Valeri

Elarans (or "humans") are most probably the oldest sentient species on the planet Elara. The Valeri were the first identifiable culture of humans, emerging just over 120,000 years ago.
The Valeri were not savage, but pacifistic thinkers and explorers. Their natural curiosity led to many great inventions and discoveries. Perhaps their greatest discovery was how to access the Essence, the supernatural life-force which was created by and permeated everything in their world. Manipulation of the Essence came to be known as magic, and became such an integral part of their lives that technological advancement ground almost to a halt. Roughly 50% of the population could "use magic."
Seven millennia passed with Elarans remaining the only sentient species (known) on Elara, until magical experimentation with human DNA allowed the Valeri to actually create another, viable species - Elves. Dwarves soon followed, as did Ogres, Gnomes, Gnolls, all the Faerie species, hybrids and magical beasts. The only sentient species not created by the Valeri were the joKara.
The joKara were a parasitic species that used Elarans as host bodies. They prefered the Valeri due to their already vast knowledge and access to magic. But the joKara were powerhungry, and eventually began hunting down and destroying the Valeri in what came to be called "The Cleansing." Virtually all the Valeri were killed, with extremely rare exceptions.
The two biggest exceptions were the Grey Eight and Taranna Durn. The Grey Eight were a group of elite Valeri mages who lived extraordinarily long lives, and managed to avoid being captured or killed during the Cleansing. They stayed in hiding, rarely meeting or communicating with each other.
Taranna Durn was a major Valeri city where a large group of mages collected and together phased the city and its inhabitants out of reality and into a different dimension. Time moved slower there, and they thought they could outlast the Wizard Princes. However, the joKara mages discovered the plot, and though they could not get to Taranna Durn, they cast spells to isolate the city and everything in it from ever returning to reality. Taranna Durn and its inhabitants have been trapped for millennia.
The now-extinct Valeri were supplanted by the Delsharans, though the Delsharans were subserviant to the Wizard Princes and never accessed magic or had the chance to develop technologically before the Great Cataclysm came.
Category:Elara Cultures
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