The Remnants

"'We are The Remnants. An ancient race beyond your imagination. Protectors of Nature itself. Survivors of a genocide committed by mortals. We once trusted your kind, we were foolish to do so. They moved in with such brutality and aggression, we stood no chance. We are not fighters, we are preservers. Our people fell, and those that remain will never make the mistakes of our past. Leave this place. Or die.'"- Unknown Remnant speaking in Bordic to Floris, a Human scholar from the Hall of Knowledge. Year 5,255 BDG.

Legends of Kornoth
TBD

Origins
Year 100,000~ BDG

'The Remnants' is the current name for the ancient race of the Vazeti. Peaceful beings that evolved from Nature itself when the world was young. They wandered the lands and ensured peace and balance was maintained. Long before mortal life came to be, they were the most intelligent, the most powerful beings of all. Their power though, was that of wisdom and spirituality. They obey Nature, it speaks to them directly, which is why they do not designate leaders among them. They all follow the will of Nature, and carry out their sacred duties.

Initially, these beings were much smaller in stature, ranging from 2-4 feet on average. Over many years however, they developed, they gained strength and wisdom, they stood tall amidst the lands and held more authority to the beings that resided alongside them. The ancient animals and somewhat intelligent species revered the Vazeti, they were gods. They did not act this way of course, they were humble, and remained largely in the shadows, keeping the balance of all things.

Discovery of the Doris
Year 50,000~ BDG

From the power bestowed upon them by Nature, and thousands of years of growth, the Vazeti eventually were able to tap into a great power within them. It was known as 'Doris', an ancient form of nature magic, the first in fact. The Vazeti became the pioneers, the first to tap into the great reserves that the planet held within. And with this, things changed greatly.

With their newfound powers, the Vazeti took a more direct approach to the manner of things, this, they believed this was their great destiny. They continued to stride through the world, but now, they could shape it. They created life and breathed it into the world, in the form of animals, and over time, intelligent beings began to come of their creations. They even grew entire forests and other ecosystems. The most powerful of their kind, or large groupings of them, could even raise mountains from the very ground. These abilities pushed the world to new limits, and advanced the way all things would work. Nature was pleased by their actions.

The creatures they had raised began developing paths of their own, most simply remaining non-sapient beings, but some, evolved minds of their own. The most prominent to come of this, were the Elves, of course, early forms, their kind was developing themselves over many, many years. For now, the Vazeti simply observed their creations moving about, and were pleased. The Vazeti did not have names for themselves, and they did not name their creations, they believed their deeds would simply be seen as a combined effort, and their creations would find their own destiny, and with it, their names, their purpose, and everything else. One exception however, was that they did form a language of their own, they named it Vezeti, meaning 'of Nature', and they began to refer to themselves as such.

A Great Burden
Year 30,000~ BDG

Though, this prosperity for the Vazeti could not last forever, while they were extremely wise and powerful, they soon realized with everything they created, they lost some of their own essence. The beings powered each other, their very life forces sustained each other, and as a community, they blossomed. When great things were done for the planet, it drained this, a force they could not take back. But, this was the will of Nature itself, and thus, they were willing to follow through with it.

Thousands upon thousands more years passed and the Vazeti grew fewer in number, many of their kind passing away due to the lessening of the essence within them. They did not see this as a tragedy however, they joined Nature, that, was what everything was for. When their duty was finished, they would forever join their creations in the great balance of all things. As more and more joined Nature, and those remaining grew thinner, and weaker, they began to take a step back from their practices. There needed to be some left to watch over the world, and Nature willed them to simply observe now, to only intervene with small things. They agreed of course, and those living, watched their world bloom. Along with this, sapient races began developing their own lands and societies.

Elves. They were the first prized creations of the Vazeti, and Nature itself. They watched over this civilization as it began, expanded, warred, died, loved and everything else. They were pleased with this. But, this pleasure, would soon become their bitterness. The beings they created began to lose faith in the Vazeti, or as they referred to them as the 'Forest Gods'. In the beginning, the majority prayed to them, they revered them and dared not affect Nature too much. Though, as generations came and went, the belief in these things faded away, modern religions took hold of their belief systems, or the greed for power and currency, land and people became fiercer than ever. Though, the Vazeti were stationed to observe now, and observe they did, for many years, until they were brought directly into the middle of mortal lives.

Contact with Mortals
Year 10,095 BDG - 9,989 BDG

The first true contact the Rezeti had with their most intelligent creations became known as 'The Contact' by both sides. The Elves had lived on Kornoth for thousands of years, developing, but they mainly resided in small tribes and settlements scattered across the continent. Now, this would be the first time they banded together to form an empire. They were recruited by Alaron Telessian who traveled across the land in his quest to build something great, a kingdom where his people could live together. He ended up connecting dozens upon dozens of different Elvish groups until the population of the traveling people surpassed 20,000. They would make their way into Cinderfall Grove, and after realizing the true beauty of the land and the magic it held, they wanted to stay. Not long after, they made contact with the Vezeti. They were unsure at first of the intentions of the Elves, and the Elves were intimidated by these beings, they had heard of them and few had even claimed to come in contact, but overall they mad been dismissed as myths.

