What It Is To Be Elf

E

EricMarsters

Fighter
Fellow Elves,

Recently, the spirits of the Great Elder Trees in my land have taken my spirit and changed it, making me elf. Before this, I was a human. Even for a human, I was young. I humbly ask those with much more wisdom than I - what does it mean to you to be an elf?

Humbly yours,

Eric Marsters
 
You'll find that it is different between us, but there are some things that are familiar: we are one with the forest around us, the air we breath, the earth below us. It is a spirit that many of us feel, though the world around each of us may seem different. We are her defenders, her vanguards. We are her vengeance. We are her will made manifest. We have been made strong of willpower and stubborn because our fight is unceasing -- but we can also be arrogant and angry, meek and mild, proud and patient.

If those spirits within your land see fit to change your form, it is not without reason. Your individual purpose will become clear to you in time -- and you have plenty of it.

- Sevaria of Goshawk
 
I was an elf once. It was a dreadful 20 minutes, but in those 20 minutes I realized one valuable lesson. I much prefer to be a human. Maybe you will like being an elf better then me. Maybe you will be the most epic elf of all times. Or possibly but very unlikely one of the trees you will find suddenly so irresistible to hug will fall on you tomorrow and you won't res. You never know what the next day will bring, otherwise you might have decided to stay home the day the great spirits were swapping people to elves. Important thing is enjoy the moment and learn in it.

Purelord, Drenten of Sadden Moore
Also of Goshawk
Also of the Arkelian Hunt
Also of the sign of the Raven
Also not an Elf
 
Three of my brothers happen to be all sorts of different elves. Then my sire and other brother are human. I tried to learn the ways of my three pointed ears brother as well as the ways of my other kin. One thing my sire told me was to change is upsetting the balance unless fate has it designed for you to change. He also taught me that you cant change the inside of yourself. No matter how orc I try to act like my one brother. Or how elvish I tried to behave. Or how much i tried to be like my sire. I am still a coyote. I still do things that are me! So perhaps you needn't to learn the way of the elf and be who you were born to be cause the rest is just a change in appearance and now age.

Always in service,
Zimps of Odenis of Arandin
 
As an elf of 129, my response is thus:

Elven nature is that of patience and to celebrate life. This is true to some degree for all long-lived races, but I believe elves as a race demonstrate these aspects nearly the most.

Like a great oak tree, our lives are 50 to 100 times longer (or more) than most of the other races; one lifetime of an elf can see the rise and fall of multiple human empires. In order to withstand the years of life our way of thinking and observing the world must be able to accept that we will see the cycle of Life and Death repeat itself, and recognize that it is as nature intended. As an elf, we recognize and celebrate the natural order of the comos such as the summer and winter solstices, the 100 year anniversary of a sapling tree, the birth of a child, and the death of a friend.

This isn't to say that elves are perfect or don't act rashly. In fact, young elves under 200 years of age are often just slightly less impulsive than humans. It isn't until the elf has fully matured does he/she learn that their mental health and well being, their very nature, is to be like a tree; to be resolute yet patient, to withstand the centuries through observation, through patience, and waiting for the right moment to act.

Regards,
Alavatar Peece the Red Wizard
 
Drenten said:
I was an elf once. It was a dreadful 20 minutes, but in those 20 minutes I realized one valuable lesson. I much prefer to be a human. Maybe you will like being an elf better then me. Maybe you will be the most epic elf of all times. Or possibly but very unlikely one of the trees you will find suddenly so irresistible to hug will fall on you tomorrow and you won't res. You never know what the next day will bring, otherwise you might have decided to stay home the day the great spirits were swapping people to elves. Important thing is enjoy the moment and learn in it.

Purelord, Drenten of Sadden Moore
Also of Goshawk
Also of the Arkelian Hunt
Also of the sign of the Raven
Also not an Elf
Click to expand...

You're just a bad elf. I don't hug any trees, brother. If I did, I think you would be the first to hit my back when it was open for it.

- Sevaria
 
I've refrained from joining in this conversation to avoid stepping on toes, but anyone who knows me knows that this fear won't hold me back for long. Additionally, I am not an elf and so I cannot speak from experience, feel free to disregard whatever it is that I have to say.

With that said however, it is my naive belief that if you are looking to be the best elf, you must only be the best you. By whatever twist of fate that has occurred, you are now an elf. Whatever changes that may have happened will have already taken place. Your body may have changed, you may have found the ability to connect more deeply with nature, even parts of how you think might have drastically been altered. Those things, whatever they may be, are a part of you now, immutable and firm. Perhaps you feel no change at all and all of our differences but for age and ears are imagined.

Unless fate chooses again that you will change your race, you are an elf. What you should be concerned with is not what makes a good elf, but with what makes a good you. Search out those changes, no matter how small, and accept them. Continue your search for purpose in this world and build meaningful relationships with others. Use the years you've been given to be kind and make the world you live in a better place.

Ignorantly yours,
Tvard Sendall
 
Marsters,

I was born a Dryad. I lived as a Dryad, then for 1 year I became an elf. The perspective was the same, but strong words of advice were given. As an Elf, you now represent that culture. Sure, you are still human on the inside, and you must always hold on to that piece of you. However right now, you are an Elf. A proud and noble people who are akin to the forest. Your actions now reflect the Elven people. The best thing for you to do is learn from Davion and Maglun, they will teach you how to commune with the forest. Learn from Gandian the ways of culture and the elegance of your race.

It will take time, but you will learn, just as I did.

- Asher
Child of Autumn
 
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