Dark elves (Old Norse: Dökkálfar, usually called the Svartálfar "black elves") are known as a class of elves living underground in Old Norse mythology, the counterparts to the Ljósálfar ("Light-elves"). They are very similar to dwarves.[1] The dark elves originated in the Eddic and Germanic myths. They are more recently described as a race of elves and sometimes counterparts to the high elves in fiction and modern popular culture. Dark elves are also now a common character in modern fantasy fiction, although usually very highly embellished with outside influences and rarely displaying many elements of the ancient folktales that inspired their inclusion, throughout fantasy fiction of many types. Their appearance varies considerably from representation to representation, as does their given background.
Contents |
Origins In Folklore
Norse/Germanic mythology
In Norse mythology, Svartálfar ("Swart-elves" or "black elves"), sometimes considered synonymous with duergar ("dwarves"), are subterranean creatures who dwell in the world of Svartálfheim. They may be either benevolent or malevolent. The original Svartalfar worked the forges on the lowest level of the world tree. Their roles and countenance vary throughout Germanic folklore but are sometimes mentioned with Black or Dark skin as a result of working at the forge. The Dökkálfar ("Dark-elves") are male ancestral spirits who may protect the people, although some can be menacing, especially when one is rude to them. They are generally light-avoiding, though not necessarily subterranean. In the prose Edda Gylfaginning, Snorri Sturluson, author of among other things the Younger Edda, distinguishes them from the Ljósálfar ("Light-elves") of Álfheim, in most sources simply known as elves.
Scottish Folklore
In the Orkney Islands, the Trow or the black elves or drows are similar to the Svartalfar or to Scandinavian trolls or dwarves, and inhabit mines and caves. They may be either helpful or harmful but stories regarding harm are more common. The Drow or the dark elves are the Shetland Isle equivalent of the Trow, but unlike the trow, they are thought of as exclusively malicious. They are tiny elves known for their mining and metal-working, not unlike dwarves. In the Scottish Gaelic language, the terms Daoi-Sith (loosely interpreted as "dark elves" [1]), and Du-Sith (loosely interpreted as "black elves" [2]) exist. Both terms are obscure, and the latter seems to have been used as a proper name. Apart from an ambiguous folktale of uncertain origin involving one Sir Lachlan Mor M'Clean [3], there are no known surviving myths or stories associated with these creatures.
Dark elves in fiction
Due at least partly to influence from the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, and perhaps also to the ever-growing tendency toward synthesis of folklores, it is not uncommon for both Trows and Drow, along with black elves and dark elves, to be pictured as otherwise beautiful but dangerous and sometimes corrupted versions of the Norse light elves that have come to replace the tiny fairy-like elves of British folklore as the dominant model. As the image associated with the word "elf" once again became one of tall, slender, human-like creatures of otherworldly beauty, so did the image associated with the Black-elves/Trow and the Dark-elves/Drow.
The Deed of Paksenarrion
In Elizabeth Moon's trilogy The Deed of Paksenarrion, the dark elves are a sect of elves that have wandered from the path and now follow the gods of evil, rather than the "High Lord".
Middle-Earth
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, the Moriquendi — the Elves of Darkness — are, in essence, the Elves that did not join the Great Journey over the sea and behold the light of the Two Trees in Valinor. This includes primarily the Avari and Nandor, The Sindar, the Elves of Twilight, who remained in Beleriand and did not reach Valinor,were not included however, because it was said that since their king Elu-Thingol saw the light of the trees in the face of Melian. The Dark Elves are in no way more evil than Light Elves; the latter just have a surpassing knowledge and skill, and are more "noble" and potent. The most famous of the Dark Elves would be Eöl who is the only character in The Silmarillion called "Dark Elf" by the elves Celegorm and Curufin, two of the sons of Fëanor.
Mega Man Zero
The Dark Elf is a key character to the plot of Mega Man Zero 2 and Mega Man Zero 3. She was initially created as the Mother Elf, the good being which had the power to exterminate the Mavericks. However, Dr. Weil cursed the Mother Elf, and it transformed into the ominous Dark Elf, creating two evil "children" dark elves: Créer and Prier. The Dark Elf was so destructive that X sacrificed himself to seal her inside his body. However, years later, in Mega Man Zero 2 she was eventually released by Elpizo, who used her power to fight Zero. With Elpizo's defeat, the Dark Elf flew away. In the third installment, the Resistance and Neo Arcadia started to look for the Dark Elf, causing a clash between Zero and Weil. The Elf and her "children", however, were caught by Weil and merged to Omega (or the "Original Zero"). After Créer, Prier and Omega's demise, Weil's curse was finally broken and the Dark Elf became the Mother Elf once again.
