Introduction
Most of the data represented here comes from Dwarven written records. Elven oral history is also used but is considered less reliable because most stories make no reference to the date of the events they recount. Physical evidence, such as ruins of giant buildings, clearly confirms some parts of the prehistory data.
Origins of the races
The Giants were created first, long before the mortal races were made by the gods. It is important to make the distinction between near-immortal Giants, who had no old age or certainty of death and the following races, who came to see life as a “brief stroll upon the stage”. Elves were the longest lived, often reaching 400 years of age. Dwarves were next, usually living 200 years. Trolls could count 100 years as a long life, if they did not die in battle. Goblins had the shortest lifespan with about 50 years being normal.
In the elder days the gods walked with the Giants and mortals, talking with them as a parent would with his children. “The divine was so close that it seemed ordinary.” said a Dwarven inscription in the ruins of a Giant fortress. All ideas and skills were taught directly by the gods at the beginning of history. They visited the birth place of each race many times in the first few generations. Although each god gave instruction, the natural character of a race determined what knowledge was best absorbed.
In the North the Dwarves took special interest in Fremelur – lord of masons, carpenters and architects. His teachings about building and planning were well received. In terms of moral direction, the Dwarves favoured Goldoner – Prince of Perfection and Addella – Princess of duty. But above all it was Dunaban – lord of smiths who became the popular patron god.
In the South the Elves fell in love with Alaphra – goddess of artists, who is passionate and creative. She taught them the way to understand and enjoy life. Naturally Allegga – Princess of Pleasure was the moral guild, stressing that one should make the most of each day. However a serious side was taken in by the Elves as they listened to Libroner – Prince of Freedom.
In the East the Trolls agreed with the ideas of Biddenur – Prince of Power, who said “the strong should take what they want, the weak must endure it”. However it was the teachings of Libroner – Prince of Freedom that became more central to the Troll way of life. He stressed self sufficiency and independence, claiming that reliance on others could make life easy but it was a path to slavery. Of course the most useful figure in Troll eyes was Kalata – goddess of the hunt. She provided all the skills one needed.
In the West the Goblins bowed before Arkala – goddess of the workshop, who taught many useful crafts. Right beside her was Gebalur – god of farmers, who provided the most necessary of all skills. In terms of a moral teacher the Goblins loved Ammirra – Princess of Unpredictability. However it would be Ratarlus – lord of the market place who became the figure most admired.
As for the Giants it is difficult to say what they thought of the gods. No records have been found. The monuments we expect to carry inscriptions about the gods are strangely void. It is believed that during the war the Giants removed all reference to the gods from their lands.
The Empire of the Giants
After the mortal races had lived for several generations in isolation, the gods escorted Giants to meet with them. In each case the Giants set up a trade post in the race’s home land and brought back to the central continent Carsis a number of the mortals. It was easy for the new races to acknowledge the Giants as overlords, and take up the role of subjects. The Giants were not unreasonable masters. They compensated their subjects well for the work they asked them to do.
After several more generations there was a clear system of Empire in the world. The gods were supreme of course, but they gave no direction to things aside from their basic teachings. The Giants ruled from Centrial city, with smaller towns scattered all over Carsis. The subject races who lived on the continent were totally integrated into the society. Those mortals who still lived in the homelands were equal citizens but culturally different. They had less contact with the Giants and manage their own affairs more.
Opening of the Giant War
The war began with a sneak attack made by the Giants. As several of the gods had come to Centrial city watch the grand festival of games, the Giants made use of their secret weapon. The gods themselves tell that it was a type of un-magical device with powers they never even considered possible. The Giants had expected it to be able to slay the gods, but that was not quite what it did. When struck with the weapon a god was painfully banished from the world and would only slowly reform in the heavens. But for the first day it looked very much like the Giants had found a way to kill the immortals.
As the shock wore off, the gods realised they had not only violated one of their own divine laws, but also that the bulk of the dead were innocent subjects of the Giants who had no part in the underhanded assault. The gods debated what should be done next as their fallen brethren slowly reformed.
Meanwhile the Giants carefully examined records of the attack. They came to understand the real effect of their secret weapon and how it could be put to another use. With some work the weapon could be made to cast a shield over the entire continent, maybe even the world, which would prevent the gods from manifesting in physical form and using their magic directly in the world.
