Our Elves Are Better: Difference between revisions

[[File:elves350_7162.jpg|link=Dungeons and Dragons|frame|Pointy-eared smugness comes in multiple flavors.]]

They are also quite aware of that fact and [[Cultural Posturing|will let you know it, again and again]] and you [[Can't Argue with Elves|won't argue about it, ever]] [[Screw You, Elves|(Most of the time, at least)]]. After all, they've quite often [[Precursors|been around for a lot longer]] than those upstart humans. That said, fantasy elves aren't ''always'' elitist [[Smug Snake|Smug Snakes]]. In fact, elves in fantasy fiction come in a number of flavors, whether all-natural, magical, or just plain nasty:

* '''[[Half-Human Hybrid|Half-Elves]]:''' Since elves can't help being so awesome, it's no surprise they get to "[[Get Thee to a Nunnery|know]]" a lot of people. Biblically. The result of all this canoodling are Half-Elves. These guys have half the coolness of their elf parent, but half the suck of their human side (including mortality and -- worse by far -- facial hair). They are usually outcasts, or if not outcasts, then have utterly embraced one of their parentages completely (not surprisingly, usually the Elf part because [[Puny Humans|humans suck]]).

* '''[[The Fair Folk]]:''' Elves may be portrayed as dangerous and inscrutable creatures of magic -- in which case they may overlap and share traits with [[Precursors]], [[Our Fairies Are Different|Fairies]], [[Physical God|minor gods]], or [[Our Gnomes Are Weirder|other]] [[Our Goblins Are Wickeder|mythological]] [[All Trolls Are Different|creatures]]. Note that [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same|dwarves]] started out as the [[Darker and Edgier|Dark Elf]] [[Older Than They Think|version of these]]. The Fair Folk are the oldest type of elves, from a period when people truly believed in a magical race of supernatural beings living on a [[Year Outside, Hour Inside|separate dimension]] that would [[Changeling Tale|snatch up your children]] and [[Aliens Steal Cattle|livestock]] if not properly appeased with offerings or warded off with cold iron. Other cultures associated pygmies with The Fair Folk, as a sort of [[Witch Species]]. Usually [[Bowdlerise|bowdlerised]] into [[Christmas Elves]]. Compare [[The Greys]] (vs. [[Little Green Men]]), which fulfill the traditional [[Recycled in Space|sci-fi]] archetype of [[The Fair Folk]] [[Our Fairies Are Different|vs. Fairies]] as misremembered [[Ancient Astronauts]]. If that is the case, you have:

** The Gliders {{spoiler|, before they all died and their spirits went to the Palace of the High Ones,}} and Savah, the Sun Folk's Mother of Memory, play the High Elf archetype rather more straight, although Lord Voll and Aroree are considerably less haughty than the rest of the Gliders, and Savah is ''far'' too serene to be called haughty. Justified in that they're also rather older than most of the cast -- becoming smaller over generations was an adaptation to {{spoiler|the new world}}, and the Gliders in particular haven't had any new children in just about forever when first met. Oh, and of all the elves only the Wolfriders have facial hair due to {{spoiler|their part-wolf ancestry}}.

* In ''[[Amulet]]'' elves are [[Complete Monster|Complete Monsters]] and also [[The Empire]], and they're not particularly good-looking either, since they have [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family]] and vertically-slitted eyes. They're still tall and skinny, with long hair, though.

* ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film)|The Lord of the Rings]]'' plays this trope pretty straight, although it unusually adapts Tolkien's Wood Elves into High Elves, instead of the other way around which is more common in pop culture adaptations. Perhaps because, as the director repeatedly said, he wanted to emphasize just how ''badass'' the elves were -- even the less technologically advanced, more in tune with nature types. Result, we see no tribal elves, though they did exist in the book.

** Mystic Wood Elves, a hybrid between elves and satyrs/nymphs who have horns, are a race of [[Ethical Slut|Ethical Sluts]] (both reasons why they're often referred to as "the horny elves") and tend to be [[The Trickster|Trickster types]].

** Galadriel really looks the part of an impossibly beautiful, [[God Save Us From the Queen|haughty,]] [[The High Queen|Elven Queen]], but treats everyone in the Fellowship she talks to with respect and graciousness -- even [[Elves Versus Dwarves|Gimli]].

