Long ago, when the Humans were still young to the world, the Faerani people were one people with hair as white as the mountain snows and skin as pale as marble. Their kingdom lay in the mountains and bordered Dwarven lands. The dwarves were already ancient, their treasured halls carved deep within the mountains, and for a time they were good neighbors to the Faerani, friends even. That time changed, though, when the numbers of the Faerani grew. Faerani farmers and Dwarven farmers began disputing what little farmland lay in the mountains’ valleys.
As the arguments turned to fights, the Dwarves demanded war. Faeron, the king of the Faerani, knew that war was coming, but instead of arming his city, he charged each of his eight children to take some of their people and leave the mountains. With the twins, Waeron and Launa, refusing to leave each other, the Faerani people broke into seven groups, each led away from the mountains and into different directions.
Each of Faeron’s children faced dire challenges as they established new homes for their people. A few Elementals who dominated those lands fiercely contested the right of the Faerani to settle where they would. Others gave the Faerani grief for entirely different reasons. Yet in the end, Faeron’s children prevailed even as the Elementals changed the very being of Faerani people. No more are they one tribe, but seven. With time changing their appearances, the only remaining traits that shared with each other were their pointed ears and star-filled almond-shaped eyes of dusk and twilight hues. It wasn’t until the Dragons’ War that they found themselves uniting once again to recognize themselves not just by their various tribes but also as Faerani people.
The Worlds of Amy Britton Mendoza 