Humans
"Humans are without a doubt, the finest fighters on the world of Traxis and the evidence of such is all around us, even today. Many people in the Divided Lands have memories of the time the Empire of Canis Maximus (at that time known as the Empire of Twelve Houses, but renamed in honor of the sacrifice of the Emperor Alexander Canis Maximus at the end of the Great Campaign) and their campaign. Indeed, they almost conquered the entire continent before being beaten back after a series of bloody battles. The Empire isn't gone, however, it sits across the sea, the portal connecting the continents sealed by the Emperor's sacrifice. Today, Imperial soldiers are even deadlier than they were in the Great Campaign thanks to societal pressures, and I beg of this council to consider diplomatic solutions with the Empire to avoid another conflict! It is known throughout the land that the Divided Lands can ill afford another Great Campaign, we barely survived the last one!" - Lord Askun Ironhammer, Representative of the Dwarven Kingdom of Glinrock Mountain at the Fifth Meeting of Lords on the issue of a rearming Empire.

Humans are natural fighters, with above average strength, fast reactions and incredible intuition. To top it all off, they a human being can survive a wound that would be fatal to any other race, whether they be Dwarf, Axin or anyone else. A human being can lose impressive quantities of blood, suffer severe damage to their bodies and still remain combat capable. On top of that, they are uniquely capable of using Rune magics, a strange form of magic revolving around the use of inscriptions on a surface combined with a the addition of certain substances to create a supernatural effect. Humans are generally feared in the Divided Lands, as there isn't a human nation on the continent, the closest being the Empire and the impression the small expeditionary force left remains. During the Great Campaign, Imperial soldiers from the different houses proved that they truly are the finest soldiers on the planet at a number of battles, especially at the final battle of the Great Campaign, the Battle of the Portal where ten thousand troops (From the following houses : Black, Maximus, Wolfheart, Boltkill and Sandsnake) held off an enemy army two hundred thousand strong for an hour, allowing the remaining Imperial forces to withdraw back through the portal. Uniquely gifted with a variety of biological traits, some people speak as if the gods selected Humanity for some great purpose.

A human being can select one of the following traits.
Adrenaline Overdrive - Allows the player to make three actions simultaneously. This ability is tied to a number of circumstances. If the human being is under attack by a large number of enemies, the ability can be triggered. It can also be triggered if the human has been heavily wounded or if they are fighting a powerful enemy.
Rune Magic - The human player can inscribe an item or surface with a rune pattern that they know. To activate the rune, simply apply a substance to the rune. For example, a rune pattern of Shield inscribed on a piece of armour will, when struck, create a shield absorbing the blow. Runes crumble after one use, but the item they are inscribed on is unaffected, but some substances can hold a rune indefinitely. Rune patterns will affect one another when placed close together. A Fire rune and a Projection rune placed next to one another and activated will project a burst of flame in the direction they are aiming.
Robust - All injury rolls against the player are lowered by one. This allows a human a chance to survive an instant kill attack, if they are lucky, in which case they will be heavily wounded and not slain.

Human Factions

The Empire Of Canis Maximus
The Empire of Canis Maximus is a complex and ancient nation. It is comprised of twelve Great Houses (In order of strength : Maximus, Black and Wolfheart (Both tied for second greatest, major historical feud to top it off), Boltkill and Sandsnake, Starlance, Crimson Arrow, Steelclad, Headhunter, Oakheart, Serpentine, Farend) and countless Lesser Houses. The trait that defines all Imperial citizens is the impeccable code of honor that they hold themselves to. Unlike other warrior societies, however, there is honor in all things. It is honorable, for example, to write a book, to create a sculpture, to build a house, to raise children, to fight in the military. The entire society revolves around honour and the obtaining of glory through difficult or impossible tasks. The governing system of the Empire starts from the top, the Emperor. The Empire is inherited to the next Emperor or Empress upon the death of the previous and if the line is extinct, a new ruling dynasty is selected by the Twelve Houses. All houses are free to wage war upon one another, which they do frequently, but the reigning Emperor has the ability to mandate the end of an internal war for a campaign.

The Twelve Houses typically maintain an open door policy, anyone can freely join one of the Houses. Upon joining a house, you become part of that House's responsibilities. All Houses maintain a large citadel in the heart of their realm where the House is led from as well as being the dwelling for all the House members. Smaller, agricultural houses support the Great House and typically make shipments of food and other goods to the Great House. The citadel of a House is considered its primary asset, the representation of it's power and the beating heart of the Great House - to take it from them will require the complete destruction of the Great House, they will not surrender it. The resources of a House, both Great and Lesser, are communal. A typical House will have it's members dine together, work together, fight together and die together, if need be. A Canisean citizen will rather give their lives than to dishonor themselves, so retreat is not an option on the battlefield unless otherwise ordered to.

The capital of the Empire is the great city-fortress is Nova, a titanic city and the heart of House Maximus. A city planned by the honorable Johan Maximus Adent (Notice the name of the House is his middle name - When joining a house, you take the name of the house for your middle name. The leaders of the house have it for their last name instead.), it has grown along his ancestral designs ever since it was founded millennia ago. Statues of some of the most honorable and glorious citizens of the Empire adorn it's streets and it is home to, according to the last Imperial Census, nearly a million happy, honorable and productive citizens. Upon the death of an Emperor, the other Eleven Houses are called to the city for the funeral and the coronation of the next Emperor. A parade typically occurs as the finest soldiers of the Houses are brought into the city. The leader of the Houses will accompany their troops into the city. In the coming days they will compete with the other houses in a grand tournament for glory. The armies will face off against one another in mock battles just as the leaders fight one another in the melees. This is not to say there isn't blood spilt on these days, indeed, fights between rival houses can typically result in deaths in the name of honor.

The Empire almost conquered the Divided Lands two decades ago, before being beaten back by their combined armies. However, that was a small expeditionary force led by the Emperor. Time has passed, and as we all know, time heals all wounds and so, the Empire is once again mobilizing for another war, this time with all it's might in the name of avenging Emperor Alexander and the fallen of the invasion. Honor demands it, and so it shall be done! However, disconcerting rumors are heard in the taverns...

An Imperial can have one of the following perks.
Legacy of Conquest - By speaking with a commanding tone and the correct use of body language, it is possible for a Canisean to intimidate a non-Imperial. This can have a number of results, such as causing them to flee the field of battle, to lower shop prices or to give information.
Death Sentence - Instantly kill a regular enemy. This ability can be used once per fight but will instantly kill most enemies. Named enemies may or may not be immune, depending on their own fighting skill.
For the Empire! - This passive ability means, that with each kill in a fight, the player gains +1 to minimum and maximum damage. Commonly referred to as being in "the zone" by other nations, it is an unexplained phenomena that causes Imperial soldiers to strike harder with each enemy they kill on the battlefield. Some believe it to actually be the result of self belief in their own strength increasing as they defeat the enemies of the Empire.

The Kingdom of Terris
The Kingdom of Terris, unlike the Empire, is much younger, only a few hundred years old. Being far from the Empire has spared them from the Empire's might, as well as a lack of shared interests keeps the two realms apart, or so the Empire thinks. A traditional kingdom, it is, at first glance, generally unremarkable. However, there are a few important things to remember about the Kingdom.

One - The people of the Kingdom are devoutly religious. Two - The death sentence for religious offences is fairly common. Three - They don't take too kindly to foreigners, especially Caniseans.

Terrisians believe themselves to be protected by the gods against the "demonic" "sacrilegious" "cursed" Empire of Canis Maximus. Led by a dynastic family of Paladins and an order of Holy Priests, they stand ready to fight against any who defy the will of their gods. Their holy priests, however, do have some semblance of power, with their own set of runes that only seem to work for them, and even then only in certain conditions. A massive rune, the size of a house and with a intricate weaving of runes across it's entire surface in a rune script not known to man, upon being tapped with soil will emit a shockwave, turning the normally barren soil under the Kingdom fertile. However, this must be done weekly, else the soil dies and with it will die the Kingdom of Terris.

