what-even-is-thiss wrote this interesting and pretty heartbreaking elven aging fan fiction story about how elves might age. It’s a different idea than in traditional fantasy stories like Tolkien or Dungeons & Dragons in which elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans. But this is certainly an interesting alternative take on elf aging:
Source: what-even-is-thiss
(via: Geek Girls)
or maybe elves mature more like humans and when they reach adulthood the longlivity sets in… just a boring, not so tear indulgen thougth 😛
Elves in DnD reach physical maturity at around age 25.
“Though an elf reaches mental and physical maturity at the
age of 25, very few elves become parents until much later in
life. Elves rarely feel that they’re ready to settle down and
begin families before they’re at least 100 years old, and most
stop having children soon after reaching the age of 200.”
– Races of the Wild, pg 13, 3.x Supplement Book – section on Reproduction.
“I have chosen my name from now until the end of time. ‘Frank Smith Breezeblower” is how I will be known.
He would simply be Frank smith or Frank the smith most likely.
No, the Breezeblower is VERY important. Not only did he pioneer a new type of bellows, but he was renowned for his black bean and cabbage casserole.
There was a similar situation on Star Trek Voyager with Kes, who had a life span of something like 9 human years. I could never figure out how she gained enough knowledge, experience, and skill to be a functioning “adult” at a few years old.
She has an eidetic memory
They could be like dinosaurs. Age very quickly until they reach maturity and then slow to a great extent.
The Anime Frieren is a great investigation of this.
In Tolkien’s world elf children/babies age the same as humans. Something about how their creator wouldn’t inflict like 50-100 years of childhood on their parents.
The whole premise of this is sweet, but it isn’t likely to be how they age.
More likely, elves have such long lifespans that wisdom from age is what is makes them adult, not physical maturity. Watching your human friends grow old & die, watching the natural world progress, learning the magic of the natural world & so on would give wisdom of the ages as they say.
Maybe it isn’t that they have to live to be 100 years old before they are considered adult. Maybe it is they have to experience several lifetimes to earn the wisdom to be called adults.
One thing I note about this story that is absolutely evident not to be true in the majority of fantasy stories is the mental acuity of elves in their younger years. They learn as fast or faster than their human counterparts, but they endure much longer.