Creature:Derevar Elf

The Drow (Old Tongue: Subdryadalum - Under-Elves), otherwise known as the Trow, Underdwellers and Duhraztazhaina in their native tongue, are a subrace of deiwes that originate from the northern reaches of 's main continent. Often widely regarded by many races to consist primarily of pirates, theives and barbaric rogues, the drow are considered to be fiendish due to their antagonistic reputation with other races and their magical affiliations and attributes; the drow possess an impressive resistance to magic and are fond practitioners of both anticraft, the practice of nullifying and negating Source energies, and hemomancy, the practice of manipulating and controlling blood.

The drow, while generally shorter than most other deiwes as well as possessing a significantly lowered rate of endurance, are not to be underestimated; they are unmatched hunters and predators, capable of stalking prey within the darkest of nights and generally possessing an agile, stealthy stance that assists them in battle. While many are selfish, cruel and generally racially elitist, there are factions of drow that are willing to cooperate alongside, even reside within, other civilizations.

History
The drow descend from the dark elves that had once comprised the large majority of the ancient, powerful civilization that had called itself the Night Empire - a warlike nation that once possessed territorial dominance over the North, coming into conflict with the fiendish Water Drakes of the northern waters alongside other young civilizations that had rooted themselves in the north. It was the Night Empire that had decimated the civilization of the Stone Elves in the past at the command of fierce, selfish, warmongering queens. However, the Night Empire would meet its vice at the hands and claws of the - a conglomerate of elvish races that had either escaped the grips of the Night Empire or had heeded warning of their presence - and the, who had been attracted by the blood magics of the dark elves.

Assaulted primarily by the hordes of the Sovereign, their infrastructure was decimated by liberated elves that were led by the remnants of the Stone Elves who had managed to survive the massacre of their people, and their political figures were assassinated and murdered by the vampiric operatives of the Nightshade under the command of a younger. The Night Empire soon fell to those that attacked them and the surviving dark elves escaped into the most desolate and harsh of the northern wilderness in order to escape their opposition, where they would remain in hiding for several millennia, evolving into what would be now known as the drow and rebuilding their society based on their available resources and memory.

When the dark elves resurfaced as the drow, they remained divided as a race; many drow houses and clans had gathered to form the - a supposed attempt at recreating the Night Empire - while others took sanctuary within the Sovereign as a means to escape their imperialist, elitist brethren, not to mention the many drow families that isolate themselves from the rest of civilization in order to escape their pasts without facing discrimination from others. Many drow have since taken up work as theives, mercenaries and rogue operatives while others prefer more sophisticated positions, such as teachers and store managers. Nonetheless, the drow constantly face racism just as they pose it towards others, with some drow deserving of such treatment - such as the Hegemony - although their quest for acceptance within other societies and nations is slowly advancing and progressing beneficially.

Physiology
As drow are a deiwes species they physically resemble a majority of other elflike races, standing upon two legs and possessing five fingers and toes on each hand and foot respectively. They stand shorter than various other elvish races however and their skin is obsidian-like in colouration, with their eyes usually being an intimidating crimson red and their hair ranging between blonde, silver, and white. Drow are incapable of growing beards or mustaches, although they are fond of sideburns and often groom their hair to be neat and tidy yet long and decorative, often adorning jewellery and valuable minerals and gemstones. Drow are a naturally beautiful and handsome race - clear evidence of their ancient elvish genetics and heritage, which lends to their manipulative and seductive nature.

Drow possess long lifespans in comparison to deiwes such as humans, with the eldest of drow living close to 1,000 years, although many drow often meet a premature end due to their low rate of endurance; while they are capable of exerting impressive feats of strength, many drow cannot withstand excessive amounts of damage and many can be knocked out by a mere human punch to the face. Drow have a natural preference for the cold and thus are commonly found in the North or similar climates.

Drow do not sleep, instead entering a state in which their bodies rest but their consciousness and minds retain awareness, although this does not mean that drow can't sleep and many may choose to do so if they feel unbalanced or stressed. The drow are fast, agile, and alluring; their physical appearance puts them in the favour of the weak-willed who are capable of being seduced and manipulated for a drow's own ends. Drow reach maturity in their 20s and will age for only a short time after before it almost completely ceases, with the aging process only starting once more when a drow is reaching the end of its natural lifespan in which they shall age rapidly over the course of several weeks.

Psychology
Drow are as untrustworthy as they are paranoid; drow mindset dictates that trust extends to how far one is useful to another and must always be cautious when approaching others as betrayal is not uncommon between the drow. Relationships involving friendship and love are difficult to form among the drow because of this, with many drow serving as little more than a means of impregnation for their matriarchs with a lack of love and emotional understanding. As such, familial bonds often mean nothing to most drow, although there are exceptions. Drow find it difficult to express passion and emotion, with most being cold, blunt, and unsympathetic towards others whether they are drow or non-drow.

Drow are often considered racist due to their general philosophy regarding outside species; many drow share a superiority complex, believing others are inferior to themselves which makes many of them seem selfish and greedy. Drow that seek to live away from other drow often find difficulty in being polite towards others due to this, as it is a part of natural drow nature and mentality. Drow do, however, display at least some respect towards warriors and assassins due to the drow living similar lifestyles - always having to fight to remain prosperous and alive as well as gain the things they desire, and thus why they despise the thought of self-entitlement. Many drow, despite their selfish outlook, often prefer to work for their desires rather than merely gain them without inconvenience.

A majority of drow also value beauty and culture, surrounding themselves with expensive items and valuable artefacts and objects. Drow, while finding it difficult to display emotion, often enjoy engaging in pleasurable acts nonetheless, ranging from massages to sex with utter strangers, with some drow even going so far as to commit heinous acts upon the bodies of others without consent or partake in mass orgies. However, many drow are controlled individuals and certain members of the race have been known to abstain from such practices in order to further themselves from their drow heritage.

Abilities
Alongside being agile and alluring, a majority of drow take preference in stealth, infiltration, and assassination rather than outright combat. Many drow are worthwhile ranged and close-quarters-combat adepts, capable of fighting hand-to-hand with many other deiwes species despite being more fragile than most others. Drow retain excellent memories and can easily identify faces, allowing them to see through a large number of disguises. Despite their inferior endurance, drow can deal damage at an equal output to most other elvish races. Drow are often found to be manipulative and seductive; their blood magic and physical appearance allow them to impose themselves over individuals of weaker will and will not hesitate in using them against others as cannon fodder or as a means to get what they want.

Drow are almost magically null aside from their blood-affiliated magics, although as an advantage they possess an impressive amount of magical resistance as a consequence of their decreased physical endurance and and they can even negate and reverse magic using a force known as anticraft; an ability almost exclusive to drow in which they use psionic power rather than magic in order to defend themselves against mages and sorcerers. Many drow are often taught in runic symbolism and thus are capable of invoking magic through runes engraved on their robes, armours, and weaponry.

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