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Elves are a race of mortal beings in the Shannara series of novels by Terry Brooks. They are the final remants of the faerie creatures (apart from the King of the Silver River and Uhl Belk), though they have become mortals. Though Elves usually refers to the Westland Elves, Elves can be split into two: the Land Elves and the Sky Elves.

In the time of Faerie, the Elves were created as servemts and shepherds of the forests. They were one of the more common Races of Faerie and were one of the magical races that battled the Demons in the Faerie War. The Elves were also the ones who magically created the Ellcrys tree through sacrifice of a life, which banished the Demons into the Forbidding. Following the war, the Elves drifted apart from the other Faeries, retreating into their forest homelands. However, like many other species, they were affected and all but overrun by the rise of humanity. When the Elves realized that the Great Wars were close at hand, they used what magic remained to them to seal themselves and a few treasures away from harm.

After the Great Wars ended, the Elves reemerged in the forests of the Westland, but greatly changed. No longer creatures of Faerie, they had become nearly identical to the Races of Man. As such, many believed that the Elves were merely another of the five races descended from Man. In addition, the Elf Galaphile founded the first Druid Council, solidifying a body of peacekeepers, historians and scholars in the centre of the Four Lands.

For reasons unknown, the Elves were always prosperous. Among the other races they had no equal, and they were often forced to do battle with great menaces. The first occurrence was in the Race Wars, where the Elves helped battle the Warlock Lord. In the Second War of the Races, King Courtann Ballindaroch and his House was destroyed by a Skullbearer assassin. This threw the Kingdom into chaos, rendering them incapabil of lending aid to the Dwarves. King Jerle Shannara rose to the Crown, and ultimately led the Elves to victory at the Battle of the Rhenn, and defeated the Warlock Lord on the Streleheim Plains.

Following that, the Elves were forced to battle the released Demons in a reenactment of their ancestral struggle. Before the time of Allanon came to an end, the Elves pledged their aid to the Dwarves against the Mord Wraiths.

As the Federation began expanding, the Elves were blamed for the rise of the Shadowen. Tired of the accusations, the Elves left the Four Lands, transporting their entire race to the island of Morrowindl. However, in their attempts to recover the old magic, they created a new form of Demons which threatened them. However, thanks to the coming of Wren Elessedil, they were able to return to the Westland.

For over 100 years afterwards, the Elves were locked in war with the Federation. However, with the death of Sen Dunsidan, the war effort halted, and peace looked likely.

The Land and Sky Elves are the names for two separate groups of Elves in the Westland. Ethnically they are almost identical, but culturally very different. The distinction between the two groups is made predominately by the Sky Elves.Sky Elves interact with the giant Roc birds, whereas Land Elves do not. Land Elves live in their capital city, Arborlon, and the surrounding towns such as Emberen. The fertile Sarandanon Valley is where the Land Elves farm and keep their population thriving. The Sky Elves live in the far south in the Wing Hove, which is on the coast of the Blue Divide.