Final Fantasy IV
A boss called the Dark Elf was found in the Magnetic Cave. The boss was weak against magnetic weapons, so he created a magneted force field around himself. Edward played his harp, which made the twin harp play at the same time, shutting off the force field and enabling the player to use magnetic weapons against the boss. He is followed by his true form, the Dark Dragon. He spoke with random capitalizations in his sentences.
Dungeons & Dragons
In the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse, especially in the worlds of Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms and Eberron, dark elves are commonly called drow. They are dark-skinned and white-haired and are generally, but not exclusively, evil. Many other games and works of mainstream fantasy fiction derive their "dark elves" or "night elves" from the drow of Dungeons & Dragons. The drow in most Dungeons & Dragons settings are depicted as worshipers of the spider goddess Lolth and live in matriarchal societies. In the Mystara/"Known World" setting, shadow elves are a race of subterranean elves who have been mutated via magic (possibly as a nod to the origin of orcs in Middle-earth). In the Dragonlance setting, dark elves are not a separate subrace of elves (in fact, the drow of other worlds do not exist on this one). In this setting, "dark elf" is a label given to any elf that is outcast from elven society, typically (although not always) for evil practices.
- It should be noted that in the Forgotten Realms setting Dark-elf is not entirely synonymous with Drow. As explained on pages 54-56 of the supplement Lost Empires of Faerun by Richard Baker et al., the dark-elves were a subrace of elves and the majority were not inherently evil. Actions of the dark-elves of Ilythiir during the Second and Fourth Crown Wars led the other elven kingdoms to perform powerful ritual changing all of the dark-elves into drow. "The word dhaerow- which meant traitor- was likewise corrupted to 'drow,' which became the name of the corrupted dark-elves. Why all the dark elves, and not just the Ilythiiri, were transformed into drow remains one of the enduring mysteries of the Descent" (56).
Record of Lodoss War
Dark elves from the fictional world of Record of Lodoss War are brown-skinned and not necessarily evil, but primarily aligned with the forces of Marmo, the enemies of the story's heroes. These dark elves are capable of deep loyalty and love.
Shadowrun
As with most metahuman races in the Shadowrun world, many elves are born from the same ethnic groups that normal humans come from, meaning that there are African elves, Indian elves, and Arabic elves, for example. However, the closest thing to the "dark elf" in Shadowrun is the elf metahuman variant subgroup called the Night Ones, most of which come from Europe. The Night Ones have an aversion to sunlight and are different from other elves by possessing a fine fur coat that covers their bodies, indistinguishable from their skin at a distance and usually colored from black, violet, or dark blue. Popular media has dubbed them dark elves, and the group is sometimes stereotyped against as being members of a cult or an "evil" metahuman race. In the in-character comments of a sourcebook, a character derisively calls a group of Night One pirates, "the Muppets", because of their purple fur resembling the Muppet Grover.
Warhammer
In the fictional universes of Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000, the generally evil Dark Elves (running parallel to the Dark Eldar in the Warhammer 40,000 universe) do not dwell underground, nor are they dark-skinned. Though Warhammer Dark Elves live in the frozen lands of the north in the continent called 'new world', in cities similar to those of High Elves. Dark Elves are masters of torture and they worship the god Khaine, Lord of Murder. In the Warhammer universe, they call themselves the Druchii and are ruled with an iron fist by the Witch-King Malekith and his sorcerous mother Morathi. The Druchii live in the land of Naggaroth and are cruel raiders with much disdain for all other races; especially their lighter kindred, the High Elves. The Dark Elves were actually the ones responsible for sparking "The War of the Beard", the great war that caused the rift in Dwarf and High Elf relations, though only the High Elves know this and the Dwarfs would disbelieve it if they found out. In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Dark Eldar live in the extra-dimensional city of Commorragh from which they launch raids upon the rest of the galaxy to capture slaves to be brought back to Commorragh as playthings or torture victims.
