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First thing to say is, that it's not just about LotR. In most stories about fantasy worlds, with elves or similar superior species, there are different ages.

Something like the dark ages (gods, ghosts and other mystic creatures), followed by the rise of the elves and other "old" races. But at the end humans arrive, expand and push them to the edge of existence or for whatever reason, the elves have since "disappeared".

Of course, not every elvish race in SciFi is the same, but still there are many similarities. Lets call it a stereo type.

So, judging by plethora of the most prevalent SciFi, what is the most common reason that elves always disappear?

Mazura
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Mruf
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    Awooga! AWOOGA! Trope Alert!!! - http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HereThereWereDragons – Valorum Feb 22 '16 at 22:45
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    I like this question, but I think it might be closed as too broad. – Wad Cheber Feb 22 '16 at 22:45
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    I think the answer runs approximately: some of us think there used to be elves. There don't seems to be elves now. Thus, the elves died. – Politank-Z Feb 22 '16 at 22:47
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    If you asked "Why did elves die out in LotR?" it would be okay. Any question about elves in a specific franchise/story would be okay. But the community tends to close questions about an unlimited number of franchises/stories. – Wad Cheber Feb 22 '16 at 22:49
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    @WadCheber: Isn't this question really asking about a trope and not for the reasons individual franchises/stories kill their elves off? Question 1 probably doesn't need to be here since an "in-universe" answer without specifying a universe doesn't make much sense. – Ellesedil Feb 22 '16 at 23:09
  • @WadCheber Here's an example of a well-received question about an unlimited number of franchises/stories (which you answered!). – Rand al'Thor Feb 22 '16 at 23:11
  • Well i know the elves do not die out in LotR... They left to... Forgot the name... where the valar are. Still, Tolkin is the first one to create this kind of fantasy worlds. It serves as blue print for most authors (and I love it ;) thats why steven king wrote his dark tower in an Very different setting). Still in every Tolkin-like storys elves disappear because of...? Reasons are mostly the same "humans" or faith... Is that it? Cultural reasons? Sick of immortality? – Mruf Feb 22 '16 at 23:13
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    There is a theory that it comes from Tolkien's writing - only Tolkien planned it out and had a reason, while other authors just took the trope and ran with it. You might look at this rant (http://limyaael.livejournal.com/136885.html) where a writer was discussing some of the common elf tropes... although this is more about advice for writers trying to avoid cliches, it does have some theories as to why and how they are commonly used or cliches. There may be more spread in her other rants (http://limyaael.livejournal.com/151562.html, point 4 is one example) but the first is easier to find. – Megha Feb 22 '16 at 23:16
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    Elves mostly seem to go extinct when they mix with humans (see The Witcher 3, where there's a whole planet of elves with a stable society and no humans around). It tends to make sense as an outcome, as elves are generally 1) physically comparable to humans, 2) long lived/immortal but slow to reproduce, and 3) dependent upon the same resources as humans. And what happens when two comparable groups get into a fight over resources? The one with the larger numbers tends to win. That tends to be the humans, because humans reproduce like rabbits (as compared to elves). – aroth Feb 23 '16 at 01:11
  • Edited the question. I like the approach of aroth which tells us about the "Survival of the fittest good enough" https://youtu.be/7oLLzmNmrfo – Mruf Feb 23 '16 at 02:01
  • FWIW, elves are not Tolkien's invention. They were not even inventions of specific authors. Elves are a real thing that comes from our real world rather than fictional creations (as much as angels and gods are "real"). They're from old folk-tales and superstitions. There is a rich cultural background concerning fairy folk (and they include elves) that we've swept under the rug in our purging of superstitions (driven by both religion and science). So elves going extinct is what exists in the real world... – slebetman Feb 23 '16 at 04:54
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    ... Tolkein was just trying to create an alternate explanation for why elves no longer exist to perhaps hint at the idea that they once could possibly exist. – slebetman Feb 23 '16 at 04:54
  • Some sci-fi and fantasy writers have their stories overtly take place in some kind of parallel universe. But most tend to deal in fictional future or fictional past that is somehow connected to us. And, as far as we know, there are currently no elves. – Misha R Feb 23 '16 at 07:36
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    In Shannara Chronicles, humans cause something bad (eons ego) and some sort of apocalypse happens. Then elves, gnomes and other creatures like demons get a hold of the planet (so there is a diverse example). The reason might be elves are always portreyed as higher beings who do not use extreme force if it's not necessary. So they retract themselves and wait behind curtains until something related with them happens. – burcu Feb 23 '16 at 07:49
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    I think the statement "most sci-fi/fantasy elves go extinct" would need a thorough examination before the question even makes sense. The Elder Scrolls games, most anything related to D&D, the Willow sequels, Kingdoms of Amalur, Lord of the Rings, the Warcraft universe. These are all the worlds off the top of my head with elves, and in none of them have elves gone extinct. Shadowrun is completely opposite, where elves stop being extinct overnight. – MichaelS Feb 23 '16 at 10:16
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    @randal'thor Thanks for pointing out another example of a question that should be closed (the zombie one. It's terrible). – Andres F. Feb 23 '16 at 11:55
  • The reason elves are going extinct in LOTR is because it takes place in our past. Since we don't see elves any more, they must have gone away. Everywhere else that it happens is probably because it was so interesting in LOTR. – DaaaahWhoosh Feb 23 '16 at 13:26
  • @MichaelS In Tolkien’s universe, elves are indeed extinct (as in no longer present in our world) at the very end. A great deal of his writing is set against the backdrop of the elves leaving this world, i.e., going extinct. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Feb 23 '16 at 14:05
  • Can you name a single living organism that has been identified as having no mappable origin and has never gone extinct? Something that's always been there? It's probably because eventually everything goes extinct in its own time. Elves may be written as things that go extinct but during the stories they are in, they are alive. While being written they have not disappeared, but by author choice, I suppose the answer must be that every single one of them writing about elves is unoriginal. Maybe you should write a book where they don't go extinct. – Kai Qing Feb 23 '16 at 22:27
  • Well, it's not about the durability. Also I think the argument "authors choise" is a bit ... Uncomplete. So if for example, the grand grand son of aragon asks "why are there no elbs anymore?", what ever the answer is, it is not " Because of Tolkin". Maybe you could say, "because of iluvatar"... Still that would be a more vague and irrational answer. There are cultural, ethnical, evolutionary (etc.) effects which causes the elbs to leave middle earth. If Elrond says "There is no space for us anymore" it is not tolkin, who speaks. – Mruf Feb 24 '16 at 01:05
  • @JanusBahsJacquet: I don't see how "they moved elsewhere and may very well return someday" and "went extinct" are remotely synonymous. But even if we accept that terminology, that's one story of extinction compared to thousands without. I'm sure there are others, but it's still a pretty wild claim that most stories with elves involve them going extinct. – MichaelS Feb 24 '16 at 02:03
  • @MichaelS The whole point of it is that they won’t return. The last of them leave our world at the end of Tolkien’s stories, never to return. As the edits to the question indicate, the spirit of the question is not about extinction in the bioecological sense, but about their disappearance from the world, hence why Tolkien’s writings are explicitly mentioned as an example in the very first line. Whether that scenario holds true for the fantasy genre in general, I have no opinion. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Feb 24 '16 at 02:09

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