Elts

The elts are a race of humanoids from Noctis, notable for their command over High magic and for their skin that resembles the night sky. Many of their kind believe they were the first sentient race to ever be born.

Description
Elts are lean, and stand very tall. They have no hair, and their skin is pitch-black, glittering with what look to be stars that constantly move and shift. Their eyes are like bright, fixed stars.

Personality
Most elts are calm and peaceful, but they are also free-spirited, and it is infamously difficult to get an average elt to commit to something for long terms.

Society
In general, elts prefer to live in smaller groups and rarely form large settlements. They build permanent dwellings on high ground, often in mountains or on cliffs, and especially favour places where the wind is strongest. Due to their wanderlust, elts often leave home for years at a time, and it is not entirely uncommon to find what looks to be an abandoned elt settlement where all residents have simply gone travelling.

History
It is said that the elts were the first race ever born, created during some sort of collision between Equis and Noctis in the early history of both worlds. By the account of the elts, they were creatures of balance between light and dark, and between the mundane and the magical.

In their early history, the elts enjoyed liberal use of High arcane magic passed down to them by Oakorth, widely considered to be a benevolent Immortal. They were respected and feared in Noctis for their abilities in this area.

Oppression
During the Industrial Revolution in many places on Noctis, High magic quickly fell out of favour and was regarded as dangerous, becoming widely forbidden with severe punishment for violators. In these places the elts were often put to work as labourers, many times as slaves, taking advantage of their large stature and resiliency.

They enjoyed a brief resurgence of respect when the Nexus was first created, as they were the first to be sent as ambassadors, but this would soon diminish again.

In this era, the elts suffered considerably, particularly after Oakorth was captured by Thygart's Coven of the Thirsting, and during the First Nexus War where Orzan revived their knowledge of High magic and destroyed a moon, bringing them more negative attention and greater restrictions in many part of Noctis.

War of Ascendancy and the Second Nexus War
In an effort to regain their freedom, a group of elts called the Astral Guides taught the Ascendants how to become a sort of artificial Immortal, and were thus indirectly responsible for the War of Ascendancy.

Following this, the Astral Guides led a small revolution among the elts to try and destroy what was left of the Nexus' connection to Equis in Fellspire. These events led to the start of the Second Nexus War and the new severance of the bridge between planets.

Notable Elts

 * Oakorth, the elt Immortal of air. Did much to advance the position of the elts in Noctis. Is currently believed to be imprisoned by the Coven of the Thirsting in the Floating Ocean.
 * Orzan, an elt involved in the First Nexus War who is credited with destroying the Lockean moon, and with making High magic more commonplace in Noctis.