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I. The First Age: Aj-dôr
From the Awakening to the first discovery
of other races upon the world, this was an age of innocence, exploration
and discovery. The elfin peoples though themselves to be the only
inhabitants of Alina. This era is often viewed with nostalgia, but
is also lost to obscurity, for even the language of the Ancients is no
longer spoken; most information of the First Age of the elfin peoples exists
today only in legend and fairy tale. During this time, the elfin
peoples considered themselves a single nation, ruled by a council of their
tribal leaders, which met once a season. The elfin nation quickly
spread throughout the Great Forest: a vast swath of land that stretches
from the shores of the Ocea Primum to the Eastern reaches of the Ire-dae.
Peace reigned and Alina appeared to be a true paradise, created for the
elfin people alone.
II. The Second Age: Aj-darjen
The discovery of other races sent a shock
through the elfin nation: suddenly this paradise was no longer solely theirs.
Yet, their newly-discovered neighbors were not violent or aggressive –
indeed, they were only different. The elfin nation became more consolidated,
more stable: suddenly the elves had more similarities than differences
in
the light of the gnomish, halfling and dwarven peoples. This sentiment
of solidarity easily swelled to a strong sense of nationalism – indeed,
certain elfin tribes soon declared the total superiority of the elfin race.
But this sentiment
was mild. In fact, the Second Age saw an explosion of ideas and craft,
as the cultures of the elves met, mingled with and reacted to those of
the gnomes, halflings and dwarves. For all the Elder Races, this
age was the pinnacle of their cultures in art, magic and trade.
III. The War of the Orcish Hordes:
Aj-guren
The War of the Orcish Hordes inserted itself
with terrible violence. Until this black age, war was unknown to
the peoples of Alina, especially the peaceful and scholarly elves.
At first, the elfin peoples were devastated by the blood-hungry might of
the Orcish Hordes. Entire provinces were laid waste and their peoples
fled in terror. At the nadir of the war, only the citadels of Starglow
and Fline remained unscathed by the monstrosities of the Hordes.
Yet from the depths
of despair, a hero arose. Hearkening to the valor of the dwarven
warriors in the Ire-dae, Feuryn Gladé took up his enchanted sword,
Sanglé, and struck back at the Hordes. Through cunning and
bravery he took back the land of the Great Forest, tree by tree, leaving
nothing but Orcish blood in his wake.
Aj-guren was indeed
the age of innocence lost. With the coming of the Orcish Hordes,
the realities of violence and bloodshed on such a grand scale left an indelible
stain upon the elfin peoples. Never again would their paradise, their
unique utopia, be restored. This is best seen by a new structure
that began to dot the elfin lands: the fortress. Before the War of
the Orcish Hordes, such structures were unheard-of in the Great Forest,
seen only as a clumsy edifice of the dwarven peoples made of thick and
ugly stones. Yet, after the War, large fortresses rose from the forest.
These were far different from their dwarven counterparts, for they were
infused with the elfin love of beauty and artistic flair: constructions
of unparalleled splendor and craft.
IV. The Great Division
While not an age per se, the Great Division
is an important chapter in the history of the elfin peoples. More
than fortresses, it evidenced the profound effect of the War of the Orcish
Hordes. The most significant event of the Great Division is perhaps
the disappearance of the Dévum elves, who once inhabited the vale
which today is home to the human kingdom of Stephen. The story of
the Dévum elves is recounted in more detail as the history of the
Modi, the Dark Elves of Alina.
Beyond the fall of
the Dévum elves, the War of the Orcish Hordes left a terrible mark
of division upon the elfin peoples. Divided as to what steps and
measures to take after the War, the singular nation of the elfin peoples
split into three smaller nations: Augrin, Syemfin and Bolin.
The nation of Augrin
was composed of the present-day provinces of Glaethur, Teluré and
Llewyn. These were the heartlands of the elfin peoples, home of the
unassailable citadel of Starglow.
The nation of Bolin
was comprised mainly of what is now the Kôtom Province, that is,
all the lands along the coast of Ocea Primum. As the Kôtom
Provine does today, Bolin thrived on a prosperous sea-trade.
The nation of Syemfin
consisted of the eastern-most reaches of the Great Forest, the wild lands
that today separate the Kingdom of Stephen from the human Middle Kingdoms,
which at the time was a grand gnomish land. Syemfin, like the Dévum
elves, was the most violent and militaristic of the elfin nations, a sentiment
which lives on today in their descendants: the barbarian elfin tribes that
still roam the eastern reaches of the Great Forest.
The Dévum Vale
was left untouched, in respect for the tribes of Dévum elves, whose
return was expected soon. Even when it became clear that the Dévum
elves were lost the land was left as possibly cursed.
V. The Third Age: Aj-bröns
This was a troubled age of contradictions.
However haunted that
they were by the War of Orcish Hordes, peace again fell upon the lands
and nations of Alina. The great strides and achievements of former
generations would never again be matched, handicapped as the elfin peoples
were by the Great Division and the caution brought with their loss of innocence.
Nonetheless, the elfin peoples again established themselves as great artistic
and scholarly masters. During this era, they formed a tight bond
with the gnomish peoples, whose inquisitiveness and knowledge went well
with elfin command and artistry and magicks.
A great deal of tension
existed between newly-separated elfin nations, each of them haunted by
the War of Orcish Hordes and especially the disappearance of the Dévum
elves. Each nation seemed to blame the others for this disturbing
event. While open warfare never erupted, the troubled tensions between
the elfin nations often led to small skirmishes, raids and even true battles.
