‘I knew that Imps existed, but where are all the other such creatures?’ Doc asked. ‘Where do they live? I have never seen any, and until now, I have never heard them spoken of.’
The Thane gave him a measuring look.
‘They left the Elf Kingdom as it grew, and long ago abandoned the surrounding regions. We do know that some went far to the north, some departed northeast, while others went to a land betwixt those occupied by Men to the south and Dwarves to the southwest. Still others went west to the sea, and of these there are rumours that some went far to the south.
‘Though our knowledge of them is scant, still, news of them comes to our ears through sojourners who have travelled the wide lands. They departed,’ he said, anticipating Doc’s next question, ‘because they found the people of the Elf Kingdom too self-involved.’ To the question in Doc’s eyes, he said, ‘They were dismayed that we turned altogether from the ways of Faeriekind, living in cities like Men, which we are not. Men, you see, are notorious for being concerned only with their own doings, to the exclusion of all else. Such an attitude does not make co-existence with them practical or desirable. This they have in common with Dwarves, and the sort of Elves who live within the Elf Kingdom.