DISCLAIMER
This is not Canon. I was not drafted by lore team to do this. I have no affiliation with lore team. While I purposefully made this where it could realistically be adapted into our world with very little retconning of anything it is NOT official history or lore. If you use it as such and quote me as the reason you broke official lore I WILL laugh at you.I simply looked at our lore and saw the problem with Silver Elves and instead of being mad that our lore, which is mostly applicable to when the Silver Elves had great Kingdoms, and wondered how lore could be progressed that brings these Silver Elves into adherence with lore.
I personally believe this offers a possible solution to lore issues. It is not applicable to all problems but as I wrote this it flowed naturally to me and at least personally made a whole lot of sense. I contacted @Jstar who worked on the original Silver Elf lore to see how far out of bounds I was. He took issues with my magic turning from a matter of respect to a core foundation of their society and how it allowed lower castes to ascend the social ranks.
I however edited this part on purpose as I believed that a race as old, learned, rich and powerful as they were that their inabilty to organize under one banner for over two thousand years IC needed something else to explain such things. The Forest Elves united, the Moor Elves united, Humans have had entire Empires rise and fall in that time. Earthspawn, Greyling and Nakam have been introduced to extinct in that time frame.
By moving Magic from a mere facet of respect into a former pillar of their society it would explain why the old nobles after the death of She Who Was Beyond All Names failed to rally any support. Their culture was based on the idea that magic worked as a form of Divine Right to rule so to speak. When it left so did their Divine Right. It set them apart from the other races and explains why their descendants scattered to the wind and so many behave as "pointy eared humans".
Also this restructure of the lore does nothing to adversely affect anyone's current gameplay or characters as this all happened in their long dead Kingdoms and society.
Now that out of the way here we go. My slightly altered history of the Silver Elves.
The Silver Elves have suffered greatly since the Great Change, or Shattering as it is now known among a few. For what was initially viewed as a Change shattered Silver Elven Society. The Silver Elves highly respected Magic and many of the noble families dedicated themselves to cultivating the Gift among themselves. Ensuring that the Gift was strong and stayed within their bloodline through arranged marriages. The lower classes rarely produced a mage of any note under such circumstances but when they did, they rose quickly and were married into the upper ranks of Silver Elf Culture as the Gift was seen as more important than their background. This had the side effect of allowing new blood to enter into the noble family lines at regular enough intervals to prevent inbreeding.
However when the upper ranks lost their gift their iron grip upon Silver Elven culture was shaken. What for ages was taken for granted since the founding of their ancient empires was questioned. In the beginning it was only in whispers, and then only by the most rebellious and disgraced members of their race seeking a way back in. They were ignored as they were not like the lower races whose empires shattered every time the wind shifted. Yet the decades passed and none among their race reclaimed the Gift. A few of the lower classes took this as their chance to rise in their own right. Yet for the most part the nobles still held their control over the lower classes.
However when the upper ranks lost their gift their iron grip upon Silver Elven culture was shaken. What for ages was taken for granted since the founding of their ancient empires was questioned. In the beginning it was only in whispers, and then only by the most rebellious and disgraced members of their race seeking a way back in. They were ignored as they were not like the lower races whose empires shattered every time the wind shifted. Yet the decades passed and none among their race reclaimed the Gift. A few of the lower classes took this as their chance to rise in their own right. Yet for the most part the nobles still held their control over the lower classes.
Then another Exodus happened and in the chaos a great deal of the Silver Elves scattered and were absorbed by the various societies they found themselves in. Those that gathered were not large enough to sustain the society as it once was. The Great Decline had begun for the race. As the nobles attempted to reconstruct their cities with drastically reduced numbers and coffers the scattered Silver Elves started to make a name for themselves. Over time Silver Elves became powerful figures in the various Kingdoms across the Land and the lower caste was just as effective at it as the older. In fact the lower caste, used to bowing their heads in humility to the upper caste were able to cast off their racial prejudices and rise faster than their noble kin. The Silver Elven dedication to education ensured that even the lower caste was as educated as Human Nobility
As The Scattered as they were now known to the holdouts prospered, the old noble’s struggled. For the first time in their history Noble Families lost their standing and fell prey to things such as bankruptcy. More still sought to reclaim The Gift to restore their standing and stop this decline but all such endeavors were fruitless. Several of the oldest and greatest of the Noble Houses sank all of their gold into such ventures. The old nobility was dwindling and their base was falling apart. The more the SIlver Elven Nobility attempted to stop the hemorrhaging of people the more they appeared desperate, driving more of their people away.
The Silver Elves had been in disarray for a thousand years. A few, as were all the races, were blessed with extended lives. However for the most part no Silver Elves could remember their once great Kingdom or the days of glory. Neither could their fathers and in some cases even their Grandfathers could not remember those days. Noble calls to rally and reclaim those days had grown stale over the millennia and many of the young Silver Elves saw no reason to dedicate themselves to nobles who were no better than them. Human ideas about leadership and rebellion had taken root in the race. They followed after foreign Kingdom’s and other races were their leaders. They intermarried with the other Elves and in some cases even the once scorned Humans.
