I assume it is more like the Klingons in Star Trek; once the technology and resources existed to create species that were not just humans with minor cosmetic differences, they were updated, and the originals (eventually) explained as being the result of experiments with the results of human genetic engineering research (
Klingon augment virus).
So the elves we see here are/should be treated as a subrace with different physical features?
Not being sarcastic here, that's...actually a sound explanation, all things considered.
