The Children of Galdren 2

In the beginning, Tuharis, the Lady of Light, formed the Land from primordial chaos.  She then brought forth the first people to inhabit the land.  She created the first elf, Elion, from the wood of the trees and the first dwarf, Galdren, from the stone of the mountains.  Elion lived in the Great Forest with her children, learning the way of plants and nature, sky and water and about all, magic.  Meanwhile, Galdren founded the first dwarf home and delved into the secrets of the earth, creating wondrous artifacts and grand structures from the stones and metals, minerals and gems.  The Land was harmonious and all were happy.

All were happy, that is, except for Ahtarr, the Lord of Darkness and the twin brother of Tuharis.  Ahtarr loved chaos and strife.  He reveled in the primordial chaos and resented Tuharis for changing it and taming it, even a part of it.  Thus Ahtarr began to scheme.  Afraid to confront Tuharis directly, he began to introduce bits of chaos to the world in order to ruin the happy Land.  He brought forth monsters to prey on the people and to bring them fear.  He fashioned Dark Magic from chaos to warp and twist the unwary users' minds and souls.  And he created the goblins to kill the first inhabitants and to ravage the Land.  The quickly reproducing goblins were a particular threat to the long-lived but less prolific elves and dwarves.

Thus, Tuharis created humans to counter the threat of the goblins.  Humans had neither the great knowledge and magic of the elves nor the endurance and industriousness of the dwarves.  And they short-lived compared to both.  But the humans were supremely adaptable and reproduced much more quickly and were therefore very successful.

The human/elf/dwarf alliance eventually won the great Goblin Wars and drove the goblins to the far north beyond the Northlands.  But the alliance paid a great price.  The Land was ravaged and the forests were burnt and many died.  Without a common threat the alliance dissolved as each people looked to their own needs.  And Ahtarr took advantage of the situation to sow discord between the three.  And thus, though the Land has recovered, when Flametongue flew out of the north, the dwarves could find none to aid them (even their southern brethren it turns out.)

Today, the Land faces its greatest peril since the advent of the goblins.  Disunited and fragmented in the face of Firetongue in the Northlands and the goblins throughout the mountains, the three peoples and the Land itself may be destroyed.

Will heroes rise to face the challenge?

Next up, a bit about the inhabitants of the Land, their beliefs and customs and their view of the world.