More Lore:

[hider=The gods]
The Creator: She made the worlds and created all life.

The Judge: The husband of the Creator, he brought order to creation, and made the rules which govern it.  Judges the souls of the dead, sending the good to Freedom, where they can do anything they desire, and have Servants to help them, and sending the evil souls to Captivity.  Most souls become Servants in Freedom, where they pay for their sins before receiving their reward.

Tormentor: The god of Captivity, slavery, torture, and pain.  He sees to the torment of the evil souls with the help of his demon servants.

Liberator: The god of Freedom, liberation, hope, desire and dreams.  She oversees the fulfillment of the desires of souls in Freedom with the Servant souls.

The Warrior: A servant of the Judge which protects others from evil and disorder.  During the conquest of the Orcish lands, he assumed many of the qualities of the Orc god Grovash, god of war and conquest.

The Diplomat: A servant of the Judge who resolves disputes between enemies.  During the conquest of the Orcish lands, he assumed many of the qualities of the Orc god Krotash, god of peace and cities.

The Temptress: Goddess of carnal desire, partying, drunkenness, and fornication.  During the conquest of the Orcish lands, she assumed many of the qualities of the Orc goddess Kria, goddess of music, wife of Grovash, and sister of Krel.

The Chaste: Goddess of love, marriage, and children.  During the conquest of the Orcish lands, she assumed many of the qualities of the Orc goddess Krel, goddess of art, wife of Krotash, and sister of Kria.

The Mage: Son of the Judge and the Creator, god of Arcane magic, he aids his father in maintaining order by using the magic inherent in the natural order.  During the conquest of the elven lands, he assumed some of the qualities of the legendary elven hero Hasaya.

The Hunter: Daughter of the Judge and the Creator, goddess of hunting, gathering, and animal husbandry, she aids her mother in maintaining nature.  During the conquest of the elven lands, she assumed many of the characteristics of the eleven hero Lasandra.

The Smith: Once a minor god of mining and metalworking, he creates things for the various gods.  During the conquest of the dwarven lands, he assumed the identity of the dwarven god of the forge, Kelvin.
[/hider]

Two hundred years ago the priests declared that the large amount of magic in the world was destabilizing Nature and Order.  To prevent this, the Creator and the Judge had declared that only their servants on earth would be allowed to continue to use magic.  The Nobles, as the judges of the mortal world, would be able to study arcane magic to perform their duties better.  The clerics of the Creator would be granted power by her to heal the sick and injured and to maintain nature.

The Hetiri Kingdom, now commonly known as just "the Kingdom" as it's the only major kingdom on the known world, began to hunt down all magical creatures and people who used illegal magical powers.  Throughout the Kingdom Lords and nobles of all races began posting bounties on these people and creatures.  Dragons were being hunted, elementals destroyed and their spirits captured so that they couldn't gain a new body, and people of all races and ages were arrested and executed.

Soon the Kingdom began to send out ships to look for new lands, having conquered the entire continent, and soon the northern and southern island were discovered.  Many unlanded nobles were given islands in the north or the south and sent with colonists and slaves to settle the islands and trade their riches back to the continent.

The Northern Isles had a very large slave population and, fifty years after being settled, the slaves revolted.  Each of the islands became its own minor nation, with many of them never creating a government out of fear that it could become another Kingdom.  There was also a slave uprising in the Southern Isles, but with a much smaller slave population the uprising failed.  The Northern Isles started capturing Kingdom ships and building their own ships, quickly having enough ships to rival the Kingdom's navy.

When the New Lands were found 70 years ago, the Northern Isles began partnering with the people in the New Lands who didn't like the Kingdom and many of them chose to become pirates to help fight the Kingdom and its policies.