Is Ravenshore Supposed to be Elf Timbuktu?

Okay so growing up I always thought the Dark Elves of MM8 were probably the coolest interpretation of the race sans Morrowind because they feel distinct without trying too hard. Plus it was the first time I played a game where friends and kids on my street could make a character that was like - actively cool - that looked kinda like them.

I am also a history nerd and I always appreciated how MM8 gave the "enemy" races their due and made them seem like regular people going through stuff.

I can't help but think a faction of foppish dark-skinned nerdy impossibly wealthy traders in multi-tiered adobe brick buildings is a pretty awesome basis for elves and that is effectively what the faction is. Likes to go on really long voyages to Mesoamerican-themed places. Lots of guilds and libraries. Controls the gold so everyone kinda has to suck up to them.

I'm not saying New World Computing necessarily was \*trying\* to make a 1:1 Mali equivalent but it's kinda hard to ignore. If the main series ever continues I would love to see them revisit the idea of Rivendell but Make It Timbuktu as a pretty awesome city to explore.

MM8 has a lot of flaws but its lore and world-building always struck me as very prime fodder for some pretty great fantasy storytelling and faction interplay.