Citizens of the Kingdom, however, don't always agree with their religious masters, but no one knows what will become of this...discontent. Whereas Caniseans perform honorable and glorious tasks as part of their good nature and to earn a place in the Afterlife, the Terrisian government performs strange rituals and deeds which allows the leader of their nation to see the will of the gods, or so they claim. Recently however, strange omens have started to emerge foretelling of a danger coming...

Terrisians can have the following traits.
Rune Merging - The Terrisian can grab two or more runes and with the correct incantations, merge them together. The rune script will be transformed and become unreadable, but the effects will not only be combined, but amplified. As with the earlier example of a Fire and Projection rune, when they are merged together instead of a gust of flames you will instead have a ball or beam of flame erupting from the rune stone.
Holy Reading - Don't let the name fool you, this is not to do with the reading of books, but rather the reading of minds. An ability commonly used by the Terrisian Inquisition, the player can read the mind of a person and discover their intents straight out of their mind in addition to all other useful information.
A True Prayer - The Terrisian can drop to their knees and pray to the gods for assistance. This can have quite the number of results. Praying in battle can result in military assistance, but the Terrisian can also pray at any other time for help in other matters. Depending on the will of the gods, they may or may not receive help and said help may or may not be useful.

The Merchant Republic
Less a nation and more of an organization, the Merchant "Republic" refers to the various merchant guilds around the world and the union that unites them together in their pursuit of coin. While trying to get wealth out of a Canisean can be like trying to get a boulder to surrender, the Divided Lands are suitable hunting grounds for predatory merchants. But, from the wares the Merchant Republics has are...unique, even by the standards of the other nations. Strange fabric carpets, spices and other such things are typical goods traded to the Divided Lands and they even have goods that can make a Great House open their vaults in exchange. While most merchants prefer to not get their hands dirty, Mercenari, Soldats and other contract killers are more than willing to get their hands dirty for a price.

Members of the Merchant Republic can have the following perks.
Aventurero Militar - As a soldier of fortune, you will earn extra quest rewards in the form of cold, hard cash. In addition, you may recieve special unique quests that cannot be obtained in any other way other than your mercenary friends.
Guild Connections - Well known members of the Merchant Republic can sometimes receive a few "gifts" from various trading hubs. Who knows what they might contain? This passive gains power as you and the party complete more and more quests. In addition, you can haggle with shopkeepers and the like to get a better price.
Whoops - By using your lovable, roguish charm, you can make something appear to be an accident. For example, if you are breaking into a house of a wealthy business man through the window only to find him sitting at the dining table with his wife, you can instead say that it was an accident and that you slipped and fell through the window. Surprisingly, they have a good chance of actually buying into that.

Dwarves
"As a true Canisean warrior of House Black, I was a part of the invasion of the Divided Lands. I was there, fighting in the shield wall with my brothers, pushing forward into a dwarven stronghold built into a mountain. As we pushed forward, crushing the dwarves against our tower shields and spears and the engraved rocks of their fortress, we didn't notice them bring out some kind of long metal tube, fill it with some black dust and push a huge stone ball inside. We learned that it was one of their new guns, a cannon is what they called it. I lost a lot of friends, in that moment. Men I've seen cut down Elven blade dancers blown to pieces by cannonfire. I'll never forget the sound it made, that distinctive bang that'll haunt me to the end of my days." Jantus Black Edwinson, Tales of a Blackguard on Campaign.

Dwarves are substantially smaller than their human cousins, and nowhere near as robust or as useful in a fight thanks to their small stature. They are even magically insensitive thanks to an unknown cause. While they might not be the strongest or the most magically powerful, they are very intelligent, creating strange technological marvels without rival. These odd machines are what have allowed the Dwarven race to survive so long and what allowed them to fight the Humans during the Great Campaign. That doesn't mean that there aren't Dwarves who are willing to fight on the front line personally, however, but a large number like to do it from some kind of vehicle.

Dwarven eyesight is surprisingly good considering they live underground, hence the weapon of choice for a large number of dwarves is a gunpowder based weapon. Fighting from a distance suits dwarves well, as their small size allows them to use other objects as cover, fire and then redeploy to another location effectively unnoticed. This is the reason for the prevalence of Dwarven sized camouflage netting, as it suits their physical size well. In addition, dwarves have a natural resistance to heat which proves useful whenever a pipe carrying hot steam leaks inside a fortress.

Dwarves will have one of the following traits.
Affinity for Machinery - It is part of the Dwarven nature to look at a machine and figure out how it works and why it does it. They are thus experts at destroying or constructing all sorts of machines and they are capable of in most cases, reverse engineering or dismantling even the most complex machines. Once a machine has been dismantled, it becomes possible for them to learn how to build a new one.
Dwarven Resilience - Dwarves have a natural resistance to magic and heat thanks to their physiology. They can take long exposure to both without much damage, but that doesn't mean they can stand in a fire and not get burned, they will, just not as badly and not as quickly. Their magical resistance can manifest in different ways, either as an inability to trigger something or as reduced effects from magic.
Hard to Notice - Dwarven stature means that they can easily disappear if they want to. Combined with a good musket and some decent camouflage, they can effectively disappear and move around. They are thus the perfect snipers, capable of hiding in plain sight. A common disguise is as a rock by the use of an assortment of powders to make them blend in combined with a small pre-dug hole for them to sit or stand in.

Dwarven Factions

The Dominion of Kel-tak'Zhol
There is a reason the Dominion of Kel-tak'Zhol is a Dominion and not a kingdom and that reason is the Empire. When the Empire first invaded, they quickly got close to the Kingdom of Kel-tak'Zhol who were outcasts in Dwarven society thanks to an accident in the past in the joint mountain project that led to the complete collapse of the entire project. Left to rot by their dwarven brothers, who at this time didn't know that the Empire desired to conquer the entire continent, Emperor Alexander Canis Maximus instead made them an offer.

Swear fealty, pursue honor and glory as a true Imperial would and fight on the side of his military and they will be integrated into the Empire when the conquest is finished as the Fourteenth Great House.

Seeing no alternative but destruction, they accepted. The Imperial Army marched into the fortress and shared their goods and foods with the dwarves who did the same. The dwarves of Kel-tak'Zhol, who haven't had friends or allies from outside their own nation in five hundred years were shocked by the acts of friendship of the humans, who treated them as kin and drank together. Stunned by these acts of brotherhood, the newly born Dominion of Kel-tak'Zhol marched to war under the Imperial banner. They shared their maps with Imperial generals who planned together to minimize the losses of both sides. Dwarven sharpshooters worked with the Imperial army to quickly take large amounts of ground. Sharpshooters could eliminate officers, then the sheer force of an Imperial charge would smash the enemy force apart, typically causing them to route from the field and not be pursued.

Indeed, a special task force of soldiers and miners worked together to reach a few Deepland settlements and proved successful in their attempts, but it was too late to turn the tide of the war. In the Battle of the Portal, the Lord of the Dominion of Kel-tak'Zhol and one thousand troops stood their ground with their Imperial allies, the rest of the Dominion's army returning to the fortress to protect it incase the other dwarven nations came to end Kel-tak'Zhol once and for all, unaware of the plan that the Emperor had put into motion.

Dwarves of Kel-tak'Zhol, called Zholians, Keltaks or Kellers, have the following traits to choose from.
Sharpshooter - When using a gun and not engaged in melee combat, the player can shoot at any visible weak points of a target. If enough weak points have been hit, the target may be instantly killed either by a human with Death Sentence or by continued usage of Sharpshooter.
Rapidfire - Depending on the results of a dice roll, the dwarf can make several attack rolls that will happen in sequence. They can either shoot all these at one target or spread them out to several enemies. With heavier gun weapons, this can prove to be downright deadly.
Explosive Expert - The use of explosives to blow things up is well recorded in Kel-tak'Zhol, indeed, it is believed to be the very thing that caused the collapse all those years ago. Rather than being shunned by their fellow dwarves for their use of explosives in such a manner, the Imperials applauded the use as it could save both lives and time when breaching a fortress. As such, the dwarf can place explosives against a surface and try and blow it open. They can try and blow open a wide variety of things, such as safes, chests, doors, walls and more.

