The Álfar, also called Elves by many people in the World, are parents to the Strange Folk. Their homeland is called Álfheimr, also called Ljosalfheim, the land of the Ljósálfar. They are from norse mythology, bound by Fate to the Aesir.
They are powerful creatures wild as nature with a radiant beauty as fairer as the sun, as people says. They are much more knowledgeable than humans, and live for eternity in their homeland.
The Álfar are divided in three distinct groups because of what happens to them when they abandon their homeland. The Álfar that says connected to their home are commonly called Ljósálfar, Light Elves, named because of their radiant being.
Others are called Dökkálfar, the Dark Elves, and is one of the main transformations a Álfr suffers if he leave his homeland. They become twisted and start being shaped by negative elements of nature, and death, losing their fairness and brightness. Some of them start having changes in their appearance, like being hideous or assuming wilderness traits, like horns, leaves, and others.
The third group are the Svartálfar, the Black Elves or Dwarves, and are the most deformed of them all, usually living in caves and deep underground. They are much shorter than their cousins, and are more morally gray, but also much more greedier. They are famously known by their works in smith and jewelry.
In general the Álfar abilities and powers are varied like their wild nature, but most of them have some way to fool humans and many other beings. Either by changing their appearance, becoming invisible, or even by walking in the shadows, they can live alongside humans for eons and never being discovered.