Old Legends

## **The Elven Migrations**

Thousands of years ago, Elvenkind lived peacefully in what is now dubbed The Old World in six different castes; the Gold and Silver Elves at the top, the Bright and Dark elves in the middle, and the Blue and Green elves beneath them. This all changed when the Dark and Blue Elves turned on their brethren, bringing about the First War. They were easily defeated thanks to Corellon’s blessings, and the newly forged Golden Legions - and the instigators of the conflict were banished. The Dark Elves beneath the ground, and the Blue Elves beneath the waves.

There was peace for a time, until a new race landed on the Elven shores. The Orcish Hordes, led by Gruumsh. United under him, the Orcs drove the remaining Elves to the coast, ready to wipe out the race. The Elven leaders fled to the caves, seeking the assistance of the Dark Elves, who instead slaughtered their leadership, rejecting their old names and dubbing themselves Drow. All seemed lost until the Blue Elves, now dubbed the Sea Elves, returned and helped ferry the Silver, Gold, and Green Elves across the sea to the continent of Pótra. The Bright Elves, however, stayed behind - to cover the escape of their brethren. Herma, the Goddess who made the first Elf, is said to have dragged an eternal blizzard across the Old World, in which the Bright Elves - soon after known as the Snow Elves - would thrive, while the Orcs would suffer. The continent remains covered in ice and snow to this day.

In Pótra, the Elves soon came to know many more races - the Humans, who sailed from a far away land to found the Runic City of Axiom. The Dwarves, holed up in their mountain keeps. The Halflings in their burrows, and the ever mysterious Gnomes. But also the Goblinoids of the Warlands, and the Gnolls. The Green Elves settled in the Forests of Eilenor, came to be known as the Wood Elves -  and the Silver Elves quickly intermingled with the other races, taking positions of leadership, granting them the title of High Elves. The Gold Elves, however, are said to have gathered in the Rocks of Kargant, distrustful of the other races - remembering the Orcs. And there, they vanished never to be seen again. Curious.

## **The Unification War**

For many years, the races of Pótra and beyond were distrustful of one another. The humans were expanding their domain too fast, spreading across Pótra like the boneplague, even settling the eastern tip of Spéirlan, their domains frequently splintering into various kingdoms. The Dwarves were too cautious, rarely leaving their mountainous dwellings. The Halflings  were too friendly, the Gnomes were too cunning, the Elves were too old, and so on.

Until the first external threat appeared. All across the material plane, bits of other planes - mostly the Elemental Planes of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water - began to bleed into the material plane. The extraplanar threat proved disastrous to some, bringing about calamity in Western Spéirlan, the homeland of the Orcs. Some say this war turned Southern Spéirlan to sand, and caused the creation of the Grey Wastes.

Whatever the truth of these, it united the various races against a common foe, and through some great magic, the bleeds in the planes were stemmed with the forging of four great elemental gates across the known world. Though the location of some has been lost to the ages, it is said that one lies in Pótra, one in the Thousand Isles, one in the Deserts of K’hrlack, and one among the Dragonspire.