I often ponder this, but first of all please allow me to introduce myself. Hello! Nice forum you got here, big fan of RPGs, been gaming with dice and beyond for 20 years. And yes I am a fan of the band Tool.
Back to the topic at hand. With game mechanics that cover such a diverse racial group, and our suspensions of disbelief being so keen, we must use our imaginations to make the pieces fit. Here's my best effort.
Elves of all varieties, spend their childhoods and young adult lives in secret seclusion. There, they spend dozens of years in deep meditation, awakening each day for only a few hours to eat and exercise. This would help to explain their frail constitutions and strong mental fortitude. They are living vicariously on the astral plane, but are unable to carry over that wisdom to the prime material plane. At a certain age they are bound to their physical being, and then go out into the world to interact and learn.
