Arenian History

The Arenian calendar begins when the first mortal men walked the land. It is said that they were born between the Horns of Ekron in the northeastern regions of Bizir. While some stayed, many of the first tribes were nomadic and split off in separate directions across the land. The first group went south, eventually landing in the furthest eastern reaches of Bizir where they came into contact with mythical beasts and dangerous monsters which caused many to cease their nomadic lifestyle and turn to more intellectual pursuits where the lands were safer. This gave rise to the cultures of political ideologies and grand philosophies that now come from those regions. (Similar to ancient greeks)
Not all were swayed by the dangers to the south, however. Some say that to safely cross the lands of Smot, a deal was struck between man, devil and serpent. Though the details of this deal remain a contested point of discussion along the border of Smot and Bizir, the race of Yuan-ti was born, allowing further expansion of humanoid creatures to the south. The transformation from human to serpent was not popular amongst many of the population, though for others it was a welcome change, and so to find safer lands in which to live, the Smotians eventually sailed west to settle the isle of Greengulf.
The discovery of the island was only made possible due to the forces of men who refused to be transformed into serpents. Those who continued south to find a land ruled by ancient dragons. Those who were able to forge weapons capable of defeating the beasts and claiming the land for their own. Which after more than a hundred years of war, they did. Driving the last dragons back to their caves while others migrated North as they had done for generations.
Giving chase to the dragons on ships led the warriors of the Kiga Shogunate to the isle of Greengulf, to a place known as Dragon's Rest. A halfway point for the dragons on their annual migration. Eventually, those warriors followed the dragons all the way back to Bizir. The Shogun, however, did not have the sailing technology at first. The Smotians did. They traded the technology to Kiga in exchange for a safer place to live. When they found the isle, Kiga saw a way to keep his promise and to avoid having Smotians living amongst his people and transforming them. The very creatures his forefathers had sought to escape. 
This change was not so easy to prevent, and thus the tabaxi cultures that now live in northern Kiga are fairly common. To the south, Kiga's expansion continued, and with their new sailing technology they were able to leave their southern shores and arrive in the Kingdom of Nix. A terrifying land populated with Goblins and spiders. This became the new border for Kiga as the Shogun's men constructed a great wall to keep the monsters from invading the realms of the humanoids. They also inadvertently took control over the only way into the attol by sea. A fact the gods may be more aware of than they are.
This meeting with the magical folk beyond the wall was not feared by all and rather embraced by many as the discovery of wieldable magic. The first to experiment with such forces were altered and shunned by the people of Kiga, mistakenly believed to be the monsters from beyond the wall. These were, in fact, the first Elves of Arenia. These elves scattered throughout Kiga in hiding, though the lure of magic created too many to hide. Wars were fought and eventually, a desperate group of elves gathered their people and took a fleet of ships north, across the sea and to what is now known as the Arenian Empire.
Guided by magic, the elves settled the new lands and prospered for many years. They found ways to commune with the gods themselves and so believed that they had found the centre of the world. This explanation was helped by the vast deserts that gave the impression that being closer to the centre increased heat levels thanks to the fact that they were near the core of the eyeball that was their planet. Remember, they believe in magic, not science. Subtle difference. Unfortunately for the elves, they were not alone for long. A few dragons and an assortment of strange creatures populated the land, but the elves learned to live among them. It was not until the Northmen arrived on their longships that wars began again. This was when the first arenas were built in Aeronas.
First, let us return to the beginning. The first men. While one group headed south, the second headed west, deeper into Bizir. Here they found all manner of monstrous creatures and dangers too great for any of them to handle. Giant spiders, Dragons and even Dinosaurs roamed these lands, forcing many people to burrow deep into the mountains. These people spent their lives in the tunnels, digging deeper and deeper, building fortresses in the mountains to protect them from the dangers on the surface. They are now known as Bizirian Dwarves and have since become far stronger as their fortresses expand into great cities thanks to a special gravity defying mineral found deep within the mountains and believed to exist thanks to the dual suns in the sky.
Those who survived the surface life were forced to combat all kinds of creatures and became far stronger than their far eastern counterparts. They met dragons in a time before they had swords, instead fashioning weapons from dinosaur bones or finding diplomatic ways to work with the dragons, sharing food and shelter. This created both the race of Dragonborn as well as a culture where dragons are used as pets and mounts. Both of whom tend to strongly disagree with how dragonkind should be treated. Nevertheless, with the help of the dragons, mankind started to learn the ways of magic. Armed with their new knowledge, humankind sought a land of their own and continued west, over the mountains. 
There in the frozen lands of what would come to be known as Mordia, they found a great lake, untouched by the frozen weather and a new eden for the realms of men. Here they settled before expanding across the Mordian Claw, building farms, towns and stone temples throughout the land.
When they eventually reached the mountains of Stormer and the giants that lived there, the giants told them of hordes of green-skinned monsters that lay beyond their mountains. In exchange for protection from these monsters and teachings of the giant's runic magic, the Northmen of Mordia agreed to leave the giants alone and instead began plans to build sailing vessels and head south, to a land supposedly rich with magic, according to the seers.
This led them to the Arenian Empire, where the elves had already made their homes. Thought to be creatures spawned from these magical lands, the Northmen took control of the coastline as best they could. Halted by the presence of fierce creatures on the eastern coast, they were forced to head inland, famously carrying their ships across the land as they laid waste to any elves that stood in their path before dropping the ships in the sea on the opposite coast.
This was the beginning of the end for the elves of the Arenian Empire, and so their emperor came up with a plan to end all wars. The Arenian Games.
Cut to Dhulko. The orcish lands, undiscovered by man. To the giants of Stormer, a pestilence of orcish raiding parties much like the Mordians to the north would have been if not for the deals they made. However, what is only known by the inhabitants of Dhulko and Nix, is that Dhulko himself is no orc. The master of the horde is, in fact, a minotaur. Believed to be the reincarnation of Baphomet after he was slain during the Blood War. Dhulko lets his hordes run rampant, believing that they will grow in power and eventually take control of Nix, Stormer and the world beyond. When word of the Arenian games reaches Dhulko it could spell the end for all life in Arenia. That is if he isn't already making plans, though his efforts seem more focussed on the goblin borders of Nix currently. His expansion efforts halted by a Spider Plague ravaging the Kingdom of Nix.
It is said that the capital city of Ghanu is without a leader and that it has been taken over by a mythical spider queen known as the Arasta. Neither Goblin nor Orc has been able to rid her from her lair, but rumours have been floating around that their saviour will arrive on a comet sent from the heavens within the next year. Some call it a prophecy, others call it nonsense.