In the early years of the Second Age, the Elves prospered in western Middle-earth, dwelling in great cities scattered across the length and breath of Eriador. With the shadow of Morgoth removed from them, the Firstborn were once more able to enjoy the wonders of Middle-earth. Alas, in time, their reach exceeded their grasp and they were brought low by Sauron’s designs. In a series of wars spanning many centuries, the Dark Lord shattered much of the power of the Elves, and many kingdoms and cities were crushed beneath the might of his armies. To this day only a relative handful of Elves remain within western Middle-earth, dwelling in halls either hidden from the eyes of the Lord of Mordor, or protected by power such that even he cannot breach.

Chief amongst these, and well known in the other realms of Middle-earth, is the Haven of Imladris – also known as Rivendell. Founded in the Second Age by Elves fleeing Sauron’s assault on the great kingdom of Eregion, Rivendell has ever since been a place of wisdom and healing, a bastion of light in a world that has dwelt for too long under Sauron’s shadow. All beings of good heart are welcome within its walls, whether they be Elves, Dwarves, Men or other, far stranger, creatures. Some such guests are merely travellers passing east over the mountains or west over the hills of Rhudaur who wish to spend a few nights in the safety of the Last Homely House east of the sea and west of the mountains. More often, they come seeking the wisdom to be found within the house of Elrond half-Elven, whose gifts of healing and prophecy are held above comparison.

Further north and west, on the coast of the Great Sea, is the only Elven kingdom to endure the trials of the recent centuries. It is here, at the Grey Havens of Lindon that the ships from blessed Valinor once landed – though they do so no more. New arrivals no longer come to Lindon, for the Elves are slowly departing Middle-earth, carried away into the West by the graceful vessels crafted by the shipwrights of the Grey Havens, seeking to set foot once more upon Valinor’s white shores.

ELVES

The Firstborn race, or Eldar, the Elves are the noblest and greatest of all Middle-earth’s folk. Immortal and unchanging, Elves suffer not the blight of disease, nor the long slow decay of age, yet they can be slain in battle, or succumb to withering from grief. It is through the Elves that many of the wonders of Middle-earth came to pass, whether they be keen-bladed weapons, songs of great beauty and skill or simply wisdom and knowledge. That which they did not craft themselves is almost always the result of their teachings, for their minds are keen and their hands dextrous beyond the belief of Dwarves or Men. Without the knowledge and skill of the Elves, the great halls of the Númenóreans could never have been crafted, nor the Rings of Power forged – in many ways, they are a light by which the younger races are guided and protected. Yet, as the Third Age passes, so to do the Elves. The ennui that comes with eternal life is a heavy burden for them, and to see the lands they love despoiled by the works of others and corrupted by the evils of Sauron is more than they can bear. Each year, the Firstborn pass away to far-western lands of Valinor in greater numbers, and with each passes a fraction of all that is wondrous in Middle-earth.