* Kristen Britain's ''[[Green Rider]]'' series has the Elt or Eletians, elves in all but name. They're incredibly arrogant and very conscious of how much innate magic they have compared to humans. On occasion, though, the human characters will call them on it--and on how unhelpful they can be when the fate of the world is at stake. The trope is also subverted when {{spoiler|the villain of the first book is an Eletian gone bad}}.

* The inhabitants of Stormhold in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'', who come across as essentially amoral humans with pointed ears -- particularly the male rulers, who [[Planet of Hats|wear the hat]] of being a bunch of [[The Evil Prince|Evil Princes]].

* [[Tanya Huff]]'s ''[[Confederation of Valor]]'' series has the Taykans, who at least physically are [[Space Elves]] (except for their [[Hair Colors|technicolor hair]])... but instead of being arrogant or building crystal spires, they're ''an entire race of [[Ethical Slut|Ethical Sluts]]''.

** The Melniboneans are almost textbook versions of [[The Fair Folk]], although they do bear more obvious similarities to several societies' deities -- intentionally.

* In [[John Ringo]]'s ''[[Council Wars]]'' series, the Elves are both Better and [[Our Monsters Are Different|different]]. They are a race genetically engineered as [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]] in a long-ago war -- ageless, superhuman in all physical characteristics, and made to look like [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|hot pointy-eared chicks]] because, well, [[Fetish Fuel|they could.]] They are protected by genetic copyright laws which say that no human can have their powers and appearance, and only Elves are allowed to live in [[Magical Land|Alfheim]]. (Ironically, Alfeim has become an overcrowded housing project because all elves crave the honor of living there, and since they don't die, the population just goes up and up. Or so our semi-reliable source says).

* The ''[[Dragonlance]]'' novels give us Tanis (half-elf, reject), as well as the Qualinesti (Wood Elves) and Silvanesti (High Elves), the latter of whom are arrogant and xenophobic enough to be a deconstruction of the trope (especially after their refusal to seek help from the other races, and even the Qualinesti, causes their entire country to become magically entrapped in a horrific nightmare-made-real). Later books also introduce the Kagonesti (Wood Elves as [[Noble Savage|Noble Savages]]). There is also Dalamaar the Dark Elf (which in Dragonlance, isn't a race so much as individual elves being exiled from the elven nations), who's just as arrogant and haughty as the other elves, but also evil.

*** Don't forget the Sea Elves who lived in the ruins of Istar--they combine all the sueness of normal elves with merfolk!

* The [[Border Town]] books have a different type of elf -- most onscreen are punked-out and rock-music-loving. However, they are all tall, slender, and silver-haired and -eyed, they are unashamedly magical, and as a race they seem to have a permanent case of incredible arrogance.

* [[Quantum Gravity]]: Elves' [[Pointy Ears|ears]] reach the tips of their heads--though they do not stick out at any notable angle. They are either immortal, or close enough to it that humans haven't noticed. They can be controlled by their [[True Name|True Names]] in any realm, and any creature can be controlled by his/her [[True Name]] there, though elves are still the most vulnerable. [[Blue and Orange Morality|By human standards,]] just about everyone is a spy, at least to some extent. The pale hair/skin/eyes holds true {{spoiler|except for shadow elves who are particularly dark at night}}.

** The number of elven subraces (including aquatic elves, winged elves, and star elves, to name a few -- eleven different races at least) has grown to the point where the 4th Edition of ''Dungeons and Dragons'' prunes it down to Elves (wood elves), Eladrin (high elves fairy folk), and Drow (dark elves). Oh, and the [[Half-Human Hybrid|half-elves]], too. Right back where it started. Now taking bets on how long before the subraces start to proliferate again...

** ''[[Spelljammer]]'' has [[Space Elves]] -- the motley collection of elves hailing from just about every world with elven population. Most of which became so obnoxiously haughty that next to ''these'' groundling elves began to look nice.

