The Aviar believe that leadership is a divine right. Their royalty is not only by birth, but approved by the Nirrah when the royal reaches adulthood. If a prince or princess is judged unworthy by the Nirrah, they are exiled, never to be spoken to again.
The Dragon leaders are chosen by age. The leaders are the three oldest dragons in all the land. They are judged only by age, and all prior crimes are forgotten.
The Furalo choose leaders in a complex fashion. Each tribe elects a council, who make all local decisions. Each tribal council elects a member to go on to the regional level, where they make more regional decisions. Then onto state, national, and continental. Every council member can be on two councils maximum (the two highest they've been elected to, the only council members on ONE council are local-only). This allows them to hear the concerns from the more localized council, and lets them bring those concerns to the more regional council.
The humans use something similar called democracy. They elect all their leaders on a regular basis, and have groups of councils. But then they have decision makers they don't decide, like those in the courts. And their leaders are only ever in one council at a time.
The Reynocr choose their leaders in trial by combat. As a military race, each leader must fight and kill others to be in charge. They believe that leadership comes from physical strength, and will not accept anyone who cannot kill them as a leader.
And so, each race thought that their system for ruling was the best. And each race wished to rule the land.
So the war began, as most of these things do, during a peace conference. Each of the races had sent several representatives to discuss how the world should be ruled. One of the humans stabbed one of the Reynocr while they slept. One of the dragons accidentally landed on one of the Furalo. And one of the Aviar dropped a human out of the sky.
Each race fought hard, and many went extinct.
The raptor Reynocr were some of the first to die, for they killed all the farmers and animals in their land, creating mass starvation.
The light-skinned Humans of the north were the next to die, for the north was wilder then, and wolf and bear Furalo tore all they encountered to shreds.
The small Dragons, the wyrms, went extinct as well, their libraries burning to the ground.
The dodo Aviar went extinct as one, walking off of a cliff to attack the Furalo below (forgetting that they could not fly).
And the badger Furalo died, all rounded up and massacred in the night (though no one knows who killed them).
On all sides, awful deeds were committed. Each group rounded up captives of the other races to work as slaves. Each race captured others to torture and interrogate.
I'd say more, but my experience of the war was unique. I was captured by Humans that tortured me, and I killed them all using my magic. Other times, I was captured and enslaved (by every race, including Dragons and Furalo - each enslaving me for being a spy for the other race). Mostly, I spent the war hiding in towers, libraries, and forests, running with the peasants of several races.
Eventually though, all the armies were exhausted. And the peasants, the villagers, the slaves, and the Nirrah banded together as one. No matter what race, we were done.
So the world was divided.
The Aviar took Asia, for the land had the most holy areas, and high mountains for roosts.
The Dragons took South America, for there were high mountains for many dragons, deep rain forests for other dragons, and a mixture of hot and cold climates.
The Furalo claimed North America. The wide forests, cold terrains, windy plains, giant lakes, and other varying land features provided homes for all the tribes.
The humans claimed Europe. They've removed most of the forests and suchlike to create giant cities, sprawling arenas, and other buildings and museums. They call their land a cultural haven, and indeed, their buildings feature styles from each race.
The Reynocr took Africa. They enjoy having large deserts to spread out in, with wild animals they can hunt at will.
And Australia and Antarctica became centers of peace for all. Antartica is mostly run by penguin Aviar, who conduct science experiments in the cold. Australia is filled with giant libraries (large enough that dragons won't accidentally land on anyone) and learning centers for all.
Of course, members of any race can live in any of the other continents, and many do. It is just recommended you live somewhere where you like the system of government, as no race is willing to change such deeply held beliefs.
Australia is where the universal language called "English" was developed. It comes from the Avian word "Eng" meaning "all" and the dragon word "Lish" meaning "language".
I do wonder about the language actually, for I learned it using my spell before it was created. But, that means nothing now.
The last major thing caused by the war was the creation of Likka. It is a festival that happens in every continent at the beginning of the harvest season. Everyone living in the area participates, celebrating peace and harmony.
The festival starts with the gathering, where everyone works together to bring in the harvest. This is followed by a feast day, celebrated with the cooking, canning, and drying of all the food. Those in need (the homeless shelters and poor families) are cared for, given a stock of food to survive the winter.
Then come the dances. These are non-judgmental expressions for every emotion. Anyone can dance with ANYONE.
Afterwards are the sporting events. These last for ages, and there are prizes for everything! Prizes for winning, for losing, for participating, and for staying at home and watching the sports on tv. Prizes for being a spectator and for not spectating, prizes for doing whatever, prizes for blogging.
And the festival lasted until winter in most cases, for it was fun and it symbolized peace. Even in the lands of the Reynocr, all fighting stopped during Likka, for they had learned what the loss of a harvest could do.
And that was the war of our races. It was so long ago, many have forgotten why Likka started. They know it means peace, but do not know that the peace came at such a high price.
Tater art by -Kit-
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