The Beginning of the Dawn Age

The First Ones were the first creatures created during the Creation by the Deities of Order. They were created on the continent of Caldron and sent out of the Vesper Forest to explore, conquer, and enjoy the world created for them. The main races that comprised the First Ones were the more natural, magical based races that were mainly non-humanoid.

When the First Ones were created, they prospered and enjoyed the bounty given to them by their creators. They built villages, hunted only what they needed to to survive, and partook in lavish and boisterous celebrations to their creators. It is unknown how long these creatures lived in Caldron, but there have been some discoveries made in the Modern Age that prove that they were the first creatures in Gaia, and that they lived rather modestly.

Deeply connected with nature, and more specifically, the Wildmother, the First Ones had strong magical abilities and were capable of harnessing the magical essence that made up the ancient landscape of Caldron. They used these abilities to build ornate shrines to the Deities of Order and change the landscape around them to better harness the magical essence.

Eventually, after some unknown amount of years, it is believed that the First Ones began to specialize into forms of magic, more specifically in the various natural magics such as fire, water, earth, etc. As a result of this shift, the First Ones became specialists in these specific schools of magic, with some races becoming masters of a specific school. Their connection was so strong, in fact, that they eventually began to be bred with these capabilities and from birth harness and possess this magical essence.

This trend continued on, and these creatures began to expand and procreate throughout Caldron, reaching its shores and completely covering the continent.

The World Grows Larger

After coexisting and prospering peacefully, the Deities of Order rewarded the First Ones with three additional continents: Tal'Dorei, Tammemar, and Docros. These continents boasted more variety in terms of landscape, geology, and biology, and were created for the First Ones to further explore and populate. Not soon after these gifts were given, the First Ones built the first boats and sailed across the vast seas to the shores of these foreign lands. For many more years, they expanded out and adapted to the new ecosystems and climates that made each of these continents unique. Life for these creatures wasn't necessarily easy, as survival never really is, but they didn't fear war, or really have any desire to wage it.

This expansion dramatically changed the evolution of many of the races of these creatures. Having to adapt to harsh, alien environments, these creatures developed unique physical features that made survival in their new, native environments easier. Thus, many variations of the same races began to appear, differing in physical and magical attributes. Instead of just having Giants, there were Stone Giants that clung to the mountains on Tammemar, and Water Giants that lived in the swampy environments of Tal'Dorei. These variations made life on Gaia both interesting, and diverse.

In fact, in the many expeditions over the years in Gaia, many relics of this time were found, including ancient fossils, tools, and structures that paint a very different picture of what life was like on each continent. What remains consistent in all this diversity is that these creatures were peaceful and thankful to their creators for giving them such a beautiful world to exist in. As a result, their faith was unwavering and the powers of their masters grew immensely.

The Brink of Extinction

Eventually, the Deities of Chaos got wind of what the Deities of Order were doing and becoming increasingly upset with their success and power. They noticed that these creatures lacked something that made them incredibly easy to overpower: the desire to conquer. Using their observation and their craftiness, the Deities of Chaos created the First Men to carry out their dastardly plans and take back the power from the Deities of Order.

The First Men consisted of mainly humanoid creatures that lacked, at least at first, the natural magical abilities that the First Ones held. They were instead given cunning, intellect, and strength as tools to carry out their will. They too were placed in Caldron at first, their exact origin unknown though, and began their nearly 200 year long conquest of the known world.

These creatures overpowered the First Ones with ease since they took advantage of their lack of desire for conflict. When the First Ones got wise enough to know they were being taken advantage of, it was mostly too late to fight back as their numbers were crippled. The First Men travelled all over Caldron, slaying, enslaving, and imprisoning any creatures that stood in their way, even their own. It didn't take long before the entirety of Caldron was under their control. Unfortunately, the conquest didn't stop there.

Having conquered Caldron, the First Men decided that they should expand out to conquer the rest of the known world and force the creatures therein to bend the knee to their control. A few decades later, the world at large found itself under the control of the First Men, with the majority of the First Ones being killed. Pleased with their creations, the Deities of Chaos rewarded them with a new, unique and ever sought after continent called the Green Isles.