However, what would a tale of this magnitude be without a history to arise from? The world of Delthame began with but a thought. The Ancient, known only as The Seed, awoke from ages of slumber. His awakening erupted massive amounts of power into the void of the universe and created the planet of Delthame. Upon its surface, The Seed created many great landmasses, surround by the Great Sea, whose jagged limbs cut into and through the continent. The Seed blessed this world with greenery, the light of a star as bright as the sun, and the darkness of night. The Seed spoke the word and time began. Night followed day, to be mimicked in the skies and seas.
The Seed spoke a second time and thus was born the gods, physical and spiritual representations of The Seed’s thoughts. Twenty-one were born on this day: seven of light, seven of darkness, and seven to hold the balance between good and evil. And the gods of good were named so: Aloren, The Lionheart and King of Kings; Felian, The Alluring Beauty and Queen of Desire; Kallah, The Rising Sun; Demorran, Bladed Justice and The Scales of War; Mayal, The Breath of Life; Zentaur, The Lyre of Lords; and Vitalis, The Grower of Seeds. The lords of darkness were also given names by The Seed: Kranos, The Demon Lord; Malkid, The Slaughterer; Morgen, The Black Wind; Liche, The Reaper of Flesh and The Hater of Life; Kondrun, The Prince of Lie; Zephyr, The Raging Maiden; and Hexer, The Lord of Secrets. The keepers of neutrality were then called to The Seed to be named: Gileal, The Roots of Knowledge; Deter, The Source of Magic; Xylix, The World’s Anvil; Verona, The Lady of the Woodlands; Gall, The Strength of Kingdoms; Reisen, The Lord of All Roads; and Seele, The Dreamspeaker.
The Seed looked down upon his new creations and found the world to be empty. He then created life on the surface in the forms of animals. The Seed subsequently decreed that each faction of gods should create two races to rule over the animals, creating kingdoms as glorious as his own chambers. From the protectors of light came the undying races of elves and faerie. The neutral gods gave birth to the races of humans and dwarves. The deities of darkness then unleashed upon Delthame the demonic hordes and merciless wolfen, beings of both human and wolf qualities. The races were given a land to rule over and were charged with upholding the ideals of their patron gods.
In upholding these decrees, the peace amongst the races was shattered. The demons, children of the dark gods, invaded from their central position of the largest continent into the lands of the other races. As the first drop of blood was spilled on the surface of the world, The Seed cried out in pain and sorrow, retreating from all knowledge. The gods joined The Demon War, fighting alongside their children. It seemed as though the demons would conquer the entire globe until the gods of light blessed their kin with the gift of arcane magic. This form of magic was unlike the divine magic of the deities and gave the elves and faerie the ability to summon creatures with a movement of the hand or rain elemental destruction upon their enemies with but a word. Using their newfound talents, the races pushed the demons to the core of Delthame, locking them there with sigils of pure magic. With their last words, the demons cursed to magic of the other races. This curse would corrupt the minds and bodies of the magic-users for eternity.
The Curse struck the faerie first. As beings composed of magic, the faerie were unable to hold any physical form. As more and more of the faerie began to disappear, their Court of Dreams decided upon an action that would be the last hope for their race. Mating with their elven cousins, the faerie hoped to retain an existence upon Delthame through the blood of the children born from these unions. Thus was created the fae, beings who cling to the memories of their lost ancestors, yet never able to attain the pure life of the faerie. This time will be forever known to the fae as The Time of the Lost.