The Kingdom of Glinrock Mountain
The Kingdom of Glinrock Mountain is the greatest of the single dwarven nations thanks to being mostly unaffected by the great collapse that destroyed dozens of underground cities and separated all of them. Whereas the Zhol accepted Imperial control, the dwarves of Glinrock Mountain instead allied with the other nations, both great and small, to resist the invading Empire. They provided the majority of weapons and armour to the war effort thanks to the vast forges inside their mountain-home. While dwarves are typically isolationist, the ones of Glinrock Mountain are positively outgoing in comparison to their cousins. Historically, they are the ones that shunned Kel-tak'Zhol the most and can be considered the main reason that they are now part of the Empire as a protectorate.

The Kingdom of Glinrock Mountain has a dozen sworn vassal nations under it's flag. While mighty, on their own they are no match for the Empire. Whereas the other dwarven nations specialize in high tech constructions, the dwarves of Glinrock Mountain instead focus on large scale production with vast assembly lines run by thousands of dwarves with the use of machinery to aid them in their works. As such, Glinrock equipment typically has a number of various industrial parts that are simple to manufacture and replace in the field.

A few traits of Glinrock Dwarves are,
Field Tuning - Thanks to the nature of Glinrock weaponry, they can be modified in the middle of a battle to suit different kinds of enemies depending on the parts that they have on hand. For instance, a dwarf can swap out a toxic sword blade for a electrically charged one in the middle of a fight as a minor action.
Stand Together! - The dwarf can call a friendly or neutral person to their help in a fight, if they desire it. This can also be used on a friendly member to call them to you or if used on another player as a +2 buff.
Smithing Excellence - The dwarf can craft Uncommon quality items from the start. With practice, they will gain the ability to craft Rare and Epicitems. Also, dwarves with this perk are uniquely capable of, when rolling a ten, to craft a Legendary item. Such things require only the best materials but are of unrivaled power.

The Deeplands
The Deeplands is not any one nation, instead it is a large group of a number of other nations. Even among the dwarves they are advanced, however, with the invention and use of strange "petrol" powered machinery. Monstrous chimneys erupt to the surface above the site in which a Deeplands settlement is located. Some say that their machining lines and advanced metallurgical techniques are a sign of the times, that the world will enter a new "industrial" age. Whether or not that is true remains to be seen, but the practical applications of many of their inventions are truly limitless. Indeed, they have managed to wrestle the control of lightning into something called "Elektrix" which allow the creation of Elektrikal lighting and more.

The Deeplands also has an unnatural grasp on artificial life, being capable of creating all sorts of wonders such as golems, constructs and the pinnacle of planet based technology - The Expert System, a semi-sentient machine with the ability to crunch incomprehensible mathematical sums in seconds in addition to being able to describe things stored in it's datavaults effectively. It is also suited to management tasks and a single Expert System is used to manage most of the Deeplands metallurgy as well as their defence forces.

Even though the Deeplands isn't any single nation, they share enough of a common culture to be able to put together a batch of traits.
Golemworks - The dwarf has the ability to create artificial life in the form of golems, casted out of an element available. In addition, they will start with a Lead golem. While unsuited for combat due it's softness, it is well suited to carrying heavy weights and being hit by a Lead Golem will still ruin a man, it's just poor for sustained fights.

Expert System fragment - A small Expert System in the form of a large globe is on the dwarf's person and keyed to their usage. While not having the complex functions of the massive Expert Systems underground, it does however, have a stored database on hundreds of different topics aswell as important advice for the budding adventurer, such as toxic plants, signs of dangerous lifeforms and comprehensive information on the physiology of all the major races on Traxis. It also come with a number of utilities to allow such functions as safe cracking, sound emitting and more.

Petrolwerks - As a new, revolutionary field of study, not much is known about the power of petrol but Deepland dwarves seem to have a large quantity of the stuff, as well as a belief in the power of the substance that hasn't been seen since the dwarves cracked steam power all those centuries ago. Some believe that one day, petrol based power supplies will allow all to travel into the skies and into the Aether above, but only time will tell if that is true. The player has a large knowledge of Petrol power, in addition to a lightweight multipurpose engine coming with several suitable components for use, such as an assortment of drill bits, adaptors to make them work with most carriages and more.

Elves
"The Elven civilizations have been in decline for centuries, an echo of a voice that once stretched throughout the continent. The war against the Empire took away most of the last of our strength, indeed, where there were three kingdoms only one survives, the other two crushed underneath the Imperial warmachine. We are barely even able to police our own territory and yet you are so foolish as to believe that we can carry an assault to the shores of a land we hardly know against an enemy that we didn't defeat but rather that they failed to achieve victory?

We Elves may have fought the human warriors to almost a standstill with fierce fighting but we paid dearly for every battle, both in lives and in the life of the land itself. Every ambush from the forests with Sikhari Warriors resulted in another acre of said forest being clear cut and used as fuel. Need I remind you that our power comes from the life of the land itself? Where the land is strong, we are strong! Asking us to take a war to a land that we don't know, that we are not in tune with amounts to madness!" High Queen Setunis at the First Meeting of Lords on the topic of carrying the war onto Imperial soil.

The Elves are an ancient race, past their prime before the dwarves even figured out how to work copper. Now they are all that remains of a once proud civilization that has lost much of it's power over the millennia. Elves are tall and lean, but don't let their lithe forms surprise you, they are surprisingly quick on their feet and have exemplary motor control. In addition, they have a natural affinity for True Magic, the casting of spells with staffs, wands and more, the power of which they draw from the land itself. As such, in areas with forests and the like the power of the magic itself is much more powerful, but in great cities it becomes weak. They have fast reactions and are well suited to the duel-wielding of weapons thanks to their agility.

The Elven Faction
The Sikhari
Whereas the other races have more several nations, the elves now only have one. The other two, the Nassari and the Trixar are now nothing but ruins and memories, completely annihilated by the Empire they vowed to destroy. By being unwilling to step back, they brought their own destruction and now little is left of their once mighty realms. However, destroyed does not mean gone, and an adventurous Elf may find traces of their civilizations while exploring the world with their companions. With time, their civilizations may reform from any survivors but for now, the Sikhari stand alone. A society living in the deep forests in harmony with nature, they are the last known Elven civilization and their libraries contain the subtotal knowledge of their species. The nation is comprised of a number of hidden cities designed to blend into the terrain and with powerful magics hiding their existence, the saving grace that protected the Sikhari from the Empire.

Elves in general have one of the following traits.
True Mage - Drawing power from the very life force of the land around them, the True Mage must use a staff as a focusing device. Learning spells from spell tomes, they are fairly traditional when it comes to spell usage. They simply will a spell into action and it will occur.
Duel Wielding Expertise - This is the usage of two one handed weapons effectively without killing one's self or their comrades in arms. If the elf with this skill is sufficiently strong, they can also duel wield two handed weapons. Such a sight must be seen to be believed. Duel wielding means that the player when attacking will make two attack rolls.
Blade Dancing - By using their fast reactions offensively by performing complex feats with their weapons, such as juggling, dancing or other strange techniques they can catch a victim off guard, giving them no time to dodge or block with a shield, meaning that the damage will ignore shields for the purpose of damage calculation.

Sikhari elves, the last remaining Elven civilization, have one of the following three traits.
Conjuration - Conjuring is a almost uniquely Elven ability, rare in all other nations. Creating permanently stable objects is an extremely difficult feat, but it is very much possible to create items that will remain stable for only a short time, with the average being a few minutes. This is also how Elven buildings are built - they are created via magical energies that have been stabilized through intensive work.
Druidism - The ability to call a nearby wild animal to support the elf in battle is a fairly common ability among their kind. Depending on the creature's mind, it may or may not work but in most cases it will. It's guaranteed to work on creatures such as bears, moose, wolves and others.
Biotuning - Biotuning is the art of synchronizing with the wild land around them. Related to True Magic in the source of power it draws from, depending on the terrain and biosphere around them they will, after synchronizing with the land, the elf will receive energy for use at their discretion. This energy is tied to the land, if they leave the area from which it is drawn it'll depart. Land can only be synchronized once in it's area, for it takes millennia for the the land to recharge.

