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Elves, Schattenalfen

by Marco Dalmonte English translation by Gary Davies

Atzanteotl - Corruption (physical and moral), deceit, betrayal, vengeance, destruction of surface life
Rafiel - Security, order, peace, scientific and magical knowledge
Notes:
1. The elves of the Schattenalf clan (called Schattenalfen) once made part of the migration of Ilsundal, and they settled in the Glantrian hills around 2200 BC. They lived here peacefully together with other elven clans until the Glantrian Catastrophe, when some elves discovered a Blackmoorian artefact and attempting to use it made it explode, causing a nuclear explosion that forced the survivors to shelter underground. The Schattenalfen were among these, and in their underground odyssey they finally come across the Shadowelves, who they told what was happening on the surface. After centuries passed in the cavern, the Schattenalfen sought a new way to the surface, in the attempt of showing that it was habitable. Unfortunately they took the wrong path and arrived in the Hollow World, where the radiation of the red sun devastated them. The few survivors of the first expedition told of how the outer world had changed and had become deadly, so the Shadowelves forswore new surface explorations. In 1400 BC, inspired by Atzanteotl (a subterranean elf who became Immortal), some Schattenalfen nobles attempted a new expedition, and arrived in the lands of the Kogolor. After a bloody war, they were driven out and ended up settling in the caverns to the south of the lands of the Malpheggi and of the Azcans and to the west of the Oltec hills. Here they built a city of Azcan style inspired by Atzanteotl, which started to worship him as the only true Immortal. From that moment the Schattenalfen haven’t made any other attempts to find the way to the ancient cavern of the Shadowelves, and have lived dominated by their own sovereigns (the Schattenalfen king and queen are always priests of Atzanteotl, as for the Azcans) blinded by the hateful faith of Atzanteotl, in constant conflict with the neighbouring humans and dwarves, and especially in war with the Azcans, which with their own civilisation and architecture so similar to that of the Schattenalfen constituted an eternal mockery in the comparison of their lifestyle and of their desire always however frustrated by the deadly rays of the red sun from being able to live on the surface.
2. The Schattenalfen are dominated by the despotic cult of Atzanteotl, nevertheless only 4 in 10 elves are fervent believers. The majority of the Schattenalfen prefer not to think about religious matters and live as much of their life as possible without being involved with the faith or the crusades put to them by the nobles. A minority (10% of the population) instead secretly follow the ancient doctrine of Rafiel, patron of the Shadowelves, and plot in order to over throw the government of the nobles when finally Rafiel sends them the signals for announcing the start of a new era of peace and fairness.