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Elf Versus DwarfIn Norse mythology, the races of elves and dwarfs have always been opposites in many ways, though they are often mistaken for each other in modern times. The elves were tall, light, and beautiful, while the dwarfs were short, heavy, ugly, and dark. Both races were born from the giant Ymir as maggot-like creatures originally, the elves red and the dwarfs black. The elves live in sky in lfheim, and the dwarfs in underground caverns. The elves like to sing and dance, while the dwarfs like smithing and wealth. The two races were opposites, but did not represent good and evil, as there were many folk tales of good and honest dwarfs. It was a pagan time, before modern Christian concepts of good and evil. The Norse carved reliefs of an elf and a dwarf into door posts which adorned the entrance of their wooden houses, in honor of the two deity-like races. The elf was carved at the top, and the dwarf at the bottom of the post. When the Norse moved to settle in another place, they would take their door posts with them on board the boat. They would toss the carved door post into the sea. The currents would sweep away the door posts, and the Norse sailors would follow the posts. Wherever the posts washed ashore is where the Norse people would build houses and live there. This is how much they trusted the elves and dwarfs. Modern Fantasy In modern fantasy fiction literature, such as Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, the opposite natures of elves and dwarfs was taken a step further. Elves eat and sleep lightly, if at all, while dwarfs eat, drink, and sleep deeply. Elves are thin and agile, while dwarfs are stout and strong. Elven men very rarely have beards, while dwarf men and (sometimes)women often have beards. Dwarfs stay to fight to the death, while the elves sail away. Elves tend to be proficient in Magic, while Dwarfs are either distrustful or incapable of magic. Both races wear and use medieval weapons and armor. These themes are used many times in many fictional fantasy adventure novels, RPGs, computer games, magazines and other media. The two races have a rivalry going, and dislike each other, avoiding each other's company (dwarfs more so than elves). Dwarfs see elves as flighty and irresponsible, while elves see dwarfs as materialistic workaholics, unable to have fun. The difference is similar to conservatives and liberals, or of art and science. "Never trust an elf!" says Gimli the dwarf in The Lord of the Rings. Later in the trilogy, Legolas the elf and Gimli became the first dwarf-friend and elf-friend in the history of Middle-earth. In some worlds, this enmity has escalated into skirmishes, battles, and even full-scale war. One such example is the War of the Beard or the War of Vengeance as the dwarfs calls it, in Warhammer, where raids by Dark Elves sparked a war between High Elves and Dwarves; the later had not distinguished a difference between the alignment separation of the two kin. Being kicked out of the High Elvish fortress for drawing weapons in what was a commonly peaceful castle, the Dwarves beards were removed by the Elves. Such actions were harshly unacceptable for the stout race. From there, a war was set against the High Elves by the Dwarves. The story told by each race differs much in tone and certain facts, though many players take each story in different manners, the High Elf one does strike as being the more truthful one, mentioning how they did not bear weapons against the Dwarves saying in their own tale how the Elves were too cowardly to bring up arms; and again later how Dwarfs were far too powerful and trained to be harmed by the Elven folk against being said by the Elves that they did not strike to harm, rather parry each blow. The old rivalry took a comedic turn in the cartoon series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, in which the elves and dwarfs war over cookies and mushrooms.
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