The legends of the creation of the world have been long lost in the mists of time, and only the oldest of the Eyes of the Mind (the orbs of consciousness that exist in fixed points of the world, watching and gathering information and stories of the world from their particular vantage point) can still tell that story. But it is common knowledge that the elves came first, birthed from a union of starfire and pieces of the physical world, (earth, wood, stone, fire, air, sea, river, metal, etc.). And it is from those ancient and unchanging elves that the stories of what happened in the rest of the world can be found.
The continents rose from the sea, creating the world (which I am drawing a map for. It is on my photobucket, so, if you want to do this, you can see it.), and the First Men and Dwarves were crafted with it, with soil or rock for flesh, and saltwater and magma flowing through their veins.
From there, the records get hazy. It is known for a fact that the Firsts began to spread over the world, they discovered that they were not the only species to have arisen from the creation of the continents. Other creatures, trolls, goblins, and orcs, had been born from the deep, dark rock of the underground caves, the cold deep-water rivers in their veins, supported by the strength of the roots of the old trees.
The Men and Dwarves could see no beauty in the deep ground creatures, for they were creatures of the underground, while the Men and Dwarves were of the surface. Thus they dubbed these “deformed” creatures evil and dark, and began a war for their extermination.
Thus began the first war, the Great War, and of the heroics and tragedies, the wars and loves, the exploration and hunts, there are many stories (which I shall be polite, and not delve into too much, except for the important ones, and those mostly came late).
But the war went on, and the numbers of all the species fell, until all realized that there would be no recovering from the damages. Their world was coming to an end, but the hatred was so deep that they could do nothing to stop the final extermination of all. They could only hope to find ways to preserve some traces of themselves from the future.
Here beings the story of Syrien, the youngest daughter of King Mauverex, and Jaheacis, the greatest of the giant eagles that watched from above. Jaheacis, seeing Syrien captured by a hoard of Orcs, and falling deeply in love with her beauty, spirited her away to safety. Their relationship and interactions were long and complex, but the final result of their union was the Aerix, the graceful bird-people. (Nowadays they have developed their own intricate culture and have established their position in the world. We can go into more detail on that later, should you care to hear, or I can summarize in a sentence or two. Maybe a paragraph for safety.)
Each of the cultures also went to one of the Eyes of the Mind that they felt the most associated with. The Men went to Dormendal, the Eye of the Highest Peak of the World, Evenskie. The Dwarves to Sadrengarn, the Eye of the Center, resting on a spire in the center of the largest continent, where this war had begun, the Trolls to Modelen, the Eye of the Wide Forest, its name long ago lost and known today only as the Green Mountain Forest, the Orcs to Quemensak the Eye of the Deep, hidden in a shadowy cave of the Grand Canyon, and the Goblins to Resdecon, the hardest to reach of the Eyes, located on a small island in the middle of a giant underground lake. There, each race told their stories, of their triumphs and failures of their race, of their beauties of construction and their terrors of combat. The Eyes took it all in, as is their purpose, and created a database of information for any who should take the perilous journey to tap their vast reservoir of knowledge.
Here also lies the story of the Dwarf Thone, a storyteller who got lost on his great journey to Sandrengarn and plunged into the great river Kalenim, and believed lost to all of his companions, and his great wealth of stories with him. But the river itself took mercy on him, flooding his very being with the fresh, sweet water of its tide, and from that union was the Zati born, a creature of the water, graced with an unexpected mixture of grace and power, and little seen in the surface world. Their existence has passed almost into legend now, but still there are those who claim that they have seen their flowing bodies, or had their lives saved by the surprisingly gentle hands of these creatures.
Finally, in desperation, the last of the first species were able to call a brief treaty. Together, the last from each species journeyed to the original home of the Elves, and there pleaded for a chance to right the wrongs of the past. The Elves told them that there was nothing to be done to save them, but one final sacrifice might offer them a second chance. And so it came to be that each of these final members of the First Species spilled their heart-blood into the soils of the Elvenhome, condemning the last of their species to death. But this final sacrifice was not in vain, for the very soil rose in the places where the blood of the species had been spilled, and they grew once more from the soil. These people were lesser, for no longer was their soul of pure water and fire, but rather only of the blood of those who came before. Only in the Elvenhome was the blood and soil resurrected into people with the True Blood of Kings.
And so the Great War ended, not all lost, but the Firsts truly gone from the world.
There is a story in this time, one that is known not even by the oldest and most watchful of the Eyes, and would not come to be discovered in full until many thousands of years later.