Enter the Humans
The gods chose to stay with in the divine laws by not participating directly in the war. The gods created the Humans to be the tools of their justice. In particular they created four branches of Humanity each intended to offset weaknesses in the nature of the existing mortal races, so they would be able to face the Giants in the epic struggle ahead.
The gods could not know the future for sure, but they were very good at making predictions based on all available facts. They reasoned that the subject races who had lived directly under Giant’s rule would not effectively be turned against their masters. However those in the homelands could easily be recruited to the god’s side.
In the North, blond Humans appeared and were quickly mixed into Dwarven society. The gods saw the Dwarves as nearly perfect for the war, but found them lacking in inventiveness and adaptability to new situations. The Humans set up villages around the hill-forts and accepted the role of subjects. The Dwarves grumbled about the newcomers until they realized their value. In particular it was the Human’s devotion to Missra – goddess of fishing and travel, which earned them acceptance. Most Dwarves did not like boats, being of dense bone and muscle they sank much better than they ever could swim. The Humans on the other hand seemed to enjoy being out on the water, traveling to visit other communities and more importantly fishing to provide food. Dwarves found they had a fondness for fish. As a counter point to Dwarven psychology, the Humans admired Ammirra – Princess of Unpredictability. They found value in surprise and trickery while the elder race thought reliability and regularity were greater goods. What united both peoples was a growing respect for Marzur – god of battle. He was soon named Patron Deity of all the North lands.
In the South, black Humans appeared and settled peacefully alongside the Elves. The gods saw the Elves not as a serious fighting force, but as scouts and messengers. Their natural eccentricities prevented the Elves from working on large projects. The Humans established settlements along the great fertile rivers and some Elves joined with them, but no true mixing of culture happened. This can be understood by looking at the way the races governed themselves. Humans used a binding democratic system, in which the minority would have to accept the will of the majority and act as instructed. Elves on the other hand had an enforced form of democracy, in which a vote was only binding to those who agreed, others were unbound by its outcome. Thus no Elf would consider himself under a law unless he voted for it. Some humans admired the system but most thought it made accomplishing any large task impossible. In terms of devotion to the gods, Humans in the South followed Gebalur – god of farmers and Ratarlus – god of the marketplace in equal measure. They looked to Marzur – god of warfare, not as blade brandishing fighters but as logistical supporters. They took to heart his teaching that “an army marches on its stomach”.
In the East, red Humans appeared and set up villages in strong places. The gods did not expect much real mixing of culture to happen here. They told the Humans that Trolls would sometimes be friends and other times enemies. The gods saw that the defect of the Trolls was that their love of freedom prevented them from settling down to make the very tools and weapons that they would need to fight the Giants. So it would be the Human’s roll to provide these things. To this end the Humans received teachings from Addella – Princess of Duty, Gebalur – god of farmers, Dunabar – god of smiths and of course Marzur – god of warriors. Relations between Humans and Trolls were often a balance of raid and trade. Sadly some Human settlements were destroyed this way, but the conflicts did make both Trolls and Humans better fighters.
In the West, brown Humans appeared and the gods told the Goblins that these new men were here to be masters. The gods saw disunity and petty bickering as the Goblin’s chief disadvantage. Unlike the strong beliefs held by Elves and Trolls, regarding freedom and individuality, the Goblins could be controllable by a strong central authority. Quickly an integrated society was established with the Humans in the role of warriors and leaders wile the Goblins continued as supporting craftsmen; an arrangement that would eventually give rise to the classic feudal system. The Humans followed Biddenur – Prince of Power, with Fremelur – god of architects at his left hand and Marzur – god of war at his right hand. It was expected by the gods, that the West would carry the weight of the war; although the Dwarves and Humans of the north may have been better fighters and crafters, their numbers were never very high.
Getting ready to receive visitors
The Giants had invested much effort in fortifying the entire continent, with watch towers, garrison bases, strong holds and many traps. They also had a sizable navy for patrolling the seas. By some estimates only a quarter of their military had been devoted to the outposts, although other accounts claim they made a more serious effort to hold them.
In any event, much of what we know for sure about the continental defenses comes from a map carved into a huge table-stone found on Morca Island. Carved on the side of the table are the Dwarven words “My father laid the fort’s foundations, I have finished the battlements, now my son stands watch as the enemy sail into sight.”
