Chapter I - The Alatharya

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The alatharya are reputed to be the oldest of the sapient races of Avendar, with a history stretching back to the dawn of time. As legend has it, the alatharya were once the chosen people of the gods - gifted with both phenomenal strength and formiddable intellects. Using these gifts, the alatharya spread across the surface of Avendar, creating a civilization of legendary proportions.

For how long the alatharya remained as the masters of Avendar is unknown - but they remained long enough for the ruins of their wondrous cities to still occasionally be found here and there - monuments easily thousands of years old.

Amidst this mythical setting, though, the alatharya were not destined to remain the lords of the earth. Using the magic that the gods had given them, the alatharya grew mighty in both knowledge of Avendar and their study of the planes and structure of the universe. Unsatisfied, though, with the limits the gods had placed on their power, the alatharya sought ... more.

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Delving into the power that upheld the very firmament, the alatharya began to tap the quintessence -- the source for both magic and the divine planes, on which the gods dwelled. But when the alatharya attempted to use their newfound powers against the gods, they discovered the depths of their folly.

Anticipating the hubris of their first creation, the gods turned the schemes of the alatharya against themselves. Great was the vengeance of the gods the alatharya had scorned, and greater still was the punishment they bore. It is written that within the course of one year, not a single of the their great cities or temples remained. The great forces of magic were split, in an event which historians now know as the Sundering. No longer bound as a single force, magic was free to run rampant across the surface of Avendar in the form of torrential, earth-shattering storms. Beings of divine fury and unholy wrath were let slip from the heavens, ransacking and destroying the creations of the alatharya.

For the alatharya themselves, they bore the harshest punishment of all. Stripped of their intellect and wisdom, the alatharya found themselves wandering the earth, no longer with the wit or ability to grasp the magic which was the gift of the gods.

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History loses all sight of the alatharya for a period of time, until they are depicted in an early aelin text, which portrays them as nomadic savages, living a bleak and furtive existence in pockets of Avendar.

The alatharya of today average about eight feet in height, but no longer have the magical or intellectual gifts of their forebears. They are known for their silver and gold-tinted hair,which is often in contrast to their harsh demeanors and lives. Alatharya are found all over the main continent of Avendar, though they are most typically found as tribal plainsmen, or in small bands in forests. Heir to a heritage they cannot comprehend, the alatharya now substitute their strength and size for the magic and the gifts of the gods they have lost.