Alaron made it his goal to befriend these beings, and live alongside them in harmony. The Vezeti of course, agreed to this as they were pleased to see their ancient creations blossoming into fully dependent beings. They allowed the Elves to reside in Cinderfall Grove, at this point in time it was a massive, sprawling forest land with ripe soil, bodies of water and so much more. The Elves began building up their empire which they named Alaron in respect to the one who united them all and lead them down this path. Alaron was the king of his people and oversaw a huge shift in their destiny. Roughly two decades after the founding of his city, Alaron passed away from severe illness. His eldest son, Dorian would take over as king. The life of the Elves would remain the same for the most part under Dorian's rule, he continued assisting the Vezeti with what they needed, and they would assist the Elves in return. It was a relationship that hundreds of years later would lead to a great empire, with the Telessian bloodline ruling for all of them.

Change in Leadership
Year 10,000~ BDG

The Telessian bloodline was powerful and wise, and made great kings and queens. Though, when Ad'Bora took the crown, a great-descendant of Alaron, things changed. He and his people began looking at the Rezeti much differently, or the Forest Gods as they had called them. Ad'Bora and many of his advisors began to think these beings were keeping the Elvish people from reaching greatness, the Rezeti had limited the amount of space Alaron could expand to, and Ad'Bora was not happy about this. During his reign his city limits were stretched nearly to the max, but with an ever-growing population and the lust for most land, he made contact with the Rezeti personally to inquire about this. He asked them if they could continue reaching northwards as there was great lands for his people there, and lots of it. However, the Rezeti viewed this northern coast as their true home, the grove itself, and the Great Tree, their capital, resides there. After being denied, Ad'Bora returned to Alaron and spoke to his advisors, and his people. They believed that if the Forest Gods would not grant them more territory, they would simply take it. They did not view these beings as overly powerful, they had never seen them in combat before. They assumed they were an ancient race, wise yes, but more powerful than the Elves, of course not. The king had made mention of this to his people, though many of them were unsure, they viewed the Forest Gods as a kind and peaceful people that kept their lands safe from invaders or outside threats.

Nothing truly broke out other than small skirmishes along the northern borders of Alaron and the southern borders of Cinderfall Grove during the reign of Ad'Bora. And his entire reign itself was controversial to say the least, many decisions were made that lead people to lost some faith in the Telessian bloodline. They protested for the rights to vote in new leaders, instead of always following the same family. After overwhelming majority agreed with this notion, the major advisors to the previous kings and queens agreed. Ad'Bora's eldest, Val'Bora understood and watched how things played out with his bloodline being absent from ruling.

The Elvish-Vezeti War
Year 9,899 BDG - 9,886 BDG

The Elf voted into power was named Bahlora Va'duum, he promised to expand the empire of Alaron greatly, and lead his people to new prosperity, building a civilization that would spread through the entire continent, connecting them with all the Elvish tribes that were still left on their own. While this was similar to Ad'Bora's vision, the people seemed to get behind it more, perhaps it was simply the feeling they had that they could make a difference, that the could make change. A decade or so passed of his reign before he truly began this conquest. During this time he was expanding further south, at the same time recruiting thousands upon thousands of his people into his military. They began construction of great weapons and drew battle plans if the Vezeti truly needed to be eradicated.

Then, it happened. Without warning, without speaking to the beings of Cinderfall Grove, Bahlora launched a huge invasion into the north, where the borderlines were clearly drawn by thick branches of the Forest Gods. They approached and set fire to these branches and continued on, roughly 5000 Elvish troops marched in decked with newly-crafted iron armor and the sharpest blades they had ever held. They also brought along torches and the few of their kind that mastered the ways of fire magic. Flames would rise high in the sky, tearing through miles of land. The Rezeti people were not going to lay down however, they saw the Elves as a massive threat and even feared their newfound powers could decimate them. They would try though, they brought these beings into the world, and they would remove them if they saw fit. They began harnessing nature magics and shaping the land around them, burying hundreds of Elvish troops with simply abilities. They brought in vigorous winds and sent waves crashing to the land from the rivers and lakes. The Forest Gods even controlled the wildlife to attack the Elves on sight. The war was becoming brutal, and creative. The Elves would not be outdone though, they set fire to huge amounts of forest, killing thousands of Rezeti in the process. Their blades would slice through the branches with ease, and their speed gave them an advantage. This war waged on for months before any major gain in land was made.

Bahlora fell during one of the critical battles and was replaced with his son, completely disrupting the new voting process the Elves had rallied for, angering the public. Regardless, Sahlin Va'duum became king, and continued his fathers war. Significant process was made as the Rezeti became extremely weakened from losing so many of their own. The Elves had already taken half of what remained of Cinderfall Grove, though, the Great Tree still remained to the northern coast. The Forest Gods themselves knew defeat was near, and came up with a new plan. They could not win in battle, they would separate themselves from the Elvish people permanently, and hope they would be happy with half the northern lands.

