As the ocean and its monsters poured onto the island, these Elves fled into the deep sea, narrowly escaping the destruction they had wrought. The Elves found new lairs in caverns deep beneath the ocean, where they hid away, as much of their knowledge and relics had been abandoned in the flood and were now scattered or destroyed. Slowly, the Mages and their servants began to rebuild in the oceans of Tyria, jealously seeking to reclaim the knowledge and power which they had lost beneath the waves.
For centuries now, the Deep-Sea Elves have sought whatever relics and magical knowledge they can find through coastal raids and hidden Voidgates, and some say that they are nearly ready to re-emerge onto the land and forge a new empire to replace the one they have lost.
How will you reclaim your birthright?
History
Early Elves
Originally, the Elves lived as hunter-gatherers in the grasslands of Tyria. As Humans began to farm and spread across the grasslands, the Elves were forced to migrate away.
Flight to the West
Some Elves were driven to sea, where they explored westward on makeshift rafts. They discovered a new land far from the coast of Tyria, where they could live.
Relics
They discovered ancient relics and wards on vast islands magically shielded from the sea. Some of the elves learnt how to harness these relics’ power and became powerful mages, controlling the giant beasts of the sea.
Mage Kings
These Mages slowly transformed, becoming more like their monstrous servants, capable of living in the ocean as easily as on land. They led their people with an iron fist, and slowly their people changed too. In these ancient times, you could see giant sea beasts riding the waves, with a mage controlling them and warriors holding on to their backs. The more the mages understood of the ancient wards and runes, the more their power grew, and the more they dominated their people, controlling their minds and changing their bodies.
Rebellion
The Mages became ever more tyrannical as their power grew. Eventually, the common Elves rose up against them. Despite their powers, the mages were outnumbered, and they could not bear to abandon the ancient ruins and relics that still held so many secrets for them to learn.
Out of Their Depths
The Mages became desperate, deciding that they would rather destroy their home than surrender their power. In an act of desperation, they summoned the largest beasts of the sea to destroy the wards that protected the islands. The ruins sank deep into the ocean in a giant storm. Below water, the mages and their thralls had the upper hand and sicced their monsters onto the rebels, who were slaughtered.
A New Home
The Deep-Sea Elves fled into the deep ocean to escape from the monsters that they had summoned. They rebuilt in the oceans of Tyria, hiding in caverns beneath the waves. Many of their relics and much of their knowledge were lost when they abandoned their old home.
Knowledge Seekers
The Deep-Sea Elves are still ruled by Mages who command them to seek out whatever relics and magical knowledge they can find through coastal raids and hidden Voidgates. The Mages have learnt little from the loss of their homeland, except that sacrifices must be made to maintain order, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to maintain it.
Timeline
- 3425 BR- Flight to the West
- 3164 BR- Rise of the Mage Kings
- 2238 BR- Rebellion Spreads Against Mage Kings
- 2226 BR- The Deluge
- 0 - The Maelstrom
Society
Scattered over the ocean floor, the Deep-Sea Elves live in clusters of caves, giant coral reefs and all kinds of eccentric oceanic dwellings. Each settlement corresponds to one wizard’s servants, and the dwellings usually coalesce around the wizard’s quarters. Each wizard is pursuing a specific angle of research, trying to decipher runes, rebuild an artefact or hatch an ancient egg. They alternate their time between periods of studying and experiments deep within their quarters, meetings with other mages where they bargain, beg and threaten for information, and expeditions into far-off lands to obtain what they need for their experiments.
Most mages rule as despots, but their personalities play a big part in how their settlements work, and some mages are pretty magnanimous.
Survivors
While the Mages ruling the Deep-Sea Elves survived, they paid a high price. Many of their servants were not ready to handle living in the depths of the ocean, and the accelerated mutations they had to go through were traumatic. Many relics were lost or broken as they sank, and the ocean floor is littered with fragments of them, so much knowledge lost or at the very least hard to find. The Mages are obsessed, convinced that hidden in all this knowledge lie the secrets of the universe. Their people toil in order to support their research.
Rule by Mages
Most common Deep-Sea Elves live a life of servitude, fetching things for their Mage, maintaining the cities, farming algae and hunting fish. The warriors and beast-wranglers are a step above commoners, and closer to the Mage are his clerks and apprentices. Mages are cautious about who they take in, but they cannot accomplish their goals alone and have to train others. They are extraordinarily long-lived and usually only die when an ambitious apprentice usurps their place. It is a tricky thing to attempt, as the Mages have many fail-safes in place, including a magically induced loyalty embedded in the beasts’ minds.
Beyond the Oceans
Venturing on dry land is often necessary for Deep-Sea Elves; the Mages need many resources in order to pursue their research, and they also need the means to defend their territory against other mages. So they frequently launch raids and research expeditions. Deep-Sea Elves have been below water for so long and have had to go through such intense physical mutations to adapt that life on the surface is difficult for them. They have algae concoctions and ointments that help them handle the pressure difference, but even then it is a miserable existence if they are not protected by a Mage’s spells. The beasts themselves are enchanted in order to be able to float in the air and breathe, and they are fine as long as the spells are active, albeit infuriated.
The opening of the Rift created much agitation among the Mages. A lot of them started researching possible causes and consequences and poring over the ancient runes of their sunken ruins looking for information on this catastrophe. They also have started mapping out the new passages and Voidgates opened by the event.
The Rift
The opening of the Rift was not only a devastating event for the surface of Tyria, but it also unleashed untold devastation upon its depths as well. The Deep-Sea Elves speak of this time as the Maelstrom, when currents and tides shifted and threw many sea creatures into a frenzy. These events forced many Mage Kings out of their isolation, as they were forced to discover a means to re-establish order.
In this process, some began to explore the newly opened fissures deep beneath the surface, which they named Void-Depths. Within these, they discovered traces of lost civilisations lost beneath the waves as theirs had once been, including a number of Voidgates.
With the Great Alliance long sundered, and both the Human Empire and High Elves weakened, many among the Deep-Sea Elves view this as a new opportunity to extend their influence over Tyria and the lands beyond.
Language
The Deep Sea Elves' language diverged from the rest of the Elves millennia ago and is likely the most unique of the Elven languages spoken in Tyria, as well as perhaps the most rarely heard on the surface; it is generally only recognised among a handful of scholars and sailors. However, the long life span of the Elves and the rather fixed social structures and cultures have preserved at least some resemblance between their various languages.
As with other Elven cultures, Deep Sea Elves typically have a personal name and a surname, with the ending of personal names determined by the gender of the bearer. Highly codified surnames are considered gender neutral but derive from the possessive form, which marked the earliest Deep Sea Elves as members of a particular clan, trade, or parentage. Some of these allude to their origins upon the surface, referencing glades or vines which they have long left behind. These original meanings have largely become irrelevant and occasionally even forgotten, existing only as an identifier of familial lineage.
Example Names
Male Names
- Órarinom Vólyatelas
- Gwihyam Módalunos
- Vyadrum Balhácunos
Female Names
- Tranatya Gyarenos
- Brúcrisya Rúsavines
- Líracwinya Asróboros
Note that characters are usually referred to by their personal name (in italics).
Trivia
Proverbs
- There is no power greater than knowledge, and no sacrifice is too high to attain it.
- Life is much better in a secret lair under the sea.
- Smart mages keep their relics well guarded and their servants obedient.
- We shall scour the depths of the ocean and the peaks of the mountains until we have gathered every secret of the universe.
- When reason fails, unleash the Kraken.
