Story: Creation of Norrath (Version 1)

Dawn of Time
The Nameless, an entity that exists outside the limitations of space and time, created the stars and planets, including the planet of Norrath, the sun that warms it, and the moons that orbit. It can perhaps be projected that the Nameless created the entirety of the physical universe and dawned the chronological timeline in which Norrath exists. In addition to the physical universe and the linear flow of time, the Nameless created an unknown number of sentient, immortal creatures with the power to populate it with various forms of life. These creatures are referred to as gods, for the unreachable powers they possess over mortal creation.

Creation of the Races
One of these creations of the Nameless is Veeshan, to whom is attributed the form of a female Crystalline Dragon. The realm or dimension that Veeshan claims rulership over is referred to as the Plane of Sky (some early references used the name "Plane of Air", but this name was co-opted for a different place for which the name was a better fit). Veeshan was first to come across Norrath, staking claim to it by several great wounds opened upon its surface with her mighty claws. On the frozen continent now called Velious, she deposited her brood of Dragonkind, powerful scaled beings of great intellect, wisdom, and strength, though not of her size or level of power. These dragons walked the land and flew the skies both of Velious and of lands beyond, in what is referred to as the Age of Scale.

After Dragonkind had spent some time on its surface, other gods noticed Norrath and Veeshan's work on it. Brell Serilis first visited from his Plane of Underfoot, a dark realm of vast caves and endless tunnels. He secretly created a magical portal to a cavern deep in the belly of Norrath, and seeded the depths of the world with all manner of creatures. Brell then returned home, sealing his portal within a labyrinthine chamber of mystical Living Stone.

Brell approached the Great Mother Tunare, Prexus the Oceanlord, and Rallos Zek the Warlord as each came across Norrath. He convinced them to add their own creations to it, neglecting to mention that he had already added his own below the surface. Tunare and Prexus formed an alliance with Brell, each agreeing to create one race of beings to populate Norrath and keep Veeshan from exploiting it unwatched and uncontested.

Brell claimed the bowels of the planet and created the Dwarves, stout and strong, deep beneath the mountains. In the abysmal depths of the oceans Prexus left his children, the Kedge, hearty aquatic beings of great mental power and stamina. And on the surface of Norrath did Tunare create the Elves, creatures of grace and beauty. Rallos Zek did not join their alliance, but from the sidelines added his own creations, the Giants, fierce and formidable beings, intent on the defense of their lands.

Innoruuk, Prince of Hate, noticed the activity of these other gods on Norrath. The Elves congregated on the largest continent, calling it Tunaria, and had created a magnificent city called Takish-Hiz. From it Innoruuk snatched away the first elven King and Queen, and in his realm of pain and rage he slowly tore them apart, physically and mentally, over the course of three hundred years. He then rebuilt them into his own sadistic image, a twisted mockery of Tunare's noble children. The corruptions of being that Innoruuk created were called Teir'Dal, Dark Elves, and he deposited them back into the Underfoot of Norrath, to spread his hatred and vengeance across the world.

Fizzlethorpe Bristlebane and Cazic-Thule came next to Norrath, and Brell met them, concocting a second pact with these latter gods. Rallos Zek watched and was convinced this time to join the pact. Deep in the earth did Brell return once more to create the Gnomes, more wiry and gnarled than their Dwarven cousins, consumed with tinkering on devices. On the surface, away from Elves and Giants, Bristlebane made the Halflings, short and stubby, agile and with a propensity to meddle and cause mischief. Cazic-Thule was drawn to the swamps and jungles of Norrath, and there created the green skinned Trolls and reptilian Lizard Men. Rallos Zek made the Ogres, massive unmovable beings of questionable intelligence, and the Orcs, bred for battle and single-minded in their desire for conquest. The creation and initial existence of these early races is referred to as the Elder Age.

Over time, these elder races of Norrath had begun to expand and mature, forming cities and then kingdoms. Warfare is a common cultural focus for expanding cultures, and the Ogres were especially suited to it. Their empire grew outward from their mountain home until it eventually encompassed a large portion of Tunaria. Their knowledge of magic grew, as did their greed, and after learning of the existence of other planes and dimensions, they formed up with the mighty Giants and invaded the Plane of Earth.

Rallos Zek watched with pride as his creations challenged the gods of that realm, and when the Ogres eventually knew defeat, the Warlord himself led a second invasion. The war that ensued shook the heavens and angered the greater gods. Through their combined might, Rallos Zek was thwarted and forced back into his Plane of War, after which a great barrier was erected to keep the lesser gods and their mortal creations out of the Planes of Power. The Ogres were cursed to keep from them the motivations and strategies that might cause them to challenge the gods again, and the Giants were scattered as their lush lands were disrupted and frozen over with ice and snow. The time period of the crumbling of these mighty ancient cities and empires into ruin is referred to as the Age of Monuments.

