The Lunar Elves

Stories are best told by those who have lived them. This is why I have chosen to publish an account of my own kind as told to me by the High Priest Lallinthera:

--------------------------------------------------------------- In myth and folklore almost doomed to be forgotten, like much else, there is the tale of the Lunar Elves, otherwise known as the Lunari.

In a time many modern elves may call primitive, their society paid tribute to the goddess of the moon, consort of the mighty Yaegar. But just as Aabahran is governed by a triad of nocturnal celestial bodies, the nature of the goddess and her dominion is also multi-faceted, presiding over healing & love, death & loss, and magic & illusion. To her, mid-wives prayed for healing their patients; philosophers prayed for mystic knowledge; mourners prayed for peaceful passage of the recently departed; maidens prayed for their long-awaited loves; and most importantly, priestesses prayed for a glimpse of prophecy and destiny.

In the heavenly realm of the gods, a powerful demonic entity shrouded in vellum crossed into the province of Yaegar and his mistress when the barriers of reality were at its thinnest. (As it is prone to do, every tenth millennium.) Upon his arrival, he coveted and pursued the moon goddess until she concealed herself in the only location the Chaos Demon's eyes could not penetrate: the womb of a mortal, elven woman. Upon birth, the child did not know her divine self, confused in her corporeal mantle of flesh. In time, the Demon was to know defeat and Yaegar searched endlessly for his lost beloved. However, the stars, the eternal observers, spoke to him revealing the fate of his goddess. Invisible, he descended into the mortal world and hid the Mirror of Illusion in a lake that was frequented by the elven vessel of the goddess. Upon looking on her reflection in the water, her sight pierced the veil of flesh to her true divine self. Thus, Yaegar was reunited with his celestial consort. Yet for times to come, a mortal elf touched with the features of the original lunar elf will be born randomly with generations far between each appearance.

Many variations exist of this myth and many more skeptics of it exist with the passing of time. Most of these disbelievers attribute the birth of a child of fair skin and platinum hair to the same phenomenon that presides over the birth of twins, albeit much rarer. These cynics see nothing exceptional in these elves save that they have a more fragile constitution and a natural propensity towards magic. However, the oldest of the elves believe that the appearance of a Lunar elf holds great significance. It is those who holds faith in this ancient tale that say mighty Greginsham fell to the orcs upon the death of a Lunari, and since then no other has been born until now. It is impossible to discern if the lives of the Lunari are shaped by actual destiny or by the power of belief and maybe even delusion.