The first breath

Aeons ago, long before the age of men , the world was pure and uncorrupted. Lush green forests and crystal clear waters covered its surface and it was as though Mother Nature had overlooked nothing, when blessing it with her touch.

This was the time of the first Fae. Amongst the more intelligent species and in some cases those a step above wallowing in the mud, this event is also known as "The First Breath". It relates to the moment in their history when the breath of life was bestowed upon the first of their kind, bringing them into existence.

These particular fae, whom hold to this belief will often be seen with something in the form of a trinket, necklace or other similar object, which bares a rough spiral symbol upon its surface. This marking is a symbolisation of time winding backwards to a point of origin, a time when everything began and their kind were born into the world of Ert and a celebration of creation.

Innocent and care free, these emergent creatures were bound from the start of their existence into somewhat of a symbiotic relationship with their surroundings and become what could be considered as self proclaimed caretakers of Nature, instinctively tending to and nurturing the surrounding forests as though it was their very purpose in being.

In return they were to be gifted with long life and magics needed to aid them in their objectives . This is something, which has somewhat been continued by certain species of Fae, such as the Gnomes and woodland fairies, whom act as ardent defenders of the forests and environments, which they have made their homes.

The Corruption

At an unspecified time in their history, it is told, that the forests and woodlands were stricken by a great corruption.

First appearing in small isolated pockets, deep in the heart of the woodlands, it would blacken and twist the trees into malformed shapes and turn the fruits dark and poisonous. Any creatures, that had not already fled, as well as those attempting to quell the blight would eventually succumb to its effects and either die or worse still, become as foul and twisted as the trees had become.

Whether this was due to a form of dark magic or a natural occurrence, was never determined, but it spread like wildfire and before long, the devastation had overwhelmed the Fae, bringing them to a point, which would change them forever more.

The Divide

The Fae were left divided on what to do against this distructive force, which was gradually devouring their world.

There were many who were not willing to give up the fight and believed by combining their numbers, an effective attack on the blight could be achieved stopping it and over time healing the forests.

There were others that saw no hope in tackling this powerful corruption head on and believed it would only result in the extinction of their kind. Their solution was to hide deep within the earth and wait out the worst of it and start the world a new once it had run its coarse. And then there were others whom wished to seek out new magics and possibly greater powers to aid in the push against this dark force.

With emotions running high, and ideas conflicting so greatly, a compromise was sadly never reached and thus for the first time the fae divided, shattering their ranks and scattering across the lands, like airbourne seeds.

Changes

For aeons, the fae fought against the corruption, but at last it was vanquished, however the victory came at great cost. The loss of life and damage to nature was immeasurable and would take time to replenish.

Throughout the coarse of the struggle the fae had divided time and time again, branching off and spreading out into numerous offshoots of the original lieage. Where some had flourished, others had completely died out. As well as physical changes, these branches would also delvelope new ideals and purposes, some completely forgetting their origins or even de-evolving into lower forms of fae.

Those that chose to stay and continue to fight against the corruption, would develope eventually in to the likes of the first Gnomes, Wood Elves and Fairies, Still harbouring that drive to protect and cultivate the surrounding woodlands. Those fae whom went off in search of new sources of power would become the mighty High Elves and like, drawing their new found energies from the very earth and sky.

And then there were those whom chose to hide and wait below until the sickness has passed.

For them there was no safety in the bowels of the earth, for the roots of the trees reached deep and dark, carrying the same blight that effected the world above. These fae would eventually become shadows of their former selves, evolving in to the Dark Elves, goblins and kobolds of the world.