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VI. Lôr Swingsword and the Coming of Men
Seeing their dark champion falter, the swords of the orcish hordes
fell useless to the ground, their terrible creations lost all sense of power,
all the goblinoid masses fled like chaff before the combined wrath of the
rising elves, dwarves, halflings and gnomes. The righteous anger of the
Elder Races chased the orcs and their abominations far back into the
desolate foothills and brackish swamps from whence they came.
And alongside the mighty reconstructed armies of the Elder Races,
even in the forefront, the Klar-cil and his kind rode: beings taller than
even elves, and not a slender, but with great bulk. Their swords rang
swift and true in the fight, and their thunderous voices could constantly be
heard in the din of battle.
The men of Alina rallied about the triumphant, whom they called
Lôr Swingsword. With him they settled the land south of the Great
Forest, along shores of the Sea of Ryun, founding the first whispers of the
ancient kingdom of Ruûn.
For many years, during the reign of Lôr Swingsword, the human
peoples lived in great harmony with the Elder races of Alina. The
magical world was spacious and accommodating. The defeated goblinoid
hordes had retreated into the mountains and black swamps and peace
had returned to the world.
Yet, the lives of men are short. With great mourning the world saw
the passing of Lôr Swingsword, the Klar-Cil, the Champion of the
forces of Good. With the death of the Klar-cil, a dark shadow passed
over the lands of men. Without so powerful a leader as Lôr, the human
peoples quarreled bitterly amongst themselves, dividing into several
camps. During the Troubled Times they withdrew far from the Elder
Races, who looked on with uneasiness.