Somewhere in the vast distance, across all the mountains, valleys, and forests, there was a land ruled by two major conflicting powers, while the all other clans joined one of the two powers, remained to themselves, or were destroyed. One ancient clan was known as the Ironfists dominated the majority of north Zerinth towards the moors, swamps, and marshlands approaching near the cold tundra. The other ancient clan was known as the Runeseekers lived in the south of Zerinth, in the forests near the mountains, streams, and valleys.
The Ironfists were ruled by a lone barbarian king named David, a ruthless man in battle. Though he was fair and just to his clan, the rest of his kingdom respected his mighty power, for he always had the harshest consequences for war mongers and criminals alike. David was known for his metallic spiked gauntlet that he wore to battle, owning up to his family's namesake. The clan ruled the kingdom with the fierceness of a mountain lion and the gentleness of a pup. Their most precious resource was the mana known as Dark Elixir, mined deep within the cold tunnels in the earth. Many wanted this magically precious fluid, for it gave whoever absorbed it, gained control of whatever they desired most. For David, it was prosperity in his kingdom in the desolate Moorish marshland.
The Runeseekers dwelled in the woodlands where they were ruled by a lone archer queen named Diana. She was considered a clever mage, using their land's valuable resource-the Light Elixir-to keep the forests and her kingdom alive near the mountains. This equally precious fluid had the exact qualities as the Dark Elixir, with the exception of how it was mined from the ground. The difference is that the Dark Elixir was mined with the crude industrial hands of the non-magical barbarian Ironfist tribe, whereas the magic-using Runeseekers harvested the Light Elixir with life energy, mainly from the courage of troops.
Both clans were more similar than different than the world realized, but the conflict originated long before their time. How it started was simply which clan was stronger in defending other weaker clans from the common enemy all of Zerinth feared most…but that would come much later. Over the millennia, the boastfulness caused conflict instead of union to protect weaker clans, resulting in a self-preservation, everyone for themselves, mentality. Both clans never sought to rule the other clans, but when weaker clans joined wither side, they were never rejected. The weaker clans were unprotected because of the never-ending fight or stalemate between the Runeseekers and the Ironfists.
Meanwhile, in the darkest part of the world, there lived a dangerous enemy to all the clans. He was known by many names, but the syllables of utter evil that he named himself with was simply Perithion. The simplest plan of his was absolutely deadly, and what he had planned now for Zerinth was absolutely diabolical…