I. Rebirth and Divine Order
The Dawn War had ended, but much of Eldareth remained scarred by it.
Cities had fallen, roads had been lost beneath ruined land, and entire communities had been scattered by the fighting. In the years that followed, the surviving peoples turned toward rebuilding. Settlements were restored, trade routes reopened, and new homes were raised where old ones could no longer be recovered.
Temples and monuments soon appeared among these efforts, many dedicated to the gods who had fought beside mortals during the war. Worship became increasingly rooted in the daily life of towns and settlements as communities sought guidance and protection in the uncertain years that followed.
It was during this period that the gods began granting divine magic to their most devoted followers. Those who received such gifts used them to heal the wounded, tend the sick, and protect communities still vulnerable to the dangers left behind by the war.
The Primarchs also turned their attention toward what remained of Lyrael's work. With the Elemental Matriarch gone, Durnathar, Kyrion, Nerissa, and Velora each took stewardship of one of the four elemental domains.
Each Primarch fashioned a set of bracers infused with the power of their respective element. Though they governed their own realms separately, the four continued to meet in council when matters threatened the balance between the elements.
The Dragon Ascendants likewise departed the battlefields and turned toward lands that would become their own. Nelashra, Ezavion, Syldaxa, Yverian, and Nyladria traveled to a remote volcanic archipelago in the Stormbreaker Sea, where they established their territories and shaped parts of the islands through their elemental and arcane power.
In time, the archipelago became known as the Aldramar Isles and remained closely associated with the five Ascendants for millennia.
The giants also began spreading into the northern reaches of Eldareth. Clans moved into Skorrheim and the lands that would later become the Kharzai Steppes, establishing settlements far from the former battlefields of the Dawn War.
Among them were Thalkor of the Stone Giants, Saaktar of the Fire Giants, and Thorden of the Storm Giants. Each had received a portion of the power of the defeated Primordial Titans, and together the three Jarls became especially prominent among the giant communities of Skorrheim.
In the generations that followed, the Jarls chose to surrender much of the power they had been given. Deep beneath Skorrheim, they selected the Ashen Depths of the Ironhowl Range, protected by the surrounding mountains and marked by ancient ice, geothermal heat, and one of the most powerful ley line nexuses known in Eldareth.
With the aid of their giant kin, the Jarls raised Thuradun within the caverns. Great halls, bridges, platforms, galleries, and chambers were built into the mountain, combining stonework, metal, runes, elemental forces, and divine craft on a scale unlike the works that followed.
At the heart of the complex, the power surrendered by the Jarls was used to form the Anima Core. Beneath it stood the great platform that became known as the Forge of Wills.
There, the three Jarls shaped the first dwarves.
Saaktar created the Emberforge, Thorden the Runeborn, and Thalkor the Ironcrest. Each lineage soon began establishing settlements and traditions of its own. The Emberforge became closely associated with furnaces, metalwork, and great forges, while the Runeborn developed traditions of runic craft and enchantment. The Ironcrest established fortified holds throughout the mountains and became renowned for the defense of difficult passes and approaches.
Though the three lineages remained distinct, all traced their beginnings to Thuradun and to the Jarls whose sacrifice had made their creation possible.
After the First Forging, the central Forge fell dormant. Thuradun itself endured beneath Skorrheim, its wards and ancient mechanisms remaining active while much of the immense complex stood sealed, restricted, or unused.
Beyond the mountains, human communities were also growing beyond the scattered settlements that had survived the war. Villages joined into larger territories, settlements spread along rivers and emerging trade routes, and local rulers and councils began overseeing populations extending beyond a single community.
As these societies expanded toward the foothills and mountain passes, they increasingly encountered dwarven communities establishing their first halls. Mining, trade, defense, and the need to maintain routes through difficult terrain brought the two peoples into regular contact.
From these shared needs came some of the earliest lasting alliances between humans and dwarves. Settlements cooperated to defend important passes, maintain trade routes, and secure access to resources that neither could easily protect alone.
Those relationships were not always peaceful. Disputes over land, resources, and access sometimes led to conflict, but cooperation continued alongside rivalry. Over the centuries, these early alliances laid the foundation for a long history of trade, exchange, competition, and mutual defense between human and dwarven communities.
Across Eldareth, communities were becoming more permanent and increasingly connected to one another. Territories expanded, local governments took shape, and the first foundations of later kingdoms and nations began to emerge.
The alliance that had united so many peoples against the Primordial Titans had faded, but the world that followed was no longer one of isolated survivors. New societies were taking shape, and the relationships between them would increasingly define the centuries to come.