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Aging and Death
Elves are blessed with extraordinarily long life spans and a graceful, easy aging process that features none of the ravages of disease, infirmity, or atrophy that plague other folk. Time does not even begin to touch an elf until she passes a century and a half in age. For two full human lifetimes, sometimes three, she remains in the bloom of youth, her features virtually indistinguishable from those of a 20-year-old elf girl.
Elves do eventually age, but their aging takes a form not seen in other races. Their faces remain unlined, their hair remains ungrayed, and their skin remains smooth and strong, but middle-aged elves begin to develop a sort of etherealness of otherworldly quality, as their spirits burn brighter and stronger than their bodies can endure. In the course of their lifetimes, elves undergo a living transformation from beings of flesh and blood to beings of spirit and light, for lack of a better description. Physical strength, quickness and hardiness slowly fade (elves lose and gain ability score points on Table 6-5 in the Player's Handbook, just like other races), but elves suffer no pain, difficulty, or sickness in their aging. Even though their bodies grow weaker, they enjoy good health and physical beauty until the moment of death. While others may be deceived by the apparent youthfulness of an aged elf, the elf herself is not. An elf swordswoman does not spend her last decades trying to be the fighter she was in her youth. Instead, as her physicality erodes, she leaves her warrior duties for younger and more vigorous elves and moves on to different roles and responsibilities - often instructing those who follow in her footsteps, or perhaps taking up an artistic pursuit.