The Great War was ended, and the species, new and old, claimed their second chance to the fullest. Led by those who came of the blood of those who had gone to the Elvenhome, for many hundreds of years there was relative peace. Wars still occurred between the species, but none so long lasted, so bloody, or so vengeful. It was a time of creation, for many of the techniques in crafting of the past had been lost, and those who found them discovered that they were no longer capable of performing the incredible feats. They still found relics of the past, but never again was anything crafted with such beauty and simultaneously such utility as the crafting of old.
But still they built, men and dwarves creating grand cities above ground and in the high reaches of mountains, the trolls, goblins, and orcs, thriving underground metropoli, the aerix comfortable homes in the high reaches of cliffs, and the Zati deep in rivers, lakes, and oceans.
While digging, one group of Goblins discovered a deep cleft, as old as the earth itself, and they followed it out of curiosity. Deep within the bowels of the earth, deeper than any had gone before, they found a civilization that had never risen above the surface of the world. They were strange, disgusting creatures, built like men in general shape, but lacking any sort of defined features. Their entire body was bubbled like melted wax, their fingers long, crooked, and grasping. The Goblins, terrified of their discovery, dubbed the new species as Worms, and then fled, sealing the cleft behind them as they went. It would be a long time before the Worms were encountered again, but those below were still of the First Blood, as of the Elves and other First Species, and thus remained unaging so long as they were not killed by dagger, sword, or arrow. And on the strange visitors they has tasted a breath of fresh air, a taste that would haunt them for the many thousands of years to come.
And then the peace was once more shattered, but it was shattered not by the acts of any of the species, but rather the actions of those they could only dub the Gods of this world.
The first to come was Skaldreg, a vicious creature that gained pleasure from the pain and destruction of others. Many of the grandest cities of the world did he destroy, uncaring of species, and none seemed to be able to stand against him. His dark wings became the ultimate symbol of fear, and even the bravest felt their hearts fall when cast under his dark shadow.
For the first time, the Elves rose to fight. But even against their fierce grace his Shadow seemed unstoppable. And although the old enmities were not forgotten, all of the species (except the Worms, which is almost a shame. They are a fascinating people, who I will go much more in depth for at a later date. Maybe only once they show up in the actual role play) joined together to fight.
Still everything would have been lost, had the second of the Gods, the beautiful lady Jiskastya not descended to fight on the behalf of the word. She was so bright as to not be seen, but when one closed their eyes, the afterimage of her light glowed in the inner eye. (I have to include a picture here, because I don't want to try and find the adjectives for this, although I will need to at some point
Jiskastya)
Their battle was fierce but short, and Skaldreg was locked away, hidden in the very core of the world. With his defeat, Jiskastya too left the world, but in her wake came the last three of the gods. The first was Aselia, the Goddess of Healing. She assisted the species in repairing the world, and helping those who were hurt, both physically and mentally, in recovering from their loss. The second was Koromain, a funny man, expert in music and tale, and a god of celebration. He served to all as a reminder that there was still the potential for joy and laughter in the world. The third and final of the minor gods was Elksyx, a master craftsman, builder, hunter,and farmer, who taught the species some of the crafts that had been lost with the First Species, and helped them to rebuild their cities. Never had such grace been seen since the days of old, and those cities that were touched by Elksyx still stand, seeming untouched by time.
And so the last god came and went from the world. Never again would they touch the world in such a profound way, but the priests tell all that all five gods find their way to touch our soul, guiding those who listen to their whispers.
Knowing now that there were gods in the world, some of the people in each of the species created other gods, ones that related to their culture personally. But the greatest of the Religions worshiped only the Five. It is centered in one of the most beautiful cities built by Elksyx, which also is the home of the spire of Sadrengarn, the Eye of the Center. This city is also one of the only places in the world where all the species (except the worms, again) live together in relative peace. This is only obtained because the high priest declared it to be so, saying that the gods had helped each of the species equally, and thus they must all be equal in the eyes of the gods. The peace is a bit uneasy, but the punishment for breaking it is quick and severe, and those who break it are banished from the city. This has earned it some enmity, but the walls of Elksyx have always held firm against any attack.
There is still a distrust, bordering on hate, between the species of the surface and the species of the underground, and the Elves still remain above it all, but the world healed from the attack of Skaldreg, and once more entered into an age of relative peace.
Thousands of years have passed since the Gods came to earth, and even the descendants of those with the First Blood have passed through the generations. Only some of the Elves that are not in the Elvenhome still remember those days. In that time there have been great battles, strange and fascinating stories of adventures and romance, and life has gone on. The tension between the surface and underground species has waxed and waned, and no real peace has been made, and nor is it likely to.