The Elder Scrolls
In The Elder Scrolls series of computer role-playing games, Dark Elves (often referred to as Dunmer) lived generally peacefully with other races. They were the predominant race in Morrowind, their native province, and held many of the highest positions of authority. In addition, much of the mythology surrounding Morrowind revolved around them. They are generally conservative by nature, being very devoted to their pantheon of gods, and are distrustful of "outlanders". Dunmer culture is split between the settled people of the cities and the nomadic Ashlander tribes. Dark can easily be applied to them as "gloomy" or "morbid", for such is their temperament. Dunmer are said to have been punished with their red eyes and dark-bluish skin colour by Azura, one of the most prominent Daedra, either for disobeying her in one of the most crucial moments of their history or for turning to worship the Tribunal, along with the Tribunal killing Nerevar, the savior of the Dunmer. Many Imperial scholars prefer the theory that the bluish-grey skin is an adaptive response to the frequent volcanic eruptions on Vvardenfell. In truth, the term Dunmer more properly means Cursed Elves than Dark Elves. However, the term Dark Elves is far more complimentary. Although generally civilized, the Dunmer possess many savage and barbaric traits. While the Tribunal maintains a general peace amongst the people, the House Wars amongst the ruling class remain strong in memory. In addition, thanks to the Armistice allowing Morrowind to maintain many of its own laws, it is the only province which practices chattel slavery of the "lesser" races, which the Dunmer consider to be most other races and even some of their own species including High Elves and Wood Elves; however, by the time of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion they are said to be abandoning this practice. A long lifespan is common among members of the race. Some Dark Elves are said to have lived for 1000 years. Among those who played the older Elder Scrolls games, the Dunmer had something of a reputation for being promiscuous due to several in-game jokes to that extent.
Midkemia
Midkemian dark elves - called moredhel (incidentally, a term stolen from Tolkien elven) - resemble the elves (eledhel) and the glamredhel, the "mad ones", but have dark hair. They're quite warlike because of the path they follow of dark powers. They mostly inhabit the Northlands, and also the continent of Triagia, and are usually only seen in the more populated parts of the world robbing and raiding. Some of the moredhel return to reside with the eledhel in a process of change inwardly and outwardly, called the Returning, but they are often killed by their kin before they reach the home of the elves, Elvandar. The truth, known only to the elves themselves and few elf-friends, is that the moredhel and eledhel are the one race both of whom were slaves under the Valheru. When the latter disappeared the field slaves turned their back on their former masters' evil ways and became the eledhel, while the house slaves who had been in closer proximity to their masters sought their power and methods and became the moredhel. The eldar, keepers of lore and of the Valheru's sacred objects, left Midkemia and made their home on the world of Kelewan unbeknownst to anyone, as they kill anyone who tries to enter their forest. They play a significant role in the novel A Darkness at Sethanon (Riftwar series) and the computer game Betrayal at Krondor.
GURPS Banestorm
On the world of Yrth, the dark elves are not a separate race, but are a xenophobic offshoot of the main elven culture. They think all non-elves in general, and orcs in particular, are an aberration against nature and a threat to the future of the world and the elven race, and thus conspire to either enslave or destroy those other races. They began as nothing more than a group of elves united against orcs, but over the centuries their beliefs divereged from the elven mainstream. They believe in using magic to improve on nature, guiding it actively toward union with the Eternal, the elven (and dwarven) conception of the divine. Most elves consider their belief perverted and dangerous. The dark elves are responsible for the Banestorm effect that brought humans, goblins, lizardfolk and other non-Yrth native races to Yrth.
Heroes of Might and Magic V
In the world of Ashan of Heroes of Might and Magic V, Dark Elves are a faction that lives in tunnels under the surface. They are descendants of the followers of Tuidhanna, originally a Wood Elf Queen, whose people were blamed for burning down the Giant Tree sacred to the Wood Elves.
Famous dark elves in fiction
Shadowblade
Shadowblade is an elite assassin in the world of Warhammer Fantasy world. He is an assassin in the society of the Dark Elves, considered the most brilliant assassin ever to have lived. Even though he's still young by Dark Elf standards (a mere 150 years old) he is a legend amongst the Druchii, his exploits told as fireside tales to eager Dark Elf children. Most celebrated of all is his single-handed massacre of the entire crew of a High Elf Hawkship, whom he murdered one by one over several days, each killed in a different fashion. The mere thought of Shadowblade's murderous attempts is enough to keep all but the most stupid or brave Dark Elf from plotting against the Witch King.
