Also known as Tangle Elves, the Viridian elves are native to the metallic world of Mirrodin. They dwell in the Tangle, a forest made of copper tree-like structures. Like all inhabitants of Mirrodin, their bodies are partially made of metal, typically copper. Viridian elves have green skin.
The Viridian elves hunt vorracs and other creatures that wander in the forest. They share the same reverence for nature that other elves do, even the bizarre nature of Mirrodin. Because the elves are so in touch with Mirrodin's nature, they understand best how to dismantle it. Thus, they are talented at fighting the artificial creatures that roam over their world.
The Viridian elves of Mirrodin are devoted to opposing the artificial forces of that metallic world. Though they have a bit of metal in them (as all creatures on Mirrodin do), they fight for the destruction of artifice.
The viridian elves go through a cycle of systematically forgetting their past. This was part of an elaborate plot by Memnarch to keep the long-lived elves ignorant of his true nature and the nature of Mirrodin. However, a small band of elves pledged many years ago to avoid the Edges of Forgetting. The Viridian Lorebearers remained in hiding until They have remained hidden until the green sun erupted from Mirrodin.
After Memnarch's soul traps were destroyed, many of Mirrodin's original inhabitants disappeared from Mirrodin. The Tangle's population was decimated. Almost all of the remaining trolls, half of the elves, and a third of the humans disappeared without a trace. Families were torn apart. Parts of the forest became deserted. Already traumatized by the leveler attacks, the elves' culture all but collapsed. They became defensive, hiding in trees and sending out parties to try and locate their missing kin.
The Viridian elves who remain believe they survived the Vanishing because they have a mission: They must restore nature to its pure form and cast off the shackles of the past. Before the Fifth Dawn, the Viridian elves lived in an ordered, hierarchical society based around the Tel-Jilad Chosen. In time they became akin to "eco-terrorists," willing to commit violence against any threat to their definition of the "natural world." On Mirrodin, what is considered the "natural world" is a matter of some debate, but there is no hesitation in the elves' philosophy. They believe they have the truth, and anyone who disagrees with them is a threat to nature and their mission to cultivate a pure, wild society.
They see the vedalken's experimentation and knowledge-driven society as a destructive force that separates them from the natural world. As they witness the rise of lamina in the Tangle, they come to believe that metal isn't the true state of being, and flesh is closer to a natural state. The Resurgents want to destroy anything that inhibits their pure connection with the natural world. Under the leadership of the charismatic Ezuri, they embark on a mission to destroy the myr, the vedalken, and anything else they deem unnatural. They believe civilization is a means to control and must be stopped.
Once the Viridians rejected the hierarchy of the Tel-Jilad, they organized themselves into voluntary brigades. The vedalken derisively call the elves "renegades," so when the Viridian elves organized themselves into groups, they co-opted the term and shortened it to "gade." They have become more militaristic, but in the name of preserving and cultivating the natural world. The gades go on missions throughout Mirrodin, destroying vestiges of the "old" civilization, hunting down Memnarch's artifact creatures, tracking golems and destroying them, and throwing monkey wrenches into "civilized" cultures.
Some Viridian elves still burn spirit fires at night. These fires are burned in special braziers, with the fuel being powdered verdigris and animal fat. The spirit fires burn with a blue-green flame, with touches of yellow-white. (Copper chloride causes a fire to burn green-blue.) Spirit fires are meant to honor the passing of the day, as well as the passing of life. They also ward away the larger hungry creatures of the Tangle.
Viridian elves fight with weapons reminiscent of the trees' morphology (but not with amputated tree parts). Popular weapons include war fans, which are fanshaped blades that can be wielded like a scimitar or thrown. Whips made from the Tangle's cablevine are also used, including cat-o'-nine-tails whips. Javelins are also common. The Viridian elves' bows are powerful longbows of gleaming copper, with bowstrings of vorrac gut (see below for vorracs). The arrows are fletched with young vorrac quills. The effect of many Viridian archers firing at once sounds beautifully lethal—dozens of chimes, each with a different pitch, each from a different bow. It's been the death knell of more than a few invading warbands.
In the top "branches" closest to the green sun's light, the elves construct fortified gardens to protect and promote the new growth of the Cambree Garden. The largest fortified garden in the Tangle, it was built around a large field of gelfruit, a bioluminescent fruit, which remains a primary food source. The elves see this as nature rejuvenating itself now that the True Sun has dawned.
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