Axin
"The Axin-hives are young, yes. Nowhere near as old as the realms of the mammals. But does that disqualify us from participating in global affairs? We think not. Children are allowed to wander your villages freely, is the globe not but a village when viewed from on high? Why are our children not allowed to wander the world, to take in it's sights and its wonders? We hear of this Empire from your poets but we know of no Empire of Men, for we are the children of the North and of the Earth. We know of all that enters our domain and we knew of no Empire of Steel. We live where no others live and we knew of no Empire of Forests. Only five years ago did you learn of our Empire of Hives. Why approach with caution and not with your arms held wide, for we are all children of Traxis and, in the end, life is too short for caution." Emissary Aciskori of the Axin at the Ninth Meeting of Lords on the military quarantine of the Axin homelands.

The Axin are unique amongst all life on Traxis, for they are truly without classification as a living species. Known in old legends as Driders, they are a half-insectoid half-mammal species, but have the unique ability to change forms into one of a biped, allowing them to intermingle with the society of the other races. The Axin live a hive based existence, serving the Axin Queen, a being that only twelve Axin ever meet at one time, and never an outsider. Born in the great hive spires of Skaxin in the North, they are the youngest of the races on Traxis, only being discovered after the Great Campaign as the nations of the Divided Lands searched the areas around them for any sort of Imperial base on the continent.

The Axin have a fairly complex caste system, similar to the ones ants have but different. There is a worker caste, well suited to the tasks needed in creating weapons and armour, as well as in the construction of the hive spires. Next up is the Warrior caste, the fighters of Axin society with strange abilities that are not well documented by outside society thanks to the lack of conflict. The hunter caste, are the most well known thanks to the initial first contact being with a hunter caste party. Axin physiologically look quite humanoid, with their humanoid characteristics fading off below the waist. In addition, there is also a sort of mage caste, fast learning and well suited to a variety of spell casting techniques, including their own unique type of spellcasting - Pacts. Other castes are known to exist but there just isn't enough information about them, but there are believed to be grand versions of each caste, substantially more deadly than the normal versions. Contrary to what you might think, not all Axin are female, a very few of them have male physical traits, but even the Axin have no idea what causes that to occur.

The Axin don't have a regular trait system, instead, they select their caste.
Warrior - The warrior caste is physically the strongest of the three known combat castes. From the waist down, they have the physical body of a giant scorpion, with decoration varying from individual to individual. They have a poisonous attack that can paralyze the enemy they are fighting if hit with a direct blow. In addition, the pincers in their native form are deadly weapons, especially against an enemy with armour.

Hunter - The hunter caste is physically lean and their native form body is that of a giant spider. They have the ability to throw nets naturally and can emit a cloud of pheromones that render people suggestible. The companions of a hunter will eventually build up a limited immunity with time, diminishing the effects of it's use. The pheromone ability is activatable even in human form, allowing for the ability to allow them to flee or make someone do something the hunter wants. Appearance wise, it appears they have a natural disposition for the darker colors, as well as the earthy ones.

Mage - The mage caste is relatively small in comparison to the others, but just as deadly. It's lower physiology is similar to that of an assassin bug, but the physical structure of a Mage can vary quite a bit, as well as coloration. . Unlike the mages of the other races, they create pacts. What they are creating these pacts with is unknown, but what is known is that only a limited number of these pacts can be active at anyone time. These pacts are powerful abilities that can be left on indefinitely but will slowly provide a drain on the Mage's strength and some theorize, their sanity. An example of a pact is the Pact of Might which when cast on a friend or on themselves provides a damage increase.

Wraith
"What do we really know about the Wraith? We know that they came into existence from the energy released when that damn Emperor detonated and we know roughly where they are coming from. According to sensors in the Deeplands and the advice of the Expert Systems, we've came up with a theory. Imagine a wall. On the one side of the wall is our material plane, where all our people are and the world of Traxis resides and so forth. On the other side, is the immaterial realms, the Afterlife, the sources of magics and the like. From what we can tell, the human Portal worked by punching a hole through this wall, through the immaterial realms and then back into the physical plane, vastly reducing travel time. Now, due to the detonation of such a vast amount of energy so close to the Portal, some of that energy went into the Portal and, for a lack of better words, blew a hole in the wall. There is now a crack, between our plane and the immaterial one and ...things... are going to start seeping through. The Wraith are the first thing we have encountered, but only the currents know what else is lurking beyond that wall. I would recommend carrying a big stick when dealing with these things." - Syseer Drainus, Representative of the Deeplands and the Expert Systems, the Seventeenth Meeting of Lords, on the topic of Wraith materialization.

The Wraith aren't so much a civilization as they are an occurrence, an oddity caused by the extensive use of magic and by the detonation of Emperor Alexander's soul at the Battle of the Portal. When he detonated his soul, so much energy was released that some went into the Portal. There, in a magical area completely unsuited to that form of energy, it damaged the barriers between dimensions, allowing the Wraith to find our universe and seep in through now appearing fissures across the world, the aftershocks of the explosion. The Wraith are believed to be either a cluster of souls combined with junk magical energies, creating a self sustaining being that can pull energy from the other dimension. They are sentient, but due to their nature, the way they act can prove to be quite odd indeed, but it is known they are capable of speech, but their style of speech is very strange and there are no similarities between one Wraith and another. What is known is that, whenever a Wraith kills someone, an energy transfer is seen between the victim and the Wraith and shortly after, the Wraith become more powerful. What causes this is unknown, but some theories believe that it is feeding on either the soul or the life force of the body itself.

There are three known Wraith types.
Devourer - This Wraith type is believed to be the most aggressive against the mortal races as it seems to drain the energy out of a person simply by touching them, but that's not to say it doesn't have it's own magical powers. They are capable of projecting a beam of vampiric energy, stripping the life force out of a living being or detonating themselves to affect a large number of individuals before reforming.
Weeper - The Weeper appears to show up around battlefields and appears to have a mastery of life and death magics, capable of resurrecting the dead as soulless automatons bound to the will of the Weeper, or healing the living. The Weeper, however, appears to be a manifestation of the sorrow and sadness on a battlefield and some report that a way to tell that a Weeping Wraith is near is to listen carefully for the sound of crying.
Observer - Whereas most Wraith typically stay near an individual they have communicated with or a location of importance, something to bind them to the material realm, the Observing Wraiths will instead seek to travel far and wide in search of knowledge. With senses unimaginable to mortal races, they can find things thought lost with ease. Due to the nature of an Observer Wraith, it can force itself through a material object, such as a wall, with ease. A Observer Wraith forcing its way through a person can cause the person to get a glimpse of the knowledge the Observer has seen. Few maintain their sanity after the ordeal.

While there is a substantial variation between one wraith and the next, there are three observed traits that can be seen in a number of different wraiths, regardless of class.
Form Shifting - Form Shifting, otherwise known as shape shifting and misattributed to the Elves, is the art of reconfiguring one's physical form. This is a difficult ability but it is made easy by the fact that Wraiths are, by their very nature, noncorporeal. When shapeshifted they don't gain much in the name of power, but they change the way their existing power is represented. For instance, a wraith changing form to that of a lion will gain the abilities of a lion, but at the amount of power the Wraith has. Therefore, an extremely powerful Wraith shapeshifted into the form of a wolf will be able to smell things hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away and travel at high speed.
Fissure Ripper - Across the world are dozens of fissures, created by the detonation of the Emperor next to the Portal. While creating permanent new fissures would require unprecedented amounts of energy, it is possible for the Wraith to rip a new fissure temporarily. Due to the nature of Wraiths in that not all of their "body" is on the physical plane, this allows them to temporarily access substantially more power. However, ripping too many holes into the protection of reality could have unforeseen consequences...
Possession - A terrible ability, it is possible for some Wraiths to "push" into the body of a mortal and take control, albeit temporarily. Depending on the willpower of the individual and their own morality, they may or may not resist some actions. Trying to get a father to smother his own children will be met with titanic resistance, but trying to get a bandit to kill the person standing next to them is much easier if they have some existing hate. Having some knowledge of the mortal existing is needed, whether that be sound, sight or other way of detecting them.

