Origins
Furbolg
When the Titans bestowed their gifts upon the Dragons, more creatures remained in the underbrush. Over time, due to the powerful Well of Eternity, these creatures slowly began to grow. With the gift of Alexstraza, these soon began to reach large sizes. The many varieties of life, which all had similar origins, split into thousands of separate species, most doomed to quick extinction. One which did not die out was the proud Ursine.
The Ursine were not so much a race as a collection of those bears that held intelligence. Able to communicate amongst each other, the Ursine had a strong presence off the western coast of Kalimdor. Living in the great forests at the foot of Mount Hyjal, the quadruped Ursine held council in a grove of the bear demigods, Ursol and Ursoc. Ursol grew trees around the grove to keep it safe, and Ursoc trained the Ursine to protect it. Those who were friendly were granted free access, but those who threatened the grove would die before they could do any harm.
Among any intelligent race, there is bound to be inner conflict and civil war. Some of the Ursine had learnt to stand as Ursol had. These elite Ursine trained in both the arts of Ursol's Shamanism and Ursoc's fierce battle style. The most intelligent of these elites formed a council with members of each Ursine Tribe. The needs of each tribe led to heated debates between those who lived in the forests and those who lived upon the isle.
Though they had learnt to stand upright together, several tribes of the Ursine felt prejudiced against the others. Those of the isle in particular, who were the first to stand, had changed significantly. The Isle Tribe could no longer use their forepaws for their original use of walking. Instead, they clutched onto walking sticks, and lost their claws over time.
This prejudice alone was not the key to the Great Separation. Instead, the source of the conflict was a favourite of Ursoc. Unlike their brethren, the Isle Tribe had hands capable of manipulating objects, and could use their hands to create ales. The brewers followed one by the name of Urnal, and he was perhaps the most prejudiced of all. He refused to sell his ales to the other tribes.
This prohibition was only the beginning of the conflict. Escalation is inevitable where such a matter is at hand, and the Ursine had many repressed instincts. The Isle Tribe, withholding the ales, effectively seceded from the Ursine. Urnal was not satisfied merely by severing the Isle Tribe's link to the Ursine, but instead, he became the first wardancer. The Head Brewmaster position was also the position of the leader. Urnal lead his people in attacks against the Ursine.
These attacks happened only twice. The first time, an entire village fell and burned, with all who lived dying in the fire. The second attack, no longer an unexpected impossibility, was easily repelled by the more instinctive Ursine and their basic Shamanistic arts, taught by Ursol himself. Urnal was the sole survivor of the raids, and he finally met the deities he and his kind worshiped. He at last saw that Ursol resembled the other Ursine most of all, while the mighty Ursoc chose to live as the common bear did. Then Urnal knew no more, as the brothers ended his atrocious legacy forever.
The Ursine and the brothers banished the Isle Tribe, restraining them to their home. In isolation from the Shamanistic culture of the others, the Isle Tribe began to hold views that can only be described as reminiscent of the Alliance of Lordaeron. They called themselves the Pandaren, no longer Ursine excepting their fur and muzzles. Beer and art were all that mattered to the Pandaren.
The other Ursine groups bred with each other, forming one remaining race. They, unlike their brethren, retained most of their original form, and became known as Furbolgs. This race practiced Shamanism, and used carvings and sculptures to leave messages of the past for the future to find.
After this 'Civil War', the Ursine suffered one last defeat. Much of their land was destroyed, along with Ursol and Ursoc, when the Burning Legion arrived. The second village invaded was still smoking when the first Demon arrived in it. It would not have been so disastrous, they knew, if only the Isle Tribe had remained peaceful for merely another day.
It was not until later, after the Sundering, that the Pandaren banishment was at long last removed. Under the leadership of Sam the Wise, the humbled Pandaren made up their due to the Furbolg. The two races were far separated by this point, but the relations between them would never again reach the horrible level it once had.
AN: Explaining Pandaren easy. Would have been done sooner, but my computer shut off in the middle of my writing it for no reason. Any more requests?