Which Might and Magic universe are you referring to?

There wasn't any randomness in Heroes 3. By the way, the mages there are found both in the desert and in the snowy mountains. In my opinion, those dark elves that were in the original universe are much more original and interesting than the stereotypical (with borrowed elements from Warhammer and "Forgotten Realms") dark elves of Ashan. Of course, taste is subjective.