The First Men are an ancient indigenous race of Oerth who in appearance are part ape and
part reptile. To the average human they are mythical oppressors of early man who were
hunted to extinction at the dawn of time. The First Men (I have met one!) tell a different,
rather more tragic tale. Their legends say they were created by the gods of the Elder
Races (confusingly they refer to these as the 'Elder Gods') who foresaw the coming of Man,
a creature who would surplant the Elder Races. These gods therefore tried to forestall this
event by creating 'man'
themselves, basing their creation on the prophesied description which said these creatures
would have the body of an Ape, the heart of a Giant, and
the intelligence of a Dragon.
This act of creation seemed to work well at first, the First Men created great civilisations
but were respectful of the Elder Races who they considered their elder brethren. After many
thousands of years, however, the climate in
their homelands grew colder and they were forced south, descending a great
escarpment into the lands beyond. There, in the land now referred to as the Valley of the
Ancients, they re-founded their civilisation with their dragon allies . Not long afterwards,
however, they encountered the Outsiders (who other races call the Elder Gods). At first
they hid from them but when they found out they had brought Man to Oerth, mindful of the
prophecy, the First Men and the
Dragons attacked the Outsiders and drove them out. They then set about hunting down the
Younger Races, particularly Men. At that time, however, the Markrabs arrived on Oerth and desired it for
themselves. They hunted all races but particularly the First Men and the Dragons until
barely a quarter of their population survived and their civilisation was in ruins.
When the War of Domination came to an end the First Men attempted to rebuild their cities
and being low in numbers and finding Men living as hunter gatherers in the area they enslaved
them. Their cities flourished
once more and over time they taught their brutish slaves such skills and manners as they
needed. But Men were not content merely to be slaves. Three times there was a great slave
revolt and three times a brutal response. Some of the Priests of the First Men then counselled
that Man should be exterminated but others saw that their civilisation depended on their
slaves. A priest of Kutienna, the Earth Mother, said that the slaves should be freed and
given equal rights but to many this was unthinkable. She prophesied that if this was not
done it would cause the downfall of their cities and in due course this came to pass.
Men revolted yet again and were not just content to be free since they destroyed the cities
and hunted the First Men
until they thought none remained. Men then built their own cities
using the skills the First Men had taught them. Now the dwellings of the First Men are in
remote places, known only to
their Elder Race allies, and the best lands are all taken by Men.