I typed out more information on some of the species themselves, which I shall copy paste as well, because... I want to. Yeah.
A note:
I have (may or may not have) been calling these species Underspecies or Underkin, but, with the orcs living mostly on the surface and dwarves living primarily underground, I’ve had to change that. So, the trolls, orcs, and goblins call themselves Anduin, which, the first time the humans heard that, they perverted to Underkin. Which frustrates the “Underkin” because, as they like to point out, they live under the same sun as all the other species.
Trolls:
Trolls live in a mixture of underground and above ground, with their villages and centers built underground and members of the tribe surfacing to gather resources that they cannot get from underground. They live in a matriarchal society, females being both larger and stronger. However, the men are not abused, for they are expected to care for the young as well as the mother.
Among all the species trolls vary the greatest in size, because they cover such a wide swath of land. The high mountain trolls are the largest, commonly reaching between eight and nine feet, although they are long and thin, rather than wide. The next largest is the deep forest trolls, the areas that are so inhospitable that the elves, men and orcs won’t touch it. They are rarely shorter than seven and a half feet. And then, as the trolls primary village gets deeper and deeper underground they get shorter and stockier, although it is remarkably uncommon for a troll to be shorter than five and a half feet.
All trolls are built along the same general lines. They are tall and thin, with arms that will often reach down to their knees, although it does get shorter as they get deeper and stockier. But no troll will ever able to become wider than it is tall. Their bodies simply could not survive that. They have long, deadly looking fingers and walk digitigrade, like a dog. Their face is long, their eyes narrow.
Trolls, of all the races, are colored to blend into their surroundings. Trolls that commonly travel above ground have a green tinge to their skin, mountain trolls are a nondescript grey, and then the deeper trolls are commonly a grey-green. Hair color usually matches the general tone of skin color, and can be grown down to mid-back. Most trolls, however, choose to keep it shorter, occasionally shaved completely off.
Most trolls fight unarmed, using their dagger-like fingers to inflict deadly wounds into their opponent. Those who do choose to use a weapon usually rely on larger projectiles like spears, or clubs. A few trolls do attempt to master other forms of weaponry, but they cannot easily handle most common weapons. Some trolls master smaller projectiles like throwing knives, but that is relatively rare.
Because they cannot easily handle most tools, trolls are not a craft-race. What they are remarkably talented in, and what most of the other species don’t know, is that trolls are master engravers. So, while their buildings are quite crude in general shape, they are graced with beautiful detail. The greatest of the troll homes are constructed purely from engravings and carvings, every part of the house coming together like a puzzle.
Orcs:
The orcs are a mixture of a nomadic people and settled tribe, following the wild herds that live near wherever they have established a base territory, leaving some of the tribe behind to maintain the “home base”, tend to the crops, care for young, and kill any invaders. They have a primarily plant-based diet, but because of that, they feel a craving for meat that is uncommon among the other species.
Their appearance, though vaguely human, is intimidating to most of the fairer species, even some Anduin (see above explanation if you have forgotten what this is). They are persecuted from both angles, rejected completely by humans and dwarves, and still somewhat shunned by trolls and goblins because the orcs are not really an underground species. Deep, dead forests, shallow caves, plains, grasslands, savannas, and moors in the highlands are potential orcish habitats. But where there is potential for orcs to thrive, there will be man and they will be at odds. If not for appearances, then for resources.
Orcs, while built with the same general structure between sub-species, have a greater variation in skin and eye color than do the trolls, although still less than the humans. But all orcs have a jutting jaw with protruding tusks (smaller for females), and, when they reach a highly mature age, probably around 40 years, they begin to grow ram’s horns. The horns have become a signal of respect among the orcs, for only the wisest, longest lives, and strongest fighters can reach an age where they begin to grow horns, let alone achieve a full set.
Longer lived than human by about half a human lifetime, orcs live in a heavily patriarchal society, and, while their women still know how to fight, it is common for only the men to leave the village on hunting expeditions.
Orcs are some of the most brazen of fighters, relying on large weapons and brute force. Most of them have very little subtlety, especially when they are still young, and still believe in their own invulnerability.
Orc structures are commonly crude but practical, the only building they may spend time on being the town center. However, with proper training, an orc smith would be capable of creating a blade that could rival a dwarven smith. Very few orcs are able to devote much time to the endeavour, however, because all the men are expected to help with hunting and farming, while women are rarely ever idle around the village, caring for the children as a collective whole, helping in the field, and crafting basic clothing and covers. There is usually only one smith, with a single apprentice, in the village at any one time.
