The Great War of Markov

Originally, Markov was a wild and untamed wilderness. The entire continent was a lush forest, filled to the brim with dangerous and magical beasts. The humanoid races bonded together and defeated the beasts, allowing them to settle the continent. With all of the land unclaimed, the races began to war with one another for control. This is known as the Great War and set the entire history of Markov on its current path.

The War Begins
The Humans, Elves, Gnomes, Goblins and Dragonborn all laid claim to the continent after the purging of beasts. They all built strongholds throughout the region and settled their capitals. The humans settled in the mountains at the center of Markov. Their city was called Eventide (now Rodaal). The Elves built Madara, a shimmering beacon of wealth and architecture on the northern beaches. The Gnomes built Mizralda in the hills of central Markov. The Goblins built White Paw Castle, located in the wild forests of western Markov. The Dragonborn built Daarkan, a marble metropolis in the eastern mountains. The Dwarves remained neutral, declaring themselves independent and settling the cavern city Arturan.

The cities played a political game for several years, with no major conflicts. Then an elven champion rose up from their ranks and lead a siege of Mizralda. Fhynorn lead an army of 200 against the entire gnome city and won. He brutally slaughtered the armies and civilians, leaving only the lucky few who escaped alive. To this day the gnome population is endangered because of this attack. He razed the city and left it in ruins. This battle is recognized as the official start of the Great War.

Escalation and the Goblin Uprising
Fhynorn was defeating the other armies at an alarming rate. He had Daarkan under constant pressure to keep the Dragonborn, who he perceived as his greatest threat, at bay. He was using the Mizralda ruins as a strategic hub to funnel troops where they were needed. Victory seemed certain for him until the elf home city Madara was attacked by a giant force of goblins. The elves were forced into retreating back to Madara to defend their home, which allowed the other armies to regroup.

The goblin armies went south of Madara and invaded Eventide as well. They set up a blockade from the mountains surrounding the city. Seeing the other armies fall so easily, the dragonborn king sent truce offerings to the elves and humans. The dragonborn sent reinforcements to both cities and the combined armies slaughtered the goblins mercilessly. The Goblin King surrendered soon after and they were banished to the forests.

End of the War
With the dragonborn armies divided, Fhynorn betrayed the truce immediately. He killed the dragonborn before they could leave Madara, instantly cutting their forces in half. The dragonborn sent to help the humans in Eventide retreated to Daarkan to protect their king, but arrived to find his head on a pike at the city entrance. Fhynorn took Eventide easily and won the war in a betrayal fueled bloodbath.