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Half-elf
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{{Short description|Offspring of an elf and a human from Norse mythology onwards}} {{good article}} {{Use British English|date=May 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} A '''half-elf''' is a mythological or fictional being, the offspring of an immortal [[elf]] and a mortal [[human|man]]. They are often depicted as very beautiful and endowed with magical powers; they may be presented as torn between the two worlds that they inhabit. Half-elves became known in modern times mainly through [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Middle-earth]] writings but have origins in [[Norse mythology]]. A half-elf appeared in [[Lord Dunsany]]'s 1924 book ''[[The King of Elfland's Daughter]]''. In Middle-earth, half-elves are the children of [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]] and [[Man (Middle-earth)|Men]], and can choose either Elvish immortality or the mortal life of Men. The elf-maidens [[Lúthien]] and [[Arwen]] in Tolkien's works both chose mortality to be with the Men that they loved. Scholars have noted that this enabled Tolkien to explore several key themes, including love and death, time and immortality. As a Catholic, he believed that Men, freely choosing to let go, gain release from the world's limitations; whereas if they tried to hold on to life and material things, they would end in darkness. His Elves – except for half-elves – were unable to gain this release. In ''[[On Fairy-Stories]]'' Tolkien wrote that since men write [[Fairy tale|fairy-stories]], these concern the escape from death; and conversely that Elves would tell human-stories about the escape from deathlessness. Since their popularisation by Tolkien, half-elves have become widely-known in [[role-playing game]]s, and in turn in [[video game]]s and spin-off films. The role-playing game ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' features [[Half-elf (Dungeons & Dragons)|its own race of half-elves]], including the character ''[[List of Dragonlance characters|Tanis Half-Elven]]''. {{anchor|Norse mythology}}
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