The Elf-Human War

"Nana! Nan!"
"Yes, little one? Can't you see I am busy with my tinkering?"
"You lived during the Elf-Human War, right?"
"And where did this line of questioning come from?"
"The tutor was talking about it! But they didn't say that much... We want to know about it!"
"As you wish... Gnomes weren't very active in the conflict, you know. It won't be that interesting."
"I don't care! Tell me now!"
"Easy, easy! Okay... Where to begin."
Filli created the Elves first; they were the first real tool users with thoughts and feelings and emotions. They were comfortable together, but knew something was missing. Tired they were of the only creatures on the horizon being Elf or an animal. They wanted diversity. They wanted different perspectives.

When they prayed to Filli for this, Humans came about. This would be around... 1000 years after Filli made the world. Far before your Nana's years. They grew nearby, and they were friends with the Elves right away. They communicated, talked, and the humans learned much from the Elves. It was a wonderful relationship.

But then... Then the humans grew old. Their hair greyed, their eyes dimmed. They could still talk, but... The oldest Elf was hardly wrinkled. They would be 550 years old by then, after all! And the humans started dying of old age at around the same time Elven children matured. This worried the Elves; their curious, extremely talented and diverse friends were dying so young.

I'm not going to pretend I understand what the Elves were thinking back then. Perhaps they thought Humans were little more than children, due to their age. Perhaps they didn't wish to lose that fantastic spark and creativity that Humans have. But, no matter what, humans were placed into slavery.

Slavery was painful for such creative and adventurous souls. They wished for nothing more than to explore and make their own lives. But the Elves, the Elves wanted them to create, build, help out the Elves instead of pursue their own goals. This snuffed out the Human's candle.

As you know from your tutor, this happened to a few races. The Elves valued the Orc's strength, the Dwarves' aging and wisdom, the Goblin's comedy... They wanted to harness those "short-lived flames" and turn them into what they thought was the perfect artists.

What they didn't realize is how deep that burned those races. The flames they cultivated in the darkness wanted to see new lights. Most races slowly fell out of the Elves' grasp, usually through incredible diplomats or key speakers. Rather than aggressively holding them, the Elves allowed many to simply start their own tribes off of the Tree, where the Elves could keep an eye on them without controlling them. The races usually accepted the help gladly, since the Elves already had so much technology and power.

Sadly, there was one race that was not granted this freedom. Humans were the last slaves that the Elves simply could not seem to give up; they were too versatile, too talented... Too fragile. Even with fantastic bards, genius magic-wielders, and some of the most persuasive orators in the Arengold Forest, the humans could not seem to escape confinement. They continued on in their servitude until 2434... Nearly 1000 years after their initial enslavement.

On 2434, the Human Warchief – whom we still do not know the name of – started a rebellion. With the deaths of 200 Elven guards and civilians fresh on their hands, over half of the human population exploded north, away from the Midtrunk where the Elves held them hostage, battling their way until they were no longer under any of the Branches of the Tree. From there, they quickly set up war camps, as the Elves who were not slain in the breakout were following fast.

The brutality of the first fight was awful. The Elven Vanguard cut down thousands of humans; man, woman, and child. The Humans, in their counteroffensive, wiped out all of the most elite Elven Warriors currently alive... But without many of their population remaining outside of Elven control. The Vanguard killed half of the fleeing humans out of vengeance for the lives taken in the Human's escape.

This started about 150 years of conflict. Not in a row, of course; they only had a major battle every two years or so. But every fight was vicious. Each side was looking for something, and felt that they had been wronged in some way. Humans were extremely bitter, and looking for both solitude and vengeance. Elves felt that the humans were proving how immature they were, and wished to discipline them for a few more generations before allowing them to form tribes. The Humans spurned Elven technology, and created "savage" tribes – though they still used technology of war, such as bows and spears.

After 50 years, the other tribes were expected to take a side. Many started to inch closer and closer to the Humans, who they believed were simply brawling to be left alone. The races supported the Humans with food and materials, and in the case of the Dwarves and Orcs, they gave blood and bone, more men to battle the Elven hordes.

The Elves did hold a few critical allies in races that they treated well. Our people, the Gnomes, traded with Elves primarily, as they had access to technology and more for us to use in our experiments. Catfolk and Kitsune were key allies of the Elves, but were in such small quantities before 2600 that they were mostly just secret soldiers, spies, and traders. The Elves were alone, otherwise. They still had a major advantage in training, technology, and the Midtrunk was a nearly impossible fortress to crack.

Now, after 150 years, the Humans have perfected their combat strategies to the point where conflicts performed similarly. No longer did humans have to send dozens of warriors to defeat a single elf; There were enough Human Heroes that could handle Elven Warriors in a fight that casualties were starting to even out. The Elves were growing weary of the fight, and the Humans were showing that they could handle themselves; the Heroes were a huge hand in that.