VI. The Coming of Grüge
and the Goblinoid War: Aj-dwuyl
While the War of the Orcish Hordes left
a terrible scar upon the elfin peoples, the Goblinoid War brought near-total
devastation. Crippled by their mutual contempt and animosity, the
elfin nations were blown like chaff in the wind against the terrible might
of the Goblinoid Hordes greatest weapon: the red dragon Grüge.
Again, only the greatest fortresses of Augrin stood against Grüge
and his hordes of monsters. But, this time no hero would rise from
among the elfin people, nor any of the Elder Races. Grüge enslaved
great numbers of elves – thousands, perhaps tens of thousands – and siege
was laid to Starglow for more than a century. The elfin name for
this terrible age is Aj-dwuyl: “The Age of Sorrow.”
VII. The Klar-cil and the Coming
of Men
Like the Great Division, the Coming of
Klar-cil and race of people who call themselves “human” is not an age which
spanned centuries. It is, nonetheless, an event of the greatest importance
to elfinkind. For more than a century, the Reign of Grüge had
laid waste to the world, yet no hero had risen from the downtrodden ranks
of the elfin peoples. The besieged citadel of Starglow, the last
hope of elfinkind, began to grow week under the constant onslaught of the
Goblinoid Hordes. The future seemed bleak indeed.
The Klar-cil, some
say, descended from the heavens, a great warrior clad in silver and bearing
a sword that would hue threw its masters foes with ease and glowing delight.
A grain of hope was kindled in the heart of the enslaved peoples of Alina,
a grain which came to violent life when the Klar-cil eventual slew the
terrible Grüge.
Soon, more men appeared
upon the world, descended perhaps from heaven as he had. They rallied
about the great silver banner of the Klar-cil, whom they called Lôr
Swingsword, and fell upon the minions of Grüge with swift and unforgiving
swords. The downtrodden elves, especially the zealous warriors of
Syemfin, rallied about the Klar-cil, as well, hailing him as something
of a god.
Yet, despite the jubilant
victories over the routed Goblinoid Hordes, the elfin nations were left
crippled by Reign of Grüge.
VIII. The Age of Shadow: Aj-ömber
By the reckoning of elves, whose long lives
allow them to view time in seasons and years, not days and weeks, the Klar-cil
passed on but moments after his Coming. The elfin nations, slowly
repairing the wounds of the Goblinoid Wars, viewed the ensuing chaos amongst
the human tribes with great anxiety.
Crippled by the terrible
Reign of Grüge, the elfin nations hardly had time to upright themselves
and begin the long and slow road to recovery before the black greed of
Baûl came pouring over their borders. In comparison to Aj-ömber,
Aj-dwuyl, the Reign of Grüge, was mere inconvenience to the utter
devastation and ruin brought by the dark minions and magicks of Baûl.
The nations of Syemfin and Bolin were both totally overrun, their people
put to the sword and stake, and their lands set ablaze. Even the
city of Starglow, the wondrous capital of ages past, unassailable for millennia,
was sacked and razed. For more than four centuries, the nation of
Arguin existed only as a guerilla government-in-exile, refusing to capitulate,
but incapable of truly striking out against the incredible might of Baûl.
IX. The Great Peace: Aj-paxen
Only after the Fall of Baûl did the
kingdom of Lorn truly come to be. The descendants of the nation of
Bolin had been scattered about the world, many having the fled the Age
of Shadow on the open seas. The people of Syemfin had degenerated
into nomadic barbarians, ruling the eastern reaches of the Great Forest
through brute force, sword and spell.
Only the people of
Arguin survived the Reign of Baûl, returning only after many centuries
to the ravaged Glaethur province and rebuilding their world again. King
Hælor Luine led these people as a hero, the son of the elf who slaughtered
the Dark Emperor himself. Long gone were the days of councils or
divided nations; by force of sword and charm, Hælor created a single
nation from the people of Arguin and Bolin, too. He has become a
king of unparalleled power among any contemporary nations, a wise and benevolent
man whose decree reaches to the most local level.
Only the barbarian nomads of the Syemfin people continue to elude
Hælor in his dream of unifying the elfin peoples again. The
Tôm province is precariously loyal to the Lornian crown at best,
for people there share a deep kinship with the wild elves of Syemfin.
During the Great Peace,
the Kingdom of Lorn has rebuilt itself slowly, reworking and repairing
the great artistry of former generations with great care. During
this past millenium, Lorn has remained staunchly isolationist, carefully
remaining apart from the tensions that prevail among the newer human kingdoms,
and placing stark limits upon who may enjoy the privileges of Lornian citizenship.
Nonetheless, Lorn has once again become the seat of matchless magical and
artistic achievement upon Alina.
X. Lorn Today
There are many scholars who argue that
the Great Peace is about to come to an end, that the calm of so many centuries
must somehow soon be ruptured. Indeed, there are many Lornians who
would agree with them.
King Hælor Luine,
though wiser than ever, has begun at last to show his age of more than
one thousand years. Greying, bent and wrinkled, it is no difficult
task to see that he is very near death’s door. This would be of no
great concern if it were not for the fact that Hælor has no heir-apparent.
Indeed, he was an only child, and while there may be many elves who claim
some blood relation to the Luine family, nothing is certain after the devastation
of the Age of Shadow. At one time, King Hælor did indeed have
children: two sons, in fact. However, the eldest, Keryn, was exiled
more than two hundred years ago for high treason to the crown. His
younger brother Jakiov disappeared mysteriously soon after.
Added to these tensions,
the wild elves of Syemfin have become increasingly bold in their attacks
and raids upon the Tôm province. Moreover, mysterious gurus
and priests from the distant land of Feryn have recently come to the Kôtom
province, the ancient kingdom of Bolin, and have been prophesizing a great
darkness “to come pouring from the very bowels of our Mother.” Their words
are always cryptic, their aims inscrutable.