History Characters / WarhammerHighElves

* FantasticRacism: The Asur consider themselves to be the absolute pinnacle of civilization and make no bones about it, and non-Elven foreigners are barred from setting foot in Ulthuan outside of specific ports. The way they see it, the Druchii are repuslive degenerates, the Asrai are backwoods hicks who need to learn to mind their betters, the Dawi are reactionary, crude and petty, the various nations of Men are a pack of barbarians with few intellectual and fewer moral merits, the Lizardmen are a shadow long past its prime, and nobody else is really worth the effort of thinking about.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: The ''Widowmaker'', or ''Sword of Khaine'', is a terribly powerful sword said to be a splinter of Khaine’s own sword. Central to Aenarion the Defender’s story, it allowed him to cut swathes of daemons with ease, but it also an ArtifactOfDoom that [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil corrupted]] not only Aenarion, but a good chunk of the Elves from Nagarythe with him too. It is thankfully not available in the game proper but the End Times, we learn more about its powers; every successful hit with the ''Widowmaker'' wounds automatically with a ''Multiple Wounds'' bonus and it ignores armor saves as well as boosting its bearer’s stats in Strength and Toughness to Champion of Chaos level. Finally, it is so powerful nothing in game, be it spells or special rules, can destroy it.

* TheArchmage: Unquestionably one of the most powerful mages who ever lived.

* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:During the battle between the Aestyrion and Malekith's host. Morathi seeing Tyrion (by this point her lover) fall in battle, dived headlong into the vortex and killed all the mages maintaining the vortex except for Caledor, allowing Slaanesh to pass through the hole in the fabric of reality. Caledor channeled all of his power to [[TakingYouWithMe trap Morathi]] inside the vortex, letting Slaanesh drag both of them away.]]
* FounderOfTheKingdom: Founded the kingdom named after himself.

* {{Archenemy}}: The High Elves have had such a fratricidal history with the Dark Elves that as a whole, their armies are especially suited to fight them. ''Valour Of Ages'' which is pretty much omnipresent to the High Elves allows to reroll ''Panic'', ''Fear'' and ''Terror'' tests against the Dark Elves, and moreover the Shadow Warriors of Nagarythe have ''Hatred'' against them.

* FantasticRaceWeaponAffinity: The High Elves favor the use of spears -- ranks of spearmen defended by great tower shields form the backbone of their armies -- and also proficient archers and boast a number of strong ranged units.
* FantasticRacism: The Asur consider themselves to be the absolute pinnacle of civilization and make no bones about it. The way they see it, the Druchii are repuslive degenerates, the Asrai are backwoods hicks who need to learn to mind their betters, the Dawi are reactionary, crude and petty, the various nations of Men are a pack of barbarians with few intellectual and fewer moral merits, the Lizardmen are a shadow long past its prime, and nobody else is really worth the effort of thinking about.

* FantasticRacism: The High Elves don't like the other races of the ''Warhammer'' universe. In fact, non-Elven foreigners are barred from setting foot in Ulthuan outside of specific ports.

* AnIcePerson: The oldest phoenixes known as Cryophoenixes have had their flames cool to such low temperatures that their former fiery power have turned to ice instead. The ''Blizzard Aura'' rule forces ''Always Strikes Last'' and a strength penalty to all units near a Cryophoenix.

* EnergyBow: Sisters of Avelorn do not shoot regular arrows but bolts of flame borne out of Isha’s power shaped like arrows that burn the enemy. As a result, they get ''Flaming Attack'' and inflict a penalty to armor save hit on the attacked model from the destructive force of the arrows.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: A mix of the Ancient Greeks (more specifically being the cultured and educated but still very badass Athenians to the Dark Elves' warlike and positively Darwinian Spartans) and the Byzantines with a little bit of Edo period Japan (foreigners are forbidden to set foot on Ulthuan, except for certain designated ports) for flavor.
** As a thalassocratic island nation that once owned a globe-spanning empire and now owns only a few far-flung colonial outposts, but still maintains a powerful navy and air force and remains a major player politically and militarily in world affairs, the High Elves might be the ''Warhammer'' world's stand-ins for Britain.

* ImplausibleFencingPowers: Swordmasters of Hoeth are known to be able to deflect arrows in flight, cutting them out of the air as they fall into their formation. Of course this does not make them [[ImmuneToBullets immune to arrows]] but it does [[AnnoyingArrows limit the damage they can cause]]. Their ''Deflect Shots'' rules gives them a slight ward save against non magical projectiles.