The Giants also had two other defensive plans at work. They had created huge monsters; Dragons of land, sea and air. Although they were few in number during the early days of the invasion, they would later play a major role in the conflict. The Giants were also experimenting with microscopic monsters; bacteria to cause diseases tailor made for the enemy races. Of course this was a double edged weapon as it could infect their troops too.
Control of the Seas
At
the start of the war only the Giants had ships able to make long ocean
voyages. They were confident in their control of the seas, but this
turned out to be more difficult than they expected. Human built ships
were inferior to be sure, but they were produced in huge numbers and
there was never a shortage of sailors. The Giants counted mostly on
crews of Elves and Goblins, with a few Troll troops on each ship for
boarding actions. Humans in every land loved Missra – goddess of the
sea, even when she was not a primary local deity.
Control of the Seas
The Invasion of Carsis
The North sent two forces; Army 1 made a small base at the North West tip of the continent then quickly moved to attack the Giant city of Forovia. Army 2 made a large base at the North East tip of the continent. They spend much time digging in before sending troops against the Giant city of Fivaria.
The South sent two forces to establish supply bases; one at Rocky Port Island, which would service the Western front, and the other at Bassa Jungle Island, which would provide for the Eastern front. The South laid no sieges but they did provide valuable support, in terms of supplies and scouting. While the Humans ran convoys through increasingly dangerous waters, the Elves sent rangers to spy out the enemy land.
The West sent a single huge force, by some accounts half its population, to establish a fully self sufficient base on Long Island. Once that was secure they would attack Towttorro. Although they were grateful for the aid provided from the North and South, they were ready and willing to fight the war alone.
The East sent many small armies each one functioning independently to raid the enemy whenever they could. Some were destroyed, others went home, only a few claimed permanent territory. Eventually some of the East armies attached themselves to the Northern forces.
Of course this summary of events should be set in a context of time. The invasion did not happen in a day, nor did it happen easily with out opposition. In most cases it took years of work and many battles to make progress inland. The bases that the Allies established were not entirely safe, many times they came under attack and a few were actually lost. In the early years almost every serious battle was won by the Giants. They were better skilled and organized in terms of combined unit fighting.
The Plague Weapon
After much consideration, the Giants decided to use the microscopic monsters. The results were spectacular. With in one year each of the outlying continents was nearly devoid of mortal life. The homelands of Dwarf, Elf, Troll, Goblin and Humans were devastated. Cities were left standing as the dead lay in the streets. The Plague weapon has been a complete success, offering its predicted 90% fatality rate.
The allies received a few scattered reports of disease outbreaks in the home lands before communication stopped. The forces established on Carsis were alone, with no hope of new supplies or aid from the home lands. The gods were outraged at this turn of events, in part because they had once more been caught by surprise.
Summarizing the War
There were many victories for both sides in the war, so that the outcome was never assured. Even when the Allies were making progress, reducing the territory held by the Giants, there was an uncertainty that final victory could ever be achieved. The Giants were very skilled at inventing new surprises to delay their defeat.
As final victory came into sight, the Allies high command began to ask itself the mind numbing question; “What do we do without the war?” The entire continental civilization had grown out of a constant push to defeat the Giants. Everything was in some way directed towards the war effort. The uncertain future terrified some people more than any battle ever had. They turned to the gods, but the energy field the Giants had placed around the world still remained, making any communication difficult. The gods could not provide the sort of clear instructions that had started the war rolling.
The Doomsday Device
The debate over what would be done once the war ended was never settled. After the fall of the last Giant city, Allied command did not declare the war over. They said; most troops could start returning home, but all armies were to remain formally in service, until the last of the hidden Giant strong holds was found.
A few years later, there was a catastrophic volcanic eruption under the Pallanor Peninsula – what is today called Pininth. Although there was never proof, the idea that the eruption was caused by some sort of device the Giants created, became common. Perhaps because the effects of the huge explosion were exactly the sort of thing a spiteful enemy would wish for once he was defeated.
The eruption shattered the peninsula, causing massive tidal waves all around the Inner Ocean. It also shot so much dust into the air that the sky was dark for several years. Many places that survived the shaking and the falling rocks were later abandoned during the Long Winter. A fate, more cruel than the plague, befell the mortals living in Carsis after the eruption; starvation. With in a few years civilization simply disintegrated. Survivors scattered into small groups in search of food, in hopes of finding an area not ruined by the doomsday explosion’s fall out.
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