Mul'niessa

Known by many names such as the Dark Elves, Night Elves and Cursed Elves; these are elves who are descendants of ones who bound their souls and will to that of the Shadow Sorceress as an exchange for greater power and secrets that she claimed would enable them to maintain their tie to faery. She lied, in part, of course, but to this day the descendants of those originally deceived continue to honor and venerate the Goddess of Lies and they, as a collective whole, exist as one of the staunchest foes of The Light among all enlightened races. Despite this, history has, on occasion, marked out some members of the species who attempt to throw off the grip the Shadow Sorceress holds over their souls and to carve their own path in the world. Furthermore, the recent ascension of the dark goddess has not set well with all members of the race, and has created unforeseen division. Of late, a growing tricke of Shadow Elves attempt to exist independently of the actions and deeds of the greater portion of their race. Time will tell if such individuals are successful in their efforts and if the other, elven kindred will accept them among their ranks despite past transgressions, pacts, and cultural biases.

The most ancient legends that relate the rise of the Shadow Elves, speak of a conflict between the twin princes of ancient Sandriel, in the aftermath of the death of the greatest of the elven High Kings. Both princes offered differing paths for the elven people to take in the wake of the grief of the lost of their most beloved. Civil war resulted, ending in the death of both princes and the cursing of an entire section of the elven people who had given their very souls into the hands of the Shadow Sorceress in search of mastery for the highest forms of arcane sorcery. Retreating underground, the newly formed race of Shadow Elves became a bane to the Dwarves of the world. They allied with cursed and outcast dwarves and engaged in near ongoing warfare while unleashing untold abominations that had long been imprisoned by the gods beneath the world. Some remained on the surface and founded realms in the ruined elven kingdoms and continued to menace all Gaea while making allies and slaves of other depraved and evil monstrous races.

Two ages have passed since this era and it is mythology even for the long lived elven people, but the passions of racial bias and rivalry continue to run strong, maintained by the continued alliance of Shadow Elves with dark forces and the other elven kindreds, despite being stand offish, focusing their effort on the light.

Physical Description

Shadow-Elves are as tall as High Elves, possessing skin tones that range from deep brown to shades of grey. They possess a nearly unearthly aura and beauty about them that surpasses even the High Elves and carries with it a sinister magnetic attraction. Their hair color tends towards shades of alabaster with some cases producing very light blond hair. They have a natural charismatic aura that makes them seem unattainable yet also grants them the ability to influence other individuals easily.

Society and Lands

Shadow Elven society is dominated by their most powerful members, usually referred to as Nobles, with the rest of Shadow Elven kind being lesser in power. Nobles have yielded their full devotion over to the dark goddess and have received special empowerment for it despite the fact that she holds their souls in her thrall. The powers of a Noble are both granted and heredity in nature, meaning that they usually pass on from generation to generation but have been known to skip and yet can be conferred by the matriarchal priesthood through an elaborate ritual should one prove oneself worthy. Their society embraces much of what The Dark has to offer. They see love as a tool to be used to gain a means to an end and revenge as a tool that hones their powers to razor sharpness. They love intrigue and are used to back biting, being manipulative, controlling and deceitful. The most powerful of these is known as Shal'hazar and is enclosed in mist shrouded woods in the deeps of Charn. These Shadow Elves have long allied themselves with Charn and have had a heavy hand in influencing Charn's dark affairs. Other enclaves exist in the deeps of the earth as well. Recent events have caused some Shadow Elves to leave their traditional enclaves to strike out to establish settlements in the fringes of the Greatwood, striving to find equilibrium with accepting members of their fellow kindreds.

Other Races

The rivalry between the Shadow Elves and Dawn Elves borders on holy war and has only intensified. In recent years, Shadow Elves have become more aggressive in their acts of subterfuge and manipulation as they reach into lands beyond their own. A few efforts have been made by groups of Shadow Elves to seek a balance with their brethren and to cut their ties with their Noble rulers and the dark goddess's grasp on their lives, but such efforts of redemption are easier said then done. The dwarves, too, have a long memory. Traditional dwarves well remember the destruction of the Axis of Gaea resulting from the betrayals of the Dark Iron Dwarves whose allies were staunch members of the Shadow Elf race. As a race, these elves wage an uphill battle in terms of being taken at face value.

Alignment and Religion

The traditional members of the pantheon of darkness are the ones who are most venerated by the Shadow Elves with Taara the Shadow Sorceress being their chief patron. Her priesthood, matriarchal in nature, holds a tight grasp on Shadow Elven society. A heavy bend of necromancy and command of death themed powers also promotes Thul heavily and Illotha is a natural fit as well due to their affinity for intrigue, thievery and manipulation. As a race, Shadow Elves tend towards the evil alignments but neutral Shadow Elves, particularly among exiles or those striking out away from their traditional mindsets, are not unknown. Good Shadow Elves are very rare but not impossible.

Adventurers

Shadow Elves leave their core societies for any number of reasons. Exiles who are fleeing for their lives for some great crime, or due to being unable to fit into Shadow Elf society are not unheard of though, reasonably are not always believed and trusted in other lands. Many are superstitious of Shadow Elves and so they often find it difficult to be taken at face value, especially by other elves. Shadow Elves who are still in service of their homelands are often out and about on missions of secrecy in which disguising themselves is the best means to be able to move around freely.

Shadow Elf Racial Traits

Elves normally stand around 4 and a half feet to 5 and a half feet tall, and tend towards unusually thin or slender when compared to humans. They mature at roughly 100 years, and may live to be over 500.

Mul'niessa Average Height and Weight

Name	Base Height	Base Weight	Modifier	Weight Multiplier
Shadow Elf, male	5ft 4in	100 lbs	+2d8	x2d4 lbs
Shadow Elf, female	5ft 4in	90 lbs	+2d6	x2d4 lbs

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution: Shadow Elves are nimble and darkly manipulative.
• Medium: Shadow Elves are Medium creatures, and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Normal Speed: Shadow Elves have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Darkvision: A Shadow Elf can see in the dark up to 120 feet.
• Shadow Elf Immunities: Shadow Elves are immune to magic sleep effects and get a +2 racial bonus to saves against enchantment spells.
• Keen Senses: Shadow Elves receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
• Spell Resistance: Shadow Elves possess spell resistance equal to 6 plus their class levels.
• Spell-Like Abilities: A Shadow Elf can cast dancing lights, darkness, and faerie fire each once per day, using his total character level as his caster level.
• Shadow Jump (Su): At 4 HD, a Shadow Elf can literally 'jump' through Shadows, granting him the ability to dimension door up to forty feet per day. He can make multiple jumps as long as the total distance traveled per day does not exceed 40'. Each time the shadow elf uses this ability it counts as at least 10 feet, no matter if he jumps less then that. A shadow elf can only shadow jump in locations with dim light.
• Fae Insight: Shadow Elves can perceive the truths and intentions of those around them better then most others. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks.
• Poison Use: See Bestiary.
• Weapon Familiarity: Shadow Elves are proficient with the hand crossbow, rapier, and short sword.
• Languages: Shadow Elves begin play speaking Thallassian and Undercommon. Shadow Elves with high Intelligence can choose bonus languages from the following: Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Gnomish, Goblin-Talk or Handspeech.