In a time long past there existed only beasts and plants. These beasts ruled the earth, with several apex predators appearing. Of these creatures the ape was the smartest. The bear was the most hardy, and the felines were the most graceful. The strongest was the bull.
The dragon stood at the apex of the apex. It was smarter than the monkey, more hearty than the bear and faster than the felines. Its strength far surpassed that of the bull. One day, the animals were tired of being bullied by the dragon, and the teamed up to bring down their rival. The dragon was not pleased with their actions and retaliated.
A fierce battle ensued, leaving the various animals gravely injured, while the dragon stood their unscathed. It had earned the title of king, and all other beasts fell below it. The king was displeased with the actions of the lesser beings and cursed them. Some of The apes would eventually evolve into humanity, and with their intellect believe they were above the other beasts, while some of the animals would evolve into the beast men, who would be stronger, faster, and more hearty than the humans.
Eons passed, and eventually humanity reached the apex of the new world, the dragons were revered as gods and indeed they had the power of them. Humanity went out on a crusade, conquering the other countries and continents with their ingenuity and intellect, enslaving the beast men of various tribes who populated those places. These beast man were brought to the human content of Eglad, where they served as slaves for humanity.
This enslavement went on for hundreds of years, with the beast man treated worse than the beasts they had evolved from. They were given no resources to advance In power, kept in a constant state of deprivation, just above starving. The beast man were forced to endure, as the humans had used the magic that only they possessed to create beast collars that kept the beast man in check. The beast man could think and feel, but were forced to love like animals under the oppression of the humans.
Eventually humanity had pushed the beast man too far, and a resistance began to rise. The beast man began to struggle against their collars, and the first to succeed were the beast man of lion descent. The lions freed the other beasts around them, earning them the title of king of the beast man. The beast man struggled against humanity, the rebel beast man fighting for a hundred years to free their brethren.
The rebellion eventually succeeded, for the most part. Most of humanity was forced to free the beast man from slavery, though there was still a black market for them as slaves, especially the beautiful young women.
The beast man developed a society, in the lands they were given through negotiations. The lands were deemed too dangerous by humanity, so they truly felt no loss giving it to the beings they saw as lesser in there eyes.
Thus began a new era for the beast man, and the second calamity to befall them. The lands given to them by humanity were truly dangerous. They were populated by the strongest beasts of the continent, and most of the land was uninhabitable. Vast deserts covers most of the land, and marshy swamps filled majority of the rest. The truly only habitable area was a mountain range filled with dangerous beasts.
The beast man struggled to survive in their new homes, beginning to recover their lost powers of the past. They fought to make a home for themselves, and to make humanity see them as equals.