Lifespan: Pureblood elves are among the longest lived humanoids on the World Continent, with many living as long as 350 years or so. There are tales of pureblood Alfr and Jindu living much longer, but they are widely regarded as myths and legends. As the purebloods age, they tend to withdraw from their fellows and seek solitude to die in peace. Each subrace has a specific way of honoring or celebrating this death.
Low Birthrate: The purebloods have difficulty conceiving and birthing children. Over time, this has led them to try several different methods of conception, which led to the evoltuion of the eha Alfr (the noble, or "lesser", elves) and the half-elves. Some few purebloods hail this as a victory to keep their traditions alive, but most view it as a dilution of their pure blood.
Physical Description: Gold elves appear similar in description to the eha Alfr but are slightly taller, averaging 5'9" in height. Their skin has a bronze sheen, with hair of golden blonde, copper, or black. Most gold elves have green or gold colored eyes.
Relations: The gold elves are known to be the most gregarious of the purebloods, but that does not mean much when one considers that the average pureblood is typically condescending toward all of the other races. As with the other pureblood elves, gold elves get along with other purebloods the best, and are apt to treat all other races in the same manner, which usually means treating them as second-class citizens. Individuals vary in their attitudes, of course, but the phrase "arrogant as a pureblood" does have some merit to it. However, as a people, the gold elves can be the kindest of the purebloods and can, if they choose, relate well to peoples of all races. Due to their frequent use of arcane magick, their relationship with the jade elves can be somewhat rocky.
Lands: As with the other races in the modern age, the gold elves do not keep any lands to themselves. While they have not assimilated with the other races, as the noble elves have done, small bands of gold elves can be found in the Buchlayne and parts of Buchlayne Minor, particularly in the Throecian Empire, the Zhivod Caliphate, the Akkatomian City-States, and the Free City of Ryn. There are also a few gold elves in Verundhi. Few, if any, gold elves make their home in Sonsia or Atkira. Because the gold elf population is so very small, they keep to themselves and most people will go their whole lives without seeing one.
Customs: The gold elves are thought to be the nobility of the pureblood race and while they do not act in a superior manner to other purebloods, they also do not necessarily deny this claim of lordship. Most gold elves live a life of study and research and can be very solitary people. At the same time, they do promote the continued existence of their race and have developed very elaborate rituals for marriage and the conceiving of children. Gold elves who do choose to marry keep their mates for life, always working through any difficulties that may arise. In this way, they are very different from the free-loving noble elves, who do not have such a restriction on mating. Like all purebloods, most gold elf customs, from music to literature to art, are solemn, quite, and introspective.
Religion: The pureblood elves are one of the last peoples to cling to traditional beliefs that could conceivably stretch back thousands of years into the forgotten age. The gold elves are very secretive about these beliefs, but their ceremonies seem to revolve around a central figure who represents kindness and nobility. Gold elf clerics who choose to follow their traditional faith may choose two domains from among Love, Nobility, and Sun.
Language: Like all purebloods, the gold elves do keep an ancient language tradition, that of Alfr'eni. This lyrical, musical language is used only to communicate with other purebloods and is never taught to non-pureblood Alfr or Jindu, not even the eha Alfr. As such, it is not a very practical language for communication. There are no written textbooks to teach the language and it is not used for writing. There are a few gold elf sages and wizards who are in the process of trying to translate several key pieces of Alfr'eni so that they may use the pieces as a key for translating other written works from ages past. So far, their attempts have been unsuccessful and the secrets contained in the prehistoric texts go unread.
Adventurers: Gold elves adventure primarily to gather more information regarding the history of the pureblood races. Of all the races, the purebloods adventure less for their own material needs or for the welfare of their community, and more for the search for pure knowledge. Their quest takes them far and wide, from ancient libraries found on the remnants of Cythonae in the Throecian Empire to lost temples buried by centuries of wind and sand in the legendary kingdom of Upper Kkopf. The gold elves' penchant for wizardry and arcane magick is a great asset to them in these matters, although they also make good bards. They can also make good party leaders due to their high Charisma, although their superior attitudes can be off-putting to some.
