The Celestial Monarch and the Ten-Veiled King created humans to cultivate the ravaged Land of Pangu. The bodies of the first humans were made from the mud of the Earth, their minds were cut from the raw gems of the Underworld to better withstand the warping effect of the Yang’s emanations, and their souls were distilled from the breath of Pangu to better withstand the sterilizing effect of the Yin’s emanations.
These humans, new and pleasing to gods and demons alike, rapidly multiplied and their number covered the Lands of Pangu. Farms and orchards, towns and villages, cities and kingdoms sprang up across the face of Pangu, and when the Celestial Monarch and the Ten-Veiled King decided to return to their respective dominions. Tens of thousands of years ago, they sealed off all the portals to the Heavens and the Underworld, leaving behind handfuls of powerful gods and demons to oversee the development of the Land. God, demon, and human lived together in relative harmony for a time.
Then one night, a burning brightness suffused all the Lands of Pangu, followed by a numbing darkness. All gods and demons vanished from the Land of Pangu. In the wake of their disappearance, three new cities were discovered that had apparently been hidden from the eyes of man for years.
The Wingkin
A race of beautiful winged humanoids suddenly appeared in what came to be known as Feather City. They claimed to be servitors created by the gods sent to help the human lands prepare for the coming of the Void, but the gods that ruled their city had disappeared in the numbing darkness. And with that, they opened up their city and began to spread across the world.
The Beastkin
A race of beast-like humanoids also appeared in what came to be known as Beast City. They claimed to be beasts uplifted to sentience by the demons to help the human lands prepare for the coming of the Void, but demons that ruled their city had died in the burning brightness. So they too opened up their city and also began to spread across the world.
The Human
A third city was discovered, seemingly newly built but devoid of people and other signs of life except for two infants – a boy and a girl. The Winged race and the Beast race were questioned about it and rumors about a third city that the gods and demons had neither created nor visited surfaced. Due to the abundance of dragon-related artworks and murals, it came to be known as Dragon City.
Soon relationships between cities and kingdoms became strained, communities began to cluster along lines of family, race, and social standing, and the intricate mechanism of laws and enlightened rules fell apart. Unrest, injustice, and conflict plagued the Land of Pangu, and its inhabitants once again began familiarizing themselves in the tools of battle – weapons, invocations, and potions of power again emerged, and great heroes arose to champion the causes of the helpless and the wronged. Kingdoms built by warlords and tyrants rose and fell, borders shifted yearly, and the scent of blood and the ring of combat was commonplace throughout the lands.