An elf is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda.
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Lothlórien or Lórien is the fairest realm of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth during the Third Age. It is ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn from their city of tree-houses at Caras Galadhon. The wood-elves of the realm are known as Galadhrim.
A half-elf is a mythological or fictional being, the offspring of an immortal elf and a mortal man. They are often depicted as very beautiful and endowed with magical powers; they may be presented as torn between the two worlds that they inhabit. Half-elves became known in modern times mainly through J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings but have origins in Norse mythology. A half-elf appeared in Lord Dunsany's 1924 book The King of Elfland's Daughter.
Emma Bull is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novels include the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Bone Dance and the urban fantasy War for the Oaks. She is also known for a series of anthologies set in Liavek, a shared universe that she created with her husband, Will Shetterly. As a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, she has been a member of the Minneapolis-based folk/rock bands Cats Laughing and The Flash Girls.
Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, placing supernatural elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for classic fantasy tropes, without demanding the creation of an entirely-imagined world.
Fantasy tropes are a specific type of literary tropes that occur in fantasy fiction. Worldbuilding, plot, and characterization have many common conventions, many of them having ultimately originated in myth and folklore. J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium for example, was inspired from a variety of different sources including Germanic, Finnish, Greek, Celtic and Slavic myths. Literary fantasy works operate using these tropes, while others use them in a revisionist manner, making the tropes over for various reasons such as for comic effect, and to create something fresh.
Those Who Hunt Elves is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yu Yagami. The plot revolves around three travellers, the eponymous "Elf Hunters", and the elven sorceress Mistress Celcia. The anime was released in North America on VHS and DVD by ADV Films and later re-released by Sentai Filmworks.
Terri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.
Will Shetterly is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction best known for his novel Dogland (1997). The novel is inspired by his childhood at the tourist attraction Dog Land owned by his parents. He won the Minnesota Book Award for Fantasy & Science Fiction for his novel Elsewhere (1991), and was a finalist with Nevernever (1993); both books are set in Terri Windling's The Borderland Series shared universe. He has also written short stories for various Borderland anthologies.
Jennifer June Rowe,, is an Australian author. Her crime fiction for adults is published under her own name, while her children's fiction is published under the pseudonyms Emily Rodda and Mary-Anne Dickinson.
In many works of modern fantasy, elves are depicted as a race or species of pointy-eared humanoid beings. These depictions arise from the álfar of Norse mythology influencing elves in fantasy as being semi-divine and of human stature, whose key traits are being friendly with nature and animals. However, this differs from Norse and the traditional elves found in Middle Ages folklore and Victorian era literature.
The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a game produced by Palladium Books. It is set in the Palladium world some 10,000 years after a great war between the elves and dwarves. First published in July 1983 as The Palladium Role-Playing Game, the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game saw a second edition in April 1996. The two are largely compatible, though the second edition uses a later iteration of Palladium's ruleset to be more compatible with the rest of their Megaverse.
Wizard of the Pigeons is a 1986 fantasy novel set in Seattle by Megan Lindholm, and a forerunner of the urban fantasy genre. It was the first work to draw wider attention to Lindholm. The novel explores themes of homelessness, poverty, and mental illness. It was issued as a paperback original by Ace Books in 1986, and was reprinted in hardcover by Hypatia Press in 1994 and as a 35th Anniversary Edition by Grim Oak Press in 2020. Several UK editions have also been published.
The Inheritance is a fantasy novel, set in the Dragonlance campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is part of the Classics series.
The Borderland series of urban fantasy novels and stories were created for teenage readers by author Terri Windling. Most of the series is set in Bordertown, a dystopian city near the border between "the Elflands" and "The World". The series consists of five anthologies and three novels. The series has spawned fan groups, gaming groups, costumed events, and was discussed in The Fence and the River: Culture and Politics at the US-Mexico Border by Claire F. Fox.
The Secret World of Santa Claus is a French and Canadian children's animated television show. It is syndicated to several countries worldwide, including Teletoon in Canada, and Super RTL in Germany, in and is generally seen every December during the holiday season. On December 25, 1999, Christmas Day, The Secret World of Santa Claus marathon took place from 6:00am to 7:00pm. As of 2013, it has been released on 2 DVDs from Cinedigm in the US.
In J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, Elves are the first fictional race to appear in Middle-earth. Unlike Men and Dwarves, Elves are immortal, though they can be killed in battle. If so, their souls go to the Halls of Mandos in Aman. After a long life in Middle-earth, Elves yearn for the Earthly Paradise of Valinor, and can sail there from the Grey Havens. They feature in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Their history is described in detail in The Silmarillion.
Elfy Food is a British animated mini-series that was produced by Turner Broadcasting for Cartoon Network UK in response to the Choosing Health White Paper published in November 2004. The six 2-minute cartoons featured 5 healthy-eating elves that were on a mission to retrieve magical foods. Its purpose was to promote "the virtues of fresh fruit and vegetables to a pre-teen audience".
Lego Elves was a Lego product line produced by The Lego Group that was launched in 2015. It was accompanied by the Lego Elves animated television series and webisode series that began with a mini-movie titled Unite The Magic, which was released on the Lego YouTube channel, and on Netflix. The product line was based on the storyline of the animated series, which follows the adventures of a character named Emily Jones who travels to a magical land called Elvendale. The theme aimed to introduce a fantasy element to girl-focused Lego products. It was eventually discontinued by 2019.
The philologist and author J. R. R. Tolkien set out to explore time travel and distortions in the passage of time in his fiction in a variety of ways. The passage of time in The Lord of the Rings is uneven, seeming to run at differing speeds in the realms of Men and of Elves. In this, Tolkien was following medieval tradition in which time proceeds differently in Elfland. The whole work, too, following the theory he spelt out in his essay "On Fairy-Stories", is meant to transport the reader into another time. He built a process of decline and fall in Middle-earth into the story, echoing the sense of impending destruction of Norse mythology. The Elves attempt to delay this decline as far as possible in their realms of Rivendell and Lothlórien, using their Rings of Power to slow the passage of time. Elvish time, in The Lord of the Rings as in the medieval Thomas the Rhymer and the Danish Elvehøj, presents apparent contradictions. Both the story itself and scholarly interpretations offer varying attempts to resolve these; time may be flowing faster or more slowly, or perceptions may differ.
