#Lore24 – Entry #166 – Wild West Month #14 – The Elves who Dwell Amongst the Clouds and Seas
As told by Kumiko Stalks-Amongst-the-Stars, shaman of the Midnight Panther tribe of Kerra-Kerra
Rare are the elves who venture beyond the safety of their chosen domains, among the Trees that Reach the Clouds or the Far Islands in the Forever Seas; it is more likely you will encounter one of their half-breed offspring than a true elf. Though they may live longer than even we Kerra-Kerra, they do not venture out to be amongst the Many Peoples of the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons. Some believe it is the shame they feel for their relation to the Devil-Wardens, but others believe that elves are not capable of feeling shame and see themselves as superior to all others.
What is it that I think? Our ancestors have said that the elves have long been the enemies of many peoples in the times before the Devil-Wardens brought us here, that they scheme and manipulate to control all that goes on around them. Perhaps it was once true, but upon the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons, this is not so. The Elves who Dwell Amongst the Clouds and Seas do so because they are too few to control events as they once used to, for they are a frail people who have lost their way, a broken people who no longer understand how to commune with the Many Spirits though they live within nature. Some dare to join with those who are not elves for a time, but inevitably they are called to return to their homes hidden amongst the clouds and far islands, for their spirits continue to fade and they are no longer able to live in harmony with the Many Spirits of the World as in times more ancient than our time upon this world.
One should feel pity for the Elves who Dwell Amongst the Clouds and Seas, for ultimately it is they who must find their path to reclaim a purpose upon the Broken Cage that Still Imprisons. It is unlikely you will ever encounter a true elf, let alone more than one at a time, but if you do encounter several at once, it should be seen as an ill-fated sign from the Many Spirits and the Gods that dark times are coming.
Do not think these elves a completely defenseless people. Though they no longer commune with the Many Spirits, they know of magics that we do not, and of the dark sorcery once used by the Devil-Wardens. The toll such sorcery takes upon their forms is great, but so to is the danger for those the elves target with those magics. Such sorcery can enslave the very mind and soul, can turn even a Howling Steel Chariot to ashes on the wind, or call fiery stones from the very stars.
Pity the elves, for they are a broken people, but fear them for they command the darkest of sorcery.