In the time before time, Enkyr was a place of darkness. It was Quesulen who broke this darkness, arriving on Enkyr carrying the light of the gods. He was soon followed by the other gods, each of whom claimed aspects of the world. Before long, the gods tired of their new home, despairing of its emptiness.
History
It was Ormardhin who discovered the magic to bring mortal life to Enkyr. For eons, the gods toiled, sculpting Enkyr into a paradise. The gods' masterwork were the Elder Races: the Elves, Dwarves, and Naga. Invested with only a spark of godstuff, these Elder beings still held power beyond measure.
Soon the gods began to vie for their creations' affections. What began as a subtle struggle soon became full-fledged war between the gods and their creations. Great destruction was wrought across the world.
The Elves found themselves caught between the warring Dwarves and Naga, each seeking their allegiance. The strain proved too much for elvish society. Those Elves who joined the Dwarves in their subterranean cities became known as Dark Elves, while those who sided with the Naga were known as Wood Elves. Those Elves who attempted to remain above the conflict were known as High Elves.
The Elvish Schism brought no conclusion to the war. Instead, it intensified. Soon the gods themselves were wading into battle. Their presence leveled cities and caused breathtaking loss of life.
It is unknown who created the magic that ended the war, but all participants were affected. A devastating magic began ravaging the Elder Races, sapping their wills. Though subtle at first, its effects quickly intensified. Many Elder succumbed to the malaise, ending their own lives or simply lying down and dying. Others exiled themselves. In mere months after the curse was unleashed, the Elder were reduced to no more than a tenth of their original number.
The Gods were similarly affected by the curse. They ceased to be active participants on Enkyr, withdrawing to their celestial realm and contenting themselves with taking a much reduced role in the world.
As the Elder Curse raged, the Elders themselves raced to counteract its magic. It was a High Elf wizard who discovered that the Curse was inextricably linked to the divine spark the Elders carried. To counteract the curse, the Elders were forced to divest themselves of the gods' magic, thus becoming mere shadows of their former selves.
With the Elder races greatly reduced, the gods soon found themselves despairing of the empty world. Thus they engaged in their final great work in the world, creating the young races that now populate Enkyr. Attempting to avoid the fate of the three Elder races, the young races were of great number and variety, their sole consistency being a lack of divine might.
The young races spread across the world, building nations and empires. Some were noble, some were oppressive. Most notable of these were the Dragon-ruled kingdom of the Golden Dynasty, the Ortûl Empire, and the seafaring explorers of Juleyla.
During an expedition on the high seas, a Juleyan fleet stumbled across a desolate island populated with dangerous beasts. Mounting an expedition, the Juleyans found immeasurably ancient ruins and retrieved a magic item now known as the Blight Seed. They returned home with their prize, presenting it to their king. Juleya's Archmage Eoror spent many weeks studying the Seed until one day it awoke, unleashing a wave of magic that wrought a horrific transmogrification upon the leaders of Juleya. The magic warped their flesh and minds, turning all present into creatures whose very appearance drove many who saw them mad.
Thus began the Blight War. Those individuals affected by the Blight Seed somehow spread the infection. It took only days before the majority of Juleyan citizens were subsumed. The Blight army then strode out of Juleya, growing in size and ferocity. Soon the Blighted were arriving on shores across Enkyr. The nearby nations were quickly overwhelmed and begged the Golden Dynasty for aid. The Dragons accepted, but in return demanded that those nearby states become vassals of the great dragon nation.
Dragons are arrogant on a scale that other races can never approach. This arrogance caused their undoing, as what they expected to be a minor exertion soon required their full might. Ending the Blight War finally required a flight of dragons so massive they darkened the entire sky, turning day to night as they attacked the Blight Seed. Few returned. And though the Blight Seed was destroyed, Enkyr will feel its effects for generations.
The war ended and much of the Dragon royalty dead, the Golden Dynasty began to exercise the treaties it forced. Soon it had amassed an empire of its own. Unfortunately, the Golden Dynasty lacked the strength of arms or will to maintain its empire. Within decades, unrest seethed among its vassal states.
Thus began the Dragonthrall Wars, as one-by-one the Golden Dynasty's former provinces rose up against their new masters. Overmatched, The Golden Dynasty itself would have fallen badly were it not for their few loyal vassals, chief among them the nation of Umanan. What Umanan lacked resources and training it balanced in sheer numbers. Their entry into the war saved the Golden Dynasty, but caused massive loss of life. Eventually, the warring sides came to a truce, with the Dragons greatly diminished in stature and their former vassals proudly independent.
Seizing the distraction provided by the Dragonthrall Wars, the Ortûl Empire began its own campaign of expansion. They too seized large areas of territory and subjugated many of their neighbors. Other nations followed the Ortûl example and the Great War began. The war built on itself with nations—including those who had just emerged from the Dragonthrall Wars—enacting enormous troop levies upon their peasants. At the height of the Great War, crops were rotting in the fields as the farmers required to harvest them fought and died in foreign lands.
The Great War would likely have raged longer than it did, had it not been for the unstoppable force of hunger. After two years of near-constant war, Enkyr faced a massive food crisis. Realizing this, the warring nations rushed to broker peace deals so they could return their peasants to the fields. The balance of power in Enkyr has been permanently shifted by the war, with those nations who abstained from war and instead amassed food and other resources come to the fore.