* LadyLand: Gaen Vale, a volcanic island just off the southern coast of Avelorn. The island is sacred to Isha, mother goddess of the Elves, where the magic of creation flows free and wild, with her oracles tending shrines on the slopes and other acolytes who attend the place. Because the place is so sacred to Isha, sentient males are not allowed to set foot on it on pain of death and any ship with men on it will be warned off with a TwangHello from it's attendants. Anyone woman who wishes to visit must either take a rowboat from a ship anchored offshore or swim the last bit of the way. Every Asur woman is expected to make a pilgrimage to this island at least once in her life.
* LazyDragon: The Dragons of Ulthuan have been hit by a mysterious stupor which makes them really sleepy and hard to wake. Only weeks of praying and chanting ancient Caledorian songs can wake them up and some Dragons are too deep in their slumber to ever wake again.

* MerchantCity: Lothern, the southernmost city in Ulthuan in the kingdom of Eataine. It sits at the only strait giving aquatic access between Ulthuan inner sea and the wider ocean. This has turned it into Ulthuan's most major sea port, and most of the goods that flow into and out of Ulthuan go through Lothern. It's also the only city in Ulthuan to have a substantial non-Elf permanent population, as many mercantile interests from other nations keep guild offices and warehouses there along with secondary industries and a transient sailing population. This has turned it into one of the wealthiest cities in the world, and it's strategic importance and fortifications against sea invasions make it a bit of a CitadelCity as well.

* {{Retcon}}: At one point, there was a fourth Elven subrace, the Sea Elves, who lived in Ulthuan's Outer Kingdoms while the High Elves inhabited the Inner Kingdoms. Eventually, though, they were {{Retcon}}ned into a subculture of High Elves native to the more navally inclined kingdoms and cities.

* TreeVessel: {{Downplayed|Trope}} by the High Elves. Each ship in their navy is formed from a single enormous tree, carefully planted and attended by elven wizards channeling [[GreenThumb Ghyran]], magically forming it into the needed shape over hundreds of years before uprooting it and moving it into a drydock for finishing. The hull is a hollow trunk and the masts are carefully shaped branches, its own sap rung out to form a tough and tight outer seal.

* UtilityMagic: The Asur have been practicing the arcane arts far longer than man and use it for mundane tasks that humans would rarely trust their own wizards to perform. It is through this magic that High Elves build their soaring, seemingly impossibly slender towers and manage to have abundant harvests despite cultivating very little farmland.

* {{Expy}}: His history, design, and psychology take a lot of cues from [[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Shevarash the Black Archer]], a minor Forgotten Realms elven deity of vengeance. They're both ancient elves from a DoomedHometown who pledged eternal vengeance against the Dark Elves/Drow that destroyed their homes and became mythical boogeymen to the entire race as a result. Both are grim, dour, and humorless, are legendary archers, are associated with shadows and darkness, tend to be seen as being NecessarilyEvil by their High Elven comrades, tend to encourage PayEvilUntoEvil and TerrorHero tactics, and seem to keep popping up long after they should have died. They both even prefer black arrows.
* {{Foil}}: To [[Characters/WarhammerDwarfs Grombrindal.]] Both very close to Malekith (Alith was his blood relative, Snorri Whitebeard was his best friend), and both cheated death to have their vengeance on him. They're both mysterious wandering warriors that are motivated as much by revenge as by their desire to protect their people. The biggest difference is that Grombrindal appears among armies to aid in their defense, while Alith Anar leads his own personal army into Naggaroth to take the fight to his foes. Also, Alith is a StealthExpert while Grombrindal, [[StealthHiBye tendency to pop up all over the place]] not withstanding, is [[BoisterousBruiser anything but stealthy.]]

* TimeAbyss: He was around to see the original Sundering and is still alive and kicking over 5000 years later. No one quite knows how he managed to survive this long in terms of both a elf's lifespan and his millenias-spanning vendetta.

* OurFounder: Of the Order of Loremasters, a collective of scholars and sorcerers.

A prince of Saphery, Aethis's reign led to the creation of many great artistic works, from creation plays to animated portraits to a five hundred feet tall Griffon being carved from the mountain above the Griffon Gate fortress. Aethis's reign was a time of complacency, with martial pursuits forgotten and cast aside.

The High Loremaster of Hoeth during Aethis's reign, Morvael of Yvresse was chosen by the Eighth Council to succeed the assassinated Phoenix King. With the threat of the Dark Elves returned, Morvael immediately ordered an attack on Naggaroth, to disastrous effect. Following the subsequent Dark Elf invasion of Ulthuan, Morvael appointed Mentheus of Caledor, on whom he came to depend upon for his counsel and friendship to lead his armies, which he replenished by organising a system of troop levies which still exists to this day, all the while hunting down Dark Elf spies and devotees of the Cult of Pleasure.

** Eataine: [[ProudMerchantRace Trade]] and Cosmopolitanism. Oldest and wealthiest of the Asur realms, and Lothern remains the only port on Ulthuan that non-humans are allowed to visit, making it a centre for world trade.