So, in 2585, the Human Warchief – or a body-double – met the Elven Warpriest Var in a mutually safe tribe and signed a treaty in Eldberry; the Humans would be left alone, and the Elves would not suffer continued Hero-based guerilla warfare. Both tribes walked away from the signing disgruntled and befuddled, unsure of how to exist without their conflict.

That being said, for the Elves, warfare was far from over. The Orcs who had allied themselves with the humans officially distanced themselves from the humans and began warring with the Elves. The Orcs did not appreciate how far off the Arengold Tree the Elves had pushed, and they wanted their land back. But, that war is a story for another day.

"Phew!"
"Nana! Are you okay!"
"Yes, dear, yes I am! That was just longer than I remembered... And I left out some of the details! I wish I could tell you about the Horror of Fellt!"
"Don't worry Nana, go to sleep. I'm content."
"You're never content with a story untold; you're just like me! But you're right, it's late. Let's get you to sleep, too!"

Important Conflicts of the War

2434 - The Escape and Counterattack. May the 200 Elves, 178 Elven Vanguards, and 4,132 Humans who passed in this conflict rest in peace.
2444 - The Recovery Defensive. A large-scale Elven attack that was largely defeated due to clever traps built into the Northern Roots. May the 312 Elves and 500 Humans who passed in this conflict rest in peace.
2475 - The Ikini Reveal. Ikini was a Human Barbarian who was trained secretly by the humans, underneath the roots. During an assault on the small human tribe of Ikin, Ikini counterattacked and single-handedly decimated the Elven Force that was moving in. May the 56 Elves and 20 Humans who passed in this conflict rest in peace.
2476 - The Perfect Rampage. The Elves, frustrated by the Human Ikini, rampage and destroy her hometown while she was away. May the 178 Humans who passed in this conflict rest in peace.
2478 - The Three Heroes. Ikini is joined by 2 other human heroes; Necrom the Wizard and Phantasia the Shaman. These three heroes decimate an Elven Patrol coming to destroy a few dangerous Human settlements. May the 200 Elves and 78 Humans who passed in this conflict rest in peace.
2481 - The Elven Crusade. The final brutal destruction of Human tribes. An Elven Army of a fairly massive size overran the central tribe of the Humans and cut a massive chunk into the Human reinforcements. Ikini and Phantasia were slain in this battle. May the 300 Elves, 2,222 Humans and 2 Human Heroes who passed in this conflict rest in peace.
2481 - The Orcish Counteroffensive. Hearing the attack on the Human tribe nearby, the Orcs pushed the Elves back out of the taken tribe, with the aid of a few Dwarven Heroes like Dumgara Hammerfist and Bütstrap Angleheim. May the 153 Orcs, 200 Elves, and 1 Dwarf who passed in this conflict rest in peace.
2492 - The First Assault on the Midtrunk. After a few years of defensive victories, the Orc Warchief made the choice to rush the Elven Midtrunk. The Elves easily deflected the attack. May the 310 Orcs, 100 Humans, 23 Dwarves, and 10 Elves who passed in this conflict rest in peace, as may the dozens of unknown warriors of different races.
2510 - The Ceasefire of Notre Dun. The Elves attack a major Dwarven settlement, which goes horribly. A Dwarf Shaman captures a major Elven General in a Paralysis spell and forces a temporary ceasefire. May the 410 Elves and 80 Dwarves who passed in this conflict rest in peace, as may the few other mercenaries and soldiers of unknown races.
2544 - The Explosion of the Elven Wizard, Fi'Ra, Fi'Ra, a possibly insane Wizard, used a massive fireball to blow up a Human tribe Alika, leaving only a few children who left to explore. May the 571 Humans who passed in this attack rest in peace.
2548 - Revenge for Alika. The children of Alika became Heroes, and attacked the tribe that Fi'Ra was rumored to be in. They killed until they got to Fi'Ra, and then surrendered to the Elves. May the 22 Elves, Fi'Ra the Wizard, and 6 Human Heroes who passed in this conflict rest in peace.
2568 - The Horror of Fellt. A combined effort of the Human Alliance completely annihilated the Elven Tribe of Fellt, citing Alika as a reason to attack so aggressively. May the 245 Elves, 10 Humans, 31 Orcs, and 10 Dwarves who passed in this conflict rest in peace, as well as various other civilians, warriors, and passerby of unknown races.
2585 - The Final Battle. An extremely small conflict between Humans and Elves, reminiscent of earlier fights before the Human Alliance was formed. May the 31 Humans and 14 Elves who passed in this conflict rest in peace.

Conflict Type

War