Unification Period

Population Migration / Travel

"... The survivors in the Heartlands quickly learned that the racial divides of old would not serve them then and there. They had to work together, and the strongest groups were those that shared in their talents and expertises. They sought out the few lands that had survived the ravages of fire and ice, or the precious growing places that had since begun to recover. They built new homes and new towns together. All save for the elves who had already withdrawn from the affairs of the worlds millenia before, and the orcs who chose to keep to the life of wander." - A History of the Heartlands, 726 AL

From what is known of the old civilizations, most were highly specialized and racialized. This was not possible in the early years of recovery, and survivor tribes from many races found that unified communities were necessary to have any real hope for the future. Founded by these small settlements, the kingdoms of Varum, Avval, Caecea and Hacrenia were all notable for being made up of mixtures of humanoids that had previously avoided or fought each other.

Some notable exceptions include the fey, who retreated to their deep wilderness holds; the elves, who had already withdrawn from greater society and largely remained so; and the orcs, who took the folly of empires to heart and have remained nomadic to this day.

These collaborations allowed for a greater pace of ingenuity far beyond what each could have accomplished individually: those peoples that remained apart remained "behind."