Of Elves, Avatars and the Celestial Sea, part 1 - Lore24

Author's note: Due to navigating the difficulties of parenting life, I couldn't post yesterday for the Lore24 challenge. So to compensate, today I will post two entries, both pertaining to the Elves of Aedes and their spiritual life. Let's go!

Children of the Stars
The ancestors of the Elves were the Eldar, "Children of the Stars" in their ancient tongue. According to Elven myths and legends, the Eldar came to Aedes when the world was yet a formless mass shrouded in darkness. From beyond the stars, the Eldar brought light in the darkness, trying to live amid the chaos. In order to shape the world around them, the Eldar called on their ancient gods, called Avatars. From the same space the Eldar hailed from, beyond the stars, these Avatars came to Aedes, adopting names such as Corellon, Sehanine and Melora. But also more sinister beings with names like Gruumsh, Lolth and Asmodeus. Together, the Avatars shaped the Celestial Sea, the starry expanse that surrounds the world, starting time and giving shape and purpose to Aedes. In the new starlit lands under heaven, the children of the Eldar, the Elves, were able to build their empire.

The Lands Under Heaven
The empire of the Elves spanned the known world. In their swanships, the Elves brought light, culture and knowledge of magic to all corners of Aedes. According to their own legends, the Elves even taught bands of primitive human hunter-gatherers these principles, uplifting seven human tribes to kingdoms in their ancient lands. For a while, all was well. Then came the return of Chaos, followed by the Exodus.

After the Exodus
The Lands Under Heaven were forever changed, the old imperial core was devastated, unfit for elf or human to live. The surviving elves were either refugees from the parts now called "Lost Lands", or were colonists living in the western lands already. In the modern age of the Sovereignty, sages categorize these various group of elves:

Light Elves
Living on the island of Lendor, the Light Elves are the descendants of the refugees from their ancient empire. They most closely follow the ancient traditions of their kind, the way of the Avatars and their mystical tradition. They see themselves as champions of law, vanquishers of chaos and monsters. Their swanships are rarely sighted and no human that has sailed to Lendor has ever returned.

Silvanor Elves
The forest of Silvanor, on the western edge of the Borgondian Marklands, bordering the Echor Mountains, is an ancient elven colony in these western lands. Although hailing from the same root as the Light Elves and Wild Elves (see below), the Silvanori already diverged from the traditions set down by the Eldar, even before the Exodus. The Silvanor Elves are more practical, more combative even, than their Lendor counterparts. They have the same aptitude for arcane magic, yet are trained in the arts of sword and bow as well. They are ruled by a king and hold great distrust for the dwarves of the Echors.

Wild Elves
Enclaves of elves living in deep forests throughout the Sovereignty, these Wild Elves have lost all connection to their kin in Silvanor or on Lendor. They have evolved a more primal spiritual tradition, focusing on the beasts of the forests and disconnecting from the arcane traditions of the other elvenfolk. They are more wild and warlike than the other elves, attacking human "invaders" in their forests even unprovoked.

Dark Elves
These elves have turned their backs on the ancient Eldar entirely, forsaking Avatar and mysticism and embracing chaos and corruption. Their magic is focussed on the Darkening and its effects, and they consort with monsters and demons. Their society is debauched and baseless, and is either hidden in the underground Darkholds, or in faraway exotic locations.