The Human Kingdoms

"The Race of Man is often considered the greatest joke in the cosmos. They are traders who delight in war, inventors who loathe change and warriors who, in their fear, fight more bravely than all. They are madness made manifest and they would be funny if the world didn't shake at their step for if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the universe has a dark sense of humour."

History
The history of the Human Kingdoms is one lost to the passage of time, the impatient nature of its members making it ill-suited to record-keeping and archiving. What is known is that Humans are not native to this continent and perhaps not even to this world. In the year 3809.3A, the Humans arrived in a vast exodus through The Umbral Straits and settled in the land now known as Illian. Soon they expanded, unopposed by the other races that made their home here, becoming a dominant power for the Elder Folk had been ruined by a series of wars instigated between themselves. Some say it was the influence of The Tricksy One, the Human Deity of Trickery and Mischief, that started these conflicts so that his people could find refuge but such a story is taken as a fable by all but the Elven Courts. Regardless, within a few hundred years of their arrival, Mankind had created a vast Empire in the central part of the continent and none, not even the Uluk Empire, had the strength the challenge them.

For a while they reigned supreme, forging strong alliances with the Dwarven Holds, who welcomed the arrival of such a strong military force, and forcing an uneasy peace on the Elven Courts of Tir'na'nÔg, who lacked the numbers to challenge this newcomer. Only the Orcs of Uluk stood defiant against the Humans but the distances between their lands meant that, apart from a few raids back and forth, conflict was rare. This could not last long however, for if there is one thing that Humans bring, it is change.

A series of assassinations and internecine conflicts saw the Human Realm crumble, their once vast civilization falling apart into Princedoms and City-States. The Land of Erador declared itself independent first, handing itself over to the various knightly orders that guarded the border with the Uluk Empire. Illian and Dayle shortly followed, leaving Alawin the only remaining region loyal to the Empire. The Humans had fallen and a new age of uncertainty settled upon Amerlyn.

An uneasy peace settled upon the lands but Alawin did not forget the treachery of its brothers and soon a mighty war ensued. The Men of Rivenwood marched to battle and with their development of Artil Powder, destroyed every force arrayed against them with the thundering cannons. It wasn't until Greywatch involved itself, with the aid of Khaz-Adrim, that Alawin began to falter, the elite cavalry of the Knightly Orders overwhelming their massed infantry formations. With forces of Rivenwood in retreat, Dayle and Illian rallied and soon a siege surrounded the ancient city. Realizing that they had lost, Alawin sued for peace and the other Kingdoms agreed, tired of war and in urgent need to return home for dire events were pressing at their own borders.

And so the Human Kingdoms once more returned to their brittle solace but darkness is falling and forces other than their own kin wait for the day to come when the Human Lands will burn.