Lava Elves

The Lava Elves or the Va-Kata may or may not be elves that live far west of Rathnir near the hypothetical theorized origin point of all Elves, but since moved below the surfaces of the world. Much about them were recorded by Velereth Sareariel Leyla-Earcala during her Expeditions to the West were made during the two week interregnum, though, it is hinted they were in contact with other Rathniri peoples much longer, but records about them are scarce.

The Lava Elves are recorded to have an extremely suspicious view of outsiders. Calling outsiders “Na-Kets” and viewing them with very watchful eyes, proves that they are not entirely ready to welcome the outside world with open arms, or have limited contact. Lava Elves do mention the “Stocky Miners”, or the Khuzdurin, visiting them over a hundred years ago, and made some sort of treaty with them. They have reported friendly relations with eachother, and had never fought a war, though communication has been quite limited since their disappearance.

The current population of Lava Elves is unknown. The last recorded population count made by a surface dweller was estimated to have been 47,000 inhabitants. Actual records could indicate there could be far more Lava Elves that live in separate cities and nations.

History
Very little is known about the Lava Elves, or their origins officially due to the lack of proper record keeping in books, or contact. According to the accounts of Sareariel who had reportedly found a pathway into their city, the Lava Elves were created by the holy Volcano Goddess of the Va-Kazar Volcano to the west, and emerged from the Volcano as soon as it erupted. This is likely a reference to a huge volcanic eruption that occurred in 11,001PSS, which could very well have been one of the reasons for the Elven Migrations. The Lava Elves would proceed to create a civilization known as the “Kal-net”, where they would harvest the lava and build a large stone exterior infront of the Volcano where they were birthed from.

However, as time progressed, more Lava Elves began building their city more and more underground, rather than expanding. The accounts speak that their skin was at one time “soft and fleshy”, but harder than the surface elves at the time, hinting that they were possibly at one point similar to a regular elf that would be found in the region. Eventually, they would discover something far below the surface of the Va-Kazar Volcano deep in the deepest core of the world: an ancient kiln, which they claimed their first High Priestess, Va-Kata-Nij (Lava Elf-Holy Priestess) Irma, met the actual Goddess herself. Being touched by the goddess, she would bless the Lava Elves to no longer feel pain when touching or consuming lava, hardened parts of their body with a carapace that would grow out that is said to be hard as obsidian, and dramatically transformed their features inside and out to make their skin immune from fire.

What happened to Va-Kata-Nij Irma isn’t explicitly explained, and is usually debated among scholars of the Lava Elves, but many agree she became immortal, and could very well still be in the deep core. But since then, the settlement expanded even further underground, and the Lava Elves would go on to become some of the best metalsmiths and well known artisans, creating powerful obsidian weapons and armor, as well as producing theatrical plays, art for many years before the arrival of Sareariel and her expedition, who would be the first time they had seen outsiders in over 11,000 years. When they met her, they referred to her as a Na-Ket, or Foreigner, in a rather informal way. Despite the rather rough first encounter, Sareariel would explore their city known as Ni-Til-Sel (Holy Volcano City), which she only managed to map only a few parts of the city, which was already hot enough to travel around in. The rest of the city, and nation for that matter, is currently unexplored due to the fact that the deeper parts are so hot, that a traveller could burn, and the fact that most of the area is flooded with lava, and the fact that outsiders are not allowed to travel to the deepest parts of the Volcano unless “the Goddess herself wishes to see you”.

Culture
According to records and writings, Lava Elves seem to really care a lot about their volcano home, by creating a series of tunnels and large caverns to fool travellers who would try to invade their home, and even created barriers to not give any ideas to try to flood their homes either. Even if they live in the Volcano, Sareariel’s accounts of them show that they’re infact, quite intelligent, and are said to be skilled artisans, and metalsmiths. They are also said to value combat, especially against eachother, and to test their metal against anyone they come across. Although they are very much intimidating from their eyes, their carapace and fearsome exteriors, they are actually peaceful, and prefer their isolation, mostly due to the fact they know their limitations once they set foot to more cooler lands. Interestingly, they have separate nations throughout the area underneath the world, but they have all been peaceful with eachother, due to the little demand of resources and survival.

