Dark Elves

The Dark Elves, also known as the Dökkálfar, is one of the two factions of Elves that inhabit Alfheim. They are insectoid beings that reside in caves in the dark. They first appeared in God of War (2018).

Norse Mythology[]

The Dökkálfar is a contrasting type of elves in Norse Mythology, the other being the Ljósalfar (or Light Elves). The Dark Elves dwell within the earth and have a dark complexion, while the Light Elves, who are described as "fairer than the sun", live in the world of Álfheimr. In the Prose Edda, the Dökkálfar are attested in chapter 17 of the Gylfaginning along with the Ljósalfar.

King Gylfi, who is under the identity of Gangleri, asks the enthroned High what other "chief centers" there are in the heavens. The response was that there are many fine places in heaven, including a place called Álfheimr (Old Norse 'Elf home', or 'Elf World'). High states that the Ljósalfar live in Álfheimr while the Dökkálfar live underground and look-and particularly behave-quite unlike their Light counterparts.

In God of War Series[]

History[]

It's unknown which race of Elves came first, and it's such lack of knowledge that sparked the conflict between the Dark Elves and their luminous counterparts for the dominion of the Light of Alfheim.

Because of their nature, the Dark Elves seek to conceal The Light and plunge their whole realm into darkness.

Despite the eternal conflict in their home realm, the Dark Elves seem to have had some notable presence in Midgard. One of the lands in the dominion of the Dwarf King Mótsognir, Veithurgard, was under constant attack by the Dark Elves, who eventually created an outpost near the land.

The tide of their war against the Light Elves was turned against them when the Vanir leader Freyr became the Lord of the Light Elves, giving them control of The Light for the longest they ever had. Freyr mysteriously disappeared, however, and without his aid, the Light Elves were on the losing side of the war for The Light. Led by Svartáljǫfurr, the Dark Elves took over Freyr's Temple, encasing it with a sentient plant of sorts, and then proceeded to slaughter all the remaining Light Elves.

God of War (2018)[]

When Kratos and Atreus arrived at Alfheim, the Dark Elves welcomed them with hostility, attacking the father and son with wave after wave of soldiers. They defeated them, however, with the Light of Alfheim being returned to the Light Elves and their King killed in battle but telling them that they've made a grave mistake. When Atreus asked Kratos if the war for Alfheim is over, the Spartan replied to his son that there are surviving Dark Elves and proceeded to hide, waiting for a better chance to counterattack which Mimir agreed to Kratos' thoughts.

God of War Ragnarök[]

The Dark Elves continued to act as enemies toward Kratos and Atreus. Their war with the Light Elves, who now take on a more combative approach, continued to rage on. How the war for the light had been triggered is revealed: as the Light Elves became obsessed with using the power of the Light, this caused the Dark Elves to believe that they have gone too far and sought to return the light to its natural source.

The Dark Elves continue to battle with the Light Elves until Freyr returns to Alfheim, where he was able to convince the Elves into joining Kratos' army for the invasion of Asgard. This also caused the Dark Elves to form a truce with the Light Elves, putting their hatred for each other aside and uniting the elven races as one, and finally ending their centuries-long war.

When Kratos blew into Gjallarhorn, this allowed the Dark Elves to pour into Asgard with the Light Elves. During Ragnarök, they launched their attack by air but were immediately stopped by Thor. Despite this, the Dark Elves continued to fight against the Einherjar, the army of Asgard. When the Alfheim tower was destroyed by accident during the battle, this prevented more Dark Elves from entering Asgard. As a result, the remaining Dark Elves eventually died on the battlefield. In the aftermath of Ragnarök, not a single Dark Elf, with the exception of Beyla, is ever seen again. It's revealed that because Ragnarök had taken a huge toll on the Dark Elves, they retreated to parts unknown in order to mourn for those they had lost as well as think of a solution for their people.

Appearance[]

The dark elves are rustic beings who are characterized by always wearing skirts and less armor, however, the elite dark elves wear golden shoulder plates and leg armor. Dark Elves have dark wrinkled skin, sharp claws, and insect wings, though the skin of some of them appears red and white. The eyes of most Dark Elves are gray or white. bright with no pupils. Dark elves also possess horns that they do not cover.

In the first game, overall the Dark Elves are male are seen only, their horns usually unique except one of Dark Elf Lord resides in Midgard which their horns are some sort of antlers.

In the sequel dark elves are now have female warriors (Dark Elf Summoner).

Powers and Abilities[]

All Dark Elves use spears that can detonate blasts on impact and are capable of shooting energy beams, thus being effective at both short and long distances. Such spears can also shoot hazardous mines to the ground which detonate with blinding energy.

And unlike most creatures that Kratos and Atreus have encountered in their journey, they are intelligent fighters that can coordinate their attacks and effectively use their numbers to their advantage.

Some Dark Elves who possess bright wings are called "Summoners", using staffs fueled by magic capable of calling in reinforcements.

Using their wings, Dark Elves are capable of flight for long distances. In addition, they can walk on any surface, similar to most arthropods.

Known Types of Dark Elves[]

Dark Elf Lord: The strongest Dark Elves after Svartáljǫfurr. Oddly, most are found in Midgard.
Svartáljǫfurr: Their King, the strongest Dark Elf.
Dark Elf Summoner: Bright-winged staff holders that can call reinforcements.
Dark Elf Warrior: Stronger variants of the regular Dark Elves, capable of producing blinding shockwaves with their weapons.
Beyla: Wife of Byggvir and resident of Vanaheim.

Gallery[]

God of War (2018)[]

God of War Ragnarök[]

Trivia[]

The Dark Elves have two cinematic finishers; one consists of Kratos lariat them in the face, grabbing their spears, knocking them to the ground, and impaling their chests with them and twisting to break their spine, the other is similar, but Kratos throwing their spears at them instead of impaling them.
A shield Kratos can use is the "Dökkenshieldr" which is said to be wielded by the strongest Dark Elves, yet no Dark Elf (not even their King) has been seen using shields of any type.
Mimir stated that while all Elves live in Alfheim, the Aesir (somehow) can't tell the difference between the Dark Elves and the Dwarves, thus they call the realm of the Dwarves Svartalfheim, which means "Land of the Dark Elves", even though there has never been any Dark Elf in the realm of the Dwarves.
- As such, Mimir considers the Aesir to be not very perceptive.
The sound the Dark Elves' spears produce when planting a hazardous mine is similar to the sound of the Spear of Destiny.

Taking into account the completely different lifestyles as well as the values that seem to be cultivated by their societies, the Light and Dark Elves could be compared, respectively, with Spartans and Athenians. Dark Elves seem to be warrior-like people (like the Spartans) who give importance to battle and conflict while the Light Elves are a people that give more importance to the search for knowledge (like the Athenians).