth during {their} conversation." (Eldest, pg. 161-162) After this, the elf with the lowest status speaks first. They say the following line: Atra esterni ono thelduin (May good fortune rule over you). The elf with the higher status speaks next, saying: Mor'ranr lifa unin hjarta onr (Peace live in your heart). The first elf then replies to this by saying: Un du evarinya ono varda (And the stars watch over you). If it is an especially formal greeting, a fourth response is added: Un atra mor'ranr lifa unin hjarta onr (And may peace live in your heart).
Dragons are an exception to the speaking formality rule. Elves consider the Dragons the highest and mightiest of all beings. Because of this, a dragon may always speak last when greeting an elf.
Working With Nature
The elves are closely tied with nature, like J.R.R. Tolkien's elves in Lord of the Rings. Elves do not chop down trees to build houses, but instead, they combine their magic to create houses on and in the trees themselves. Elves can use their magic to sing the wood into any shape that they please. An example of this is the bow that Queen IslanzadÃÂ gives Eragon. The wood used for that bow was sung out of a yew tree by the Queen herself. This shows that elves and nature have a great tie between them, one that could never be broken.
List of known elves
| Content Incomplete | This article is incomplete. Please help us by contributing information to this article! |
- AnalÃÂsia: a bard.
- Arya
- Evander
- Faolin
- Glenwing
- Islanzadi
- Lifaen
- Nari
- Oromis
- Tarmunora
- Vanir
- Rhunon
