Lucanesti Elves are a race of elves that were basically extinct from Krynn by the time of the Cataclysm. The Lucanesti were a minor branch of the Dimernesti elves who used to live on the grasslands south of Istar. The woodsense they used to have when they lived in the forests was instead used to sense water below Krynn's surface, and for this they were called 'Dowsers' by other elves and Humans. A slanderous term that people called them were 'Hedge Elves'. Humans and elves would pay them grandly to help them find water on the grasslands, but eventually this need would no longer be needed. So, with this ability to see below the surface they were able to use it to see precious gems called opals.
So when the ridiculing became too much for the elves, they moved to the mountains near the great city of Istar. There the elves dug themselves underground and began mining these opals for themselves to sell to the other races, making themselves rich. They would not stay underground because they were still elves of the open country and fresh winds.
Eventually this rich source of income grabbed the eye of a Kingpriest of Istar named Vasari II. In about 103 PC, Kingpriest Vasari II sent his venatica against the Lucanesti. Slowly at first, the venatica infiltrated the mines by saying they wanted to go with the Lucanesti to study the earth, eventually more and more came to accompany the elves below the surface. Until one day an elf named Spinel and a companion tried to go to the surface but armed Istarian guards sent them back down, and that was the last of the surface these elves saw. So for next one hundred years, the elves born below the surface who had never seen daylight and were born into slavery were called 'spela'.
So up until 3 PC, the elves had continued to mine the opals below the surface, and the Kingpriests were using the opals in their own way. Eventually, a large earthquake hit the mines as some of the elves were trying to escape, collapsing and trapping the remaining elves deep down below the surface. Spinel was killed while herding away twelve children. Spinel was killed in the process but the dozen children were taken with another Lucanesti named Stormlight out of the lands of Istar. From there, they journeyed to today's Abanasinia and intermarried with the tribes there. To this date, it is assumed that this race of elves no longer exists on Krynn and is now extinct, along with their spoken native language. One known descendant was Stormlight's great great grandchild Goldmoon.
Characteristics[]
A typical Lucanesti Elf could live to be about two thousand years old or maybe a little less, had dark hair, mottled, opalescent skin, and a thing called lucerna. A Lucerna was a white, translucent underlid that will cover their eyes when they are below ground, allowing them to see the opals and gems in dark tunnels, long veins of water in sand, and can see the vein of truth in subtle strata of words and images. The Plainsmen tribes called this lucerna 'second eyes'.
Another ability of the Lucanesti was they were able to use what was called the Anlage. With this, a Lucanesti could look as far back as the Firstborn, seeing all memory and all imaginings of elves. An elf would simply become totally motionless and use his lucerna to look deep into the past in the great mine of elven thought. The Anlage was the shared memory of the entire elven race. If an elf weren't too careful, they possibly wouldn't wake from the Anlage and would instead die.
A Lucanesti can become totally motionless by first slowing their heartbeat, then allowing sand, ash, and dirt to collect on their body, hardening it to a rock shell which people would mistake as just a rock in the area. This gives them the ability to ambush an unsuspecting person. As soon as the elf moves though, the shell around the elf breaks. If a Lucanesti were killed in such an ambush, they would enter what they call a 'stone sleep', and the body petrifies.
References[]
- The Dark Queen, p. 2-3, 15-16, 25, 27, 163-166, 252, 310