Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

later years. Even if such

a future life seems tepid and

unbearably dull during an elf's prime, the

psychological

changes that come

with age make this peaceful period

of existence the

most satisfying experience possible for

an elf's later years. Nevertheless, this

fear is immune to

logic when it arises in adult elves.

To avoid the fate they

dread, consciously

or subconsciously, they throw them

• 
  

selves into

dangerous situations, not caring whether

they survive or perhaps even

hoping they don't. In effect,

they're looking

for another chance, seeing their current

life or

perceived future as unbearable and hoping

to stop

the clock on this mortal body

and start afresh.

ELVES AND MAGIC

Magic infuses the elves' world.

Even so, they aren't born

with an innate understanding

of magic. To master spell-

casting,

an elf must devote years of study and practice

to

it, the

same as most folk. But from the moment

they're

born, elves are surrounded

by a culture, a philosophy,

and an artistic style that

incorporates and subtly reveals

the

mysteries of magic to someone who is receptive

to

the

message- which elves certainly are.

WIZARDRY

There's a reason most powerful

wizards are old. The

special formulas of action,

item, and sound that produce

wizardly

magic require precision, and such

precision

comes only from long practice. More than

that, each

spell a wizard might cast requires a portio

n of one's

powerful intellect

to be dedicated to the task, with the

necessary patterns

of thought and proper mindset kept

in stasis, ready

to be unleashed. Even after these con-

cepts are mastered, new knowledg

e of magic remains

elusive, and a wizard must progr

ess steadily through

deeper levels of understanding,

breaking through men-

tal barriers

in order to achieve ever greater mastery.

Of all

peoples, elves are perhaps best s uited to

wiz-

ardry.

They have centuries of life to devote to their

studies, and their trance effectively

gives them extra

time to practice, as lessons

learned during study can be

reinforced

by recalling them during resting

periods. The

rigidity

and studiousness required by wizardry

would

seem anathema to a people who can recall

a life of

unfettered exploration

and free expression of form, but

magic provides a

means of regaining that power. The

patience and restraint

for which elves are well known

serves them well in this pursuit.

Not all elven communities embrace

wizardry, but

most worlds

of the multiverse have at least one commu-

nity of elves

in which the spellcasters are renowned

as

masters.

In some worlds, elves are even credited with

the invention

of the art of wizardry.

MYTH

A LS

Great works of magic are by no

means unique to elves,

but the creation

of mythals seems to be knowledge

that

did originate
with them. Known by different names

on different
worlds, a mythal is a persistent magical

field that changes how reality

works over a large area.

Creating the most powerful
of mythals requires many

wizards of great renown
and long experience to engage

CHAPTER 2 I l:LVES

in the same ritual, while lesser wizards feed

spells into

the growing webwork of magic. Such a ritual

can take

a long time to perform

and sometimes requires the

sacrifice of lives in order to achieve its

purpose, but the

results can be utterly miraculous.

The mythal that protected the mighty

city of Myth

Drannor on the world of FaerOn prevented

the entrance

of enemy races

such as dragons, illithids, drow, and dop-

pelgangers.

It negated spying magic and teleportation

,

and every elf within its bounds

gained the power to Ry

and a multitude of magical protections.

Similar magic allowed the

elves of Krynn to raise a

mythal

at Qualinost. A city of moon-pale stone,

its many

towers

stand hundreds of feet tall, and bridges

of alabas-

ter

arc impossibly through its sky like pale rainbow

s.

A mythal can't be dispell

ed or suppressed by any

conventional means,

nor can its effects. Once one is in

place, it seemingly lasts forever, since none

are known

to have dissipated. A mythal's nature can

only be

warped or changed, and that can be accomplished

only

through the use of magical energy equal

to that required

for its creation.

The metropolis

ofWaterdeep, which lies on the Sword

Coast of FaerOn, benefits from mythals

that were cre-

ated to protect the capital of a gr

eat empire of elves that

stood on the spot over two thousand

years before the

city's foundi

ng. The elves left for Evermeet upon

the or-

der of

their leader, who commanded the wizards

of the

city

to alter the mythal so that evidence of the

empire's

existence was wiped from

the surface of the world.

BLADESONG

Those who see a bladesinger

in battle never forget the

sight.

Surrounded by chaos and blood, the bladesinger

moves

in an otherworldly dance. Spells and

sword act

in

concert, meshing awe-inspiring beauty

with fear-

some deadliness. When

the bladesinger's sword whirls

through the air so swiftly

that it keens and the air hums

and whistles in chorus, the bladesong

has begun-and it

might be the last thing the bladesinger's

enemy hears.

The elves and half-elves who practice

the art of the

bladesinger, a tradition found primarily

on the world of

Faerfin, appear

to be almost casual in combat, deRecting

opponents'

blades while elegantly moving into position

to score hits in return. A bladesinger

wields a weapon

one-handed, leaving the other

free for spellcasting or

to manipulate a wand that can

be incorporated into

the fighting

style. This technique gives a bladesinger

the

freedom of movement necessary for the dancelike

motions

of the various forms of martial art,

which allow

both magical and physical

attacks to flow freely.