There was once a time, deep in legend, when the world was wreathed in shadow and flame…
Demons walked the earth, burning and killing across the land, wreaking havoc and destruction everywhere in their path. The good races—elves, dwarves, humans, gnomes, and halflings—lived in fear, hiding in whatever corners of the world were safe. In those days, they cursed the ones who had brought this terrible destruction down upon the earth—the Forefathers.
An ancient race, the Forefathers had lived all across the land, in a single vast and powerful civilization. Theirs was a culture of knowledge and magic, and with their knowledge and magic came great power. They built soaring towers and massive bridges, shining cities and whole islands. Many of their works, infused with powerful magic and crafted with strange materials, still survive today, and scholars studying these objects suspect that magic was once much more powerful, as they are unable to replicate—or even come close—to some of the wonders of the Forefathers.
Yet the Forefathers, it is believed, delved too far with their magics, ripping a hole in reality and opening a portal to the Void, the great emptiness between planes. Once the hole was opened, other connections to different planes could be made—from either side. The Forefathers used these connections to their advantage, exploiting planar rifts to draw still more magic through to this world. It is not clear whether the magic drew the attention of the demons, or whether the Forefathers thought that they could become gods, and thus challenged the demons, but either way, soon after the portal was open, demons poured through, and the Forefathers' civilization crumbled.
Though their civilization fell and many—nearly all—were killed, the Forefathers survived. Those that remained sought out the other good races as allies, although the grudges and animosity they held for the Forefathers nearly proved fatal for all. Fortunately, enough members of the other races were willing to pardon the Forefathers, and together the six races formed a Golden Alliance. United, they rallied together, and worked to push back the demons and reclaim their world.
The following centuries became known as the Demon Wars—nearly a millennium of wars and hardship, as the good races fought to defend their homeland. Scholars have noted several significant turning points in the Wars, including the recapture of Ostragoth, the forgings of the Trinities of Light and Shadow, the betrayal of Gil'ead, the Battle of the Golden Plains. There is universal agreement, though, that the greatest contributing factor to the ultimate victory of the good races was the arrival of the dragons, in the year 947 of the Golden Alliance. The eternal enemies of the demons, the dragons followed them across the planes and through the Void, hunting them wherever they go. The dragons turned out to be the Alliance's greatest allies, and together, they drove the demons out of this plane of existence. Once the demons were defeated, the last of the Forefathers performed a ritual to close the hole to the Void, sacrificing themselves in the process, and leaving the world to the other races.
Since then, the human race has spread all across the region, building cities and towns, farms and mines, and generally claiming dominion over the world. Halflings, a race of wanderers, without a place to call their own, often live and work alongside humans. Recently, though, halflings have begun forming colonies in the countryside, declaring their wandering days over and settling down for a nice cup of tea. The elves, once second in might only to the Forefathers, have retreated into their forested valley of Ethillien, for reasons unspoken to outsiders. The dwarves, empowered by their importance during the Demon Wars as smiths, have settlements all throughout the Inland Seas region, and maintain trading routes from the dwarven cities. They trade and work with humans as often as they do gnomes, although for very different reasons. Humans, with their empire-building, are in constant need of weapons and stone, where as gnomes, constantly tinkering and engineering, are using gears and valves, wheels and belts and ropes and pulleys and iron and brass, to build their mechanical constructs which, they say, will lead them to greatness.
Yet the Forefathers, it is believed, delved too far with their magics, ripping a hole in reality and opening a portal to the Void, the great emptiness between planes. Once the hole was opened, other connections to different planes could be made—from either side. The Forefathers used these connections to their advantage, exploiting planar rifts to draw still more magic through to this world. It is not clear whether the magic drew the attention of the demons, or whether the Forefathers thought that they could become gods, and thus challenged the demons, but either way, soon after the portal was open, demons poured through, and the Forefathers' civilization crumbled.
Though their civilization fell and many—nearly all—were killed, the Forefathers survived. Those that remained sought out the other good races as allies, although the grudges and animosity they held for the Forefathers nearly proved fatal for all. Fortunately, enough members of the other races were willing to pardon the Forefathers, and together the six races formed a Golden Alliance. United, they rallied together, and worked to push back the demons and reclaim their world.
The following centuries became known as the Demon Wars—nearly a millennium of wars and hardship, as the good races fought to defend their homeland. Scholars have noted several significant turning points in the Wars, including the recapture of Ostragoth, the forgings of the Trinities of Light and Shadow, the betrayal of Gil'ead, the Battle of the Golden Plains. There is universal agreement, though, that the greatest contributing factor to the ultimate victory of the good races was the arrival of the dragons, in the year 947 of the Golden Alliance. The eternal enemies of the demons, the dragons followed them across the planes and through the Void, hunting them wherever they go. The dragons turned out to be the Alliance's greatest allies, and together, they drove the demons out of this plane of existence. Once the demons were defeated, the last of the Forefathers performed a ritual to close the hole to the Void, sacrificing themselves in the process, and leaving the world to the other races.
Since then, the human race has spread all across the region, building cities and towns, farms and mines, and generally claiming dominion over the world. Halflings, a race of wanderers, without a place to call their own, often live and work alongside humans. Recently, though, halflings have begun forming colonies in the countryside, declaring their wandering days over and settling down for a nice cup of tea. The elves, once second in might only to the Forefathers, have retreated into their forested valley of Ethillien, for reasons unspoken to outsiders. The dwarves, empowered by their importance during the Demon Wars as smiths, have settlements all throughout the Inland Seas region, and maintain trading routes from the dwarven cities. They trade and work with humans as often as they do gnomes, although for very different reasons. Humans, with their empire-building, are in constant need of weapons and stone, where as gnomes, constantly tinkering and engineering, are using gears and valves, wheels and belts and ropes and pulleys and iron and brass, to build their mechanical constructs which, they say, will lead them to greatness.