Malus Darkblade
Malus Darkblade is a Dark Elf Noble of evil renown in the Warhammer Fantasy world - he is possessed by a Daemon called Tz’arkan. His quest to rid himself of this Daemon is legendary. At one point he succeeded although it cost him his own soul. It took many years after that to track down the Daemon again and win his soul back, only to have Tz’arkan imprisoned inside him again. For now it seems Malus has accepted his fate and has returned to his home of Hag Graef to lead its armies to war. None know what his true intentions are, but he has lost none of his thirst for power - he has been appointed Drachau of Hag Graef and placed in command of the armies of the Witch King. In battle he rides upon his trusted Cold One steed; Spite and wields the fearsome Warpsword of Khaine. In times of need he can summon the Daemon and allow Tz’arkan to control his actions, by the mechanism that the daemon holds sway while Malus sleeps and he is in control while awake. To this end, he carries a variety of stimulants and soporifics, so he can fall asleep in combat or maintain wakefulness to keep control of his actions. This is great risk though, as while possessed by T'zarkan he can attack his own troops as well as enemies.
Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden is a Drow in the Forgotten Realms fantasy world. Drow are dark elves that live in subterranean caverns deep beneath the surface in the Underdark of Forgotten Realms. Not only does Drizzt refuse to reside in the Underdark, he has renounced the Drow's Spider-Queen Lolth (instead embracing Mielikki, goddess of the forests and rangers), ruined his family, and is thus considered a renegade. While most Drow are considered evil and power hungry, Drizzt is benevolent and humble. He is often persecuted for the reputation of his race, he has slowly gained a reputation for himself, allowing him acceptance without prejudice. His preferred weapons are twin scimitars, although he is perfectly capable of using a variety of other weapons should the need arise. His primary companion is Guenhwyvar, a magical panther who is summoned to Drizzt's plane of existence by means of a small onyx figurine. Along the way Drizzt has also made many important friends, such as the dwarf king Bruenor, the dwarf's adopted daughter Catti-brie and the human Barbarian Wulfgar, as well as Montolio "Mooshie" Debrouchee who revealed to the dark elf which deity his heart followed or the svirfneblin Belwar Dissengulp from Blingdenstone, the first member of a lawful race to accept Drizzt.
Gorath, Cheiftan of the Ardanien
Gorath is a renegade Dark Elf (Moredhel) from Raymond E. Feist's fantasy world Midkemia. He betrayed his people to travel south across the Teeth of the World (a mountain range which separates the Moredhel from the rest of the world) in order to warn Prince Arutha ConDoin of the coming war in an effort to stop the Moredhel leader, Delekhan, and save his people from utter destruction. His story is portrayed in the video game Betrayal at Krondor and again in the novel based on the computer game, Krondor: The Betrayal. This book is the first novel in The Riftwar Legacy, followed by Krondor: The Assassin, Krondor: The Tear of the Gods, Krondor: The Crawler (Not yet released), and Krondor: The Dark Mage (Not yet released).
Nerevar Indoril
Nerevar is the legendary Hortator and King of the Chimer from the fantasy world The Elder Scrolls. Technically, he is not necessarily a Dark Elf in the game, depending on the player's race, but he is the reincarnation of the Dark Elf Nerevar Indoril. With the aid of the Daedric Princess Azura, he rose to power over the Chimer by overthrowing the Nords. He continued as the king of Morrowind for many years, but when he fought a battle with the Dwemer at Red Mountain, he was victorious but mortally wounded. His three councillors (who later became the Tribunal) betrayed their oath to him and used a forbidden magical artifact. In punishment for this Azura changed his race with dark blue skin and red eyes, transforming them into the Dunmer, the Dark Elves. He was later reincarnated, as the player character of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.
References
- ^ Crossley-Holland, Kevin (1980). The Norse Myths. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0394500482.
- (The Fooling Of Gylfe) by Sturluson, Snorri, 13th century Edda, in English. Accessed Apr. 16, 2007.
- Gylfaginning in Old Norse[4]) Accessed Apr. 16, 2007.
- Bulfinch, Thomas (1834). Bulfinch's Mythology. New York: Harper & Row, 1970, p. 348. ISBN 0-690-57260-3.
- Marshall Jones Company (1930). Mythology of All Races Series, Volume 2 Eddic, Great Britain: Marshall Jones Company, 1930, pp. 220-221.