The cold winds blew towards the army and towards the great portal, the finest creation of the rune mages of the Empire. It took decades to build on both sides, much of the time spent working on the rune patterns. Workers laboured day and night to inscribe the runes just right. One mistake, and the entire project would be for naught. Emperor Alexander Canis Maximus walked behind his men. For the first time in centuries, the Empire was staring defeat in the eye, yet the morale of the men was excellent. They knew what honor demanded of them and it settled old arguments between the soldiers of the different houses. It didn't matter who controlled the Valley of Rhindus at home. It didn't matter if fighting from a camouflaged position was dishonorable. None of it mattered anymore. The Emperor knew, and the men knew, that few of the soldiers here would see another day. The Blackguard shield wall was ready, covering the one way down to the portal without falling to your death onto the beach below by charging off a cliff. For the enemy armies to reach the portal, they'd need to get through this thin line of men. Wolfheart shocktroopers stood ready, behind the Blackguard soldiers who they once called enemy and now called brother.

The Emperor had sent most of his men home, back through the portal, hopefully to rally troops if his men can hold out long enough. While inspecting the combat line, he ran into the former king of Kel-tak'Zhol, Kelthas. Even though the Emperor knew of what was going to happen in only an hour, he was cheered to see his friend. He strode up to him confidently, his purple-gold cloak blowing in the wind. "Hello, my friend. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you have returned to Kel'tak'Zhol?" the dwarf frowned, then stared his friend in the eye. "I'm here to fight, for honor's sake. I've sent my men home, but they almost didn't want to leave.""Honor does that to people. It's good to have you here, Kelthas. It's not looking good, but we've made all the preparations we could. Sandsnake has done their job and left through the portal, Black has formed into the shield wall, Wolfheart stands ready. They know they are going to die, but they stare death in the eye and dare him to come take them. Boltkill are the same, they are readying their crossbows as we speak." the dwarf grinned from ear to ear. "If we're going to die, so be it. But not before taking more of those bastards with us!" The Emperor smiled in return, he was pleased to count such brave and honorable men among his friends and allies. He had sent his own Honor Guard back home, along with the Blade of Canis, it cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of some Elven dog who'd put it on their mantelpiece. He continued along the line, the sunlight shining off his ornate armour, till a distinctive wail was heard in the distance.

The sound of steam powered horns blaring with the sound of Elven-whistles. A horrific sound that no man should have to endure, but was that not the cause for the war in the first place? So that no trueborn son or daughter of the Empire would have to suffer the horrors of a true war? He sighed, cleared his throat and turned to his men.

"They come now, brothers."

"They'll attack any minute now. You have all chosen to be here, you have chosen to obey the call of your honor even when your Lords hand picked you from the ranks. You are all here because you are the cream of the crop, the finest troops the world has ever seen. None of us will ever be surpassed, not now, not ever!"

"I stand with you all together, as true sons of the Empire. We are all brothers, regardless of our House of origin. Together, we conquered two kingdoms! Together, we broke the unbreakable! Together, we can make them *pay*! Each one of us is worth a hundred of them!"

"We all have a duty to do, for our Empire. I will fight in the battle line, with you, my brothers! As is the ancient tradition of Emperors! This battle will go down in song, and we will all dine together again in the Halls of the Afterlife! Ready yourselves, brothers, for now we fight!"

He lowered the visor on his helmet, pulled out his trusty sword and his old parrying dagger. While those damned elves might be duelists capable of using two swords, a true warrior doesn't need two swords. They only need one.

The Blackguard slammed their spears off their shields, a thundering bang resonating through the air. Boltkill Sharpshooters tapped their crossbows and Wolfheart Storm Troopers smashed their warhammers off the rocky soil. The noise was louder than the sound of the approaching army charging in. It was louder than the initial screams from potshots taken by Boltkill soldiers. The troops readied themselves, the Blackguard spearwall readying itself for contact.

The attacking army, a mixed force of Dwarven shooters, Elven fighters, mages, golems, cavalry and more slammed into the shield wall. Over the fierce racket, the Emperor yelled one word.

"NOW!"

The ground infront of the Blackguard formation gave way into a long trench filled with spikes. Dozens of dwarves and elves fell to their end inside the pit, taking horrific wounds or dying outright by falling onto the sharpened wooden spikes. The shock of the trap shattered the initial enemy charge, buying time for the second phase of the plan. "Crossbows, now!"

The Blackguard moved their shields lightly to allow the Boltkill crossbowmen a clear line of fire. They didn't fire at the advancing army, no.

They fired into the trench, killing any survivor left from the initial first wave, putting them out of their misery before turning onto the second wave of enemy troops coming in. Dozens of people fell before the onslaught of crossbow fire. Boltkill Sharpshooters had repeating crossbows with a number of bolts in them and the advantage of such showed as the crossbows sang their deadly sonnet. Screams echoed across the battlefield from the dying and the maimed. But the second wave didn't fall into their trap, no. A few Elven mages had closed in and, under the cover of an improvised shield wall, formed a earthen bridge across the trench.

Right in front of where Emperor Alexander Canis Maximus stood. He cleared the Blackguard from behind him, their shields riddled with arrows and charged forward with a squad of Wolfheart Storm Troopers. It took only seconds to cross the bridge.

As they charged over, Alexander took an arrow to a joint of his armour, near the shoulder, but it was only a scratch, not enough to derail the plan or to slow him down. He darted forward towards an Elven warrior wearing nothing more than a suit of leather armour, who, upon seeing his gold and purple cloak, immediately took an overhead swing at him. Alexander blocked the blow with his sword, stopping the swing dead and thrusted the dagger into the lower part of the Elf's jaw. He twisted the long blade and the elf shook violently, then fell still. He yanked the blade back, then pushed him over the side of the bridge into the pit of spikes where he landed with a squelch upon a wooden stake.

Next was a Dwarf, who could have only been in her twenties, covered in heavy steel plating. She ran at him with a warhammer. There was no way he could block the blow, not from a warhammer. He stood perfectly still as she built up momentum in her charge. Then, at the last second, he turned the side and she ran past him, giving him the opening he needed. He turned, drawed his blade and thrust it down the back of the woman's armour, in the gap between the helmet and the body. She twitched and fell dead like the Elf before her. He turned towards his troops, and yelled. "CHARGE!"

All the troops cheered as they ran across the earthen bridge into the breach, reversing the battle to the point it was the Alliance army under attack, not the Imperial one! Alexander turned and looked around, it was pure chaos around him, yet it felt...silent. He could see his men dying, one by one, but seeing them take out many Alliance soldiers at the same time. A Blackguard crushing the throat of an Elven mage with the base of his shield, a Wolfheart Storm Trooper searching desperately for his missing arm all the while gushing with blood. He came back to his senses and caught a charging mercenary without a helmet. With a flick of his wrist, he through his beloved dagger into the man's throat, stopping him dead in his tracks as he fell to the ground and clutched his throat, desperately gasping for air as he drowned in his own blood all the while it gurgled from the wound. The ground around them was covered in crimson, the air filled with screams of trusted steeds, the clash of steel and the wet squelch of a warhammer connecting with flesh. Slowly, but surely, they were being beaten back. He filled his lungs with air and bellowed out what would be his final command. "Everyone! Fall back to the portal!"

The lines broke, and the sheer weight of the charge of the Alliance soldiers overwhelmed the withdrawing Canisean troops who were beset from behind. Many turned to die where they stood, others continued the sprint back to the portal. The Emperor sprinted, the soft sand crushing beneath his blood stained boots. He looked back at his troops and watched Wolfheart fight alongside Black, dieing together for the Empire. He had never been more proud to call himself an Imperial. He continued the sprint as the fighting behind him fell into silence. An arrow ripped through the air and punched into his plate, ripping into his flesh.