The last few of the gods came late upon Norrath. The twins, Mithaniel Marr and Erollisi Marr, Gods of Valor and Love, together created the Barbarians, a hardy race who settled the now cold and rugged northlands, near the ruins of the Giant empire. With the Ogre and Giant empires gone, the other races found greater strength, resulting in long periods of chaos and strife referred to as the Age of Blood. As many races sought to find themselves, the Barbarians hardened with a culture of fighting and bravery, warring both with each other and with any other races encountered as they ventured across the lands. All of the races continually fought, expanded, and gathered in on themselves to survive.

In a period of little historical record referred to as the Lost Age, the Elves held the last remaining great empire on Norrath, claiming the Elddar Forest that spread across an entire southeast quarter of Tunaria. The Wood Elves lived in villages and whole cities high in the trees, and the High Elves in great cities of marble in the forest's clearings and meadows, white towers and spires climbing higher than the tallest trees. Solusek Ro, the Lord of Flame, reshaped the land, arching the spine of the serpent mountains and replacing the idyllic climate of the Elddar Forest with blistering, unrelenting heat. The rivers ran dry, it rained less each year, and while the great Elven druids fought long and hard to combat the changes with their powerful magics, slowly the forest gave way to desert, and eventually even great Takish-Hiz crumbled. The Elves were forced to abandon their great empire to the desert sands, fleeing Tunaria and eventually finding humble homes in the Faydark forests of Faydwer.

With no record to work with, it is surmised that this time is also when the Humans arose from the race of Barbarians, leaving the rugged northlands and shedding some of their strength to gain in intelligence and wisdom. What little is known is that the Humans became exceedingly adaptive and resourceful, spreading across Tunaria and eventually having presence across every continent of Norrath. They built themselves up to a worldwide empire, called the Combine Empire, but while some Humans remained, the empire appeared to vanish without a trace, along with all its knowledge and culture, leaving behind only relics, ruins, and rumors.

Some three thousand years ago, with the Combine Empire gone, only a few small bands of disorganized rural Humans lived, if not flourishing, in the Plains of Karana on the main continent of Tunaria. They formed up villages, and eventually cities, on each of the western and eastern coasts. The western city of Qeynos was founded by a strong and noble band of Humans led by Antonius Bayle the First, under the lofty principles of law and order. More independent groups looked east, and over time, the port city of Freeport built up on bustling trade and travel along the dangerous Ocean of Tears.

While the elder races had long learned to keep to themselves, the Humans continued to gain dominion over Tunaria, going so far as to rename it Antonica after the founder of Qeynos. They were energetic and insatiable, continually fighting amongst themselves yet somehow able to keep from falling into total anarchy. Curious explorers visited far off lands, and those who returned brought back knowledge of Dwarves and Elves, of ancient abandoned cities, and stories of sorcery and mystical arts.

Approaching Recent History
One group of Humans in the city of Qeynos felt dissatisfied with the unruly, undisciplined nature of Humanity, and as higher knowledge of magics and former empires were rumored, this group splintered off and sailed away from Qeynos to found their own city on the nearby island continent of Odus, led by a council and a small, frail man of great intellect called Erud, who exemplified their ideals of high-mindedness and disciplined thought. Erud developed great philosophies and won the love and admiration of this new culture. They called themselves Erudites, and considered themselves High Men, an enlightened form of Humanity. Building on their ideals, they formed a great white castle city, calling it Erudin.

These Erudites found shrewdness in their intellect, and used spies in every corner of Antonica to gather books, scrolls, reports, and relics of long lost knowledge that would otherwise have lain forgotten and unappreciated. In this incredible buildup of knowledge and understanding, scribes and scholars analyzed and cataloged everything, in the process bringing about what is called the Age of Enlightenment and the first Human mages since the Combine Empire.

A darker side of magic was also discovered amid this blur of information gathering, the art of Necromancy, the manipulation of the dead, developed by the Dark Elves of Neriak. It horrified the majority of the Erudites, but there were those who saw great potential power in it, continuing to pursue it in secret while branded Heretics. Upon the discovery that this Heretic movement had been gaining strength, after several hundred years of peace and cohesion, the Erudites fell into a great magical civil war to violently force Necromancy out of Erudin and Erudite culture. The Heretics gathered in the southern regions of Odus, and the fighting culminated in a massive final battle. Great mystic energies were released on both sides, and they built up stronger and stronger until together they combined and drilled a devastating immense hole to unknown depths beneath the earth. The Erudites, shocked and disturbed by the destruction, returned to Erudin, while the Heretics that remained built their own city of Paineel into the sides of the chasm leading to the great Hole. Both sides still seethe with anger and hatred towards one another, but their fear of what the last battle had wrought has so far kept further conflict at bay.

Present Day
These last few hundred years have been referred to as the Age of Turmoil, but they are also an age filled with wonder. The elder races slowly gather strength, tempered with the wisdom of their histories, and the younger races have matured, creating an active economy that stretches across Odus, Antonica, and Faydwer. While conflict and battle are everywhere, no open war between or within the Races has plagued the lands. A myriad of alliances and factions exist, friend and foe plot and scheme, and the world is ripe for action and great change.

Official Sources:
 * Story: From the Dawn of Time to the Present Day: The History of Norrath
 * Story: The Erudites, Necromancy, and the Rise and Fall of Miragul