Crystals of Khor

Once, there existed the humble races of man. They lived out their days peacefully, developing their cities and fighting among themselves. After a time, an era of relative peace was established, as the Humans , the Hill Dwarves, and even the Halflings, formed the Coalition of the Free Men. They discovered a way to govern the world together, and to help defend from the greed of the Mountain Dwarves. Until one day, The Shatter occurred.   The Shatter caused crystals to thrust forth from the ground, some in small areas, others forming massive fields of crystal. The world cracked in places, an entire empire was turned to dust, a continent was reformed, and the realm was scarred. A week after The Shatter, various magical creatures began to appear, taking over the woods and plains the people had come to know. A week after they appeared, other creatures began to surface, creatures that would compare to the likes of man. First came the Elves, short folk with pointed ears, occasionally with birthmarks of crystal on their body. The gnomes came shortly after, seemingly born from the trees themselves. Other races began to show, and these races would all be known as Fae.   The Free Men and the Fae were scared of each other, unknowing and untrusting. The Fae began to learn of their own magical powers, pure and destructive in their untamed form. Tension grew as more and more accidents happened, as more and more Free Men died at the hands of Fae magic. The Free Men began researching the crystals themselves, learning to harvest the magical energy for themselves, even performing experiments on living Fae. Until both sides reached a breaking point.   The war was brutal, and the raw magical power wielded by the Fae, combined with the sheer numbers and resilience of the Free Men left both sides weak. This weakness was easily exploited by their one true enemy: Orks . Awful, tainted creatures entirely corrupted by the crystals themselves. Legends say they were a berserker tribe that turned to the crystals for strength. Regardless, they cut a swath through the lands, seeking to turn others into the same sort of crystalline abomination as they.   The Fae guerrilla troops and the organized armies of the Free Men struck a ceasefire so they might co-operate against the mad hordes. Eventually the two sides working together were able to drive back the Ork forces, but at a great cost to their armies. Peace has remained between the factions since.   This was several hundred years ago. Fae and Men live amongst each other in relative harmony. There are many though that have not forgotten the atrocities of war and still harbor a grudge, but there numbers are dwindling.   On the verge though, the Ork masses gather, waiting for their guards to drop, and making surgical strikes against lone patrols. Beyond that, even more sinister forces have begun to notice the world of Khor, and begun maneuvering their own agents of destruction.