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"High elves and dragons were the first of all races," Aldrec began "We were placed in this world as its caretakers by the hand of the Divine But while dragons were content to live with nature and progress little, my people, like hue We harnessed nature through ic to where we could transfor meadows and forests, and conversely, reduce verdant fields to lifeless wastes at our whiic upon ourselves in such a way that it per us an immortal race, ih elves,' Mericlou said, recalling the ancient legends she had learned from her own treks into literature "So did you all live in trees like this?"

"Some of us did," Aldrec replied with a nod "Others lived in cities For those who lived in trees, our hearts were linked to therew to our will as we reached adulthood Afterwards, ere completely bonded to that specific tree, and could shape it to our will in any way

"And it was partly because of this ability to shape nature," he continued, "that the dragons becaance While we reatness, we failed to realize the cost of our ic We blinded ourselves to the truth that for every bit of ic used, there was a price to be paid With us, it was paid by the very planet For each desert we caused to bloom, the world about us died a little Forests withered away, and farmland was slowly turned into deserts or useless fen, unable to be revived, even by ressed little by little, through thousands of years until it was at last noticed by the dragons At first, it was their water sources that began to thin and dry, and then their hunting grounds started to recede farther and farther away, transforressive race, settling all over the world, dragons lived in re their territories At first, desiring no quarrel with us, they sent aers of our frivolous use of ance and power blinded their eyes, and so they would not concede At last, the dragons had no choice but to take up arainst us