The Inar, or elves, were a race of humanoid beings who existed in the time of the Befores. Their ancestors, the Eldinar, were the first sentient beings, who predated even the gods.
The Inar were initially one peoples spread out over mainland Greater Galwyndor; initially this vast territory was known as the Erilorian Empire. They splintered into different groups as they expanded to explore new territories: Druinar, Luinar, Maeinar, Reninar, Torinar, and Veninar. The empire eventually split into distinct kingdoms, which were Enenthal, Erith, and Lorithi. The Veninar were the first elves to cross the sea, where they helped establish settlements that would grow into the kingdoms of Morin and Thraindor.
Inar were typically taller and thinner in stature than their human counterparts, with elongated, tapered ears. They also did not have the ability to grow facial hair, but their skin color was just as varied as humans, depending on the climate.
Creation of the Inar
According to the Grellist creation myth, the Inar came into being after the trickster angel Fethylden deceived the Eldinar into giving up some of their omnicrux so that the gods could banish M'ranin and the Fouled Seven to the Shadow Lay. This, in turn, took away some of their power. As a result, they became the Inar.
Creation of the Eldinar
There are a few myths that account for the creation of the Eldinar. The two most prominent came from Grellism and Inar legends, and the Eldinar are directly involved in the creation in both.
- Inar Legend - The Inar believed the Eldinar were created from the pure vorsys of Gyva, which was her blood. They were the first race, immortal, and the most powerful. Unlike in Grellism where the Eldinar predate the gods, the Eldinar do not predate the Divines in these legends.
- Grellist Legend - According to the ancient religion of Grellism, the first elves were created by Grellis when he filled the world with creatures. They actually predated the first deities created by Grellis, and were known as Eldinar. The existence of the Eldinar ultimately led to the creation of the humans, dwarfs, and helimer by the gods Orend, Drend, and Helirend, because they were jealous of them. Given that they were created by Grellis, they contained more of the omnicrux, or magical essence of Grellis, than the other races.
Nations of Inar
Druinar
The Druinar were the people of the snow and ice. They were known to favor harsh environments because they valued isolation and austerity. They occupied many of the far northern and southern reaches, and shared the Wyrmback Islands with the Cauthrians and Ranat with the giants. Some of them were known for their brutality.
Luinar
The Luinar were the people of the luith, or moon. They primarily settled in desert areas of what became southern Erith, and they were known to prefer working and merrymaking at night, which is why they associated themselves with the moon. Some were also of darker complexion, but they all had silver hair, which further solidified their personal association with the moon. Some of them were Moontreaders, capable of accessing the Moon Lay. These also differ from the Luinar who accessed the Shadow Lay, who became known as Sorinar, or cursed inar.
Maeinar
The Maeinar were the people of the maeth, or sun. These were elves of the plains, and were a nomadic peoples.
Reninar
The Reninar were the people of the ren, or wood. These were wood elves who settled in the Denachren, or Goldenwood, region of what eventually became Lorithi.
Torinar
The Torinar were the people of the tor, or mountains. These were highland elves who settled primarily in the area surrounding the Finrothir Mountains of what eventually became northern Enenthal.
Veninar
The Veninar were the people of the ven, or sea. They were known by the other races as the Vinthish elves. A seafaring people, and being the most traveled of all the elves, enjoyed the best relations with the other races. This is the reason High Vinthish became the speech of kings.
The Meninar, or half-breed race, was primarily an offshoot of the Veninar, and later the Druinar, with the others being a much smaller extent.
Extinction
They were unwittingly killed off in the Great Purge, a campaign to rid the world of magic, because magic was a larger part of their biology. It was in their blood to a higher degree than other races, so the wraighs used by the Tal Calar smelled them as if they were mages. While some elves openly practiced the magical arts, and were targeted specifically in the campaign, it wasn't known at the time that the Purge would affect the entire race of elves. The Cauthrians were also destroyed in the same manner, because of they also had more magic in their bodies naturally. The other races did not have enough to attract the wraighs, so they were unaffected.
Geography
Most elves resided in Greater Galwyndor, distributed between the kingdoms of Enenthal, Erith, and Lorithi, but some elves crossed the sea and settled in Lesser Galwyndor in the land of Aeryloth, where they cohabited peacefully with humans.
Before the Purge
In the time of the Befores there also lived other races. At the time of the Great Purge, there were 8 in total. The Vurg, as far as was known at the time, did not yet exist.