*** Under the original ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' rules, "Elf" was a class, as was "Dwarf" and "Hobbit". Elves could choose once a day whether to be a fighter or a magic user, and were subject to the weapon and armor restrictions of whatever class they chose -- elves who were in fighter mode could use any weapon, wear any armor and use any shield, but if they were in magic-user mode, they couldn't use any armor (unless it was magical armor, which human magic-users could not use) and were limited to the weapons of a magic user.

** Elven lifespan seems to have been shrinking monotonically with edition, from 900-1500 years (depending on variety) in the old days to 200-300 in 4e.

*** As for the Dark Eldar, they're a race of [[Complete Monster|Complete Monsters]] that make Drow look like saints --their home city of [[Meaningful Name|Comorragh]] is less Valinor and more ''[[Hellraiser]]''. Practically everything they have is decorated in [[Spikes of Villainy]] and their only goal aside from survival is to basically [[Exclusively Evil|screw around]].

*** Even the High Elves are different (arguably MORE different than the other two) mainly due to the structure and tone of their military, which tends to focus a lot on combined arms. And also on really, really big [[BFS|swords]] and [[An Axe to Grind|axes]], which aren't usually considered classical Elf weapons. But then, they wield their six-foot long two-handed swords ''gracefully''. Also, instead of the usual stereotypical rangers, they instead have Shadow Warriors, which are [[Ninja|Ninjas]] really (down to the outfits).

* The now-defunct ''[[Mage Knight]]'' miniatures game had the standard Three as well, played fairly straight. The High Elves were a race of [[Knight Templar|Knight Templars]], the Wood Elves shared power with a consortium of Centaurs and other woodland critters, and the Dark Elves were vampires-in-training lumped in with the 'undead faction'.

* The elves in ''[[Burning Wheel]]'' go back to their [[The Lord of the Rings|Tolkien]] roots, with the split wood elves--high elves being primarily reflected in the Wilderlands--Citadel/Etharch settings (it is not that difficult to move between the settings, though -- an elf born in the Wilderlands could easily grow up in the Citadel setting). On the whole, however, they are [[Our Elves Are Better|simply better]] than the other stocks (Men, Dwarves, Orcs); they can't use Sorcery, though, and instead have a system of spell (and skill) songs that represent their closeness to nature and the world as a whole.

* Subverted in the ''[[Fighting Fantasy]]'' gamebooks. The book ''Titan'', which functions as an [[All There in the Manual|background on the world most of the gamebooks are set in]], indulges this trope when discussing the elves, but in practice it emerges more as an [[Informed Ability]] considering that most of the world's great heroes and wizards tend to be human, and most of the world-shaking events are orchestrated or thwarted by humans. Statistically, most elves are decent fighters, although certainly nothing that most human adventurers can't handle. A possible [[Justified Trope|justification]] occurs when ''Titan'' mentions that the elves have been suffering a long, slow decline since the [[Gotterdammerung]] and [[Apocalypse How|Apocalypse Hows]] that have struck the world of Titan over the centuries. As a further subversion, while the flavor text in ''Titan'' treats the elves this way, most of the elves you actually meet in the gamebooks are generally pretty nice, if occasionally suspicious of human strangers who pass through their territory.

** Both Auelf and Woodelf are basically the classic woodelves, the main difference is the Woodelves acutally live in a mountainous area, the auelves in riparian forests. Though the woodelves are somewhat xenophobic and but still stay true to the archetype, while the Auelves are more open toward humans. Some of those elves are happen to behave like highelves, they are called "badoc" by their brethren (somewhat the ingame elven term for "crazy"). They appear quite often in the mage guilds or rarely even in clergy (though elves in general think the gods should not be prayed too, as they are just some superhuman beings and not gods... actually the [[Our Elves Are Better|elves think they are better than the gods]]).

** The "[[Our Elves Are Better|High Elves]]" and "[[Space Elves]]" roles are filled by the High Men/Archons and Syrons, respectively. Perhaps.

*** They also seem to have been fond of long beards, and may have been the first race of Man or Mer encountered by a race of giants<ref>thus providing a second explanation for why they were called 'dwarves'</ref>.

