History of Arcadia's Cultures

Human

It is said that humans were the last creation in Arcadia almost 15 millenia ago because the two gods known as the Brothers wished them to be the most perfectly crafted. At the advice of the gods they then settled into the northern realm of the continent and built under the shadow of the highest mountain, which was named Celest in honor of the heavens from which they came. A great city was built there which was named Celestia and expanded up the mountainside in terraces. Over the next millenia humans spread out southward to the east and west of the Gorgoth mountains until they reached the rim of the Halo of Fire, a mountain range with countless volcanoes, and finally settled down. During this expansion the humans to the west of the Gorgoth mountains encountered another creation similar to them: gnomes, as well as the Gorgo and eventually evil races such as orcs and gnolls.  This was known as the Age of Prosperity.

Five millenia ago the Emperor decided to appoint two of his sons, Aurun and Eden, to govern the cities on the west and east sides, respectively, of the Gorgoth mountains. It was becoming impractical for the Emperor to manage every affair accross the empire, and he felt a change was needed in order for the citizens to get the attention they deserved. Sub-capitols were established and named Aurunshire in the west, and Edenia in the east. For a few years the new policy seemed to work and the people praised the Emperor for his wisdom. However, one day Aurun and Eden were discovered murdered in their bedrooms, both with a dagger in each of their backs. The Emperor was burdened with too much grief to attend to many of the Empire's affairs so his advisor picked two priests from the sub-capitols' churches to temporarily take over. The priests were not blessed with divine powers, which should have been a sign of their mortal failings, and they became corrupted with power, each wanting the Empire for themselves. Before long the new rulers began overtaxing the citizens under their control and began building up their armies in secret. The Emperor became very concerned and dispatched messengers to inform the two governors to abide by his standards. The messengers never arrived, and soon afterwards the Empire split into a three-way war. In present days the war is referred to as the Holy War and thus began the Age of Despair.

The fighting raged on for many centuries; cities and the landscape became scorched and disfigured. Celestia slowly gained ground on the regions of Aurun and Edenia throughout the war though because of their Crusaders, holy warriors blessed with divine powers. After nearly 600 years of fighting, Celestia eventually emerged victorious. The Emperor of that time exiled the wicked governors to the Halo of Fire to live out their rest of their miserable lives. The citizens of Aurun and Edenia however had a taste of independence and wanted to keep it that way, so they asked the Emperor for sovereignty. He denied their requests, saying it was better if there was only a single ruler again. The Brothers, however, spoke to the Emperor in a dream saying they wished there to be three kingdoms so that such infighting over power would not threaten humanity's existence again. They stated that the people would be led by someone They chose to make sure of this.

The Emperor was reluctant but did not dare go against the wishes of the Brothers. The next day he made a proclimation, declaring the regions of Aurun and Edenia to be sovereign, and to be led by kings and counciled by the Pope, a newly created position within the church. The Pope declared two kings through the guidance of the Brothers and the people celebrated and praised the Brothers for their divine wisdom.

As time marched on the people rebuilt their cities or established new ones in more fertile locations.  Peace and prosperity reigned over the three human realms and thus began the Golden Age. Roughly a century ago, however, a severe famine developed in Edenia; crops mysteriously withered the day after they were planted. The fisherman had to go farther and farther out to sea in order to bring in food and in this way the race of elves were discovered. The seas become rough and stormy far out and the fisherman discovered an island surrounded by fog near the outside edge of the Endless Storm. The elves were not hostile to the humans who landed on their island but kept their distance and limited their interactions, but they did help stop the famine for reasons only known to their rulers. Over the last fifty years, however, the elves started coming out of their shells and have opened up trade with the human kingdoms and have set up outposts and settlements in the forests of Edenia.

Recently however, tension has overcome the human kingdoms again as each accuses the other of hiding technological and magical advancements from each other and have begun limiting trade. The Pope so far has held the kingdoms in check, but no one knows how much longer the peace can last.  Patrols have been increased on the borders and tolls have been added at the border crossings.  There are even rumors of the elves planning something devious, mostly whispered outside of Edenia's earshot. There are also rumors about a discovery of ancient ruins that hint at a civilization even older and grander than the elves.