Eventually Silas was formed from the remnants of their once patron Goddess. Yet like the race who were among his greatest adherents he had not absorbed the gift of magic from her remnants. The Elven Lords were no more than a very few scattered Lords and Ladies who stubbornly refused to give up their past and ideals. These scattered few only staying in power through very human ventures of trade and alliances with the younger races. However for the most part the Silver Elves integrated into the human world naturally. The old nobles would sneer at such things as they disgraced their heritage by acting like humans. The Scattered would retort to any such insinuations that they had failed their ancestors with that the noble’s failed them first. It had been two thousand years. Entire Empires had rose and then fallen in the time that the Silver Elves had been unable to unite and form a stable Kingdom.
Where was their superiority in that? What was their left to be proud of? Better to follow Silas and be humble scholars and teachers. To use their long lives to learn and then eventually guide the other races with their wisdom when they had accumulated it. Assimilation was the reality now.
Silver Elves much like their forest cousins work peacefully with their neighbors now. They reflect more of where they were raised now and identify more as members of each Kingdom than as any single race. However even among Silver Elves who are not told of the their once great past have been known to occasionally be overcome with longing for something more. Most fill the feeling with being dedicated teachers, physicians, tacticians, and skilled artisans in whatever Kingdom they find themselves in.
However some Silver Elves despite their dedication feel the nagging still. The acclaim and thanks of their neighbors strangely hollow. However to those attuned to such things there is a feeling of anticipation in the air. A foreboding that things long dead and silent are beginning to move again.
As The Scattered as they were now known to the holdouts prospered, the old noble’s struggled. For the first time in their history Noble Families lost their standing and fell prey to things such as bankruptcy. More still sought to reclaim The Gift to restore their standing and stop this decline but all such endeavors were fruitless. Several of the oldest and greatest of the Noble Houses sank all of their gold into such ventures. The old nobility was dwindling and their base was falling apart. The more the SIlver Elven Nobility attempted to stop the hemorrhaging of people the more they appeared desperate, driving more of their people away.
Thus did the first Thousand Years after the arrival of the Elves on Altera Pass.
The proceeding centuries did not treat the Silver Elves any better. Some noble Houses of Silver Elves did the unthinkable in order to try and stem their losses. They allied with other race’s Empires or City States. Some were successful for a time but by tying themselves to the lesser lived races they doomed their houses. All human Kingdoms fall. The Silver Elves had been in disarray for a thousand years. A few, as were all the races, were blessed with extended lives. However for the most part no Silver Elves could remember their once great Kingdom or the days of glory. Neither could their fathers and in some cases even their Grandfathers could not remember those days. Noble calls to rally and reclaim those days had grown stale over the millennia and many of the young Silver Elves saw no reason to dedicate themselves to nobles who were no better than them. Human ideas about leadership and rebellion had taken root in the race. They followed after foreign Kingdom’s and other races were their leaders. They intermarried with the other Elves and in some cases even the once scorned Humans.
Eventually Silas was formed from the remnants of their once patron Goddess. Yet like the race who were among his greatest adherents he had not absorbed the gift of magic from her remnants. The Elven Lords were no more than a very few scattered Lords and Ladies who stubbornly refused to give up their past and ideals. These scattered few only staying in power through very human ventures of trade and alliances with the younger races. However for the most part the Silver Elves integrated into the human world naturally. The old nobles would sneer at such things as they disgraced their heritage by acting like humans. The Scattered would retort to any such insinuations that they had failed their ancestors with that the noble’s failed them first. It had been two thousand years. Entire Empires had rose and then fallen in the time that the Silver Elves had been unable to unite and form a stable Kingdom.
Where was their superiority in that? What was their left to be proud of? Better to follow Silas and be humble scholars and teachers. To use their long lives to learn and then eventually guide the other races with their wisdom when they had accumulated it. Assimilation was the reality now.
Thus did the next thousand years in Altera Pass for the Silver Elves
Presently...
Most Silver Elves at some point in their lives upon learning of their race’s vast history feel a nagging nostalgia for days long since lost to the ages. Any who remember the days of the Kingdom are considered rumors or charlatans now and most Silver Elves even consider the tales of their race’s once great gift with Magic highly exaggerated by the ancient nobles to justify their long rule. Yet still even with all this the sense of longing for their once great past is almost inherent to their beings now. Presently...
Silver Elves much like their forest cousins work peacefully with their neighbors now. They reflect more of where they were raised now and identify more as members of each Kingdom than as any single race. However even among Silver Elves who are not told of the their once great past have been known to occasionally be overcome with longing for something more. Most fill the feeling with being dedicated teachers, physicians, tacticians, and skilled artisans in whatever Kingdom they find themselves in.
However some Silver Elves despite their dedication feel the nagging still. The acclaim and thanks of their neighbors strangely hollow. However to those attuned to such things there is a feeling of anticipation in the air. A foreboding that things long dead and silent are beginning to move again.
I tried to make sure things aligned with timelines as much as I could but I was not around for the majority of these events. If someone was and I have it wildly out of place please let me know. Also any thoughts you may have.
