My understanding is that the immortal Elves were made immortal by mating with a Great Dragon or being born of such a family where that had occurred. That the down side for the Elves in question is that the Wyrm who is the founder of the feast, as it were, is able to bind and control them in a means somewhat akin to the way (Meta)Humans bind and control spirits. And finally it is possible for Great Dragons to do that trick with any race (as in the above mentioned human clan in Earthdawn that controls the city of Iopos (sorry, I don't have my book with me the spelling might be off on that a bit, there is a portrait of one of their members at the end of the first edition of the earthdawn main book, possibly on the last page or so), but it is something of a crime in dragon culture to create such a line of immortal (Meta)HUmans.

(ahem) (ahem) It would, of course, be nice if AH would step in and provide a more authoritative response

AFE

I did already.

Okay, maybe some clarification: it's not apparent whether or not every dragonkin elf is immortal or not, but the general consensus seems to be on "not." It is suggested the dragons might have made a bargain with a Passion or two, or used dragon ritual magic, to enact the right changes, or at least hide the usual deformities.

As far as "binding" goes-there is no evidence that the Great Dragons magically bound the elves to them. Ever. There is anecdotal evidence that the Great Dragons enslaved at least certain of the IEs, however, which might or might not have included magical binding, but no evidence of such binding still exists.

As far as other races go, there's evidence that dragons can significantly lengthen lifespans but not render complete immortality. The Denairastas Clan of Iopos is led by a very long-lived human, but his supplements his dragonkin blood with Nethermancy. The Kings of Throal benefited from three potions provided by the Great Dragons that extended their lifespans. The t'skrang of the Serpent River were taught how to enter a magical hibernation (possibly similar to that of the dragons themselves), which allowed them to live out the Scourge. There is one account of a human that was transformed to be able to take on a drake's form and gain a significantly expanded lifespan, but even drakes are mortal.

It should also be noted that a canon Elf given stats in two different books set, IIRC, around two years apart from each other shows a character with none of the characteristics of an Immortal Elf in the first and all of them in the second. Either it doesn't kick in for a while, or there's some other trigger.

~J

Frosty isn't listed with those characteristics in Harlequin, but given her lack of illness and aging, it is strongly implied she already has those characteristics.

That said, it has been suggested before that a "trigger" is necessary.

Got a general area in the book where it notes a lack of illness and aging? I skimmed through and couldn't find anything associated with the search terms "Frosty" or "Foster", though I did find a reference to Ehran arranging for her to fall ill (though obviously he could have used substantially non-natural means).

~J

<flip, flip> p.18

Oh, that. Hm.



~J