Foundation of the League of Arnen

''History is a fickle mistress. One can never truly know if the parchments you read at your local church are accurate recountings of past events, or merely the only surviving interpretation of a much more complex series of events. Indeed, in my search for information regarding the founding of our great League, I came across many conflicting pieces of information, each filled with their own inaccuracies and deviations on events. And this is regarding an event that took place only a few centuries ago. The foundation of the League is, by all accounts, one of the most pivotal moments in our history as a race. But to fully impress upon you the gravity of its creation, I must first give context to the environment that brought about its formation. ''

''The elves believe we -- that is humanity -- are dominated by our emotions. Had an elf told this to me prior to a few months ago I might have dismissed it as ignorance. But after having spent a fourth of the current year reading up on our history in preparation for this dissertation, I've come to accept this as fact. ''

''Humanity's history is filled with bloodshed. The Baranor Alliance that dominated this world back in the First Era seems to be an outlier in human history, for we have spent every era since then at war with something. Whether it be other races, ourselves, or our natures. The best (and worst) example of this is what I have dubbed "The Great War". A war in which humanity fell in on itself over petty disputes like territory and pride. The Great War was, by all accounts, the most devastating conflict humanity has ever been a part of. As the history books show, The Great War was started by the kingdom of Rasgoth, one of the two leading human powers at the time. It was a nation of heavy military tradition, govern by complex combination of military generals and mage-lords. And had only a single event gone differently, I might be writing this in Rodan, rather than Ordain.''

''It is the year 2E 963, and the nation of Rasgoth was rapidly approaching status as a super power. They competed for hegemony over humanity with their long time rival Meraedon - my home nation. Their economy was at all time high, their population was soaring, and their nobility were looking to prove themselves. For decades prior Rasgoth had been slowly infiltrating the Hilgarde economy. Rasgoth was a chief exporter of wine and cheese. Hilgarde was renowned for its particularly cold and rainy climate, making grape farming an at-cost effort in the best of circumstances. ''

To be continued...