Enthuiah (Continent)

    "A mysterious land, this is. We've lived here for thousands of years and still our boots have yet to set foot in it's deepest jungles and oldest ruins."

Enthuiah (En-thoo-we-ah) was a continent in the southern hemisphere of Dormunyr, along the equator. It's geography was largely untouched by most civilizations that lived on it and consisted of large swamps, bleak deserts, and impenetrable forests. It was thought to be the original home of the Ren and Prim races, as well as the natural habitat of a plethora of flora and fauna. Later, it played host to the foundation of the high elven empire known as the Realm, which later evolved to represent the other races of elves. It still remained shrouded in mystery as much of the inner continent was untouched, and it was thought to have been an important land for the ancient Precursors.

Geography
Enthuiah was covered in a thick, impenetrable forest to the north, and endless sun-baked deserts to the south. The Northern areas where so thoroughly covered that the entirety of the north and center was considered to be blanketed in one single forest, known as the Elethnas. Within the Elethnas was the remains of the ancient Precursor city, Tattuha. The very center of the Elethnas is not a forest, but rather a marshy swamp that is still uncharted. In the middle of the continent, the massive Mirthal mountain chain stretches across the land like a gigantic wall, trapping most of the moisture to the north.

The deserts of Enthuiah were dry and covered in seas of sand dunes, broken up by stretches of rocky and arid terrain. The only saving grace of the south was the great rivers, chief of which was the Etinetai river. When the High Elves settled this region, they established the city of Illithor, as their nation's capital. The rivers of the Etinetai kept the civilization alive by regularly irrigating and allowing for crops to grow. This, coupled with the city's location on the coast allowed for a prosperous capital. Though many of the Realm's cities are in the south, those areas not near a river are hardly ideal places for civilization. Those located around the sea of Sammonen are famous for their production of the metal Nak, which, depending on certain magical properties, can be strong and sturdy with certain traits similar to stone and others to hardened steel. This has lead to many dwarven and dwarrow communities sprouting about this region, specifically from the dwarven nations of Kalatar and Dwarrow Crossing.

The Island of Mem Sharas is thought by many scholars to be a magical node, and it's energies flow throughout the island, making it unusually lush. It also seems to have impacted some of the fauna, as creatures there are gigantic in comparison to their counterparts elsewhere in the world.

The Precursors
Enthuiah was originally a beacon of civilization for the Precursors. The city of Tattuha, a capital city of some sort, houses some of the most intact and extensive remains of their architecture. The northern, forested regions of the continent were of some special significance to the precursors, as the southern region is largely devoid of any signs of cities or structures. This could, however, be due to the inhospitable nature of the desert. In any case, the Precursors seemed to possess immense magical/technological prowess, and scholars still debate as to which of these two traits they called upon the most. The Precursors were famous for their apparent mingling of both science and magic, making them one and the same. All that is known is that they were here, and they are now gone. Precursor artifacts behave similarly to nodes and some in fact are recognized as nodes. Magical clerics and wise men from the Realm often journey into the far north to try their hand at discovery. More and more about the Precursor's civilization is discovered as the centuries pass.

Indigenous Races
Two races have long inhabited the continent, the Prim and the Ren. Both are hairy, and adapted to the jungle enviornment, and some might compare them physically to the great apes or lemurs. Originally one race, both of them have drifted apart and become their own seperate cultures. The Prim are renowned for their great strength and hunting ability, while their cousins the Ren are small, diminutive monkey-like tree-climbers that inhabit the central forests of the continent. Their relationship with the Prim is not well understood: some seem to have revered them; others have been known to treat them as a predator that is now long gone. It is still unknown which of these races came to Enthuiah first, or if either are even native to the continent. The Ren, after millennia of warfare among themselves, eventually came to form a fragile peace. Tribes did not routinely aid each other, but allowed for trade among themselves to varying degrees.

