*With all praise to Mr Brust for the idea*

If one were to believe their own tales, the Gods of the Elves lived along side that noble species until the Banality, less than a millennia ago.  Were it true...

A great deal of debate about the nature of Gods, in general if not specific, may be had but to have access to the Gods themselves to ask?

But no.  A questioning of the oldest of Elves, those whose memories go back to before those terrible centuries of the Banality reveals that not one solitary elf can be named that actually spoke with, or interacted with one of these so called 'living Gods'. Ever.

However, the self aggrandizing propaganda of an arrogant race aside, it is still important to view, from an ethnographers perspective, how the species itself views the Gods.

You must understand that the elves are immortal in ways that other species can barely comprehend, immune to the ravages of time and, subsequently, willing to dedicate vast amounts of time to the mastery of even trivial things.

It is, then, only natural for the Elves to assume that the only other 'immortal' species is much as they are.  To the common elf, a god is simply a being who has mastered a particular skill that we might call 'divinity'; much as one might master sculpture or thaumaturgy.  

It may then seem obvious that there are few, if any priests of the Gods of the Elves.

This would be an error.  

No, the Gods, to the elves, are as real as their local lords and demand respect and service, if not awe or actual worship.  Priest, of course, are the servents of these gods, and if one is to be believed, their erstwhile pupils.

As might be imagined, the Elves subsequently have the greatest body of lore on what the Gods actually DO and HOW they do 'It', though as with any theological debates there is a great deal of speculation and outright contradiction between various bodies of lore.

It should, however, be noted that the belief structure of the Elves is hardly as universal as that of the Halflings or the Dwarves.  While certainly any elf is likely to think of the Gods as beings not unlike himself, only more powerful, there is a marked trend away from this sort of extreme pragmatic arrogance in the 'lesser tribes' when compared to the ancient and largely isolated older tribes such as the Siti or the elves of Illykei.

Indeed, the Danan of the Sea of Grass adopted the totemic practices of their fellow nomadic tribes without a single notable change other than a minor difference in attitude towards their totemic patrons. The Danan Elves view their tribes as having a Covenant with their totem, rather than the more respectful and worshipful, if unquestioning, veneration of the non-elven tribes.

Similar syncretic behavior can be found in the Pepper Savannah tribes, though recently founded by 'exiles' from the Hydinemoi forest well within the life span of the average Elf, they frequently worship much as the human and orc tribes do, though again with a peculiar elvish arrogance rather than reverance.

It is markable, however, for the rise of Wei-Shakti, the living god-king of Wei.  Many of the local elves treat Wei-Shakti as they would any other king, tittering behind their ancient hands at the pomposity of this foolish short lived human, while many others, both old and young alike have taken to service in his priesthood, attempting to divine the roots and means of his Divinity.  Their belief in his Godhead is as thorough and real as any citizen of Wei, for all intents and purposes.