Urdun

The world of Urdun was forged by Aino the All Knowing, a lonely god whisping upon the void. From the longing in his heart, he birthed our entire universe. The lands were lush and green, bearing no taint of malice or pain. The world was connected, both at the heart and in a literal sense. The world was made to be a pangaea, one massive stretch of land where everyone had access to the wonders of Aino and the creatures he had made. As the rocks and trees grew together, Aino was happy for a time. However, rocks have very little to offer in the way of motivation, and a tree makes no choices but to grow.   And so, Aino decided to make life more complicated. First of these were the Ainar, beings made from pieces of Aino himself, designed to watch over His creations. The creator then painted the landscape with every living beast. Those of the sea, and the air, and those who crawl on the ground were made by his hand. But even with his planet full of life, Aino was still lonely. Fish make for poor conversation, and the Ainar were designed with no purpose other than service. While he could talk with his Ainar, the creator wanted his children to choose to love him. And so He made the elves. Beautiful and immortal, he made them in his own image, and from clay and water he formed them and breathed his own self into them. The elves were happy to serve under Him and tend to his world as diligent gardeners should. Though this would not last.   Choice is a curse as well as a gift, and the ability to choose to love and follow aino comes with the equally available choice to not. "If Aino can breathe into us, to make us His servants, can we not do the same?" they asked themselves. They could not recreate Aino's creation, but through experiments of their own they gave life to the dwarves, orcs, and man. These peoples are referred to as the Heno-Thui, Children of my breath, or just "the Children" in the common tongue. These children were not perfect and would grow grey and wither like flowers in time. In their attempt to create life, the Elves had introduced death to all thinking peoples.   When Aino learned of this he was outraged. His children had made creatures that should be equals with them. And so He cursed the elves, to wither with their children and know the sorrow they had brought upon the entire world with their arrogance. This is considered to be the very first link in the chain of woes that would befall every creature living upon the world. As the people became divided, so too was the land. In the midst of the very garden Aino had made for them, the word has been pulling apart, the salt sea filling the void left by the tear Aino left upon the world.