Elf

The Elves are a race of the Ea species native to Däegarden and the southern regions of Ditarre. There are three Elf ethnic groups: the Ynoforans, the Ydelhiads, A'Roafans, and Acadon.

History
The Elves originated on the semi-mythical island of Sehoha Ataadinua during the Infinite War. After the conflict ended, the Elves left their island and began settling the rest of the world.

They first settled in the central Garden Continent, where the Ynoforan culture first developed. When Orcs began settling nearby, they forced some Elves to leave the continent and they began settling on Däe, leading to the genesis of the Ydelhiad Elves. A notable Ydelhiad was Däe himself, an Elf who founded the religion of Däeism. Däeism would eventually become the dominant religion amongst Elves. Around the same time, a second group of Elves moved further west into Ditarre, where A'Roafan Elf culture developed, and the religion of A'Thanism was founded.

The first Elf Tulkon was Nyrota, an A'Roafan Elf who united the A'Roafan kingdoms under the flag of A'Roastar. The nation was later reorganized into A'Roastad and would become hugely influential.

After the 40-Year War, elves lost some of their historical territory and most became citizens of A'Roastad or Ynofora. Elf cultural identity in some parts of A'Roastad became much more homogenous, becoming a blend of all three ethnicities, although many Elves still identified with a particular ethnic group. The Ynoforans became nearly extinct during the Immortal War after a genocide by West Gardenian Orcs, but the culture persisted. After the War, the nation of Nyfo Ynoforiad was absorbed by A'Roastad, forming the A'Roastad Empire.

As of 3000 AT, the only Elf-majority nation is the A'Roastad Empire. Historically, Elves have been forced to minimize their territory, previously expanding all across the southern hemisphere to being restricted to a corner between Ditarre and Däegarden. A small minority of Elves in the modern period have promoted the Elven Reclamation, believing that the Elven people should restore their former territory. This group of Elves also promote Pan-Elvenism, also known as A'Ontab, a philosophy promoting the cultural unity of the Elven ethnic groups.

Ynoforans
The Ynoforans are the oldest group of Elves. They landed in the middle of the Garden Continent after the Infinite War. During the Iloisa Conquest, they were forced to evacuate to eastern Daë, where most of them live to this day. During the Immortal War, they were the victims of a genocide by the nation of Dazzad, but the culture managed to survive. Ynoforans today mostly live on the coasts of the Southern Daë Peninsula, part of the A'Roastad Empire, although more major populations live on the coasts of Nodal. Most Ynoforans are Daëists or Tulkonists.

Ydelhiads
The Ydelhiads formed from groups of Ynoforans that were forced to migrate by the Orcs who landed on the Southern Garden Continent. They developed the religion of Daëism, which most modern Ydelhiads are practitioners of. During the 40-Year War, their homelands were taken over by demons, and they evacuated elsewhere, settling mostly on the Western coast of the Southern Daë Peninsula and the Acadon Islands, where they live today under the A'Roastad Empire. A small minority lives in Gogeget and western Nodal.

Some Ydelhiads who remained on Däegarden after the 40-Year War established communities within Gogeget, where they formed highly blended Ydelhiad-Gardenian groups sometimes known as the Sankari people. These people practice a hybrid form of Däeism and Savatism, and have maintained a degree of autonomy within Gogeget society, especially in the centuries following the Immortal War, during which they were prosecuted as part of the Ynoforan Genocide.

The Nolino people are triracial group of mixed Ydelhiad, Gardenian, and Nodal Ancestry located in southwestern Nodal. They formed when Orc immigrants mixed with the native Ydelhiad and Onor populations around 2000 AT.

A'Roafans
The A'Roafans are the youngest Elf Ethnic group, forming from groups of Ydelhiads and Ynoforans that continued to migrate west and settled in Ditarre. They lived in three separate kingdoms that were united by a young Tulkon Nyrota. Few A'Roafans still practice their ethnic religion of A'Thanism, as most A'Roafans converted to Daëism. Most A'Roafans reside in the E'Deonad Peninsula, part of the A'Roastad Empire.

The Vardo are a subgroup of the A'Roafans who live in the city of Ygasa Vardo. Ygasa Vardo was founded as an Elven city, but it was also settled by the Iloisa Empire. Modern-day Vardo live a highly multicultural existence, with most Vardo having about half Human ancestry. They speak Vardoic, an Iloisa-A'Roic Creole. They mostly practice U'ma Däeism and occasionally Tulkonism.

Acadon
The Acadon are the people of the Acadon Islands, an archipelago located between the E'Deon and Däe peninsulas. They are descended from waves of settlers rom Däe who stopped on the archipelago rather than go all they way to E'Deon; they are often considered the sister group of the A'Roafans. They have been subject to influence of the A'Roafans and Ydelhiads in near-equal parts, and thus their culture is a blend of their own indigenous culture and that of the other Elven groups. Most Acadon today live under the A'Roastad Empire, and practice Däeism and speak Ydelhiad and Däegic.

Real-World Influences
The Elves are primarily inspired by cultures of the Sinosphere and South Asia, including Japan, China, and India, as well as First Nations people of Canada and native Siberian groups.