Unfortunately, we can say woefully little with complete accuracy* in regards to the Dark Elves. They are a proud people, and do not appreciate the efforts of those scholars who would study them, as many have come to learn to their great regret.
Before the time of mortals, the elves were all of one people, the children of Mother Light—Lana the Capricious, as the elves call her. However, a falling-out occurred some years after their creation. Very little is known as to the specific details of the quarrel, but it seems that a small group of elves harbored certain philosophical differences regarding their creator. The elves refer to this time only as the Sundering.
Those who remained loyal to Mother Light are now called the High Elves. The others, now known as Dark Elves, were exiled. In her anger, Mother Light called down upon them a Great Curse, obscuring the tribal markings of these elves and their kins forevermore. Exiled from elven society, the Dark Elves fled beneath the earth’s surface. There, they were discovered by Father Darkness, who took them in as his own. For this reason, the Dark Elven society is known for its fervent devotion to Darkness.
As the reader may know, the moon is the eye of Father Darkness, as the sun is of Mother Light. The Dark Elves are a nocturnal race, banished from the gaze of Light. When the moon waxes, Darkness’ watchfulness has a calming influence on his children; but, as it wanes, the Dark Elves are known to grow more and more violent. They are a wrathful race, delighting in the suffering of others. Some have theorized that this wrath is the result of a kind of need, that the Dark Elves lash out as a catharsis for the pain they themselves have withstood. Whatever the reason, Dark Elves can be haughty and cruel, and their power is very great—they seem to shrug off even the most ferocious wizardly or elemental magical attacks, and wield their weapons with bone-crushing force. If any race could be said to have mastered the methods of causing pain, certainly this is it.
A certain amount of speculation still exists as to the exact location of the Dark Elven empire. Several scholars have theorized that the Dark Elves hale from an island of ice off of the farthest northern parts of the Ger lands; others believe that the Dark Elves still live underground. All that is known for sure is that their society is matriarchal, and divided into houses led by priestesses of Darkness. Certain names occur frequently in discussions about the empire—Mesha, Nem, Seki, Hed—but precious little is known of any of these families, houses, provinces, or whatever the names might signify.
In the wake of the past decade of demonic invasions from the Void, the Dark Elven empire has remained more or less untouched, leaving them in a position of power, even as great and long-standing nations such as Xheng and Leode have fallen into chaos. Interestingly, this seems to have provoked the Dark Elves into a more active participation in the world at large—an unexpected reversal from the previous millenia of more isolationist practices.
*The reader should please note that this treatise has been pieced together from third-party sources, hearsay, and observation from afar—very far.