The Great Separation
Year 9,886 BDG

The remaining Vezeti came together, to utilize the remaining power they had to split their lands from the rampaging Elves. The power, and their determination to save each other brought about huge changes to the landscape. They raised a mountain range out of otherwise flatland, the tops of the mountains reached high and spread out just enough to completely block off passage from the newly claimed Elvish territory. During this event, thousands of Elves lost their lives as they were attempting to pass through in the process. The Vezeti hoped they would finally be safe from the Elves.

Sahlin Va'duun was there when the mountains rose from the ground and watched as countless of his people were completely destroyed. At that moment, he realized what he and his people were doing, they were toying with truly powerful beings, ancient beings that had brought much peace to the world. His mind was filled with regret and pain. He turned around and ordered his troops back to Alaron, there, he would make a speech.

Back at Alaron he declared the war with the Vezeti over, and claimed they had won their territory, but the Cinderfall Grove's core, their capital, would remain in there possession. He also claimed that his family would no longer lead the Elvish people, and that he was willing to pass the crown to one of Telessian blood. The people were unsure at first, but seeing as how Bahlora had betrayed them, and pushed aside their worries in search of power and greed, they agreed to this decision. The next Telessian in line for the crown was named Elicel. He happily accepted this and at the time he was quite young, very young for an Elf, all of the older members of his family has passed so it fell to him to rule his kingdom.

Elicel claimed that they as a people, would turn from war, and look to the future of their great kingdom, which he officially named the Telessian Empire. He declared that nobody would cross the northern borders into Cinderfall Grove, he claimed he regretted that his people ever went to war against the Forest Gods, but also assured his people he would not conduct any more relations with them either, that time was over. He looked to the future, a modern-age, rebuilding what was destroyed in the war, and sprouting construction in the areas they had taken. Things were looking well for the Elves. The Vezeti however, not so much.

The Vezeti began calling themselves the Remnants in regards to their numbers. They also began actually referring to their home as Cinderfall Grove in regards to the flames that covered the skies during the war. Previously it has no name and was called many things by the Elves. They had suffered unimaginable losses against the Elves. The war itself only lasted about three years, but the surprise attacks and sheer brutality of the enemy completely decimated them. They were not immortal, or even as powerful as they once thought they were. They grew cold and bitter over the mortal race of the Elves, and all others that existed, from their hands or otherwise. They vowed to remain in Cinderfall Grove until they were strong enough to move on. They laid down plans to eventually reclaim their lost land, and totally eradicate the Elves from Kornoth, or all of the world, whatever it took. Thousands of years would pass and the Remnants and Elves had not made contact. Their next meeting, would come from a different species of mortals. The Humans.

First Sign of Humans
Year 5,259 BDG - 5,256 BDG

A settlement named Adelshore was founded in Cinderfall Grove however from the earliest Human explorers from the Hall of Knowledge and the surrounding settlements. But this did not last long as the Remnants began toying with the society, killing the people in it, burying buildings and destroying crops. The people eventually fled and agreed to leave the area alone. A few years would pass until the Scholars of the Hall of Knowledge would attempt to learn more about the Remnants. A man named Floris led an expedition there and after his entire crew was killed, he managed to calm a Remnant down and try to reason with it. This unknown Remnant would take Floris in and learn his language and share it with his people. They allowed Floris into the Great Tree and taught him much about their history. They used Floris in their great plan they had been developing for many years. The plan to destroy Alaron and all Elves on Kornoth. They urged Floris to return to his home, and convince his kingdom to lay siege to the Elves, and together, the Remnants and the Humans would rule Kornoth together. Floris was unsure of this at first but agreed simply to escape. He returned to the Hall of Knowledge and told his fellow scholars about this. Though, they agreed to keep it quiet to avoid any sort of war, or rumors going about.

The Battle for Galeshore
547 BDG - 542 BDG

Humans begin to arrive on Kornoth from their homeland - not including those involved in the Western settlement around the Hall of Knowledge, their existence is unknown to the others of their kind - and begin constructing a bastion. A few years pass and the land looks like a great success. Tens of thousands of Humans begin coming over from crowded cities to begin a new life, a new adventure.

However, this would not last for long. As the Remnants had done with Adelshore, they were about to do to Galeshore as well. They wasted no time and in 542 BDG they struck without notice. The Humans were taken by surprise, about 30,000 lived in Galeshore by this time, it was being populated extremely quickly from their homeland. Word was quickly sent out to halt travel to Galeshore and as many people that could be sent home were. But even then, 25,000 still remained in the city at the time of the attack, about 5,000 were doomed to perish in the brutal battle. The Remnants brought down Galeshore with ease and forced the people to flee. They traveled south for days, barely surviving until they were met by Joseph Reinwalt. Joseph had heard of the attack on Galeshore and rushed to take the men he could find to assist those fleeing the battle. He convinced the leaders of this civilization to home with him to the western side of the land. He explained there they had supplies, protection and contact with their home land. They agreed and what would become known as the 'Reinwalt Migration' was underway.

A Dark Future
Present ADG

The Remnants - after the destruction of Galeshore - have remained within Cinderfall. Planning their next move. Their desires are strong and clear, one day they will reclaim Kornoth, and wipe all those who dare disobey with that goal from the land forever.