Lava Elves are described as wearing no clothing, mostly due to the fact that lava will burn anything that comes into contact in their home. Oddly enough, they have magic to cool down certain parts of their cities, possibly to welcome the very rare amounts of ambassadors that visit and want to record them. Whether or not this is true, Lava Elves have no reaction to nudity when viewed, and seem to have very little interest in sexual desires. Lava Elves can reproduce like any other humanoid, however, many Lava Elves when they die, are thrown into the sacred lava channels that go through their city, where they would become reborn in the sacred lava pit, where many young Lava Elves are seen emerging. It is recorded that they do a “birthing ritual”, which involves multiple Priests and Priestesses who conduct a magical ceremony to welcome back the realm of the living, effectively making them immortal, as the reborn Lava Elves are said to retain memories of old Lava Elves. However, this could be wrong, as there was a Lava Elf that was encountered who died a day before the arrival of Sareariel, who was a young girl, and retained absolutely no memory of her previous life when asked.

Appearance
Records depict that Lava Elves look very similar in face and structure to other elves related to them. The key difference is the fact their skin is extremely ashen white, and their skin feels coarse and rocky. Similar to a turtle, Lava Elves have shells that grow on them, though it does vary from different elves. Usually, this is a part of their caste system, as the shells have varying hardness scales. The hardest ones are considered a part of the warrior class, while the weakest ones are a part of the artisan and smithing classes. Inbetweens are usually mages, priests, politicians or other roles in the system. Though, despite the strength of the carapaces, the softest one is as strong as steel, and can be hard to penetrate through. The carapace, though, only covers certain parts of their bodies, and some areas are exposed to the skin to allow mobility. The carapace thickness depends on how hard it is, with the hardest one being the thickest.

The average height and weight of Lava Elves are currently unclear, but according to Sareariel’s accounts, many of them are as tall as a Dune Elf. An average lifespan of a Lava Elf is about 200, with some living to be even older depending on their caste. The oldest lava elf that Sareariel encountered was one of the priestesses, who is 650. Their lifespan also appears to be affected by what type of lava flows through them, with the more holier people taking on holier lava, allowing longer lives. It’s currently not known how long a Lava Elf can live to be if they are outside of their homeland or in a cooler environment.

Lava Elves require large amounts of heat to survive. Though they can survive outside of their volcanic and lava filled homes, their powers diminish, as well as their overall strength. It is predicted that hot climates such as deserts or badlands are preferable, as they have more heat than temperate climates, but it is unclear how a Lava Elf would traverse the surface. According to an account by a Lava Elven Philosopher, Va-Kata Kul Ryul, it can be theoretically possible for a Lava Elf to visit surface dwellers, provided they can provide themselves with ways to have Lava to be poured or injected into them to last longer.

Debate on Elven Identity
The Lava Elves are currently the most disputed identity of the other elves, and are usually bought up as a major counter point to the Elven Migration theory. The Lava Elves are depicted quite differently from other Elves, and were even said not to have migrated to Rathnir nor Eldham at all, but rather, underneath the world itself. It is disputed by the appearances too, that they could very well be related to Golemeni or a completely different species. This is backed by the fact that Elves do not normally grow carapaces, as well as their culture including their bodies being thrown into the lava pools to be reborn. The lack of reproductive methods recorded also hints they are not biological organisms like other Elves, and may as well be living rock. This is usually argued, if they were living rock, the people had to come from some sort of inspiration, such as Elves. If they were recorded as Elves, then they likely had some kind of former carver before the Elven Migration period. In addition, their appearance appears to co-incise with a volcanic eruption in 11,001PSS, which could also be a coincidence.