1000th Year
A millennium had passed since the elves first emerged from the Tree of Life in Elysora. The elven population had flourished, now exceeding 150,000—a remarkable number, especially considering their 300-year lifespan.
Over these thousand years, more than twenty generations of elves had come and gone. Though the original generation born directly from the Tree of Life had long since passed, their descendants continued to honor and remember them, perpetuating a religion that revered the Tree of life as the god of elves.
During this time, the Elrion Forest and its elven inhabitants had undergone significant changes.
Many animal species, once confined to the forest, had migrated across the continent, establishing themselves in diverse ecosystems and altering the natural balance of the land.
The elves themselves had seen profound societal shifts. The Elenion family, descendants of the first golden elf, had established a royal lineage, creating a more pronounced division within the hierarchy of elven society.
Surrounding this central power were seven noble houses, each led by silver elves and fiercely loyal to the royal family.
These houses—Silvareth, Aeloria, Thalorien, Valandil, Celebros, Nymthir, and Firae—played key roles in maintaining and enforcing the societal structure.
Unfortunately, this era also saw a deepening of discrimination within elven society, most severely affecting the dark elves.
Regarded as outcasts, they were relegated to the harshest and most menial labor, such as mining and heavy physical work.
Stripped of their rights and dignity, they were effectively enslaved by the elite classes, treated as little more than tools for labor.
While these events unfolded in the south of the continent, a new development marked the west.
Solarian, having observed the elves for centuries, decided to introduce a new element into his creation.
Bored with the singular race of elves and eager to infuse the world with more diversity, he brought forth humans. This new race, just emerging into existence.
He made 200 humans and put 100 of them on two sides the west and the east of the continent.
1010th Year
A decade had elapsed since humanity's inception on the continent of Elysora. In contrast to the elves, who had rapidly established a city within their first ten years, humans remained in the Stone Age.
They dwelt in caves, crafted stone weapons, hunted animals for sustenance, and continued to adapt to their harsh environment.
Despite their primitive conditions, humans demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for growth.
In just ten years, their population surged to 500, a milestone that had taken the elves over two centuries to achieve.
Moreover, humans on both the western and eastern sides of the continent swiftly developed rudimentary languages.
These were not as sophisticated as the elven tongue, which had benefited from inherent knowledge of alphabets, but the achievement was nonetheless impressive for a race without such inherent knowledge.
The living conditions for humans varied significantly between the east and west.
Those in the west faced more formidable challenges, as their proximity to the Elrion Forest meant frequent encounters with migrating beasts and the decandants of the beast who have migrated in the first millennia.
In contrast, the eastern humans, situated far from the forest or the entire southern part of the continent, encountered fewer beasts and thus faced less immediate danger.
1050th Year
Half a century has passed since humans first walked the lands of Elysora, significant developments had occurred.
In the east, humans had learned to construct huts and had settled along riverbanks.
Here, they found fishing a safer and more reliable means of sustenance than hunting the dangerous beasts of the land.
The relative tranquility of their environment allowed for a focus on developing their living conditions.
In the west, humans, too, had mastered the art of building huts, particularly as a means of shelter during the region's rainy seasons.
Their tools had evolved as well; western humans crafted more robust and efficient stone tools than their eastern counterparts.
This advancement was a direct response to the harsher conditions and greater threats they faced, necessitating stronger tools for hunting and defense.
1100th Year
A century had passed since the birth of humanity on Elysora, and in this relatively short span of time, the human population had burgeoned to an impressive 3,000.
This rapid growth was unprecedented, especially when compared to the elves, who had taken five centuries to reach a similar population size.
In the western region, a group of human hunters made a groundbreaking discovery.
While exploring a forest far from their tribe, they encountered horses - creatures which could run at speeds far surpassing those of any human.
Intrigued and determined, these hunters embarked on a series of attempts to capture one of these swift beasts. After 69 tries, filled with persistence and learning, they finally succeeded.
