I have to admit I didn't blink when I first read the news article about the next expansion, Hunt for the Ember Crown . It was seeing a discussion, by some people who are very much more lore-masters than I (and I won't embarrass them, but they are in the game industry), that I wondered about this strange phrase used several times - Elves of the Blue Mountains.

Now Dwarves of the Blue Mountains is a known Tolkien-phrase. But Elves?

The various wikis, good starting points but not fonts of all knowledge, have some info on the Blue Mountains:

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In the First Age , the Blue Mountains were an unbroken line separating Eriador from Beleriand . Seven rivers flowed from its western side, and the land these rivers flowed through was known as Ossiriand . Later, when the Green-elves settled there, the land was called Lindon , and the mountains sometimes referred to as the Ered Lindon .

The Blue Mountains were ruined during the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age, and in the south central end of the range the sea broke through. The River Lhûn now flowed through the mountains to the Gulf of Lune . On the western side a small section of Lindon remained, and here the retreating Elves built the kingdom of Lindon , ruled by Ereinion Gil-galad , last High King of the Noldor .

http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Blue_Mountains

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Elves Edit

It is shown in several maps made of Middle-earth that vast ancient forests flanked both sides of the Blue Mountains, even after the gargantuan slaughter of Eriador 's great forests by the men of Númenor and their incessant appetite for lumber. These forests, alongside the fertile coastal plain, would prove to be hotspots for Elven migration and inhabitation.

It is stated at the very beginning of The Hobbit that the High Elves lived within the vales and forests of the Blue Mountains, presumably sharing the land with the Dwarves. To this number would be added Sindar , Wood-elves , and maybe even a few Avari .

The influx of new Elven settlers soared after the end of the First Age who lived under the Ñoldor High King Gil-galad in the Second Age . ^{[5] [6]} After the fall of Gil-galad in the Third Age , the foot of the Blue Mountains became part of Lindon where Elves lived temporarily until they left for the Undying Lands , due to the Elves desiring to escape the woes and predicaments of Middle-earth. ^{[7] [8]}

https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Blue_Mountains

So there are Elves in the lands either side of the Blue Mountains, but the Blue Mountains themselves are more the old Dwarf kingdoms, so the term is a little odd and definitely not one Tolkien would use.

Does it matter? Probably not, but definitely stands out in the shown questing text. Overall, FFG are very good with lore, so this one just seems a little odd on their part.

I'm pretty sure they just mean the Noldor and other inter-mingled elves of Lindon, the land around the Blue Mountains. FFG has several people who are extremely well-versed in the Tolkien Legendarium.

Sounds more like term was used to make it sound cooler and more lore like than just... Elves. Probably not the term Tolkien would have used, but technically there were Elves of the Blue Mountains at one point from the information you provided. Though not on purpose to be Elves of the Blue Mountains, rather by circumstance. I probably would have stuck with just Elves or some other name to connect them to their place than a sudden and fleeting name brought by events.

Thanks for the lore lesson, I've gained 1 Lore and give you 1 Inspiration.