The Stone Wars: PhoenixFire - Backstory

--It should be noted that this is written from the perspective of an author in the Lekessia universe of TSW, not from my own--

Mythology and Tales of the Orelian People
Part I - Tale of Rifters

Thousands of years ago, when writing had not been thought of yet, and language was just beginning, there was a single force that watched over the planet of Lekessia. It's name is lost, having been revered so highly it was not passed down through oral tales. This force was comprised of all elements in existence, and although it had no consciousness, it kept the natural balance of the planet in order.

Eventually, as civilization developed, three main races emerged. There were the Humans, an intelligent race that was extremely adaptable to almost any area on the planet. Then there were the Daladim, a vicious and extremely enduring race, but mostly pigeonholed to living in forests due to the way their bodies were designed. A final race, known as the Golakim, were so alien and incomprehensible to the other races that no description of them survives. All we know is that they lived under water, and that anyone drinking from a lake or river was to be wary of their presence.

There were many skirmishes between these races, and the numbers of all three dwindled ever so slowly. However, dear reader, the tales of these wars are for another story. Eventually, one charismatic young man, a Human, learned how to tap into the natural balancing energies of the force that kept order, and began to cause havoc in the armies of the Human race. As time went on, other races figured out how to do so, and each sect of each race began to develop affinities to particular types of elements.

The original balancing force become tugged at from all sides, and the balance in the world broke down. As balance became harder and harder to create, the need for this force diminished, as it was failing. Eventually, during a large battle, several of the humans pulled (or 'rifted' the elements, as they called it during that time) so hard that the balance completely shattered, granting these several humans massive control over each element. Due to a lack of proper naming, those on the battlefield simply gaped at the awe-inspiring power of each of these humans and couldn't come up with any description for them other than 'force'. The energy given these humans made them immortal, but in return, they weren't able to have a human form. Instead, they copied larger animals which could give them more functionality and strength, and then had their powers sealed into these shapes.

Roughly a hundred forces existed, and each held control over one element or even more. However, dear reader, after this point it stops becoming the Tale of Rifters, and instead we move into the era of the Force Wars. In the next chapter I shall more accurately detail what we know of forces, and the chaos they caused in the world once they were unleashed. It is important to note, dear reader, that these are only myths. It is folly to consider that these are true.