Humanoids
first took to the skies prior to the great war when elves learned the secrets
of spelljamming and mankind learned the science of flight. In the great
war, spelljammers flown by elven wizards matched up with the propeller-driven
machines of the humans, each equally matching the other. The magical defenses
of the spelljammers proved more than enough to counter the planes of man.
This advantage was no more once man invented the first atom bomb. With
the destruction of the elven city of Darshariee with a single blast, the
elves entered into talks with the humans, all the while stalling to allow
time for the final preparations for their departure. The pride of the high
elves convinced them that they could pull off an attack disguised as a
mission of peace and finish the humans once and for all. They assembled
their most powerful mages for one final assault, realizing that defeat
was the alternative.
The elves
arrived in a single ship. Mages lined the decks and combined their
sorcerous powers weaving a spell of destruction such as the world had
never known, draining them of their very life energies. The resulting
rend in the fabric of the planes sucked the entire mannish capital
into the abyss along with the elven ship. From the abyss poured horrors
with a thirst for destruction, devastating those in their path.
Word was
transmitted to the hidden outposts of the humans on the bor- ders of
human lands. With the memories of loved ones that perished in the elven
attack, the human generals sent out all their planes to destroy the
elven cities. The battled spelljammers with heavy losses, but a formation
of five bombers made it past the heavy defenses to the heart of elven
country. They released their atomic payloads, scoring on their target
cities. The elven cities of Gardeth, Raipah, Shellariah, Dreshdin,
and Alladria were but memories in an instant. This constituted the
glory of the elven empire.
The world
suffered greatly from this exchange. The abyss drained the warmth of
the ear into its endless void. Its foul creatures poured out upon the
land, first with the human countries, but soon spreading throughout
the world. Jera became a place where none could enjoy life. Crops died
and people suffered greately. Starvation and disease became the rule.
Many of the northern humans sought refuge underground where they could
find shelter from the intense cold. They said goodbye to the light
of day, many of them forever. They became over the centuries that passed
the dwarves.
Many elves
that could not otherwise escape left the dying forests and went beneath
the ground as well, their hatred twisting them into something horrible.
Many of them had suffered from radiation sickness and those that survived
saw with horror what their folly brought upon the next generation.
Many elves were born deformed. Whether it was from the radiation or
from the magical instability caused by the elves none could be sure,
but their skin grew black, in stark contrast to the fair complections
of their race. These became the Drow.
Beneath
the ground this war continued for centuries even to this day. The drow
delved into the forbidden arts of black magic, the brewing of poison,
and even necromancy in their quest to destroy the remains of the humans.
They raided continually against the dwarves and the humans that had
escaped the wrath of the elves.
The elves
gathered up who they could into their remaining spelljamming craft
and lifted to the skies in tears. The songs of generations would mourn
the beauty that was Jera. The elves sailed to the sphere of Baripah,
a desert world where life changed for the elves from a thing of beauty
to that of survival. Though it was a horrible place, it could sustain
life much easier than Jera in its current state. The elves swore to
return, but not until they had amassed magical power sufficient to
heal the damage that they had caused and restore it to its former brilliance.
 
|
