The ancient times

Thousands of years ago, the continent was the home for the races of elves, dwarves, gnomes and halflings. The gnomes were supposedly the first one to settle on the continent, followed soon after by halflings. Often travelling nomads and hunter-gatherers, they lived off the land, hunting then abundant mega-fauna and other wildlife.
They had arrived at the end of the latest ice age, and although the northernmost parts of the continents were still icy tundras and glaciers, the gnomes and halflings traveled northwards as the ice receded. Their origins are shrouded in mystery, as they've been residing in Kaledan for millennia. After them, came the elves and dwarves, founding the first towns and bringing the agriculture and bronze working with. Their tribal societies formed the first kingdoms and societies, which often relied on religion and segregated castes. For example, the Order of Seers was founded during this period, and they claim to have had an access to a divine truth or prophecy during their founding. The elven communities are thought to have been ruled by a caste of mages, as magical affinity runs strong in their veins. Many of the greatest mages of world's history have been elves.
The elves became the dominant race of the continent for centuries, and they warred against the dwarven kingdoms. The races relied in different things when waging wars. The dwarves relied on engineering, alchemy and metalwork, while the elves used magic. The dwarves developed the first magic-inhibiting substances through trial-and-error, seeking new ways to combat magic, and ever since they have kept these compounds a well-kept secret. Both races live long, and their greatest warriors have become folk heroes among their respective societies, and their exploits are often repeated by storytellers, bards and poets even today.
It is said that several tribes of elves live in the Northern Reaches as nomads, like their ancestors have done. They are said to be more wild and animalistic than their southern relatives, more suited for the cold climate. Pragmatic and believing in the survival of the fittest, they've traveled upon this Earth for ages, and are said to do so until the Earth crumbles into nothing.
The cultured elven kingdoms separated history into ages, and believed that history is a wheel. All things have happened before, and would happen again in endless cycles. The elven religion of ancient history was based on this thought of world's cyclical nature and that their ancestors were looking down on them from the heavens beyond the stars. They often referred the place of rest, where the souls went after death, as the Beyond. They also believed that their magical power came from the Beyond, and thus it was important to keep the ancestors content by making sacrifices and honoring them in prayers.
The dwarven kingdoms were much smaller than the elven nations, but the dwarves are still known for their stubborn and prideful natures. Like elves, they live long, and they remember long every good and bad deed done to them, or as is often said, never scorn a dwarf, for it will be your end. They perfected working bronze and had started to grasp working iron, as the humans arrived to the continent.

The beginning of an end

Almost one-and-half thousand years ago, the first humans are said to have come to the continent by great ships, but in the Northern Reaches, there are traces of older human habitation. The elven kingdoms had entered a state of decay, and they weren't as strong as they had been. A short ice age had diminished their numbers, and an age of faltering magic had descended upon the world. The elves saw this as the wrath of the ancestors, and tried to please them in any way they could. Humans exploited the weaknesses of the elves by conquering their cities and converting them into their own. Many modern human towns are in fact based on ancient elven ruins and cities. They aren't as majestic or grand as they were in the ancient times, but they'll do the trick
As the elven kingdoms diminished, the humand kingdoms became stronger. Compared to elves, humans mature quicker and breed in greater numbers, and as the humans allied themselves with the dwarves, they won victory after victory against the elves. For centuries, humans fought against the elves.

Geography

If one starts from the north, there are the Northen Reaches, also known as Haithorost in the elven tongues. In the Reaches, life is harsh and tough, as winters are long and summers short. Agriculture yields poor crops, although wildlife is plentiful. The kingdom of Altgarde was once in power in this region, although, thanks to a period of cold known as the "creeping cold", when the climate became even harsher than usual. The locals called this phenomenon in their own tongue "Wvalgentar Wuden" – a term that roughly translates as "winter's war". A bit dramatic, but quite fitting the severity of the weather.