Long before the rise of the
Pelorean Empire,
indeed in the time when few tribes of men had wandered into the West, the North
was inhabited by dragons, orcs and hobgoblins and ruled by giants. It is said that none of
these races was evil at that time and they grew great in magical power and built and created many wonders. As time
passed, however, many of their most powerful magic wielders listened
to insidious whispers in their minds promising to each one all that they desired if they performed a secret
arcane ceremony.
Coming together at the giant's capital of Algart the sorcerors drew on all their power,
and performed the ceremony which summoned the evil god Malgoth into the world. The accursed
and faithless god immediately slew all who summoned him before entering the Giant King's palace
and massacring the royal family and their guards. Taking the form of a formidable giant
he claimed the Throne of the North and none present were minded to dispute his claim.
Later that very year he used the Royal Forges which tapped deep into the molten core of the
earth to create an artifact which would make him invincible in his new realm, the Ring of
the North, which fused the god's power to the very land itself. The dragons for a long time rebelled
against his rule but one by one he slew their leaders and the rest were subdued with lies and intimidation.
The few men who had lived in the North simply fled back into the East and Malgoth gave them little
heed.
Other races fell more easily under his sway and he began breeding them to improve their usefulness to him. In those days, however, the Elves were
a mighty race indeed ruling a huge realm to the south of Malgoth's lands. Neither threats nor
promises moved the Elves to worship him as he required of his followers so he raised the
greatest army the world has ever seen and invaded their lands. The Dwarves meanwhile were also disinclined to worship Malgoth but simply
shut themselves in their mountain homes, hoping to ride out the storm and few clans came to the aid of the Elves.
What followed was the Battle for the Earth, fought over several days and the like of which
has never been repeated in history, as all the legions of the North clashed with the Elven army, lesser in number but
lethal with bow, sword and magic.
At first the Elves had the upper hand but at the last Malgoth himself appeared with his bodyguard
of nine powerful demons and turned the tide. Many brave Elven warriors were slain fighting a hopeless rearguard action
while the main Elven army retreated.
Malgoth was jubilant and sent messages to the Elvenking demanding that all Elves should bow down before
him or face the total destruction of their race.
His hubris was short-lived, however, for the Elves, even as they retreated, had used their magic to
understand both the powers and weaknesses of the Ring of the North. While he sat feasting with his court in his
great hall seven powerful Elven mages appeared around him suddenly. Fearing their magic not at all
Malgoth gathered himself to slay them. The mages, however, targeted their spells only on the Ring aiming to break the link between
Malgoth and the land. But, as the Elves themselves feared, unmaking such a powerful item unleashed a storm
of magical energy. Malgoth was destroyed but so was his court and the seven Elven mages. The earth
trembled and Atgart itself fell into the sea. In the days that followed many of the Northern lands
were consumed by fire or flood and the
Great Ocean roared in to cover them. Desperately the elves tried to
preserve their own lands from the conflagration and churning seas but the greatest of their mages
were no more and in the end little stood above the ocean apart from the area which is now the Western Isles.
Many of the Elves,
however, escaped to the East to found realms on the edge of the newly formed coast of the Great Ocean. There they found that
many of the races of the North had sworn vengeance on the Elves for their part in the
destruction of the North and they were led by followers of Malgoth who had escaped the great destruction.
The Elves, however, in their subsequent struggles found new allies in the race of men and drove their enemies into
the wastes and mountains. Men at that time learnt much wisdom from the Elves and founded great kingdoms which in due course became the Pelorean Empire.
Sadly there came a time when the Emperors turned their back on the principles of their faith and passed unjust
laws which led to rebellion and strife. In such a fertile soil the lies of Malgoth long dormant began to take root again and
cultists worshipped him in dark temples. The cults gradually infiltrated the court of the Emperor and the Elves
issued dire warnings to the Peloreans. Too late they realised that the Emperor himself had become enamoured by dark magic sealing the fate
of the Empire.