The War of the Wizard Kings

Summary

In the ages before the Modern Era, before recorded history, the world was much different than it was now. Each land kept to itself, and each culture kept to its lands - be it the Dwarven Kingdoms in the center of the continent or the nearby Isle of Avalon with the Elf-Cities. There was a sort of peace between all these various Kingdoms and the nomadic races of humans or orcs.
And then the Wizard-Kings came.
Across Europa, a cabal of 13 powerful wizards came to power in their various cultures and countries, manipulating politics, people, and power in order to obtain their culture's version of a Throne. It remains a matter of legend if the 13 Wizard Kings were working together at first, but what is known is that once they came to power, any alliances that might have existed evaporated as Europa broke out into war between these 13 factions.
Often called the “First” War of the Wizard Kings, this set of conflicts lasted for quite some time; historians are uncertain the exact time since it was before the current calendar tracking of the Modern Era (ME), but most sources put the set of conflicts to roughly one century long as factions rose and fell in power across the continent.
What is, more or less, a given fact of this time period is that this is when the first Warforged appeared. In response to the need for more soldiers to fight their wars, the various Wizard Kings managed some kind of process to create the artificial life forms. Unlike any golem ever created, the Warforged were able to fight intelligently and accept complicated commands.
For a time, the Warforged were the perfect solution for the Wizard Kings to fight each other for dominance without having to risk themselves or their living population. These proxy battles of warforged armies against skeletal ones against golems and other arcane creations marked the end of the time period.
The Wars of the Wizard Kings came to an abrupt end after close to a century of conflict when their Warforged creations turned on them and overthrew them. Interestingly, it is widely believed that even as the Warforged took their freedom from bondage, they did not wish to become oppressors themselves and so stepped back into the shadows of the world as a new race, leaving the native cultures behind to reform their kingdoms.
Whatever magical process the Wizard Kings used to create the Warforged has been lost to time and if the Warforged themselves know it - they aren’t telling.

Historical Basis

While much of the War of the Wizard Kings has become myth and legend, the broad strokes remain historical fact:

There was a conflict between a number of ruling Wizards across the continent that ravaged the land for close to 100 years

The Warforged were created during this period via a magical process which has been lost to time

The Warforged overthrew their oppressors and took their freedom

Spread

Almost every culture in Europe has legends regarding the War of the Wizard Kings since the period was so violent and so destructive that the cultural “scars” are deeply wrought. Further, there have been a number of follow up conflicts through the Modern Era, such as the Wizard’s War in the 1600’s, where some overzealous wizard attempts to “reclaim the glory of the mythic age”.
While it cannot be proven, common belief is that there were, in fact, 13 bloodlines of arcane casters at the head of the conflicts, though there remains some argument if the number was 13, if they were sorcerers or wizards, and so on. Some debate their very existence, though those debates are often in the minority of the topic.
Many people claim, for a variety of reasons, to be “of the Blood of the Old Kingdoms”, or simply “Of the blood”, indicating that they believe themselves to be descended from one of the 13 Wizard Kings of Antiquity. The claims are almost always unable to be proven.
It is commonly believed that this is the time period where most of the longer lived races, such as elves and dwarves, lost their pseudo-immortality. It is unclear if those powers were sacrificed in some arcane bargain during the time period, lost as a natural consequence of the ravages of magic over the continent, or some other arcane event during the time period.

Variations & Mutation

In Avalon, the War of the Wizard Kings was something that happened “over there” as the Elven wizards of the time were able to protect the Isle from the ravages of magic and warforged alike.
Many nobles of the Ruskovich Winter Court claim to be of the Blood, and while the period is still looked on as being an excess and hugely dangerous, many Rus legends and tales of the War of the Wizard Kings paint it as an attempt from Rus to civilize and hold dominion over the continent. One variant tale says that the Iron Curtain, the thick bands of fog which surround Ruskovich, was conjured during this time by those of the Blood to protect the Homelands.

Cultural Reception

The War of the Wizard Kings is something of a cultural touchstone - it is not unheard of for people to ponder about the legends and explore them through art, music, and literature.

In Literature

In terms of writing, there are as many fictional and fanciful accounts of the events of the War as there are historical treatises on the topic. Similar to the real world renditions of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table where there are countless retellings that have no basis in fact, but there remains an element of fact within the history of the story itself.

In Art

Many poems, books, music, and art, romanticize the period - either in terms of the Warforged revolt or in the plight of the peasants while massive arcane energies and godlike beings do battle overhead.