Aesor and all within its “Shattered Light” are creations of the Dragon-God Kalzamaath. Himself born as an unexpected answer to a conflict as old as time. He created Aesor through a combination of the five elements mixed with the essence, or Heart, of the known Cosmos. Any histories from before the Shattered Light are long in the past and not often thought or spoken of. The grand Shattered Light, a prismatic, shimmering, and living force that provides all the ingredients needed for life to begin and ascend, shields Aesor from exterior threats. Through it, the dreaming Kalzamaath enacts the day and night cycles and decides Aesor’s weather. A paradise just waiting to flourish in the spirit of progress and evolution. All of this a testament to the power of Kalzamaath, the Ohin
Unknown to many of its inhabitants is that all life on Aesor was not created equally, but any more on that is a detail for another time. Before the First Age, came the dragons, direct descendants and creations of the Ohin, our lord. With time, and through his will, life emerged. Six dominant, yet mortal races, sharing life within the Shattered Light.
The Arkey, a species akin to dragons, held the frozen lands of the north at Whitehail Peaks. They thirst and commit to the Shattered Light’s Marcry, a mystical force that allows them to shape and control reality around them. With an air of superiority they have the largest and oldest schools dedicated to wielding the power of the Shattered Light and are foundational to such teachings. The tales that are told, lay claim that no Arkey has ever died of old age. At times they can come off as a bit full of themselves, but their reputation does hold some merit, history has proven that an Arkey’s determination is infallible once fully employed.
The Eyphran, a species of sentient flora, small in stature yet expansive and curious thinkers. Naturally, they make their homes amongst the trees, mountains, and lowlands of the Mezataan jungles. Embracing the Shattered Light, their society had flourished as a civilization rich with marcry insight.
Their neighbors, the Arkey, only watched from a distance until their Marcry was noticed. Both races came together, at first with a spirit of cooperation, but before long, secrets were staunchly held by both sides. A marcritic arms race resulted from their continued interactions, a time filled with innovation and reimagined Marcry possibilities. Jealousy and rivalry devolved their relations into accusations and animosity. The Hex Wars between the Arkey Nation of Aztheon and the Ephyran society lasted over 300 years.
Just as this war blossomed, humans laid claim to the continental plains and forests of Alar. Alarians, or Plainskippers, are a phenomenon unto themselves. The Plains of Alar differ a fair amount from the other homelands in that it claims no element, while the others do. Whitehail Peaks is touched by the essence of Lightning, and the Jungles by the essence of Wind. Alarians enjoyed exclusion from the Hex Wars and it would be many decades before the Ephyran and Arkey cared to give Alarians any true regard. Plainskippers can be very crafty and swift to organize into mutually beneficial arrangements. As such, these “ordinary” men and women have commanded many great feats of both joy and sorrow within time.
While the Ephyrans and Arkeys saw only each other, the Volkran people made themselves known to the Alarians much sooner. Hailing from the volcanic paradise of Vahalzaar, these fierce tribal giants began expanding their territories to a mini continent between theirs and the Alarians. The Isle of Morgus Cay was and still is resplendent with diverse and rare resources. Humbly, the Volkrans only laid claim to the northernmost region of the land, leaving nearly two thirds of the remaining south to Alar. Once settled there, the Volkrans fortified and cultivated their culture, focusing their efforts on defending what they had, not expansion. For sixteen years the two peoples coexisted on Morgus Cay, before a second war began on Aesor. The War of the Dead Cay lasted for almost 300 years before quelling.
It was the surfacing of the Nepheli people that ultimately forced relative peace throughout Aesor. A popular theory being that the Nepheli had always lived far below the Four Isle Sea, self-sufficient, when a century and a half of war bled into, and rained down upon their people and way of life. Without regard for who was on board the vessels, the Nepheli people began to reclaim their home through force. No navy was safe from their aquatic dominance. Two separate wars then became one when the Ephyran, Arkey, Alarian, and Volkran people became united against the unabashed Nepheli.
Nations spent more and more time rebuilding their fleets only to have them sunk by the unrelenting Nepheli people. Waging war became impossible without access to the Lethassa, the Four Isle Sea. The Struggle for the Seas ended all waterborne wars on Aesor in the year 489, with the Ionish Pact signed between all nations. Vessels of war were converted into trade and cargo boats. Each nation had depleted its own valuable time and resources during the struggle, leaving them all with major deficits and tradable surpluses. Within the century, the Alarians would form the Nortrade League, a union of commerce between the nations, creating economies of mutual benefit amongst them. Soon, transportation vessels began ferrying the various races amongst each other's lands, intermingling their lives. Aesor trended towards peace, something the Ohin could be proud of.
In the year 755, the Clans of Vahalzaar reported to the Nortrade League the existence of an intelligent species, the Gruul, of insectoids living in a layer below Aesors surface they called the Unborn Path. Small skirmishes began between the Gruul and the Volkrans, for territory. The Gruul Empire reached deep within the Unborn Path beneath Whitehail Peaks. As the First Age would come to an end, a new war was sparked between the Volkrans of the Blazing Hand and the Gruul Empire. The Gruul were cold and calculated with their military tactics, with no sense of self or individuality. A being, or monster, known as the Old One births and controls the Gruul as one hive mind, explaining their unmatched coordination. The Volkrans of the Blazing Hand did not and would not consider defeat or surrender, fighting savagely against the Gruul swarms. Souls were traded between the armies, but no meaningful territory had truly ever been gained or lost by either. The Buried Wars continued to the end of the First Age, and have yet to conclude.