He yelled out in pain as a fireball scorched the ground next to him, cremating his cloak. He fell, then pulled himself closer to the portal. Just a little bit more.

Another arrow, this time in the leg. He started to feel light headed as blood gushed from his wounds. Another arrow, a miss this time. He smiled, he was close enough now. He propped himself up against the heavy brick work of the Portal. The arrows dug deeply into his flesh. It wouldn't be long now. He took off his gauntlet and saw that his hand was covered in blood from the wound in his shoulder.

The arrows stopped, the sound of running stopped.

A group of people walked forward towards him to close range. A group of elves and a group of dwarves. The leader, a dwarf, spoke.

"Emperor Alexander Canis Maximus. We can stop you from dieing if you surrender. If you turn it down, we'll have to make an agreement with your successor, instead. So how about you save us some time, and give up? What do you say? Do you surrender? "

Alexander flipped the visor of his helmet up to look the dwarf dead in the eye. He coughed up some blood onto his armour, then smiled and said, confidently, "Go to hell."

He slammed his bloody hand into the blood on his chest, rubbing it into the intricate patterns, activating them. In an instant, he rose into the air, shining as his physical body disintegrated into dust. He felt no pain, however, but saw a enormously bright white take him in it's warmth. The ball of light grew rapidly, then collapsed inwards into a ball of pure light, outshining even the sun itself. He felt something tingle, then his vision failed completely and the light turned to darkness and Emperor Alexander Canis Maximus was no more.

The ball of light exploded, an enormous shock wave emanating vaporizing most of the army, the leaders and completely annihilating the portal itself. But Alexander paid the ultimate price for this rune - his very soul had shattered and been used to power the explosion. There would be no feast in the Halls of the Afterlife for him, no retelling of stories. Just the finality of oblivion. But the Empire was safe, and he had made the ultimate sacrifice for it's safety. Once news of his sacrifice made it home, the people wept throughout the land for their heroic Emperor, who sacrificed everything to save the Empire and their way of life. To honor his sacrifice, the Empire was renamed the Empire of Canis Maximus in his name and so that every Imperial child learns of the sacrifice he made.

Hello, reader! If you are reading this book you are clearly interested in the power of Rune Magic, the magical school that can only be utilized by humans! Whether to learn about how to counter Rune Magic or how best to make use of your own Runic powers, this book should contain enough information to be of use to you, whether you are an individual with a passing interest or an old master looking for alternative insights. So, my beloved reader, let us start at the beginning. Rune magic is a special school of magic that doesn't use staffs or wands like the old tales, but rather special stones called runes and a variety of tools. Only human beings have the ability to properly use Rune magic, not because the other races are incapable of creating a rune, indeed, they can properly execute the tasks needed to create a working rune, but for some mysterious reason, they refuse to work. Only in the hands of a human will a rune be activatable.

A rune itself is a type of stone, properly treated by masters to create a perfectly smooth surface well suited for inscribing. There are two ways inscribing work is done. The first is by using inks and pre-made templates to quickly draw the rune pattern onto the stone. This is the most common method, since it's both quick and cheap! The second method is only used on certain materials that are immune to Runic Collapse, an event that occurs when a rune is activated triggering the disintegration of the rune stone. The second method is directly engraving the rune pattern into the surface of the stone to create a rune stone that can be infinitely reused with no wear to the stone or the engraving. Almost all stones are suitable for rune usage, the stone itself contributes no power, but the activation does, the rune pattern is the controller while the stone itself is a shell for the energy while the rune activates. The energy is released from the stone and the rune disintegrates.

This book also contains all known base rune patterns, ready for printing onto a template! Please turn to the later pages if you wish to use them, they are public knowledge and most libraries will maintain a copy of them. But in short, here are the known rune types.

There are the practical runes which represent the elements that make up the physical world. These are Earth, Air, Water and Fire, in addition to Life and Death. These are the base runes from which most spells will draw their power and will provide the bread and butter of your rune powers. To have fine control of a rune, you need a Sensation rune in close proximity and in priority order. Then there are the application runes, which control how you want the rune applied. These are Shield, which will create a shield either out of that element, or shield you from it depending on rune sizing (More about this and rune sequencing later, they are very important!) and Projection, which gives the rune a force when going off and then the Explosion rune. Don't worry about the name, depending on your use it can actually be benevolent! Function wise, Explosion and Projection are related, but bare in mind they have separate functions. Explosion is an area of effect while projection goes in a straight line roughly from where the rune is aimed. Both have their uses, I can assure you!

Then you have the theoretical runes. I must confess, I did tell a small fib earlier. There are still lots of discoveries going on in the field of Rune Magic, but a lot of them are theoretical runes, not typically intended to be used by anyone without the ability to actually fuse runes together. That is a Terrisian only trait by most knowledge, so they are typically the best rune mages. The theoretical runes, ones that will prove of use to you, the reader, are Thought and Body, but there are quite literally *thousands* of theoretical runes that will have no use to you, the reader.

When you create a rune, there are three size standards which all rune kits come in. These are Superior, Equal and Inferior. These are sizes and allow the rune magic to more precisely determine what you want. A large rune is dominant over a smaller one and several large runes in a row results in the same outcome as three Equal in a row or three Inferior in a row, but with a larger scale. Some rune combinations are only practical with a mixture of sizes to allow the runes to determine priority. Another way to do this is with ordering but that might not necessarily result in what you want.

Here is an example.

A Large Fire with a small Shield results in a semi-shielded ball containing Fire, capable of being thrown by the rune mage or their comrades. This creates a suitable portable explosive, but what if you do the reverse, a large Shield with a small fire? Instead of an orb of flames, you instead create a shield in front of you fire immune. What if you make them equally sized? A equal fire with an equal shield will create an anomaly, a fire coated in shielding. The shield isn't powerful enough to overwhelm the fire and put it into a ball, but neither is the fire strong enough to overwhelm the shielding, creating a regular fire coated in magical shielding on the flames, preventing anyone from touching it.

Now for an experiment. What if you put a small Shield and then a Large Fire rune together? Instead of resulting in a semi-shielded ball, you create a small wall of flames in front of you. Some rune combinations instead result in mismatch, where the rune's themselves are confused by what you ask of them. For the most part, these are predictable outcomes. A large shield with a small fire is one of these. The runes will spark to one another, but will fail to do anything. In addition, they won't collapse.

With that in mind, you now know the basics of rune theory. Unfortunately, the Terrisians won't allow me access to their libraries to study Rune Fusion, but we do know that it allows completely different combinations. For instance, I once met a fairly friendly Terrisian Rune Mage who showcased some of their abilities to me in exchange for a case of Axin Wine. He grabbed a Life and Death rune, and by some method that I don't comprehend, merged them together into a completely new rune with a completely new inscription!

He called it a Time rune, thanks to the concepts of life and death creating a cycle like time, the passage from one to the next. He said to me that the runes aren't actually representations of objects, but actually the concepts behind them. He then combined four elemental runes, Earth, Air, Fire and Water, abbreviated as EAFW for book purposes. He merged them together into a new rune, called Reality which, along with time, would be classed as a theoretical rune. Then he shocked me beyond belief by his next action.

He merged the Time rune with the Reality rune and showed me the inscription. It was like nothing I ever saw before and completely incomprehensible, even to me. He went outside into the large garden behind my house, asked for permission to demonstrate and then promptly activated the rune and hurled it as hard as he could down the garden.

What I saw was like nothing I have ever seen and I think I'll never see again. The rune emitted a flash of light and an abyss appeared in front of us. I'm at a loss for words describing it, for how do you describe nothing? I can't use the words black void, for black would imply a colour which is something the anomaly lacked. It was a warp in reality and I saw the shape around it warp and wobble. I swear, we weren't drunk enough that it would cause light itself to bend as if hit with a hammer. It was as if the universe was a cloth and someone cut a chunk out. Within a minute, it grew a few feet, then the greatest flash of light I have ever seen, it outshone the sun and was on par with the ending of the Battle of the Portal, collapsed inwards and vanished, the only sign of it's presence being the the complete erasure of the ground where the rune had landed and a small orb in the centre, created out of a strange material that no tool seems to be able to even scratch, yet alone sculpt. It was immensely heavy and yet only the size of an acorn, yet must have weighed as much as a bull. Together, we lifted it up and aimed it towards the sun.

