Fantasy Setting Idea Seeking A Story

[4thofeleven]

You have, I suppose, heard the stories of how the first Orcs came into the world? How they were once Elves, broken and twisted by evil forces into a corrupted mockery of their former selves? It is a lie; the truth is that it is the Elves who are the twisted offspring of the Orcish race.

Is the truth not obvious? The Elves are the decadent children of a lost kingdom of Orcs, who in the first days of the world were corrupted and deceived, and came to value not the honest Orcish virtues of strength of body and will, but instead the false merits of beauty of form. They became obsessed with physical luxuries, and became ruled by hierarchies in which the most attractive of their number became rulers.

In the end, the Orcs cast them out, and unwilling to exert themselves with mundane labours rather than the creation of enchanted trinkets and baubles, their numbers diminished – until they found others who they could control, who were similarly likely to confuse fairness of body with fairness of spirit.

Now the Elves live as parasites on the civilizations of Men and Dwarf, taking food and raw materials as tribute – for they produce none of their own, preferring the unspoiled and unproductive beauty of their forest glades for the ugly functionality of farmland or mines. In return, they occasionally deign to share some of their luxuries with the other races. And all the time, they spread their lies about their ancient Orcish kindred. For they know that Men and Dwarves would no longer be bewitched by their beauty if they knew the truth…

Comments

[sunnyskywalker]

This explains the elves "fading" nicely...

Hmm, perhaps the idea could be combined with the rise of the millenias-long tyrany of Galadriel and Celeborn, guarded in their forest fortress by elvish archer assassins? Come to think of it, since Elrond is their son-in-law, it could be a family empire!

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

They seek to inflate their numbers, of course, so other races do not realise the Elven Kingdoms are little more than a handful of outcast families. When asked, they tell confusing and vague stories about the bulk of their people living in unreachable lands across the ocean. Sometimes they say their other cities are too well hidden for prying eyes to detect, and claim control over great swathes of untamed woodlands and forests.

[sunnyskywalker]

Even their own followers must be kept in line with promises that someday, they'll get to go to the West too. Someday. Perhaps we should ask what really happened to Celebrian during her time with the orcs, and where she really went afterward...