The Awakening of the Races

The Awakening of the Races describes the period during the early Second Age when the peoples of Arkanthys first emerged and began shaping the world.

While the Saren had already founded Ostagar and established the first organized civilization under the guidance of the Pantheon, they were not the only intelligent beings to inhabit the world. During this time, several other races either emerged, were discovered, or came into being through different forces. Some arose through divine experimentation, others through ancient natural powers that predated the Pantheon itself.

By the end of this period, Arkanthys had become a world inhabited by many distinct peoples, each with their own origins and destinies.

The Discovery of the Dwarves

Deep beneath the mountains of Khazural, another people had already existed long before the rise of surface civilization. The dwarves lived in vast subterranean halls carved into the bones of the world. Their origins remain unknown, even to the Pantheon. Dwarven traditions claim they were born from the stone itself, shaped by the ancient forces that formed the world.

The Saren first encountered the dwarves during early exploration beyond Grimhold. These meetings revealed a civilization that had developed independently beneath the surface for ages. Though relations between the two peoples varied over time, the discovery of the dwarves proved that Arkanthys held mysteries older than the gods themselves.

The Birth of the Elves

Far from Ostagar, in the deep forests of Valira, another people came into existence through a very different force. At the heart of Valira stood the World Tree of Syrandora, an ancient being whose roots reached deep into the magic of the world. During the early centuries of the Second Age, one of its great acorns fell to the forest floor.

From that acorn grew the first elves.

Unlike the Saren, the elves were not created by the Pantheon. They were born from the deep magic of the living world itself. Their lives were tied to the forests of Valira and the ancient rhythms of nature.

Over time the elves spread throughout the forests of Valira, establishing cultures that remained closely bound to the natural world.

The First Experiment — Humanity

Before the Pantheon created the Saren, they had attempted to shape mortal life once before.

This first experiment produced humans.

Humanity possessed intelligence and adaptability, but they proved difficult for the Pantheon to guide. Humans were impulsive, unpredictable, and resistant to imposed structure. Because of this instability, the Pantheon abandoned the experiment and turned their efforts toward creating the Saren, a race better suited to building ordered civilization.

Humanity was never destroyed. Instead they spread slowly across distant lands, developing their own cultures far from the influence of Ostagar. In later ages, humans would become one of the most widespread peoples in the world.

The Creation of the Skarnn

As the Saren civilization expanded outward from Ostagar, the demands of building and maintaining a growing society increased.

To aid them, the Saren created the Skarnn.

The Skarnn were shaped as companions and workers who would help build the infrastructure of the early civilization. They constructed roads, cities, and settlements across Grimhold and served as defenders of the expanding territories. Though originally created to assist the Saren, the Skarnn possessed their own will and identity. Over generations they developed their own customs, traditions, and tribal structures.

A World of Many Peoples

By the time Ostagar had grown into the greatest city of the early Second Age, Arkanthys had become home to many distinct races.

The Saren built the foundations of civilization under the guidance of the Pantheon. The dwarves ruled the deep halls of Khazural. The elves emerged from the ancient forests of Valira. Humans spread slowly across distant lands beyond the reach of the early empire. The Skarnn helped shape the growing infrastructure of civilization before forming their own societies.

The Awakening of the Races transformed Arkanthys from a world shaped only by gods into a world defined by its peoples.

From this moment forward, the history of the world would be written not only by the Pantheon, but by the many civilizations that rose beneath them.