The Rift Wars :: essays research papers

THE RIFT WARS Long before humans came to this part of the world, dwarves and elves made their homes in Caspia. Neither group bothered the other because they did not desire the lands of the other. After a time, however, their racial incompatibility began to wear on them. Since their basic attitudes and outlooks were so different, their infrequent encounters became less and less civil. Eventually, their leaders forbade their subjects to have anything to do with the other race. Feelings of mistrust and dislike grew as the years passed, eventually blossoming into hatred. Often, the younger, more hotheaded dwarves and elves disobeyed the orders of their elders. Members of each race began to stage guerilla raids on the other. Finally, the elves and dwarves declared an all-out war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The elves, armed with powerful magic, reduced the fortresses of the dwarves to rubble. Their skilled archers also decimated the dwarven offense in the forest. Defeat for the dwarven army seemed certain, but the dwarves were not to be easily beaten. Exploiting the blustery winds of the Rift, the dwarves lit and burned large tracts of woods. Either to avenge the burning forest or to escape the mounting flames, the elves poured out of the woods in droves. As they emerged from the flaming trees, half blinded by hot ash and choking smoke, the dwarves mowed them down. The blood of these two peoples ran thick in the Caspian River.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Meanwhile, the truly evil god Morgion with his orcs and goblins capitalized on a chance to wreak havoc on two of their most hated enemies. They began to covertly destroy the villages of both elves and dwarves, knowing that the feuding creatures would blame each other for these atrocities. The young, the old, the crippled, and the infirm of both races began to feel the bite of both lawful and chaotic blades.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For a time, this ruse worked perfectly. The slaughter of the innocents served to inflame the passions of the combatants, and they fought all the more fiercely because of it. The elves and dwarves might well have exterminated one another, had not an elven child escaped the carnage in one of the orc raids and told his rescuers of the monsters who were actually responsible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then the elves and dwarves met under a flag of truce, where they agreed to set aside their differences and deal with the common enemy. Their combined forces were mighty enough to crush the hordes of the evil Morgion.