The Forest Elves
Sometime around 8,000 years ago, a small community of wood elves from the West discovered the continent and slowly settled it. Eventually calling themselves the Tavi'il, or Forest Elves, they settled the northern and central regions of the continent, establishing a civilization centered around oneness with the world. Theirs was the worship of the Archetypes of Nature, seven spirits that live on the continent and embody the elements of the world: earth, wind, fire, and water. Their connections with the spirits of Order and Chaos are unknown, and they may be in a different class of their own when compared to the Gods of other cultures and continents. The Tavi'il and the Prim came into conflict with one another on more than one occasion in the past, though they have since drifted away from each other's territories, with the Tavi'il inhabiting the northern areas as well as some of the desert regions, and the Prim and Ren staying in the center of the continent. The Tavi'il recognized the power that the precursors possessed, but they did not see them as gods. Instead, their magical relics were seen as something to leave alone, so as to keep the balance between the living and the dead. As such, they believed that their relics should not be touched or disturbed.

The Founding of the Realm
The high elves eventually made landing in the southern region of Enthuiah about 1,800 years ago, near the area that later became Illithor. The High Elves were immediately enticed by the abundance of precursor artifacts on the continent, specifically in the northern areas. This led to a slow expansion and settlement into the center and north, with a majority of expeditions being sponsored by the government and clergy of the high elves. Upon making contact with the Tavi'il, the high elves were appalled by their attitude and treatment of precursor relics. The high elves worshiped and saw them as prophets of the Gods, and they believed it was their birthright as descendants to take their mantle. They had no qualms when it came to using and exploiting their relics, given the high elves' own magical prowess. The Tavi'il however believed that those who disturbed the precursors where upsetting the balance, and these differences between the two races eventually led to war. This became known as the War of the Founding. After decades of warfare, the high elves eventually prevailed due to their use of precursor artifacts, and a peace treaty between the two races was wrought. The two races found common ground in their reverence of the precursors, and founded the Realm under the notion that all who were descendants of the precursors had the responsibility to reclaim their glory. Some of the Tavi'il left for the north in order to escape the High Elves, and they established the northern tribes of the Tavi'il who retained their worship of the Archetypes, and eventually founded the Tavi'ilan nation of Nilaraan. The Tavi'il of the Realm over time integrated more and more with the High Elves, and became the much more relaxed, both culturally and socially, inhabitants of the Realm, simply known as Forest Elves. The Realm became one of the most powerful empires ever known in the world in the centuries that followed, in part due to its control of the mineral Nak, as well as the power that came from their knowledge and usage of Precursor artifacts. The Realm was ruled by a High Council, made up of the Priests of the various lands whom would meet in the capitol to decide upon important matters. All of them were subservient to the Emperor of the Realm, who was regarded as both the head of the nation and high prophet of the faith. Trading between the Realm and other overseas nations, such as those on Exorterra and Eurius, became common, especially after a great war or two had boosted production of goods. To most cultures unfamiliar with the Realm, it was often generalized as mostly or even all Elven, and made up of religious fanatics who regarded the Precursors as gods. This was mostly true when speaking of their leaders.

Kalatar
About 100 years after the founding of the Realm, a group of several thousand dwarven pioneers crashed ashore on the south-western coast of Enthuiah. This area was a vast desert, which they called the Hagream Desert. To survive here was hard and the people who expanded out into the waste in the subsequent generations became hardy and tough as a result. The dwarves had come from Dhurend, the Sacked Lands, which, after the War of the Dwarves and Dragons, now lay in ruins. Eventually founding a sturdy society and establishing the nation of Kalatar, the dwarves eventually found themselves at odds with the Realm, which had dominated the area around the Sammonen Sea for its rich production of Nak metal. Striking swiftly and with great force, the Realm began the War of Sand and Blood when it struck out at the Dwarven nation and overran many of it's periphery settlements. Outnumbered, the Dwarves however, had become skilled at the craft of magical smithing and enchanting, using the metal Nak to arm their soldiers and outlast the high elven forces. The Realm, while undoubtedly capable of a larger and more powerful counterattack, does not see the conquest of Kalatar as a meaningful enough military pursuit, and withdraws. The Dwarves win the war and make clear their intentions of keeping their independence, free from the Realm's grips. However, trading of Nak and other valuable dwarven commodities eventually convinced the Realm to expand trade opportunities between the two youthful nations. In several short generations, the two empires would consider the other steadfast partners and, if not to be fully trusted, nevertheless powerful allies.

An Min-Tun
The empire of An Min-Tun is the most recent empire to exist on Enthuiah. Men have lived in the Realm as equal citizens, but the nation is and always has been strictly dominated by elves in its history. Established by Tun colonists nearly 800 years ago,