Kalijor

It is known that before the great war, the elves and dwarves lived in peace and harmony with one another. Their two great people ruled the land with grace, wisdom, and love for the land and all of its offerings. Both races welcomed the younger races into their arms and began to teach them the way of things, magic, art, culture, life. But as is so often the case, nothing lasts forever.

As their powers grew so did their pride. And pride, as you know, is the downfall of any great people. Their pride led to competition between them as they each tried to prove their superiority to the rest of the world. They each created grand armies, equipped with the best magical weapons and armor that had ever been created. They used their power and knowledge to infuse their weapons and armor with additional powers.

At long last their pride could be held in check no longer and what is the purpose of an army, if not to wage war? So the dwarves and elves went to war in the name of superiority. The war they waged is said to have gone on for a century as they clashed again and again, changing the face of Kalijor with their anger and might. They fought and they fought until their people were nearly obliterated.

When at last they realized their folly, there were precious few of them left in the world and both of their great empires lay in ruins, Kalijor lay divided and they would never reclaim the glory of their golden age. Instead they receded into the shadows of what forests remained, and what mines could still be worked for metals. They moved off the stage and let the younger races have their hand at the helm.

For millennia now they have remained in the background, their numbers never really recovering from the tragedy that was of their own making. The races of men, feline, reptile, taurian and others began building their own empires on Kalijor and, with a subtle guiding hand from the elves and dwarves, they have risen to power in the wake of the great war.

Over time, as is the case with most great civilizations, the misdeeds of the past were lost to memory and the younger races began to lose sight of their unified purpose. Numerous nations formed and, as is the case with people throughout history, waged wars against one another. Most of the great craftsmen of ages-gone-by had been lost to the Great War however, and those that survived from that time, as elves and dwarves are extremely long-lived peoples, refused to ply their trades in the name of warfare ever again, so the damage to the land was not as complete as was the case in the past.

These wars went on for centuries before, at last, a unifying force rose up, calling themselves simply ‘The Guard’ they recognized the need for the races of Kalijor to get along and move together toward the future. The Guard brought together the leaders of the greatest cities in Kalijor and, over the course of years, negotiated a peace that has endured to this day. Now, the Guard sits quietly in the background, watching the people of Kalijor and sending out their emissaries whenever conflict threatens to break out.