As the Gods shaped the surface of Garin, great chaos was inflicted upon the Elves. Whole societies were repeatedly forced to move as mountain ranges rose from the ground and seas filled. The huge forest they called home continually changed as new plants and creatures sprang into being.
Within this chaos, a group of Elves desired order. They tired of the constant upheaval and the demands placed upon them by Ashandra to carry out her or other Gods’ will.
Eventually, enough of these Elves gathered and decided to separate from their kin. They appealed to Thondis and Vael to create for them a stable land so they could build homes and settle down once and for all. The twin Gods of order heard their pleas and resolved to help them.
This breakaway upset Ashandra greatly as she did not want any Elves leaving her care and guidance. The conflict escalated amongst the Gods and very soon erupted into the War of Exodus. Before this war was over, many Elves had perished, and great bitterness and enmity grew between those that departed and those that remained loyal to the Goddess of air.
The departing Elves called themselves Ilah Ri. They desired order above all and set about taming their lands and building great cities. They chose more open country to live in and while still loving trees and the forest, they also chose to work with stone and metal. Great walls they built up around their cities kept the world at bay, and within the enclosed spaces they made everything neat and precise.
The society itself became modelled on order. Strict hierarchies were instituted, and each citizen knew their place and role. Codifying all aspects of life achieved harmony and peace, each Elf drawing comfort from the predictable and familiar.
When the outside world intruded on these ordered Elves, it found a society that had grown strong and prosperous. As the Elves could work together with little or no internal conflict, they began to achieve greatness in the arts of magic and engineering. Ever more beautiful landscapes surrounded ever more beautiful structures, each in harmony with the other but also precisely controlled and contained within city walls.
This societal perfection was marred by the sundering of the Cirgoth. Those Elves that desired to live in a more ordered way than the Thanaril, but still chafed at the restrictions placed by the Ilah Ri, eventually departed from the safe havens of the Ilah Ri cities. Once more the Elves were riven by internal conflict and bloodshed, many were killed, and many great works were cast down in ruin.
Once the Cirgoth had gone their own way, the Ilah Ri returned to their ordered lives. They repaired the damage done during the Second Great Schism and they began to create ever greater works while increasing their separation from the outside world.
The Ilah Ri are viewed by the other races on Tinerè as remote and aloof, even arrogant. They achieve great age and accumulate great wisdom, but they also live very rigid and controlled lives. An Elf’s lifetime is often devoted to the pursuit of a single endeavor, representing a mastery few others can attain. However, an individual Ilah Ri removed from their society is lost. They require order and structure to survive and thrive.