Orcs, Elves, and the One Cliché to Rule Them All

[Morkilus]

Can you see Tolkein's elves making blood sacrifices, summoning devils, and calling lightning from the sky? The Dominions Vanir are so much more interesting, and the bonus is they're closer to the original myth. I'm having fun writing stories about the "elves" that dominate humanity and demand children for rituals, while coveting their numbers and fecundity.

I still can't figure out Abysia; I've lazily avoided them since I can't really conceptualize their flavor. Perhaps people want those fantasy standbys since they automatically create unit diversity with minimal imaginative effort; all the work has already been done. But with more ancient, diverse mythology you can always read up on a nation from hundreds of sources, not just stuff from J.R.R. and R.A. Salvatore.