The hunters experimented with different methods to tame the captured horse, eventually discovering that feeding it weed had a calming effect. Gradually, the horse grew accustomed to human presence and allowed itself to be ridden. This monumental achievement did not go unnoticed.
Other hunters, inspired by this success, began their own endeavors to catch and tame horses. Thus, the art of horse riding was born.
Emboldened by their newfound ability to ride horses, some adventurous humans from the west decided to journey northward, seeking new lands and experiences.
Mounted on their loyal steeds, they traveled for years, enduring the elements and the unknown, until they finally reached the northern reaches of the continent.
1500th Year
Five centuries since their inception, the human race had achieved a remarkable milestone: a population exceeding 200,000, equaling that of the elves who had a millennium's head start.
The rapid population growth among humans was a testament to their adaptability and resilience in the diverse environments of Elysora.
Over the last 400 years, significant advancements marked the human civilizations, particularly in construction and weaponry.
Both in the east and west, humans had mastered the art of building sturdy houses using stone and wood.
Metalworking skills had also evolved, leading to the creation of weapons forged from iron and even gold, signifying a leap forward from their rudimentary stone tools.
The human civilization in the west was characterized by a mosaic of different nations.
The era that witnessed the rise of the first human nation also saw influential leaders refusing to bow to a single ruler.
As a result, multiple independent nations emerged, each governed by its own authority. This fragmentation often led to conflicts, as these nations engaged in battles for conquest and unification.
In stark contrast, the eastern human civilization was unified under a single kingdom.
However, this apparent unity belied a complex clan system. Power was not solely vested in the emperor, as various noble clans wielded significant authority and influence.
Decisions at the royal level required careful consideration of potential clan rebellions, ensuring a delicate balance of power within the kingdom.
At this point in history, the eastern and western civilizations remained oblivious to each other's existence. Each believed their domain encompassed the entirety of the known world, unaware of their counterpart's presence and progress.
Meanwhile, the descendants of the humans who had ventured north had evolved into a society of barbarians.
these northern humans lived in a lawless land, divided into tribes constantly vying for power through warfare.
Their harsh living conditions had forged them into formidable warriors with exceptional horse-riding skills, a necessity in their battle-centric lifestyle.
The northern tribes' reliance on horses for transport and warfare had made them unparalleled in equestrian proficiency.
The harsh climate and demanding lifestyle of the north also resulted in these barbarians developing more robust physiques compared to their eastern and western counterparts.
1510th Year
an expedition group from the Kingdom of Alnion, located in the western human territories, ventured into the uncharted southern lands.
Their journey led somehow them to the Elrion Forest, home of the elves.
The encounter between the humans and the elves was one of mutual astonishment, as both races realized for the first time the existence of another intelligent species in their world.
The expedition group from Alnion, intrigued and determined to bridge the communication gap, dedicated themselves to learning the elvish language.
They found the elvish tongue surprisingly straightforward to grasp, especially when compared to the complex languages of the western human civilizations.
After about seven months of diligent study and cultural exchange, they had become proficient enough to communicate effectively with their elven hosts.
As the expedition prepared to depart from Elrion Forest, intent on informing their king of this extraordinary discovery, King Elphion of the elves decided to seize this opportunity to establish diplomatic relations.
He dispatched a group of elven envoys to accompany the human explorers back to their homeland. King Elphion's intentions, however, were not solely diplomatic.
He saw this as a chance to assess the strength of these newly discovered humans.
From the accounts of the Alnion expedition, Elphion gathered that the individual human nations were relatively small, with populations only in the thousands.
Even if the populations of all human kingdoms in the west were combined, they would still be dwarfed by the elven population, which had surpassed 210,000. In Elphion's strategic calculations, if the humans proved significantly weaker than the elves, it would present an opportunity for conquest.
He harbored a vision where the elves, as the superior race, would dominate and rule the entirety of Elysora.
The dispatch of the elven envoys, therefore, served a dual purpose: initiating diplomatic relations and evaluating the human kingdoms as potential targets for elven expansion.