Posted: November 03, 1999 at 20:21:29: by David Freitag
If I recall HoME, elves in Mandos are pictured as slowly building up or reweaving (or some such artistic metaphor) their bodies, not being able to "reincarnate" until this task is completed. The new bodies are not provided by any outside (eg divine) agency, but are an expression of their own artistic vision and talent.As for low birth rate, elves, being artistic in nature, would not engage in sex or reproduction unless all conditions were right. They'd probably regard childbirth as a supreme act of mutual expression, not to be undertaken lightly. They'd have only enough children as they could raise according to these exacting standards. It wouldn't be like them to reproduce at maximum potential, to produce maximum "cannon fodder" as would seem to be the case with their (alleged) estranged cousins, the Orcs.
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