Legends of Belariath

Torian History

In the beginning of the world, the two deities Sazera and Maedel--two eternal lovers--decreed that the world should exist. And so, Sazera set about using His power to create the earth and the fire, while Maedel created the wind and the water with Her strength. The two populated the world with beings of all shapes and sizes, from the tiny nymphs to the hulking minotaurs... but above them all was the one true race, those gifted with the power of flight and the beauty of elves: the Torians.

In the glorious sky-borne kingdom of Toria, the Torians reveled in their perfection and lived idyllic days as the epitome of existence. Generations passed in this fashion, with the lofty Torians gazing upon imperfection beneath them... until one day, when pride overtook the Torians. They began to question the Roles bequeathed to them by their deities, Sazera and Maedel... for if they were truly the most powerful race, why did they need deities to command them? The Torians--or, those who believed in this cause--took arms against their own deities and charged towards the inner sanctum of Toria Castle, which held a direct path to the abode of Sazera and Maedel themselves.

The deities, displeased with this show of pure arrogance, struck the advancing party down as they moved--but so great was their power and wrath that they destroyed a good portion of the surroundings as well. The innocents began to question and fear their deities, not knowing what they had done to bring the anger upon their heads. They rallied and began to fight against those who wished to overthrow Sazera and Maedel, eventually bringing all of Toria into a great conflict.

This war became known as the Fallen War, for it was here that the former glory of Toria was lost and never recovered. After the two sides destroyed each other in civil war, Sazera and Maedel cast the survivors out from the ruins of Toria and retreated to their abode, awaiting a time when the Torians would be worthy of their glory again. The stragglers eked out a living among themselves, trying to regain some semblance of a life... suddenly cast into a world without warning where they had nobody but their own to rely upon.

Centuries later, the Torians were as much a part of the "lower world" as the rest of it. By this time, they were scattered all over the world as a result of countless clan insurrections similar to the original Fallen War... each clan living for itself, birthing and dying in a never-ending cycle to regain favor with the gods whom they had forsaken and forgotten.