Empire of the Dragonlords

From the history books of the Loremasters of Draconis:

It is no secret that the ancient tribes of Mankind learned the ways of magic from otherworldly beings. Under the guidance of the Eldar, the Men of Aurora prospered. Great towers and palaces were raised unto the skies, shaped by the magic power of the land. The Eldar were wise in the ways of magic and arcane knowledge, including the mightiest of spells, was at its height in those early days of Empire.

Men being men, however, desired ever greater power. And even the mightiest of spells, of the ninth and tenth grade, were not enough to satisfy these desires. So men sought out the original sorcerers of the Earth - the Dragons.

Over decades, the wizard-lords of the Empire fought and subjugated the mighty Dragons. Eventually, an accord was reached by the more orderly Dragons and the wizard-lords of the Realm. The Empire of Draconis entered a new phase of expansion as Man and Dragon entered into an arcane alliance.

The Eldar, seeing their strict teachings disregarded and forgotten, fought against these Dragonlords but to no avail. The power of the Eldar was broken and the Dragonlords reigned supreme. The Dragonmen, children of the Dragons, established themselves within the borders of Mankind. The Empire of Draconis expanded to encompass the entire continent. Expeditions on dragonback established footholds on the eastern continent of the Enlightened, as well as on the continent to the south, the ancestral birthplace of Mankind.

The Eldar, broken and on the run, fled into the forests and glades, the hidden and secret places of the Earth. There, those that still upheld the arcane mysteries developed as the High Elves. The Eldar that abandoned the magical ways and embraced their lives in the wilderness became Wood Elves.

The Empire of Draconis, with Aurora as its capital, grew and prospered for centuries. But without the guidance of the Elves, Man's cities choked and blocked the natural flow of magic across the land. The Men of Aurora grew dependent solely on their bond with the Dragons, their magical knowledge slowly fading. As long as that bond lasted, the Empire thrived. But that bond, as all things, came to an end - as did the Empire.