The Prime were the original sentient race of Alathor. They were given sentience on accident via an attempt to corrupt the planet's lifeforce and essence during the Harbinger evasion - this corruption inadvertently gave the species that would become the Prime a connection to the primordial Dreaming, which in turn brought them to consciousness and self-awareness. Often violent and destructive creatures, the Stewards disagreed on how to handle them - destroy or let live. Ultimately, the solution was both. First, the Stewards used their abilities to mold new races from populations of the Prime - imbuing those new races with their own beliefs and ideals in attempt to dampen and mitigate the effects of the corruption. These would become the force base races: the Maia, the Nakhasi, the Grizzla, and the Pukta. However, the remaining Prime attempted to enslave or purge these off-shoots, and so the four races were united by Zun, Steward of Summer, and eradicated the Prime. Later, a Harbinger in hiding would be discovered that had created its own race, the Thalorim, from the Prime, having adopted methods similar to the Stewards - Zun would discover this, destroy the Harbinger, and briefly adopt the Thalorim as his own creation. In the modern era, most people have some blend of the four base races in their ancestry, with few "pure-blood" living outside of isolationist (such as the Pukta of Helvania or the Nakhasi of Kyokuri) or remote areas (such as the Grizzla in the northern wilds of Virondia and the Maia that chose to live in forest cities rather than the urban sprawl of Yeoria).