First my explorers get attacked by a group of archers on some unimportant ground. Then when I come back to destroy them, more have joined them. In the same spot of unimportant ground.
Why would soldiers be standing guard over some bit of undeveloped land? Seems more likely that they were exiles of some sort. (Alternative theory: <REDACTED>) Then when I reached their city, their navy may have merely been coming out to greet my explorers, particularly because they weren't very interested in pursuing them. Then I came back and sank their navy, prompting an attack on Copperflow.
In conclusion: I am prejudiced against dark elves, and eagerly await an update to see if attacking them was more justified then the obvious reasons of them being dark elves and having air crystals.
Yeah, more came back to that same spot of unimportant ground, but on the flip side you did the exact same thing.
Each time (for the first few times at least) you encountered them they attacked you first.
While they could theoretically have been exiles I doubt it. Sure there navy might have been coming out to greet you, but i doubt that as well (given their past behavior).
Your attack on their navy was unnecessary, but not entirely unjustified (given there overtly hostile behavior).
Their attack on copperflow was justified because you were at war, although they would have probably done it anyways.
After having re-read the posts about the gnomish encounters with the dark elves, I'm starting to think that maybe trying to utterly annihilate them was a distinctly evil act.
In conclusion: I am prejudiced against dark elves, and eagerly await an update to see if attacking them was more justified then the obvious reasons of them being dark elves and having air crystals.
Yeah, genocide is pretty uniformly evil (even if they are generic evil dark elves), pretty much no matter why you are doing it.
Attacking them for the air crystals is fine though, and would have been better if you hadn't attacked them even when they gave you one in tribute.
(Alternative theory: <REDACTED>)
Also, update would be nice.