Commonly Held Beliefs about Elves

Five hundred years of Imperial propaganda have created some interesting ideas about elves in the minds of the common people of the Nargoth Empire. Superstitions like these are actively being combated in Urala Province, where the bard Sara Red has worked tirelessly to improve elf-human relations. The survival of the interracial village of Hope has also gone a long way to eradicating the "baby-eating elf" stereotypes in the southeastern Empire.
  • Elves are ferocious warriors one and all who will fight unquestioningly to their dying breath.
  • But this doesn't mean they're brave and valiant. They're just bloodthirsty forest savages attempting to kill all humans, caught up in a red rage induced by their dark magic or gods (see below).
  • Elves use all sorts of dark magics powered by blood sacrifices.
  • Sometimes they catch men and then hunt them like deer, for sport.
  • An elven maiden's favorite meal is raw human flesh, and they try to tempt lads into their embrace to get it.
  • The elves worship dark, eldritch dieties of death and the underworld, along with some dark gods of the Wild Hunt and other "dark nature" aspects. These dieties demand sacrifices of human blood.
  • Elves have particularly nefarious uses for human babies and try to steal them whenever possible.
  • Any mortal lured into an elven dwelling is sure to be struck with madness, if he can escape alive.
  • Elves can sometimes become invisible at will, all the better to steal babies and whatnot.

Just about any sort of boogie-man myth you'd tell your children to frighten them has elves as the main villians. Elves come to steal naughty children away. They rap on the walls at night, trying to frighten young ones outside where they can snatch them up. Each village has its own myths about what can keep elves away… horseshoes, garlic, silver bells, a particular plant. City folk often have a rather more sophisticated view on elves, disregarding most of the "turning invisible, driving people mad" talk but still have a healthy fear of being on the receiving end of an (probably poisoned with something derived from human blood) arrow as they pass by the Kangrel Woods at night.

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