Elves (Ah  Kin) live  in Shamballa,  the City  of Eternal Bliss,  also
          called  'Foresthome',  which lies  deep within  the forest  and exists
          simultaneously  on many planes.   Within Shamballa all  needs are met,
          all  dreams  are realized,  and  no wish  is  ungranted.   Things seem
          dreamlike  and intimately real at  once,  Adventurous  elves visit the
          world  outside Shamballa, inhabited by all types of plants and animals
          (called, sadly, 'The Dying Realms').   When they do so they  are often
          on spiritual journeys or  exploratory missions.  Otherwise it  is only
          the 'half-elf' that braves such a challenge.

          All elves are  a family.  All time  for elves is long  (and, arguably,
          short).  They all greet one  another with great big hugs.  If  the two
          have met  before, then  they sing  songs of  their travels  since last
          meeting.   Humans who hear an  elf sing are enchanted  by their voices
          and while within hearing distance cannot move, such is the  ecstasy in
          which they  are wrapt.  Plants harmonize with all being and their song
          is the song of the universe.

          Elves don't sleep.  They meditate in trance for a few moments and then
          enter the world  of dreams fully  awake.  Those  elves who spend  time
          with humans may be able to join in the human  dreams and control them,
          to  a certain  extent, somewhat like  the computer in  'Star Trek: The
          Next Generation' controls the 'holodeck'.

          Humans  who spend time with  elves and encounter  such dream-work will
          gradually transform into elves  over time.  Given shared  dreams, they
          begin showing elven characteristics and attitudes.  From this observa-
          tion, it  has been  suggested by  elven sages  that  humans are  elven
          'eggs', which can be fertilized through dreams by an elf who wishes to
          see this 'hatchling' through to 'becoming', or full realization.

          As  some elves see  it, then, humans  are like children,  some playing
          Mother Nature's game, and some  not.  Regardless, since elves  live so
          long, it seems likely that all humans may eventually become elves. 

          Elves rarely  eat outside Shamballa,  living quite healthily  on water
          and sunshine.  Human food makes them queasy and human liquor is of
          unfortunately poor quality.  Elven mead and wine are very strong and
          tasty.

          Elves love trees because they are directly related to them.  Elves are
          evolved  plants, coming  from the  same 'branch'  of the  geneological
          family.  They understand that  trees are intelligent, nonmobile  sages
          of great wisdom, spending  the entirety of their lives  in meditation.
          Elven sages are said to become trees upon their final rebirth.

          Elves  don't die  like humans do.   They  mature and  then, after many
          journeys  about the Great Star, (this process is not completely under-
          stood),  they wither and are reborn in Shamballa with continued memory
          and a similar, though renewed body.  This is the evolved state  of the
          vegetative cycle of  renewal (rebirth).  It is said  that rebirth req-
          uires a conscious choice, however, so that  elves who venture into the
          Dying  Realms and  begin to doubt  their ability  to be  reborn may be
          reborn as  trees instead.  Often  rites of death and  rebirth are per-
          formed in winter and spring, respectively, at Shamballa.


                                                                            1160

          The entirety  of the  elven life,  the Way,  is one  of fun,  love and
          laughter.  They delight  in games and their childlike  nature combines
          with their often advanced intellect to create some of the most sophis-
          ticated and challenging games  of skill and chance, involving  magical
          powers,  spells, quests and mysteries.   Some of  those less fortunate
          young elves get lost  in the Dying Realms and begin  to take the games
          for reality, becoming dour and moody.  A brief time in  the company of
          other elves usually cures them of this, however.

          Their 'religion', if  you will, is based on such  games.  Elves aren't
          required to believe  anything, but  are told a  marvelous story  which
          encompasses and enriches their lives.

          This is the story which most elves are told upon their lingual maturi-
          ty.  It  is understood, at the time,  that it can help  the individual
          understand hir  place in the  cosmos and give  hir a basis  for inter-
          action  with the  World, but  that there  are other,  equally valuable
          stories that will do the same.