Gnome

The gnomes are a more recent creation than the elves but still older than humans. They claim they were created out of the earth itself, citing the fact they originated in the mountains as proof. The first gnomes built large underground cities in the Diamond Mountains surrounding what humans call Mount Celest 20,000 years ago. The Brothers forbade them from digging into the sacred mountain, however, and the gnomes quickly expanded into the western Gorgoth mountains, encountering the elves and gorgo during this expansion. The elves admired them for their bond with the earth and the gnomes admired the elves for their bond with nature.

The gnomes existed peacefully with the other races until three centuries after their expansion efforts. That was when corrupted emperor of the elves declared war on every other race in Arcadia. The gnomes outside the cities retreated into their underground homes and hastily set up fortifications, calling on earth elementals for help. Their defense was valiant but they could not withstand the sheer numbers of elves, and the gorgo were of little help under the ground. The gnomes were enslaved and forced to join the elven army and mine minerals to support the war. After 4,000 years of on and off fighting the Brothers had enough descruction of their work and told the gnomes to retreat underground and stay there until given a sign. As the corrupted elves chased the gnomes the Brothers rained down destruction, destroying many of the forests and many of the elves.

The gnomes did not re-emerge from their underground homes until two millenia later, when they encountered the expanding human empire and took this as the divine sign. The gnomes were skeptical of the humans at first but then welcomed them after they saw their skill, if still primitive, at mining. The gnomes also gave humans arcane knowledge and showed them how to use alchemy. Over time the region now under Aurun's control became more technologically advanced due to the gnomes, and they began to hold aristocratic positions in the cities there. Those positions are generally held for a long time as well since the average life span of a gnome is 350 years.

Elf

Little is still known about the elves before they were encountered by humans. It is apparent though that their culture is more ancient then even the gnomes, especially because of their stronger bond with nature. They are said to have been created 50,000 years before humans and describe Arcadia as once being a lush continent, completely covered in forests. The elves claim that they too were created near what is now known as Mount Celest.

The Brothers instructed them to spread out across the continent and care for the land. Over the millenia the elves created an empire similar to the ones the humans once built, however the elves did not cut down the forests. Instead they built their homes and cities into and up onto the trees in accordance with the Brothers' instructions and their own respect of nature. The elves however were forbidden to go beyond what is now known as the Halo of Fire and settled down 30,000 years ago. 10,000  uneventful years later the elves encountered the gnomes, which they claim one day just came out of the mountains.

The elves, gnomes, and gorgo existed peacefully for three centuries before the elven Emperor became corrupted. No elf knows how it happened, for the process was extremely gradual and he tainted many other elves along the way. He proclamed the other races as inferior and regarded them as a danger to the serenity of the continent and declared war. The gnomes living in the elvish cities were enslaved and ones in the mountains were besieged. The elvish Empire split in two, with one side belonging to the corrupt Emperor and his gnomish slaves, and the other side including the good elves and their gorgo allies. The war was a terrible and long one and lasted for 4,000 years before the Brothers had had enough. They rained down destruction destroying much of the forests that belonged to the tainted elves and exiled the few tainted elves that survived to beyond the Halo of Fire. The Brothers could no longer trust the remaining elves to watch over the land and banished them to an island to the east and surrounded it with fog so that they could not find their way back to the mainland. The elves of that island rebuilt their civilization and lived in isolation until humans discovered them a century ago.  After a period of human contact the elves have become less distant but still regard humans as barbaric and offer to teach the ones willing to learn more civilized and enlightening ideals.  Despite this view of humans, most elves are known to be kindhearted with long tempers.

Gorgo

If little is known about the elves, then it can be said that almost nothing is known about the Gorgo. They reside in the Gorgoth mountains, named after them by the humans, and rarely travel far from their homes. They can not speak the common tongue but can warble out a form of elvish. Any Gorgo attempting to speak to a non-elf is accompanied by an elvish translator, although recently advancements have been made in Aurun about the creation of a device that will do the work of a translator.

They keep few records outside of those pertaining to buisness, so it is unknown how old their race is or what their accomplishments were outside of the Elvish civil war. They primarily trade mithral and adamantine to the other races, although adamantine is restricted to only elvish use. These precious metals are only found in the peaks of the Gorgoth mountains and Gorgo readily exploit this fact. The Gorgo shun combat, but if pressed they usually resort to firing bolts and arrows down onto the heads of their enemies and use long polearms. Most magic users among them are sorcerors; they have few wizards and fewer clerics.