The Third Age

The Third Age

(The Age of Men)
Much changed in the Age of Men. The light-skinned Goth tribes of the North were chosen for the experimental interbreeding with the Blue Elves. They learned that with these paler-skinned humans they could produce offspring that held true to their Celestial origins. But not all Vaettir agreed with the practice. This caused rifts for the first time in Elven society and as men and elves interbred over the millennia, the Pale Elves (Alfar) emerged as their own culture. The Blue Elves considered their Pale brethren a less sophisticated culture, cut off from the ancient practices and wisdom of the Stars. Distracted by this cultural unrest the Elves did not notice when some men finally began to feel the call of the Darkness beneath. These men dug deep into the mountains. At first they thought they were mining for precious metals and coal. But when they discovered great caverns beneath the mountains they felt strangely at home. They built a great subterranean city directly over the place where the Darkness had landed so very long ago.
Over time the men that dwelt below the mountains began to adapt to their surroundings as their forefathers had above. They became Dwarves (Duergar). And when some of their number snuck away deeper into Voktegard they were lured into digging past an ancient barrier, creating small but not insignificant cracks through which the Taint seeped. The first Tainted things on Voktegard returned to the Dwarven City and it was after this first attack that the signs of Taint became obvious on the corpses of the Dwarves’ fallen kin. Immediately the Dwarves called out to the surface for the help of men and Elves. The Blue Elves recalled their ancient purpose and took to training the Dwarves in their histories and lore about the Darkness. It was at this time that the people of Voktegard first began to call the Darkness the “Forgotten Powers”. For many generations the Dwarves stood vigilant against the Forgotten Powers and the occasional onslaught of Tainted things against their City. They began to take pride in their identity and role as protectors of the world above. But they did not know that through the cracks the emanations of Taint could reach far.
The Taint reached far above the surface to the mountains where the Goths kept their ancient ways of balance between the dark of the things below and the light of the stars above. Some were seduced in dreams and visions by the Forgotten Powers and were drawn away from the mountains. The Mørkgoth tribes arose and began their practice of worshipping the Forgotten Powers outright. Through their incantations they communed with the Darkness and hatched a plan to end the Age of Man.