Dark Elves

Dark Elves
Living Standards
Everything that their cousins are, the Dark Elves are not. Unlike their kin, the Dark Elves have no real affinity for nature or natural beauty. That is not to say that they despise it, more that they are totally indifferent and feel no emotion one way or another. Contrary to popular belief, Dark Elves do not typically live underground, instead making their cities and bases in hidden seaside coves where they can easily launch their ships from. With space in these small hidden areas usually limited due to surrounding mountains, the Dark Elves have been known to make extensive of natural cave systems and Elf-carved subterranean structures, probably giving rise to the aforementioned misconception. Dark Elf Cities are always built on the coast, for it is in the sea that the Dark Elves earn their renown as the greatest pirates and raiders of the world, and the direct foil to the Imperial Navies of the High Elves. As for their layout, Dark Elf cities are constructed like fortresses, defensively and with concentric rings of defense with a powerful citadel at the center. The closer you live to the central citadel, the higher status you have. Dark Elves typically enchant their buildings and fortifications with sound absorption and muffling spells for added spells, which as a side effect give the stone of their buildings a deep Purple or Black color, which they can control slightly for aesthetic effect. They also place powerful cloaking spells around their territory, much the same way as the Wood Elves do, to ensure that only those who are permitted may find them. While Dark Elves also possess a superiority complex to rival the High Elves, they see the world not as their rightful responsibility to lead, but as their playground to do with as they please. They place little value on the life of other races, and approach the subject with a cavalier attitude that has earned them the great enmity of more than a few nations. Outsiders in a Dark Elf City are either “honored guests” or slaves, with little in between, as foreign visitors not under the personal protection of the local authority have no rights at all, and may be enslaved, raped, or killed by any passing Dark Elf with no consequences. Despite this and their piratical tendencies, Dark Elves have a highly developed sense of order. Laws are obeyed to the letter and violations are dealt with strictly, even draconian by some standards. The killing of other Dark Elves is strictly prohibited, and would be dealt with in the most painful and gruesome way imaginable by a race that specializes in the creative. When raids are carried out, they are done with strict organization, plans, and contingencies. These are no band of rot-toothed pirates and cut throats, but professional corsairs making use of all the skill their long lives have granted them. Permission must also be granted by the local lord and a cut of the loot sent up to the keep to be put directly into the state treasury, with inspectors frequently performing audits to ensure the Captain is not trying to cheat the State out of its share. Captains that fail to produce profits or successes for the kingdom will have their ship seized and given to someone more deserving.

Foreign Policy
Dark Elf society necessitates a large degree of autonomy between different Cities and Principalities, with each Lord free to enact his own domestic policy at his whim.The Realm will then come together in times of emergency to elect an Emperor who will lead the Dark Elves with absolute authority until the crisis is over, when he will relinquish his authority and go back to rule his own territory. Due to the naturally cutthroat society of the Dark Elves, their individual lords and nobles play a game of constantly shifting alliances, never going to war but always seeking to gain the upper hand on their neighbors. The only true rule they observe is to never ally with an outsider against their fellows, for that would spell doom for their entire way of life should the locations of their cities be given away. Dark Elf policy towards Foreigners could best be classed as extreme opportunism. They will do anything that benefits themselves or their people, with no regard whatsoever to the wellbeing of those in their path. Dark Elf combat units operate frequently in the world at large, either as professional mercenaries or elite teams in the employ of their state dispatched to achieve some end. Any nation with nautical borders and even some without are possible targets for Dark Elf aggression, with piracy and raiding for plunder and slaves  being a favored past time among them for both keeping sharp for times of war, and just for fun. Several nations have decided to bite the bullet and pay the necessary tribute required to keep their towns safe from Dark Elf Raids. Despite this, Dark Elves do not typically unite and march to open war except in the most dire of circumstances, as war is unprofitable and potentially disastrous; it is usually far more to their liking to raid and plunder their enemies than fight them in open battles. When their hand is forced however, the Dark Elves prove to be quite competent.

Military Doctrine
Dark Elf Military Doctrine is based on small, elite, self sufficient units operating with minimal standing orders and backed up by a powerful and centralized force used to exploit major breakthroughs or opportunities. This philosophy has been compared to the Wildwood Elves but has several important differences. Firstly, while the Wildwood Elves operate on a purely defensive strategy, the Dark Elves are highly aggressive, conducting lightning fast attacks and raids, with their strategy being seen by many as a cross between the German Blitzkrieg and Guerilla Warfare. Secondly, while Wildwood doctrine states that an individual soldier should be able to operate with total self sufficiency indefinitely, the Dark Elves see that as impractical for their offensive mindset and instead make their raiding and forward companies the standard for indefinite self sufficiency.In battle the Central Dark Elf army will typically avoid confrontation all together, shadowing the enemy with a Fabian strategy until one of the many smaller independent companies detects a weak point breaks through, at which point the Elves will plunge into the gap with the goal of encircling and destroying the enemy army. This reliance on speed and power has made the Dark Elves more open to mechanization in their central armies than many of their kin, but the fluid and often covert nature of their forward companies renders most mechanization impractical. Despite this, Dark Elves, like their High kin, see the theoretical benefits of tanks and other armor and have been tinkering with several designs. The Dark Elves have shown particular interest in Chemical Weapons like Sarin or Mustard Gas as effective tools for area denial, and have modified several flamethrowers to spew it into enemy infantry formations. Like their High kin, they utilize several airborne magical mounts as scouts and Close Air Support. A special note to all this however is that actual true gatherings of a Dark Elf army for a real war are extremely rare. Their cities and coves are hidden, some of them across the world, and usually protected by impassable terrain and powerful spells. Generations of men have lived and died without ever seeing a true Dark Elf host, but woe to the King or Emperor who forgets the possibility of one and provokes them to war.

Culture
Dark Elf culture has taken inspiration from several New World human cultures since coming into contact with them after the /k/onvergence. Their political structure bears more than a passing similarity to the old Holy Roman Empire, a coherent nation capable of operating with unity that is still more or less decentralized due to their political and geographic realities. But while the Holy Roman Empire never had a significant navy to speak of, the Dark Elves thrive in the open waters. From this aspect of their society, they have drawn some inspiration from the early Spanish Colonial Empire. Both the harsh terrain they fought in and the ruthless opportunism of the early Conquistadors folded very nicely into existing Dark Elf Culture, making some organizational and tactical adoptions fit naturally. The sight of Dark Elf Conquistadors equipped in enchanted Gothic Plate has become ever more common as the defenses of weaker nations continue to collapse.


Misconceptions
The misconception that Dark Elves live underground arises partly from the word the Dark Elves use to describe their nation, which translates best as “Shadow Reich” but is also mistranslated as “Under Kingdom” giving rise to the notion that Dark Elves reside under ground. The word “Reich” is used, not in any association with the various German Reichs of Earth history, but with the meaning of the word. The word “Reich” is uniquely German, and means somewhere between “Realm” and “Empire”. This best captures the essence of the Dark Elf state succinctly. Dark Elves are also not to be confused with their close but distinct cousins, “Drow,” who do in fact dwell underground.