          'Ah and Kin were the first great trees.  They stood atop the world and
          fruited Sun, Moon, Seas, Stars and the various plants and animals.  In
          this  way all  things  grew and  ripened, falling  off  the branch  of
          statelessness onto the ground  of being.  Once there, they  crawled or
          moved  to different parts of the world,  where they were born from the
          seed, pod,  egg or womb  of their parents.   Enjoying the  movement of
          their  offspring, Ah and  Kin died and  became the first  elves - what
          humans might call 'gods' and the elves call 'The Elders', 'The Ancient
          Onces', 'The Celestial  Masters', 'The Old Ones',  or countless thous-
          ands of  other names of endearment.  Gradually Ah and Kin, now unified
          in the elven race, are waking  to their true essence and will  grow to
          their old strength in a never-ending cycle.'


          To the elves the Old Ones are less wholly other beings and more divine
          patterns  of behavior.  In 'worshipping' them elves engage in activit-
          ies with which  the Old  One is associated.   This  does NOT make  the
          worshipper of greater value  than the non-worshipper.  Worship  is not
          considered a show for  others but an ecstatic  experience.  While  the
          practice is  considered serious business (if anything  is for elves!),
          once  one  becomes  acquainted with  the  stories,  legends  about the
          Elders,  one begins to  realized the value  not only of  acting but of
          watching,  of listening  to the  new stories  which they  tell through
          their new  worshippers.  No  harm is ever  done in elven  worship, and
          those  who do  so  accidentally are  advised  to return  to  Shamballa
          immediately to renew their sacred vows.  Little if anything is
          known about  these vows,  but often  they are said  to be  ideal goals
          rather than adopted commandments.


          The Old  Ones are innumerable in  their variation.  They  have as many
          faces and names as there  are days in life (and for an elf,  this is a
          LOT!).  The Old Ones this adventurer knows of thusfar are these:


          Varda, Star Mother (aka 'Queen of the Stars')

          Creatrix, Genetrix, Womb  of life.   She is  associated with  planting
          and/or defending trees.


                                                                            1161

          Leollyn, Dancing Father

          Magick energy of  being, the dancing  Song of All.   He is  associated
          with magick, singing and dancing.

          Yow, the Teacher (aka 'Uncle Yow')

          The Trickster, the Fool.  He is associated with deception and the
          revealing of wisdom, trickery and education.

          Cleowyn, Wizardress

          Wise  One, compassionate  Lover.   She is  associated with  magick and
          romance.

          Tufyl, Leader of the Festive Spirits

          Partier,   mirthmaker,  intoxicator.    Associated  with  merrymaking,
          drinking, smoking.   The Festive Spirits include  all those substances
          which trigger altered states of consciousness and levity.

          Snassis, Snake Beauty

          Regenerator, renewer, rebirther.  Associated with awe, 'death' and
          knowledge  (books), it is  said that Snassis  will be the  final guide
          beyond  the veil(?).  Her  sisters, Almuldhea and  Cleowyin (q.v.) are
          alternatively said to accompany her in this function.

          Vitraya, Healer

          Healer,  vitalizer and  restorer  of life.    She is  associated  with
          healing, aiding and service generally.

          Farrelon, The Game Hunter

          Dedicated challenger and  adventurer.  He  is associated with  hunting
          and game playing.

          Kellon, the Silent (aka 'Eternal Questor')

          The keen eye,  the sensitive ear.   SHe is associated  with searching,
          tracking and quests.   SHe, paired with Almuldhea (below)  are said to
          be neither  male nor female,  but both and  neither.  Both  are rather
          seldom  spoken of, actually,  for it  is thought that  to do  so is to
          bring them shame.

          Amuldhea

          Mysterious Mystery, Darkness in its extreme, SHe is Death in the sense
          of eternal extinction.   This is not a concept  which elves understand
          well,  and many find  Hir difficult if not  impossible to speak about.
          SHe is associated with sex, secrecy and hiding.


          These  are brief  descriptions only.   Each  has countless  tales told
          about them around  deadwood fires  and in mead-slick  taverns late  at
          night