* BornInTheSaddle: The Reavers from the Kingdom of Ellyria. It's a location famous for its wide rolling plains and sparse woodlands, where young elves learn to ride almost from the time they've learned to walk, and the riders will raise their own hourses from foals, forming a strong bond of mutual trust before ever mounting them. In war, the Reavers act as outriders for High Elf armies on the march and light cavalry to harass enemy flanks and run them down when they break.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Given her FertileFeet right below, she also counts as an EarthyBarefootCharacter. The only things she wears on her feet are a single toe ring per foot.

* BladeOnAStick:
** The traditional melee weapon of the High Elf militia is the spear. These finely-honed weapons are wielded by the more experienced members of the militia, who are so well trained in their use, they are able to present a near impenetrable wall of spikes to the enemy. This is represented in-game by High Elf Spearmen being able to fight with extra ranks.
** The elite Phoenix Guard are equipped with long, ornate halberds. Although they are mostly ceremonial weapons, the halberds are still deadly weapons, capable of cleaving an enemy in twain with a single blow.

* BladeOnAStick: Wields the ''Phoenix Blade'', an ancient halberd passed down from Kor-Baelon, the first captain of the Phoenix Guard. Its blade in [[FlamingSword wreathed in flames]] and gives him +1 Strength as well as the ''Multiple Wounds'' rule.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Golden haired, and one of the noblest characters in the setting.

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: To the point that the rumor of her capture was enough to cause a collective DespairEventHorizon among the Asur.

* BadassInCharge: Caradryan is the commander of the elite Phoenix Guard.

** Avelorn: Located in the northernmost of the Inner Kingdoms, Avelorn is the oldest kingdom in Ulthuan and the origin of all elven civilization. It's a literally magical place, enchanted in the most joyful ways, with many magical and fey creatures living beneath its canopy. The residents are almost all nomadic, traveling the forest and making pavilion camps, and artists, poets, and lovers are drawn here. It's mores are libertine, [[EthicalSlut love and joy are shared freely]], and it's generally understood that the rules of decorum around most of Ulthuan don't apply in Avelorn. The Everqueen makes her court here, traveling around the forest with her Handmaidens and enterage.

* AnAxeToGrind: Atypically for elves in fiction, the White Lions of Chrace wield large and powerful axes on the battlefield. The reason for this is because the White Lions were originally a group of Elven woodsmen who saved the life of Caledor I, and when they were officially made bodyguards to the Phoenix King they retained the axes that had proven just as efficient at cutting down Dark Elf assassins as they were at felling the mighty trees of Chrace. In-game, these axes are represented by basic great weapons.

* AnAxeToGrind: Like all White Lions he fights with an axe, but in his case it is the magical weapon ''Chayal''. ''Chayal'' grant him +2 Strength in close-quarters combat and the ''Killing Blow'' rule.

* AmbiguousDisorder: He likely suffered from depression.

* KillEmAll: When the Dark Elf fortress of Anlec was taken by the Asur armies, Tethlis ordered all druchii prisoners executed, regardless of age or gender.

* FantasyPantheon: ''Two'' of them. The Elven gods are divided into the Cadai the gods of the heavens and the Cytharai the gods of the underworld. All in all there are ''[[UpToEleven fourty four]]'' of them. The most important ones include:

* ArchEnemy: To [[EvilOverlord Malekith the Witch-King]] himself. Out of all the living Warhammer characters it's Teclis who has earned his ire ([[VillainRespect and grudging respect]]) the most, after he defeated the the dark elf king in a WizardDuel at The Battle of Finuval Plain.

[[Characters/WarhammerTheEmpire The Empire]] | [[Characters/WarhammerBretonnia Bretonnia]] | [[Characters/WarhammerDwarfs Dwarfs]] | '''High Elves''' | [[Characters/WarhammerDarkElves Dark Elves]] ([[Characters/WarhammerMalekith Malekith]]) | [[Characters/WarhammerWoodElves Wood Elves]] | [[Characters/WarhammerLizardmen Lizardmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerVampireCounts Vampire Counts]] | [[Characters/WarhammerTombKings Tomb Kings]] ([[Characters/WarhammerNagash Nagash]]) | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosGodsAndDaemons Daemons of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerWarriorsOfChaos Warriors of Chaos]] | [[Characters/WarhammerBeastsOfChaos Beastmen]] | [[Characters/WarhammerChaosDwarfs Chaos Dwarfs]] | [[Characters/WarhammerSkaven Skaven]] | [[Characters/WarhammerGreenskins Greenskins]] | [[Characters/WarhammerOgreKingdoms Ogre Kingdoms]] | [[Characters/WarhammerOtherFactions Others]]]]-]]]