trolls, who were much taller than the dwarves, sported long arms, huge hands, and grey stone-hue skin. They dwelt upon the surface of Tesgaran, and they discovered that in some areas, the heat generated by the dwarves’ underground forges had melted the perennial ice, enabling flora and fauna to proliferate. So they decided to found their villages there, giving rise to a tribal civilization.
The two Peoples soon realized they needed each other’s skills to survive. While the trolls ensured the dwarves access to food, skins, fabrics, furnishings, and medicinal herbs, the dwarves could offer them weapons, armor, work tools, gold and silver artifacts, and jewels and gems of any shape and shade.
Lysirdor simply meant “Lands of the Humans.” A world with a mild, sunny climate, covered with vegetation and populated by animals of all shapes and sizes, humans thrived by building cities everywhere, dividing into disparate cultures. The Seafarer Humans inhabited the islands and coasts, their skin turning darker and their stature shorter with the passing of generations. They were traders of pottery, as well as fish and other fruits of the seas. Near their cities bordering the plains, weavers prospered. They were excellent shipwrights, and expert navigators.
The Plainswalker Humans settled in the large and vast grasslands of Lysirdor. Their temperate climate allowed the Plainswalkers to be skilled farmers, and breeders of some renown. They made a living selling the yields of the land, and soon garnered fame for their high-quality milk- and meat-derived products, such as cheeses and hams.
The Humans of the North settled in the frigid climate amidst mountains, fjords, and forests. They were hunters and shepherds. (They were also growers, albeit with little to show for their efforts.) Their main wares were leather, objects fashioned from bones and horns, and gold and silver artifacts of exquisite make. They became experts in the forging of weapons and in the production of woolen fabrics.
These diverse cultures did not always live in complete harmony, and many a battle was sparked over the years. Their gods took a liking to their desire to assert themselves and fight, so they decided to ascend, and let them live by their own power. However, the gods also loved all manner of vice, and before long they took to lying with men and women, siring demigods who engendered bloodlines endowed with magical powers.
Elantion, which meant “Abode of the Elves” in Ancient Elvish, was unsurprisingly the home of the elves.
According to legend, this world was the first to be created, just as the elves were the first of the sons of the divine. The Elantion of today was the result of a whirlwind chain of events unfolding over the millennia that compelled the elves to learn to live with humans and dwarves from the time of the Great Exodus onward.
The vast and bountiful territory of this world was divided into two massive continents, Vestur in west and Austur in the east, permitting the elves—originally a single sizeable People—to split into three different groups. The nalnirs remained the same as the First Elves, and inhabited the forests of Draelia and of Sahelica in Vestur. Their rosy skin could take on green hues when they were deep in the verdure, and their yellow eyes allowed them to ascertain everything, even within the thick undergrowth. There were also the essenirs, the ice-elves, who lived in Austur’s coldest regions. Their skin turned quite pale indeed, much like their hair, and their eyes were blue or purple. Finally, there were the denennirs, the desert-elves, who populated the most arid areas of Vestur, called the Desolate Sands. Their skin darkened with the passing of generations, along with their eyes and hair. They were always the most insular and narrow-minded, and they tended not to distance themselves from their desert home.
The sheer expanse of the territories of Elantion and the powerful elven magic that permeated the ancient world allowed other races to grow and prosper as well. In the canyon adjacent to the Desolate Sands settled the fashratas, a reserved and timorous population of anthropomorphic foxes, while in the nigh impassable mountains of Darish south of Vestur dwelt the mysterious tuecas, anthropomorphic falcons with astonishing abilities. In Austur’s far southeast corner lay the vast land of Eborian, (whose name meant “the Dragon Plateau” in Draconic), where these legendary creatures resided since time immemorial.
Tesgaran, Lysirdor, and Elantion coexisted in peace and prosperity for many years. Dwarves, humans, and elves lived out their daily lives alongside the gods in their respective worlds, and all was well. The giantess Th’ta, unknown even to the gods and born of Odnir on the forgotten and far-off world of Alceas (which was peopled by a lineage that was also unknown), unleashed the ire of her children on the three worlds that blocked her entry. And the titans’ attack spawned utter chaos.
Karak the Shrill shook the depths of Tesgaran with her voice, triggering the collapse of the dwarven cities and tunnels. Atasin the Souleater enveloped Lysirdor with his death aura, sucking the life force out of his victims. Vidan the Wicked released plagues upon Elantion, killing countless scores of elves in the throes of atrocious suffering.
Lysirdor and Tesgaran were devastated by the titans’ overwhelming might, and humans, dwarves, and trolls were permitted to leave their abodes and share the world of Elantion with the native elves. Following the Great Exodus, the new Peoples kept spreading out, and the progressive abandonment of some areas by the elves made their magic inexorably weaken in those territories. Human communities flourished, but were soon marked by strife and civil war.
The trolls traveled to Elantion’s far north, and disappeared into the immense and barren Frostlands, causing Elantion to forget about their presence for many an age. The dwarves took possession of the Celestial Summits, rich as they were in minerals and precious stones. In so doing, they flouted the elves’ imposition to go further north, which only made the balance established between their two Peoples all the more precarious.
Alceas was the last world of Nemnairil, forever isolated on the edge of the abyss, and unremembered by all. It originally became the home of the titan Odnir, after he was driven away by the First Goddess on account of the schemes and tricks he perpetrated at the expense of the gods and the other titans. Tak’Rah, the Fist Goddess, wrapped Alceas in a veil so that it remained isolated from the other worlds.
Odnir, a titan of elemental shadow, and one dominated by primordial darkness, created a companion for himself by the name of Th’ta. She was the utmost shadow, infinitely evil and bereft of scruples. The two titans gave birth to Atasin, Karak, and Vidan, each as dark and as ruthless as them.
The tulvars lived on Alceas, and they were the only race who recalled their creation (at Th’ta’s hands). Different from humans, dwarves, and elves, they were fashioned to be superior. Their civilization hinged on the worship of Th’ta, who turned from a titan to their sole deity. The chronicles of these millennia were written and preserved in the Th’ta Temple, located on the Goddess’s Isle, where she died. It consisted of a mound of black earth bordered by three large teeth of rock. The High Priestess and the Minor Priestesses lived inside the Temple, which was also where female tulvaren nobles spent their days serving the Goddess and learned to interpret the messages in the shadows Th’ta sent them.
As the tulvars were a warrior race, their whole society was pervaded by a militaristic culture centered on discipline and rigor. The populace was guided by a king who dealt with matters military and material. All the sons of the noble Houses were enrolled at age six and sent to the camps. Upon their thirteenth year, they were categorized by skill and sent to complete their training as infantry, archers, or knights. Those who developed magical abilities left the fields to join the Sorcerer Caste and become necromancers or seers. The former could summon spirits and bend life and death to their will. The latter took on an important task through their power of Sight, enabling them to plot the course of events. Their duty was to check on the Veil and inform the priestesses of any alterations.
As for the daughters of nobility, they were obligated to serve as priestesses, although they did have the right to flex their will
