Adolescence

At about age 75, elves enter adolescence. Whether male or female makes no difference; both sexes mature at roughly the same time and at the same rate. This is the time of life when elves begin growing, some to a height of 5½ feet or more, although the norm is often approximately 5 feet.

The end of this period is also the age at which they are inducted fully into elven society—the age when they must bear the responsibilities of adulthood. It is during adolescence that older elves teach younger ones how to continue finding joy in the years to come without succumbing to the crushing boredom that advanced years often bring.

Those elves who were not prepared for the prospect of centuries stretching before them may fail to manage the weight of those years. Indeed, such elves (not to mention other beings given such longevity) often come to a terrible end if forced to live those hundreds of years. The most common example of this misfortune is an elf who grows up in a human community. Such elves do not let the years slide past as do other elves; instead, they try to cram as much living as possible into as short a time as possible—as do their human teachers. These elves don't learn the true value of relaxation and merriment, and these are often the elves who become insane or suicidal.

Of course, this isn't true of all non elf-raised elves, or even many of them. Most elves have an instinctive grasp of the way they should live so that they can enjoy the entirety of their lives.

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