Flashes of indescribable imagery, as if I was looking inward on everywhere in the universe at once, yet also at every time, I swear, it would drive a man mad to stare into it's mysteries. We brought it inside and put it on a stone column intended for just these kind of things. I then gave the man his case of wine and he left me to gawp at the strange crystal.

With that little mystery done, you should now turn to the later pages of the book with the rune imagery for you to copy down! I hope you learnt something from this book, even if it was from my tale, and who knows? Perhaps you too will create one of those mysterious orbs one day or discover a new type of magic?

Among the races of Traxis there is, regardless of distance between the realms, a story of a powerful race, the first race on the planet. In the dwarven scripts, they are Exdrakii, Lords of the Surface. To the Elves, Dracuul, the Enlightened. In the Axin language, Drokon - The Eternal.

In the human languages, however, they are the Dragons. Massive winged beasts, the size of a dozen houses with strength beyond imagining, they are without a doubt, the fiercest race on the surface. Capable of intercontinental flight at incredible speeds, demolishing even the greatest of fortresses with little effort and destroying the grandest host of troops, it is a mystery as to what could cause their disappearance. What could fell a beast capable of ending civilization in a weekend?

The answer is - other dragons. The signs of their war is everywhere you look. Mountains cracked in half, strange unexplainable craters and monstrous caverns. In the past, there was a war of some kind between the dragons. Piecing together legends from across the races from thousands of years before their civilizations came into existence, tales passed down through the ages, it starts to become clear that there was a sort of Dragon Lord of each element, undisputed master of that school of power, with great subjects, Drakes, who had mastery of a single part of that power.

What ended the war is unknown, but it is thought now that something caused the Dragons and their Drakes to lose their elemental masteries and become pure strength once again. What we know of the Lost Race is the combined tales of all the races and scavenged knowledge from the previous civilizations, or what remains of them.

The Dragon Lords had the ability to change form into a humanoid body, with no error giving away that it is infact a Dragon in that form. Drakes had the same ability, too. What is known is that it is possible to detect the energies stored inside them, but a Dragon or Drake attempting to hide that power will be able to do so, especially from any less powerful creature. Dragons were completely invulnerable in both forms, while the Drakes were incredibly tough, but not truly invulnerable like their big brothers. When a Dragon or Drake transfers into the humanoid form, they maintain all their strength, just in a smaller package so to speak. A log found in the shattered bulwarks of a Crysaneum (An ancient nation comprised of an alliance between a few nations of elves, dwarves and humans) fortress fortress record the Captain of the Guard witnessing a young, beautiful human woman approach the castle gate, clothed in green robes and flanked by two others both wearing green clothes or armour. Upon being denied entry, she grabbed the portcullis of the gate and ripped it apart then smashed down the wooden gate and promptly entered the fortress with their companions. Apparently it was a slaughter and the Captain only managed to survive by hiding in the wine cellar beneath the keep.

In addition, it appears the Dragons and their Drakes kept records of the era itself, but we've barely managed to even start translating the history and at the current pace of progress, it may come to pass that the Order of the Star ( The Empire of Canis Maximus's direct predecessor as a state) will be extinct, our closest ally lost to the harsh annals of time. But we have translated some segments and one of them, credited to Arkhaz the Burning Light, the believed Dragon of Fire, contains a prophecy, as yet unknown in it's meaning :

When the Eternal Rulers, the Dragon Lords, Masters of the Material and the Immaterial, Lords of all of Creation and Guardians of the Aru-Karis falter in their cause,
The first wall will fall, and with it the first line of defence,
When the Deep bares fruit, children who would surpass their brothers and create life unliving,
The second wall will falter and weaken, He Who Is The End Of All Things - The Traitor, The Darkness, The Devourer, Oblivion, will whisper,
When the great unite, twelve under the banner of one, lions led by dragons,
The second wall falls, the whispers intensify, a voice, booming across all of creation but heard to but a few,
When the kin of two lands come to one another in war, brought to one another by a hole,
The third wall falls, the voice replaced by a touch, faint and unknowable,
When a leader dies, slain by those he sought to conquer, dying for the good of his nation,
The final wall shatters and crumbles and the end begins.

The meaning of the prophecy is unknown, but it links to several known Armageddon stories - That one day, a great darkness will fall upon the world and all that is will come to an end as the final reckoning begins. But here is what we know, in a nutshell :

We know that dragons were real and they were insanely powerful, unrivaled in every aspect. We know that they waged a titanic war on the planet that devastated it's surface. We know that they lost their elemental powers and receded from the world, but we don't know why. We do know that they left behind a lot of knowledge and artifacts, many locked down in extremely fortified locations.

And I know where they are. I, King Goralt the Lion, King of the divine state of Terris, will be setting forth with a handful of Paladins of the First Order and heading off to find these reclusive titans. I will not rest until I find them, no matter the cost!

Alaris looked down from the hills surrounding what would inevitably become quite a slaughter. Two hundred thousand soldiers on both sides supported by a dragon and two drakes. Force disposition wise, both sides were equally matched in both weapons, armour and training. The continent had provided for a more or less equal balance of power between the two dragons, providing equal resources to the both. The terrain favoured neither side and from the look of it both would be going on the offense. He could see her from here, looking across at Alaris' assembled army, but he didn't need to see her to know that she was here. For the first time, they were both on the field at the same time. They'd inevitably cross in battle, just like their drakes would. Leading people from the front is the way it should be done. thought Alaris. The fate of the entire continent hanged in the hands of chance. The Dragon Wars had raged for over a thousand years now. He wasn't sure where the other four were, perhaps they had destroyed one another in battle, a regretful waste of life if so. But it came down to a final conflict between two opposites. Life and Death in one final climatic battle. He jumped down from the hill in full plate, Oblivion fixed to his arm. He clenched his fist, the blades contracting and reshaping to make it so. A fine weapon indeed. He headed to the front of his army, taking his position in the centre. Alcarius, the Drake of Shadows had the left flank. She'd most likely teleport around the battle whereas Gorfulk, Drake of Entropy, had the right and was clearly planning on a frontal assault. Their counterparts waited on the opposite side of the field. As Alaris stepped forward, so did Deneer, the Dragon of Life. They parleyed. "Alaris.""Deneer"

She asked something he never expected. "Why are we fighting?"

Alaris couldn't answer that question. Ever since the Ancient Ones were locked away they had fought one another. The world had grown from their fighting. Mountain ranges had arisen, but so had valleys been blown into the ground. Forests had grown, deserts had sprung up. Oceans had flown. But the answer as to why they continue fighting eluded him. It felt almost instinctual, a legacy of the battle against the Ancient Ones. He answered to the best of his ability, truthfully as ever. "I don't know. But it feels right." She nodded sadly. "We're meant to be fighting something, but what? Why do we gather armies when we could fight each other singularly?" Alaris shrugged. Why do we gather armies? They could simply fight each other in single combat and spare the lives of tens of thousands. Alaris said, "Then perhaps we should call a truce till we find out why we are fighting?" She smiled and said cheerfully, "I agree. I'll withdraw my armies from the field if you do the same. Perhaps you would like to go exploring together? I'm sure we could find why if we work together." Alaris turned to his men and gave the signal to withdraw from the field, just as Deneer did the same. The same signal was used by the both of them. A hand signal. As their armies left amicably and departed for the march to home, Alaris turned and said, "I accept your offer, then. Do you know where the other four are?"

She frowned. "I don't unfortunately. I take it you don't know either?"
"I don't. I can't be sure if they are living or dead."
"Neither am I certain."

