Human Elf

The Human-Elf War

-559 to -449
The Suielman Empire turns its aggressive tendencies toward the shining cities of Quenardya, tempted by stories of wealth and secret knowledge from those humans who have lived there. Encroaching on Dǔn Fennas, the territory now known as the Outer Midlands, the Emperor's generals intend to organize a pattern of creeping human colonization to steal the Outer Midlands from the Elves without an eruption of hostilities. This is not to be, however, as a greedy captain leading his forces on long patrol happens upon an Elven caravan traveling between cities. The human soldiers waylay the caravan in the dead of night, kill the Elf-men, rape the women, take the children as slaves to sell and pilfer as much gold, silver and other finery as they can carry back.

Word quickly reaches the other Elves regarding what the humans have done — thanks in no small part to the eagles who watch over the plains of the Outer Midlands and commune with the Elves on a regular basis. The entire empire of the elves is filled with burning, unquenchable rage against the humans of the Suielman Empire, and a terrible war follows.

The elves are strong, intelligent, and far more advanced than the humans, and it shows in their success in battle — the Elven armies massacre the forces of the Suielman Empire wherever they meet, destroying them with frightening ferocity. Every male human over the age of fourteen that is encountered by the Elven armies is slain, but the women and children are spared. The empire fights back with skill, determination and sheer ferocity. Wells are poisoned, ground salted, lakes and rivers polluted to keep the elves from using them. Every city falls only after a bloody siege and an army stops fighting only when all it's soldiers are dead. The elves take significant losses.

Finally, in -549 CR, the Elves stand on the borders of the Suielman Empire's home province. There they are just about to strike one last, devastating blow against the humans when they are met by the goddess Artela. Artela pleads with the Elven leaders like a mother with her adult children — if the Suielman Empire is totally destroyed, if it is crushed in its very seat of power, then the humans will descend back into anarchy and mindless, brutish behavior. At least with the Empire intact there is some place of cultural growth among the humans, and thus some hope that they may become truly civilized. Artela asks the Elves to turn back, to allow their anger to subside and accept the terrible, terrible destruction they have wreaked as sufficient payment for the lives of their people. For the sake of the whole Earth, she asks them to lay down their arms and quarrel no more with the humans. The Elves, at last coming to their senses after their long, terrible rage, agree to this. A treaty is signed between Quenardya and the Suielman Empire, in which the Elves promise never to take up arms against their human brothers again. The humans, in turn, agree to respect the Elves' jurisdiction over Quenardya for as long as they should wish to live there.

The peace holds but it leaves behind a lot of hatred and mistrust on both sides that never really fully disappears. Especially among the humans. For centuries a common phrase used by mothers to their kids was 'Be good or the elves will get you.'

There was no real winner in this war. The path of devastation the elves left in their wake took a long time to repair. In some places the population levels did not recover fully for decades. The elves took significant looses - a serious problem for a race that reproduce a lot slower then humans and their population levels took centuries to recover.

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