Alyӧon
The Others looked upon the world they had once lovingly created and their spirits sank. How had it come to this? For centuries, it had served as a safe haven to the multitudes of species that roamed the corners of the galaxies; and now it seemed that all was lost.
The skies darkened, the murky blue waters of the oceans boiled as they debated long and hard whether or not they should intervene in the mortals' affairs. Curiosity stayed their hand, and they desired to see how the whole situation would play out. After all, they reasoned, whenever they had meddled, things usually took a turn for the worse and not the better. They might be omnipotent and omnipresent but they were definitely not omniscient.
The Others started to reminisce of all those eons before when they had first started to shape Alyӧon. It was such a pure and fair land, untainted and untouched. They had gazed in childlike wonder at the beauty they had created. The undulating mountains, the foaming sees and lakes, and the billowy fields of silver-green. Smiles lit their faces as they observed the gradual increase in their world's population.
The elves were the first species to settle down and marvel at their brand new world. They arrived in their huge, swift vessels having crossed several galaxies searching for a home. They quickly inhabited the major forest areas in the south. They found themselves drawn to the forests like a moth to a flame. The forests were not tall but dark, grey-misted and green-gloomed. Sunlight would splash in through the tangle of bursting oak and seemed to burn with brilliance, sharp-edged as a sword cut. Their leaders, known to them as the High Council of Elders christened the land 'Elvron'. The elves promptly split into various factions and lived in different regions of their kingdom. Some lived in caves, or on the coast, or simply dwelled in the forest.
The elves were an exceedingly fair race, spear-tall and slender with strong, well-defined features. Their ears were small and prominently pointed, their eyes large and slanted, the main reason behind the elves' keen senses of sight and sound. They clad themselves in simple, silken garments that further accentuated their grace and elegance. The elves preferred to don green, muted tones that helped them to blend into their surroundings.
The Others watched in silent admiration as the elves shaped the rocks, cultivated their trees and gardens over many years and moulded their environment. The same unwavering attention they gave to the crafting of weapons and armour, and even to the care of beasts. They were so moved, the Others decided to reward the elves with the gift of magic.
They whispered into the hearts of a few young, impressionable elves, convincing them to venture out of Elvron and into Luirtan. It was at that very moment that the elves first set eyes upon the lake.
Sometimes it was blue and staring, that water, sometimes changeable with cloud shadows, or a sullen grey when the mist cape up. However, the elves named it Blood Lake for when the fires of sunset burned in the sky, the water too turned to a fierce and glowing red. They bathed in the water and at that very moment magic coursed through their veins and was released in the world.
Upon returning to Elvron, they discussed with the Elders about the discovery of magic. They proceeded to focus upon their magic and developing spells. They soon realised that their wits and arcane powers were far more powerful than any sword, and could conjure servants that offered far more protection than any armour ever could.
The next species to set foot in Alyöon was the dwarves. They marched through the Silver Alps and settled in the rocky dunes in the north. They carefully built deep caverns beneath the earth that stretched for miles under expansive mountain chains. Naming their kingdom Quintar, they started to mine deep into the bowels of the earth for precious metals and stones. Some clans, however, spent much of their lives above ground, building tunnels only for mining, and not as abodes. They were unable to master any form of witchcraft. They soon discovered that their magic was in the earth and in the gems they carved.
The dwarves were a short, stout and stocky race and yet surprisingly agile. Unlike the elves, they were not fair but dark and tanned creatures. The men sported long, fine beards which represented the values they held dear, such as honour, courage and loyalty. Several of the female dwarves also had beards and at times, it was particularly difficult to distinguish between the women and the men.
The dwarves reached out to the elves in hope of establishing some sort of alliance between them. Their efforts were all in vain, as they were received with certain animosity. They soon realised that the elves were proud and secretive creatures who preferred living amongst their own kind. The elves were somewhat prejudiced towards the dwarves, due to their physical disparity. They forged an awkward and distrustful relationship with the dwarves, limiting their dealings to the simple trade of armour. The dwarves remained wary of the elves and loathed their blatant use of magic. They travelled back to their refuge in the mountains and their hearts soon hardened.
Last but not least, came the humans from the distant shores in the south. A mutual fascination between human and elves kept the two races living in increasing proximity for the first two centuries. However, humans being questing and imperial by nature and the rapid growth of the human population, combined with territorial expansion and human treatment of the land itself, resulted in the almost inevitable human-elf conflict. The war between the elves and the humans did not last long and was both physically destructive and debilitating for both sides.
After years of negotiation, a peace treaty was negotiated between the three races. The peace treaty stipulated that the humans would set up residence in the south east building their own kingdom called Andar. Using extremely powerful blood magic, the three races agreed never to go to war against each other ever again. If they were to do so, and use magic against each other, magic would turn against them two fold. They all agreed that they knew far too little about magic and therefore magic was far too erratic to fool around with, let alone rely on during battle.
The elves soon were deeply troubled at the humans' inquisitiveness and their obsession with several areas of dark magic such as necromancy. One of the principal reasons for the conflict between the races was that they all envied the elves' seemingly immortality. The human lifespan on the other hand was less than a hundred and twenty years. The dwarves too led longer lives of at least two to three hundred years. The elves convinced the dwarves and the humans to form a High Council of Seers with representatives from the three species. Their goal was to provide council and to train any potential sorcerers. They would also attempt to prevent sorcerers from casting dark magic.
And so it was for several centuries, and the three races lived together amicably, learning how to respect each other and avoid discord.