Above all else, orcs are fiercely loyal to their tribe, which they consider family, no matter if they are directly related by blood, or not. One of the greatest crimes in orcish society is to betray your own tribe. That does not mean there is never a restructure of power, in fact inter-tribe war happens with a somewhat alarming frequency, but if it is ever found out that an orc aided another tribe to injure or kill one of this tribe’s members the punishment will be swift and harsh.
There is also a harsh punishment for killing unresisting women and children of any tribe. Loyalty is a large part of orcish society, so if a vanquished tribe’s members pledge loyalty their lives will be spared, and they will be integrated into the winning village. There will be distrust on them for a while, they will often be assigned the hardest and most demeaning jobs, but, so long as they do nothing to make the tribe doubt their loyalty, they will be welcomed in as a full member within a year. And, despite the possible flaws in this system, there are almost no documented cases of a recruited orc turning traitor to its adopted tribe.
Goblins:
Of all the intelligent species, goblins are the only ones that have found a way to completely adapt to living underground. They are a lean, strong species, ones that are able to survive almost any circumstances.
Hairless, tall thin and strong, all Goblins can see infrared, ultraviolet, and the normal spectrum, although at different times, and it allows them to travel through pitch black environments with no difficulty, and still be able to track down food, and see potential predators.
While goblins seem hideous to all of the humans and dwarves, they are actually capable of producing an ultraviolet glow when they are not trying to be stealthy, which, to their own species ultraviolet sensitive eyes, gives them a glowing and sensuous form that would be awe-inspiring and beautiful even to the humans, who hate goblins more than any other species. The form that they have visible in the regular spectrum is simply perfectly practical. Their eyes are large, nose almost nonexistent. They have a wide mouth with sharp teeth that can chew through almost any material or shell to get at the inner substance. They are thin but surprisingly strong, and thus able to fit into small spaces while still being strong enough to fight off potential dangers. They have sharp fingernails that are often dipped in a deadly poison that is unique to each goblin, and therefore only that goblin has the antidote. Such poison is washed off before the goblin enters into the general “city” so that they do not poison any of their fellow species. The poison is disposed in such a way that it will not be able to contaminate any resource that the goblins use. Goblin skin tone varies greatly, but it is always a shade of grey, but, from there, it can vary from white to black. This is somewhat genetic, somewhat determined by how deep the goblins live, so a city will usually have the same general range, but it can still vary greatly. Without having any light their “coloring” does not affect them. What does vary between sub-species is the color and pattern of their ultraviolet “cloak”. The richer the color, and the more numerous the colors, the deeper the goblin usually lives underground, and also the more “genetically strong” they are. There is a lot of inbreeding between the different goblin sub-species, so it is hard to distinguish any specific variations. In that respect, they are more like humans than the trolls, since you can find features from many sub-species in a single goblin.
Goblins are the most androgynous of the species, caring little for whether the others they are with, or the others who are leading them, is male or female. All they care about is that their leader is capable of leading them. The only time the genders come into play is during erotic interactions.
Goblins are remarkably adept at using any weapon that is presented to them, from crude stones and spears to finely crafted blades and bows.
Goblin cities are built in a way that connects everything to everything else. A single city is usually based in one massive cavern, and then there are bridges and ladders and everything seems to built on top of itself. There is very little order, but rather than seeming chaotic it comes across more as free. If you have seen the new Hobbit movie recently, it is like that underground city of the goblins. Like
this, except everything is much more solid. Things are built to last in a goblin city, crafted carefully so that they won’t have to be redone in the future. In the very center of the city is a large clear space. It is usually a separated space, divided from the rest of the city by either walls and ceiling or the natural rock formation. But, no matter what, this space will be large enough to hold every goblin in the city at the same. It is one of the most detailed areas in the city, usually with intricate carvings, either made by goblins or traded from the trolls, and is decorated in an ultraviolet “paint”. Every city also has a “drum” set, the largest of which is about twenty feet in diameter and built directly into the wall. Its note is so deep that it feels more like the heartbeat in your chest than an actual drum. The rest of the set is small enough to be actually heard, but all except for one is a deep note.
Goblins actually live a surprising sensual lifestyle. When they are out of their cities goblins are incredibly focused and usually quite vicious, but they have a rich sort of companionship when inside their own city. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is the goblin dances, which is a pure celebration of life, a kind of “dirty dancing” that takes place in the aforementioned central cavern, and is accompanied by the drums.
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