But the faerie were not the only beings touched by The Curse. The elves were also struck by the distortion caused by the demons’ will. Three brothers ruled the elven nation at this time. They are known only as The Speaker of the Sun, The Speaker of the Stars, and The Speaker of the Moon, their names forgotten in the waves of history. A vicious quarrel broke out amongst the brothers over the nature of arcane magic and the curse that had befallen them. The Voice of the Sun argued that arcane magic would not corrupt, so long as it was used for the purposes of good. The Speaker of the Stars abhorred the use of arcane magic and pleaded his brothers to release themselves from magic’s grip and return to the favour of the gods. The Speaker of the Moon, his heart already spoiled by the touch of the arcane, called for his brothers to embrace The Curse as a gift the gods had given them. As words became blows, the brothers gathered those elves of like-mind at their side and the War of Kin ensued. After seven years of brutal war, all parties retreated under the flag of truce; The Speaker of the Sun and his high elves to the isle of Vesper, the Speaker of the Stars and his wood elves drew back to the Forest of Alahan, and the Speaker of the Moon and his dark elves to the frozen tundra of Nulgard. Since this break of the elven nation, these three lands have continuously fought a war of both shadows and bloodshed.
The humans, taught the ways of arcane magic by their elven allies during The Demon War, also broke their powerful kingdom into two. After months of debate between the leadership of the kingdom and the High Lords of the Universities of Arcane Study, the two agreed to splinter the nation into equal halves. The western half, now known as the Kingdom of Steel, is ruled by mighty warrior-kings and a ten-thousand man army. The Kingdom of Fire, located in the eastern half of the once united realm, is controlled by the eight Universities of Arcane Study and is home to some of the greatest and most insane wizards of Delthame.
Then, as seemingly drawn to the world at the point of its greatest desperation, came the dragons. No one could say where they came from and many don’t even have the courage to guess. Flying on wings of sinew and scale, the dragons brought terror unknown to the world of Delthame. The dragons were unaffected by The Curse and used arcane powers without fear of consequence. Attacking villages and cities without warning, the dragons wreaked devastation across the entire continent. The races of Delthame were unable to fight back against the dragons’ attacks. For every dragon that was brought down from the skies, dozens of mortals died. It was a hopeless war, until the arrival of another cluster of dragons. These mighty beasts with scales glittering of precious gems clashed with the dragons. The massive battles fought in the air over Delthame finally began to turn the tides of the war and the gem dragons arose victorious. It came to be known that the dragons of color (red, black, and green) were created by the vile gods as their devices of vengeance for the entrapment of their demonic children while the gem dragons (diamond, sapphire, and ruby) were made by the gods of light to protect the other races. This war will come to be known as The War of Wings.
By the end of The War of Wings, most mortals had lost hope for a peaceful life. That was until the arrival of The Prophet. He came to the capital city of each great nation of Delthame in the form of a golden eagle. Each city was given the same message, “Know that the warfare is almost at an end. Upon the fall of night, a new warlord shall arise. He will shy from the day and strive for the night. He will only be annihilated by an alliance greater than any this world has seen. Upon the final death of this warlord, a child shall be born with the blood of a dragon. This child alone can bring peace to Delthame.”
As per the prophecy, the nightfall of the final day of The Prophet’s voyage saw the moon colored the red of streaming blood. In the south-western province of The Kingdom of Steel, the lord of the province sold his soul to the gods of darkness for unholy and undying power. He set out that night gathering the greatest warriors of the province and making them as himself through the power of the Blood Kiss. So was born The Kingdom of the Night.
Controlling powers over the dead, Valderak, the Vampire Lord, overran the provinces adjacent to his own. Where he and his army went, death and devastation followed. For each warrior killed by the blade of the vampires, another warrior arose in his place to fight in this army of darkness. King Gerhard, monarch of the Kingdom of Steel, sent his messengers out to the lands of the high elves, dwarves, and to their magical kin in the Kingdom of Fire, pleading for aid against the undead menace. The answer returned in the form of armies from each nation. As the Vampire Lord reached Königstahl, capital city of the Kingdom of Steel, awaiting him was an army of warriors and wizards larger than any before. Blood flowed from dusk until dawn, and as the sun rose over the horizon, the vampire army lay in ashes. The Alliance of Realms had been formed from the humans of the Kingdoms of Steel and Fire, the high elves of Vesper, and the dwarves of Kharan O’Kraz.
On this very day, a wood elven child is born in the Forest of Alahan. Born from the unity of dragon and elf, arcane magic flows through her blood. Her parents name her Lileantala, the Breath of Arcane. This is the story of her struggle and search for peace.