Before the Empire, when Amarran was divided among kings who warred for land and resources. Other than their conflicts against each other, only one other race traded blood for blood on the battlefield with man, the Orc.
Strong and savage, the Orc only knew one way of life. War, raid, and breed. What they lacked in discipline and tactics, they more than made up for in numbers and ferocity.
During the years of the Black Famine, ash fell from the sky and the sun was blacked out for over a year. During this time, crops failed and many starved, but even worse was when the Orcs emptied their warrens and gathered as a single horde. Like a wave of death, they crashed against the wall after wall and killed all who opposed them.
It is this very event that gave rise to the Empire. Kingdoms were dissolved and humanity reorganized itself into a single machine of war.
From this war with the Orcs, came the Warborn.
Seeking a way to match the Orc’s strength and ability to replenish their numbers on the battlefield, Alchemists discovered a way to grow an Orc / Human hybrid that could be produced in huge numbers and would be ready for the battlefield in half the time it takes a human.
With this new weapon to turn the tide of war, the horde was broken and the remaining orcs were ruthlessly hunted down and exterminated. It is thought that no pure blood orcs remain.
Warborn display characteristics of both progenitors. They appear to be larger than average humans with a heavier bone structure that shows mostly in the skull where it isn’t covered in thick musculature.
Typically they display a heavy lower jaw, thick brow, and prominent lower canines that protrude beyond closed lips. They are often thought to be dim-witted, and certainly appear the part, but they are actually equal to humans in intellectual potential. They usually lack even the most basic education beyond that needed to kill on the battlefield which they are trained to do from birth.
After the war, the numbers of Warborn needed by the empire dropped and so they became good candidates for laborers primarily working large plantations or remote factories where they can be kept separated from the general population.
Once Halflings lived in burrowed homes scattered across the fertile rolling landscape of the Golden Sea.
They lived simple agrarian lives tending livestock and harvesting the perennial grains that grew abundantly in the rich soils of the plains-land. For generations untold the small folk of the known world produced rich cheeses, hearty ales, and fine wines.
Once the empire claimed the lands of the golden sea, it became a resource to fuel the war machine, and the Halflings were forced from their homes.
It is said that they took to the roads like a duck takes to water, and once turned loose upon the world, they spread their cheer and good will to cities far and wide. Others do not trust the small folk and claim that they bear a bitter seed for the empire and all who give themselves to it. That their festive music and quick smiles just mask a growing hate and secretly they scheme for revenge.
No power on earth, not even the empire, could force the Dwarves out of their mountain homes. They are the masters of iron and stone, and their fortresses are unbreakable.
Out of their mountains they did come, however, by the hundreds of thousands. The sweet aroma of wealth and fame drew them out as surely as the smell of cheese brings the mouse to the trap. Once the war for Amarran had been won, there were cities to rebuild and plans for more to be built.
Bridges, aqueducts, walls and roadways all needed the masterful touch of Dwarven craftsmanship to meet the needs of man. Common wares were no longer sufficient and the human race possessed the wealth of seven kingdoms to pay the Dwarves for their best.
For their expertise, the Dwarves were made wealthy and given high status among men.