View source for Elvaan History

'''"Who are you?  You are Elvaan.  You are of the Blood.  You are by no means pure, so do not forget it, child." ''--Elven mother to her Elvaan child.'''''

The Elvaan are a rather recent race, dating back to the start of the Age of Enlightenment.  Their name, meaning 'of the Blood' is derived from their Elven roots.  Since their unintended creation from the start of the Age of Enlightenment, the Elvaan have stood steadfastly by their Elven progenitors despite ugly rumors of possible slavery, rape, abuse, and more recent rumors of 'breeding impurities out'.  Their creation has been something of a mystery to many scholars, some calling it an unintentional side-effect of the Elves' spiritual nature, and others calling it tinkering from the Spirits themselves.

Historically, the Elvaan normally choose to live with their Elven parents and choose to be educated inside the magical fields that protect the glades.  While not as attuned to magic as their Elven progenitors, the Elvaan make up for this in the physical arts of combat.  Their role became clear to their Elven brethren as guards and soldiers for diplomats and emissaries who left the confines of the glade.  The working philosophy had become, Why send an Elf when you can send an Elvaan?  The Elvaan appeared quite complacent with this, taking their time to learn of magic and from the libraries formed in the glades.

Soon, however, a new attitude began to form from their Elven progenitors.  Fear spread that Elven purity would be ruined by these Elvaan who were vastly inferior in the ways of magic.  Whispers in council meetings and amongst families began a great project to breed the impurities from the Elvaan.  Betrothals to Elves became common, almost enforced law for any Elvaan, and yet Elves still sought out different traits to improve upon their own people.  Plans for a perfect Elven race came about, starting with the Elvaan and their uniqueness being added into their own, being bred into their people.

In the Age of Man, Archadian forces had began to move to the northeast, toward the Elven glades.  Soon after, the Elves began arming their soldiers, the Elvaan, for the inevitable conflict that never came.  Resentment began to quietly build, until finally a leader of discontent had voiced his opinions.  Gaius Tenuri spoke to crowds of similarly angered Elvaan, knowing that they were to be sacrificed for war for a people who did not want the Elvaan to simply be.  He was charged with treason against the Elven people and hung, the Elvaan returning to quiet discontent and study.  This would change with the Larsan Folly.

The Larsan Folly brought in the Mist, crushing the magical barriers around the glades, driving both Elf and Elvaan mad.  The Elvaan, possessing more strength than their progenitors, began wholesale slaughter, while the Elves, possessing more strength in magic than their thralls, began slinging magic in retaliation.  A gruesome three months of madness that would have surely wiped both races from Ivalice.  The calm after the storm came, leaving the Elvaan filled with guilt for striking out at their progenitors.  An unspoken treaty between the Elves and the Elvaan took place in the following months after the Folly ripped apart their glades.  The Elvaan would return to their studies and places as guards, the Elves would return to their positions as benefactors and teachersstill leaving the Elves to play as Gods with Elvaan lives and genetic lines.


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