Elves

As far back as anyone can remember, there have been elves; from the tops of mountains to the cool shade of the forests, they have been there.

They are by far the most diverse of the races, their lineage spreading to many areas of the map and even their descendants, the humans.

Appearance
Elves come in many different forms depending on where you look for them. Their most common trait is their pointed ears, which distinguishes them from most other races; though their human decendants ears have since rounded out due to genetic mutation, causing many people to assume them a different species of race.

Their eye-color varies from blue, green, hazel and brown, with the very rare genetic abnormalities which create orange, purple and gold. For skin colors they can range anywhere from peaches, browns and slight reds and yellows. They, as a people, have many races within themselves, making them able to differ from one another dramatically.

In the mountains the elves are stronger, their skin tough and dark from their close proximity to the sun and harsh environments. These people tend to have lighter hair colors from the bleaching of the sun and darker eyes to better see in the light. The rocky mountains have helped build them as a people, making them one of the strongest of the elf branches.

The mountain elf's average height is five foot six inches to six foot seven inches at the tallest for males, and five foot five inches to six foot three inches for females. With their open-aired living spaces and the need to fight off larger creatures in the area, they have grown bigger to fend off whatever might come their way.

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The elves that live within the forests are more nimble and lithe, as well as pale from the dense cover that keeps the sun's rays from them. Their hair is darker and fair, and their eyes more colorful and pale from their shaded habitat.

On average, the elves that live in the forests tend to be five foot five to five foot eleven inches for males and five foot two inches to five foot nine inches for females.

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As for humans, a sub-race of the Elven people, they are just as diverse as their other elf brethren. Despite the mutation that has made their lifespans significantly shorter than the elves and their ears more round, there are very little difference between them and their more "pure" genetic kin.

Life Cycle
The life cycles of elves differs wherever they live, but in general, they are children from when they are born until they are eighteen to twenty years old, when they finally become adults. Each race has its own way to show the elves progression into adulthood, though these aspects of their life cycle are engraved deeply into their culture.

As they grow, their hair becomes lighter and for some even becomes thinner. Their skin begins to wrinkle and can even start to sag. From exposure to the world around them for so many years even their eyes begin to lighten, making it harder for them to see at night, and sunlight becomes harsher to them.

Generally they become physically weaker, though many mountain elves remain strong and ambitious even into their old age.

They are expected to live into the early hundreds, though this is only if they can live without being murdered or wrought with diseases. As for humans, they usually only live into their eighties and nineties.

==Illnesses == The downfall of living on land in so many different environments, and with so many different creatures, is the illnesses that can be caught.

The most prominent diseases are the airborne ones, such as things like the cold and flu.

Down a step from that are illnesses brought from bad or diseased meats and dairy goods, which can cause sores, stomach sickness, and death.

Then there are the more terminal and less common diseases. Some of these, though having gone unnamed, include The Cough. As one could assume, this diseases main symptom is coughing, which progressively gets worse the longer it goes untreated. Eventually, as it continues to be stirred up from the coughing, it spreads through-out the body, causing internal bleeding and sores; the pain and bleeding leading to death. There are also insect based diseases, where insects enter the body and start to make it their home - or dinner - and build/eat within the elf until they die. These are only to name a few diseases, since they have so many.

Skills and Weaknesses
With so many different sub-races of elves, their skills vary greatly. As a rule, they are fairly good at climbing and jumping, as well as fishing and hunting; basic things that have been necessary to their survival for the span of their races existence.

Often they have a weakness to magic and waterborne diseases. They also tend to have troubles with high altitudes, spare the mountain elves who grew up in more elevated environments.

They can also learn languages pretty well, though it is dependent on the person rather than the race. As a whole they are the most literate in the sense of writing, as their hands are able to hold a pen easier than others.