All About Elves
Where did they come from? According to one folk tale, their origin can be traced to Adam and Eve. Eve hid her dirty, unwashed children from God, and lied about their existence. God then declared: "What man hides from God, God will hide from man." Other folktales claim that huldufólk (Hidden people) originate from Lilith, or are fallen angels condemned to live between heaven and hell. The Elves are also called the "Firstborn" (Q. Minnónar) or the "Elder Kindred" (as opposed to Men, the Secondborn) as they were "awakened" before Men by Eru Ilúvatar (the creator). The Elves named themselves Quendi ("the Speakers"), in honour of the fact that, when they were created, they were the only living beings able to speak. They were also called Nimîr ("the Beautiful"). According to the earliest account, the first Elves are awakened by Eru Ilúvatar near the bay of Cuiviénen during the Years of the Trees in the First Age. They awoke under the starlit sky, as the Sun and Moon had yet to be created. The first Elves to awake were in pairs: Imin ("First") and his wife Iminyë, and Tata and Tatië, ("Second"). As such, elves are one of the Elder Races (along with gnomes and dwarves). Elves, also known as Aen Seidhe, caming to the middle ages Continent on their white ships much earlier than humans, but later than gnomes and dwarves. Are They Real?
Surveys suggest that more than half of Icelanders believe in, or at least entertain the possibility of the existence of, the Huldufolk - the hidden people. Just to be clear, Icelandic elves are not the small, green, pointy-eared variety that help Santa pack the toys at Christmas - they're the same size as you and I, they're just invisible to most of us. Huldufólk legends recorded in the 18th and 19th centuries showed them to be "near mirror-images of those humans who told stories about them--except they were beautiful, powerful, alluring, and free from care, while the Icelanders were often starving and struggling for existence. According to one study, up to 72 percent of people in Iceland believe in elves, trolls, and the huldufolk, or “hidden people” — who apparently look just like us but live in a different dimension inside rocks, which open up (for them, not us) like a Harry Potter tent. I’m not making this up. This is really what people will tell you in Iceland. They will even tell you that stones which from a certain angle look like faces, are actually elves. Mainly they're a peaceable breed but if you treat them with disrespect, for example by blasting dynamite through their rock houses and churches, they're not reticent about showing their displeasure. There are several stories about how elves are suspected to be behind bulldozer breakdowns and a series of workmen's accidents in Iceland. Iceland has a thing about its roadways. When bulldozers break down, when things go awry, when a sensitive individual comes forth to warn that a rock might be the habitat of an elf, it is heeded. Roadways are even built around such structures rather than push one's luck. In 1996, an attempt to bulldoze a hill in Kopavogur, Iceland inexplicably failed. The hill, which was to be cleared for a graveyard, was believed to be occupied by elves. During the operation, two bulldozers inexplicably malfunctioned. Television cameras malfunctioned, unable to focus on the hill. Elf communicators were called in and apparently were able to reach an agreement with the elves. The elves decided to leave, the communicators said, and the machinery began to work again. The event was reported on by the New York Times. Many Icelanders speak of these elves as being attributed to rocks, coming and going from rock, being magical, being sometimes very tiny and elusive. They are private and reportedly kind if you are kind and vengeful if you are unkind. It may seem extraordinary, but we already know there are lots of signs of life in places we never imagined it, like in a lake under the Antarctic ice and in burning hot volcanic vents in the ocean. Life adapts and survives in places we thought it was impossible. If we take the stories of exceptionally “supernatural” beings in the rocks, an adapted form of life for the volcanic lands might be the explanation. When we hear a lot of legends involving small people, whether it's elves, brownies, sprites, fairies, moon-eyed people or other, we have to wonder if there has been a form of man that went unaccounted for, like the ancient giants, and that shows up in skeletal remains from time to time and in nearly all native legends. What are they like?
Elves are born about one year from their conception. The day of their conception is celebrated, not the actual birthday itself. Their minds develop more quickly than their bodies; by their first year, they can speak, walk and even dance, and their quicker onset of mental maturity makes young Elves seem, to Men, older than they really are. Physical puberty comes in around their fiftieth to one hundredth year (by age fifty they reach their adult height), and by their first hundred years of life outside the womb all Elves are fully grown. Elven bodies eventually stop aging physically, while human bodies do not. “Two mates are bound by love-making; are not your feelings clear and true? Two friends find joy in love-making; are not moments of joy remembered forever? A stranger gets a gift of love-making; are not gifts to be handled with respect?” —old elven poem, poet unknown In elven mindset, sex is three forces: a binding force between lifemates, and a joyful force between friends, and a soothing gift to a stranger. In fact, elves are not particularly different from humans what comes to sexual liberty, they can just need rational explanations for everything.
To elves, sex is a binding force and a form of showing respect and kindness. Having sex with another creates a psychological bond; it may be thin and they may not be aware of it all the time, but it will always be there. This is called arva'leghrenn, or the "bond of love". While it's possible that two elves taken from different parts of the country could meet one day, have sex, and depart forever, they still expect to mutually respect the fact that they once had sex together, and accept whatever consequences happen. Casual sex as humans understand it does happen, but elves just don't believe in sex that has no strings attached. Elves have high ideal of monogamous relationships and marry freely and for love early in life but they don't hold it entirely sacred; they understand that friends have needs that sometimes absolutely have to be addressed, as long as everyone involved is aware of what is happening. Unmarried elves are often open to sex with others, even across vast social gaps, but they usually demand strict reasons for them. According to the Ballad of the Heart's Protectors, thousands of years ago, many young commoners wanted to bed an unmarried countess - who accepted the offer, but demanded that the youngsters would need to become her personal honour guard. Even today, elves find it funny that humans consider having sex with celebrities an achievement; there are several famous travelling elven minstrels who allow truest fans of appropriate gender to share moments of intimacy with them, but this fan service is, ahem, subject to availability and time constraints. Before attaining true maturity, the youth are usually encouraged to make friends with members of opposite sex and experiment with their sexuality. However, even with no possibility of procreation, the youth are taught that this sex is not in any way less carefree than adult sexuality and that bonds formed in youth are very important. Elves are capable of interbreeding with humans (thus producing half elves and quadroons) and dryads. (See JRR Tolkien for more about the elves of middle earth as recorded in Lord of the Rings). Elves live much longer than humans and are usually very attractive. Their characteristic features include pointed ears and small, identical teeth without cuspids (canine teeth). The elves reported by Tolkien came about as a result of the mixing of Teutonic light elves, the Celtic fairy-gods and the Christian conception of angels. They were tall, blond, pale skinned, with pointed ears as contrasted with the Mediterranean and African elves of dark skin. One of their unusual characteristics is the ability to be invisible to humans, perhaps through cloaks of invisibility passed down from generation to generation whose origin and manufacture is unknown today. It is said that “Greek Fire” used in naval warfare in the early days whose formulas today remains unknown was also developed by the elves. Greek fire was an incendiary weapon developed c. 672 and used by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect, as it could continue burning while floating on water. Elves are naturally immortal, and remain unwearied with age. In addition to their immortality, Elves can recover from wounds which would normally kill a mortal Man. However, Elves can be slain, or die of grief and weariness.
What happened to them? They are a rare and fading people seldom seen but still hanging on in remote places in the world. You may be unaware that one is watching you at any time.