I like Peter's grassy runners and David's reference to the Lady of the Wild in KoS (which, dammit, I am going to have to buy).
A link between pixies and the trickster is interesting, but had kinda thought that would be reserved for goblins (slorflings, red elves, whatever). I see them sneaking out of marshy areas, playing really mean tricks, and sneaking home before dawn. Perhaps they are just different aspects of trickster. Is there an elvish deity that suits the trickster role? I don't see one. Does the trickster explain mistletoe (a parasitic green plant), venus flytraps, and poison ivy (great fun when trolls come to call--"Here, have a plateful.")?
The reasons I like both (i) an identity between Earth Witch/Ty Kora Tek and Vorala (for elves only) and (ii) sorcerous Voralans are that I see Voralans tucked away from the rest of elfdom, engaging in long and extremely abstruse rituals involving lots of alchemy, and generally transforming dead plant matter into the raw material for new plants. Prior to the death of Yelm, they (like death) would have been unknown to surface elves. I agree with Peter's description of the types of magic in which they would engage: "making weird fungoid monsters, exotic poisons, strange weapons and bizarre mind-altering potions" although the fact that their concoctions are poisons, weapons, or mind-altering to anyone else may never occur to them. I don't think they sit around reading books. (What a horrible concept--grinding and cooking plants to write on. Surely elves don't use paper. Vellum, maybe, but they would have to buy it.)
Regarding IFWW, I had read the story about High King Elf being a resident of Winterwood, but put more faith in the disclaimer that all major forests claim him as a resident. I thought that the Dawn would be an even more significant event than the IFWW for elves, because it wakened the forests. Surely, no self-respecting culture is going to say "Yeah, we were getting slaughtered and then the sun rose, but we weren't responsible for that." They must have some opinion of how they were _really_ responsible. And yes, this may involve opinions about who the winter sun is _to_ _elves_. It doesn't have to be universal, right, or even a consensus. I think David is about right that some elf deity fought Zorak Zoran (this could be a Yelmalio/Hill of Gold story) and some chaos/undead nasty. What is the connection to Inora? Peter, would you be willing to repost your theory about Alio (or, if not, e-mail me)? I have poor access to the archives.
I agree with David's point on elves using spears. Wood is plentiful and metal, to elves, is not. (What elf would voluntarily go down a mineshaft, then use _fire_ to smelt the metal? Maybe there is a booming elvish trade in human slaves?) Maybe elves even have a spirit magic spell that permits their spears to root after using them.
From a game balance point of view, I see David's point about elves needing an effective weapon. From a role playing point of view I am unsure. Elves tend to lose battles. They also tend to use guerilla tactics. Tactically, what they need is to be able to carry lots of arrows, although perhaps they stash lots of them up trees in the areas they defend. Now that I think about it, a spear is going to be even harder to carry while wielding a bow than a buckler and broad sword would be. Does anyone have enough experience with real weapons to tell me whether one could sling a buckler _and_ a broadsword _and_ a full quiver on one's back? (I still think elves would want to avoid carrying a sword at the waist because they want to be able to climb.) Anyone ever tried to sling a spear across your back? Both seem difficult if you want to move inconspicuously through heavy forest. (Now, if they were dwarves, they would just invent the folding broadsword. :) )
Chris Lemens
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