Faulir

The Faulir live deep within the Pashan desert and were once truly elves but their existence in the caves beneath the desert have changed them forever, leaving them vulnerable to bright light and creating a nocturnal existence for them.

History
The Faulir were forced underground into the caves they inhabit by a large orc army that left sizable garrisons at key points throughout the desert to maintain their supply lines, even these garrisons outnumbered the elves in the area. The elves retreated into their caves and hid the entrances with powerful spells that were barely understood by the ones who cast them and when the time came to remove the wards they found that the spells could be removed. Instead of a spell lasting a few weeks, the wards lasted for over 500 years. By this time most elves who could remember what life was like before the caves were dead.

Physiology
The elves survived this time but were forever changed, seeing better in dark but unable to deal with sunlight.

Society
Due to being trapped in the caves, the faulir were forced to survive what they could grow, living off of fungus and animals that fed off this fungus. The faulir wizards worked to find spells to enhance the growth rates and nutritional value of the fungus. Many of the faulir spent months searching the caves seeking other exits and while they found more chambers no way above ground could be found. The inhabitants were organized by what chamber they lived in. Eventually the wizards found ways to permanently augment existing creatures and modified ants that lived in the caves, making them bigger and using them as beasts of burden. Now that the caves are open to the wider world, these mages have begun using their craft on owls found living in small caverns above the faulir caves.

Military
The Faulir military operates only at night and uses magically modified owls as mounts, hunting anyone that dares enter Faulir lands. Their preferred weapons are longbows that they will fire from their mounts then descend to finish off survivors and loot anything of value.

Religion
Faulir are deeply religious believing that their gods saved them from the orcs only to curse them by trapping them below ground for centuries. Since the wards fell, their mystics have been attempting to determine what they can do to atone for whatever their gods cursed them for.