They both sighed simultaneously. They set off together to explore Traxis, to uncover where the missing four had gone and to find what their purpose in existence really was. The duo cleared thousands of Ancient Ones facilities and improved the state of the world wherever they went, bringing justice and peace to unstable realms. They fought back demonic incursions into the physical realm, resealing the gates of hell itself. Between the two, there was no problem that could not be solved, either by Deneer's magic or by Alaris' sheer force. Eventually, they became more than just friends and married, uniting the two realms for all eternity as equals. For two hundred years, peace reigned supreme. No scourge disturbed the peace. No longer did disease ravage the world of the mortals, for it was struck down by the power of Life and Death combined. Civilization flourished at the emergence of a new golden age of peace, prosperity and trade. Technology took titanic leaps forward, never before seen technologies become commonplace as magic was truly tamed. Large machines, walkers, decreased the workload for the common individual drastically by allowing unheard of levels of productivity. Flying machines of steel flew the skies and soon, the nation started to reach for the stars themselves, aided by their living gods Alaris and Deneer. The future was bright and the dream of eternal peace realized.

The dream turned into a nightmare when the Four returned. Fire, Air, Earth and Water came from the darkness of the stars to wage war once more. Alaris and Deneer hid their children well and went into battle to save the civilization they had worked so hard to create. The first battle was where it all began, the place where Alaris and Deneer had met. Alaris strode onto the battlefield covered from head to toe in the finest armour the nation could build. Oblivion itself having long been replaced by a new weapon a thousand times deadlier. Two against four they met on the field.

"You got soft, Alaris. A shame, too. You were always the best fighter out of the lot of us."
"He did. He's gotten so very soft since he fell in love. Awwww~"
"You're adorable."
"Not like anyone could resist those cheeks, eh Deneer?"
"I can still kill all four of you."
Deneer pleaded, "We don't need to fight. We can work toget-"

As one, the four released an Elemental attack against the Dragon of Life. She and Alaris raised a shield, but two against four was not a fair balance of power. The shield gave way and the attack struck true. She was blown to the floor, the energy cleaving through her clothes. Alaris looked down at her. With but a single hit, she was dying. His blood boiled with fury, but she said weakly, her final words, "Take care of her...promise me. Promise me, Alaris." Behind his helmet, he cried as he said, "I promise." She went limp, her body reverting her to her Dragon form. Alaris blocked the flow of her elemental power, deflecting it back into her with all his strength. He turned to face the four.

"You'll pay."

The Dragon of Air laughed, but her laughter was cut short when Alaris ran her through on his claw before throwing her to the floor and stomping on the wound, shattering ribs in an instant. In rage, he took on the remaining three. Earth was the next to be hit, Alaris shattering his arms with his bare hands before coming round to fight Fire and Water. Arkhaz, the Dragon of Fire, jumped into the sky and reverted to his Dragon form, holding Earth in his arms as he fled the field. Alaris turned his attention to the Dragon of Water, who quickly backed off. Alaris, the adrenaline wearing off, built a burial mound out of earth for Deneer, placing his most prized possession, his claw, as a marker for the grave. In great sorrow, he left the field to find Lyinsa and as many of the others as possible.

But he was too late for many of them. Only Lyinsa remained. I will not fail her as I failed the others. He carried her from city to city, on the run as the nation collapsed around them, brought down by three dragons. In the shattered remains of the capital city they found him as well as his daughter. In his dragon form, he hid her under his wings. "Stay quiet, they don't know you are here."

Alaris shouted to them, asking, "What happened to you, Arkhaz? You used to defend the weak and the innocent and now look at you!"

"The Dragon of Entropy should know that times change. You killed her, you know that. The Dragon of Air is dead and you locked her power, too."

"She always was a mean ♥♥♥♥♥, she got what was coming to her. As for you, Arkhaz, take one step closer and you are next."

"Is that a threat?"

Alaris whistled. "You always were a slow one, Arkhaz."

The Dragon of Fire laughed. "That's more like it. You see, Alaris, we're not going to kill you since we know what happens when you kill the Dragon of Death. So that got us to come up with a better plan."

Alaris got a bad feeling, but he was happy at the least that they didn't know of Lyinsa.

"We're going to toss you into the Immaterial plane and throw away the key."

"You're not that stupid. If you seriously think opening a fissure like that is a good idea that knock to the head you took from fighting the Ancient Ones must've hurt you more than we thought. People will remember what you did to this nation to top it off."

"You've forgotten something, ol' Al. History is written by the victors."

Even the Dragon of Earth started to show concern for what Arkhaz was about to do. "Are you sure this is a good idea? What if he's right?"

"Not really. But either way, let's get cracking." he said as he started drawing a rune. Alaris huddled down tight with his daughter to try and protect her from their magic. It took only a minute for the three to inscribe the rune, though if all six of the Elemental Dragons had worked together, it would've taken only ten seconds. The great fissure tore open into the fabric of reality, a strange emanating light coming from within. It sucked Alaris in, along with his daughter. "Bye, Alaris! See you never!"

But then something lashed out, a tendril from within the strange zone within smashing into the concrete floor. They quickly and immediately closed the prison. "Yeah, we, uh, dropped the ball with that one." The Dragon of Water clapped slowly as Arkhaz frowned. "We've left a hole in the defenses. Come on, we gotta start making preparations. Screw the war off."

The three left. As much as they tried to avoid fighting one another, they did so anyway, brutal conflicts that would last centuries with no quarter given on either side. None know where they are now. As much as they tried to ready the globe, they failed miserably. Their personalities would change with the time and all three grew less aggressive, that is known. Another puzzle for the ages is where the Drakes were in all this. None know where they had went.

The six looked out across the horizon. For eternity the plain stretched, the ground infinity thick and infinitely thin, too, for underneath it was the edge of the universe, it's growth stalled out by the leeching of power caused by the Ancient Ones presence. The edge of the universe, the wave of it's expansion, had hardened into an indestructible element, the perfect amalgam of creation and destruction. The material couldn't be shaped by the Ancient Ones, but it could be controlled and given form by the Elemental Dragons but even then, only a little of it. The costs of power for shaping it were too high, too much of it used could destabilize reality itself even further.

Not even they knew what that would do. Allied together, the universe's one and only line of defence, the six Dragons were the very essence of the universe's power made manifest. None of them knew how the universe came to be, but they knew their mission. Each of the six represented an element, one of the natural forces of reality. Their names were different than the ones they would eventually be known as, the language mutating over the millions of years between the battle and the present, but the meanings remained the same.

Alarzalris, the Dragon of Death, kept the enemies rage on him whenever they fought. Whereas the Dragon of Life had the ability to heal, he was blessed with the ability to reverse the damage, pushing people away from death rather than pulling them to life. He was the largest and strongest of the Elemental Dragons, powered by death itself. The Dragons weren't the first defence that the universe had. The others had fallen and now, even in death, they still fought to protect the universe, their strength added to that of the Keeper of Souls, the only one of the Dragons that had the power to visit the Afterlife, it's entrance buried within his power. His reach was long, his power vast.

And one day, in the distant future, he would have to end the universe, too, for his final duty was that of ushering Armageddon itself. All things that have a beginning must have an ending. It is the nature of things.

Arkharan, the Dragon of Fire fought like his namesake. He was fast and deadly, though like all the other dragons, weaker than the Dragon of Death. His personality changed quickly, from playful and friendly one minute, to raging and furious the next. His long blade claws were fast and burnt, the only source of light and heat in the immense vacuum that was the universe, the very fabric of reality combusting to power the flames. When the war was over, he had the duty of igniting stars and restoring heat and light to the universe once more, but that had to wait, for the war itself wasn't over. Not yet. There was one final bastion of Ancient Ones in the universe, the final beachhead waiting to be sealed. Of the six, there was no true leader, instead, they made decisions in union.

"The last battle. I almost can't believe it. We'll need Unity to seal it, though. It's the biggest one."
"And even that portal is tiny in comparison to what they'll rip open when they finish charging. What are you lot planning to do when this is all over?"

Arkharan shrugged his shoulders. "I've got a few hundred million galaxies to start. That'll take the upper half of a few hundred thousand years."

The others were about to say something when the fabric of the universe bubbled and boiled...