Alfheim Elves / Minrothad Elves split retcon idea
by Marc SaindonDuring Ilsundal's migration to the north, the Verdier and Meditor clans split from the fold, in part because their immortals follow different Spheres.
Ilsundal, being a follower of Energy, is associated with the Magic-User class, and thus we get the Becmi Elf Class which becomes the Arcane Archer or Fighter/Mage dual class, with an additional Tree Keeper prestige magic-user class that isn't a Druid. The Elves of Alfheim are also associated with the Good Kingdom, tying closer to the Fae.
Ordana, being a deity of Time, is associated with a sphere which favors Clerics. While Becmi had Druids as a sort of prestige class for Clerics, with the Savage Coast campaigns, Druids were retconned with Robrenn as a regular class, so we can retcon them back into Minrothad. The Wood Elves of Minrothad would have an approach to nature that would be different than Ilsundal & pals, and this would have caused the rift in the migration. "Basic" Minrothad Elves would be retconned as Rangers (Fighter/Druids) or (or even Order of the Ancients sort of pagan Paladins if you bother with 5e), with the mage treekeepers being replaced with Druids.
This split would also call back to the concept that Elves are both associated with Faerie & Magic and Nature & Sylvan races: the Alfheim Elves are more "fae aligned", the Minrothad Wood Elves are more "sylvan aligned" if you oversimplify a bit.