** No one thinks about the Bretons much. They're naturally better wizards than any other race though. Also, thanks to their extremely high innate magic resistance, they're pretty much [[Game Breaker|Game Breakers]] in ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion|Oblivion]]''. Turns out that every magical effect (including those that lower magic resistance) are defeated by 100 percent magic resistance (which Bretons easily achieve by just equipping ONE particular ring).

** The Falmer appear in ''Skyrim'' definitely looking worse for the wear after centuries of enslavement at the hands of the Dwemer. They are monstrous blind Morlock-like beings that raid the surface alongside their pet Chauri, killing and eating just about anything and anyone they meet. They are the ''only'' [[Exclusively Evil]] race, and their souls have become so twisted that they can be captured in white soul gems -- typically black soul gems are needed to capture humanoid souls. And the caverns and Dwemer ruins of Skyrim are crawling with them.

* Subverted, sort of, in ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'', which is understandable given that it's from the point of view of the dwarves -- elves are arrogant and can do some nasty damage with wooden weapons, but are otherwise shown more as annoying than otherworldly or superior.

** Played with in ''[[Suikoden IV]]''. The elves are [[Not So Different]] from the human natives of Na-Nal: both groups are self-absorbed [[Jerkass|Jerkasses]] convinced that ''they'' are the ones who 'own' the island while the others are just intruders. This eventually has horrific consequences: {{spoiler|the elves manipulate the Kooluk occupying forces into slaughtering the humans while staying safe in their [[Hidden Elf Village]]. One elf helps the heroes stop the massacre, and is promptly exiled for her trouble, while the rest of her kind pull a [[Karma Houdini]], in sharp contrast to the original game.}}

* Ruthlessly parodied in ''[[Overlord (series)|Overlord]]''. Its elves are arrogant, self-absorbed dimwits who believe themselves to be the sole source of beauty in the world, despite having no discernable talent or ability at anything. They've been driven almost to extinction by the dwarves before the game starts, and you have the option to send them the rest of the way (though the Overlord [[No Canon for the Wicked|canonically]] [[Noble Demon|saves their pathetic hides]]). Their [[Ironic Hell]] in the ''Raising Hell'' [[Expansion Pack]] forces them to watch and act in a [[Stylistic Suck|terrible play ]]that mocks them and their Mother Goddess while celebrating their downfall.

** ''[[Overlord II]]'' shifts gears in its parody, and instead portrays elves as dimwitted, [[Granola Girl|permanently stoned-seeming hippies]] protective of "nature" without really understanding anything deeper than "[[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|animals are cute]]". They're part of an organization that parodies [[Animal Wrongs Group|Greenpeace and PETA.]] They are still the main [[Hero Antagonist|Hero Antagonists]] of the story, even though {{spoiler|the [[Big Bad]] is an Elf with a [[A God Am I|God Complex]] in the guise of the ruler of [[The Empire]].}}

** Feir'Dal: Wood Elves: Descendants of the original elven race created by the God of Nature, Tunare. They live in the treetop city of Kelethin in the Greater Faydark forest. Naturally (no pun intended), they are more in tune with nature, with a society consisting mainly of Druids, Rangers, Rogues (who work for the city itself,) Bards, and Warriors. They have a very friendly position towards outsiders, and get along well with Humans. They stand 5 feet tall and have a tan complexion and hair colors running the normal human gambit between black, brown, blond, and red. They typically live to be about 650-700 years old.

** The drow (dark elves) are apparently played straight, although the abundance of [[Wangst|Wangsty]] no-I'm-the-non-Evil-exception drow in games and game-books is poked fun at.

* From what little we know of them, the Sidhe in the [[Whateley Universe]] may well have been embodiments of this before their version of [[The End of the World as We Know It]] happened. The modern-day reincarnation of one of their most powerful queens is already considered one of both the most powerful and the most beautiful students on campus before the end of her first semester, and it's been strongly hinted at that her ancient original (whose personality lives on in her head for the time being) was easily a hundred times more awesome and at some point ruled not only over her own people, but the humans living in the area as well -- to say nothing of dealing with a variety of supernatural movers and shakers on at least an equal basis. (We haven't yet learned much about the 'common' Sidhe, but there have been a hint or two that the humans were second-class citizens at best back in that day. Note that this is apparently the past of this universe's ''Earth''.)