The Elves are originally from the Great Andromeda Galaxy, which is seen in our night sky as an elongated, hazy patch of light. 90,000 years ago the elves built a great technology based civilization which reached even to our own galaxy. But around the year 4900 of the First Age they fought the First Interuniversal War against the Unijumpers. After that they lost interest in Empire and conquest, and withdrew to their home galaxy.
During the ensuing eons they practiced a lifestyle which preached harmony and freedom for themselves and for the other creatures around them. They built great cities,and became masters of the art of fashioning things of beauty. Their technology stagnated, only because they were not interested in advancing in that direction any longer. Instead, they began to dabble in the arcane arts.
This all changed in the year 5180 of the Second Age. Using technology developed from that which the elves had left behind when they had abandoned the Milky Way, Mankind finally reached Andromeda, and the two races met. Humanity was young, with a fast growing population, and ambitious. Elfdom was old, their population stable, and content to let things be. Then, the elves learned that man had discovered the secret of immortality, and they wanted that knowledge. On their side, man wanted the knowledge that the elves had about magic, but the elves were reluctant to share it because they knew that humanity was not yet mature enough for it. The result was war, and the elves lost.
Ever since, the elves have felt bitter towards the victors of that war, though nowadays - at least here on Earth - the war itself has been long since forgotten by all but the Wizards. But in losing that war the elves became a part of humanity's growing Empire, and hence gained the immortality drugs. Man, on the other hand, gained the use of magic, but as the elves had foreseen, was not yet mentally sophisticated enough to use it, and so little was done with the knowledge for many millenia. The irony of the situation only increased the elves bitterness towards man.
Since that time, the story of the elves is essentially that of man. While they travelled with humanity throughout the universes which were colonized, and became for all intents and purposes equal partners in the Empire, they always held themselves slightly apart. The physical differences between the two species are small, but the mental differences are great. Man seeks forever to expand and exploit; Elves seek to preserve and coexist.
When the Wizards appeared in 13,030, they befriended the elves to a greater extent than man. As a result, the elves developed their arcane talents faster, though man has since surpassed them. One area in which they have exceeded all but the Wizards, though, has been in the preservation of lore and knowledge. It is to them that humanity usually turns to, to learn of even its own history. It is the elves alone who still practice the art of spaceflight. It is the elves whom I suspect still guard the knowledge of immortality, though that knowledge has been lost to those who reside on this planet.
As humanity's civilization went into technological decline, the elves drew further apart. Perhaps knowing what was to come, they were the first major group of offworlders to recolonize Terra, starting in 54,000. The Grey Elves were the first to land, followed by the High Elves, founding their kingdoms in Dorian, the West Land, and Aldacan. The Wood Elves and the lesser, rustic races were already here, having stayed through the dark ages of Earth when history was not recorded. Last came the Drow, but little is known of them.
In 72,001 the lands of Aldacan and Dorian were invaded by the lesser men of Mestom, to the south. The elves founded an alliance with the newly formed Kingdom of Saltar, and with the help of the Wizards defeated the enemy. However, the southern region of Aldacan was laid to waste, and the High Elves abandoned it to the lesser races of their kind. At about the same time their northern marches, along with the Elf Realm to the northeast of Nolthen, were attacked by the wild men of the north. Again, Elves and Men worked together to drive the hordes back.
Since that time the elves on Earth have kept to themselves. But for a few of their kind, they tend to shun the lands and affairs of humanity. However, we are now into the Third Age of Civilization, and the world grows wilder and more evil. The elves find themselves drawn more and more frequently into conflicts with outsiders, and I forsee that they will again look to humanity when they need an ally.