Guns

In a world dominated by a great war between humans and wizards, those with the power to control elements, and those who can't, a new technology is emerging that has the potential to change the tide of the war. Guns. When your enemies have the power to carve trenches, direct fireballs or even send huge tidal waves crashing over your armies, a weapon with a chance to level that power imbalance is not only a dream, but a necessity; a vital tool of survival. At any other point history, in any other political landscape, the proposal of a weapon so power you could kill someone with one simple pull of a trigger, no consequence, with a well aimed shot, would (ironically) have been shot down immediately. No one wants such a weapon in the hands of their enemies, or the weight of that responsibility on their shoulders. But in an age of warfare? When young men by the thousand are sent charging over battle-torn fields at an enemy that could topple the whole battalion with a sweep of their hand, morality is no longer in the picture. When Asbolus Clockton first proposed the use of the revolutionary weapon against their enemies people were uncertain. But when he explained just how many lives they could save, just how many young men of their city could prehaps live to see another day, that it could be the key to ending their centuries of suffering, it became more than a weapon. It became a symbol of hope when all hope seemed lost.

Invention

The concept of a weapon to rival the fireball of the most powerful wizard, or the arrow of the best elven archer, is nothing new. For decades, if not centuries, it was a pipe-dream. Unrealistic and unachievable. But with the discovery of gunpowder, everything changed. With the right design, humans may finally have a tool to rival the power of the magic-folk, and a way to defend themselves truly, and thus the race began. The first functioning design of a gun was presented to the Council by Garrik Powderwick, and he is usually credited as the father of firearms. Since then, many more variations and designs have been proposed, prototypes and later produced, although the most successful and widely used are known as 'muskets', or colloquially as 'fire-lances' and 'dragon's bullets'.

Worldwide Perception

The reception of the other races of these new firearms however was much less enthusiastic. Whether from a place of traditionalist conservatism, a hatred of technology and industry, or fear of this new threat, outside of Eziris the public opinion of firearms varies from disgust and disapproval to downright horror.

Asmarans

The other human kingdom of Asmarin, while somewhat disapproving of such a violent answer, certainly understand the drive of Ezirithans to develop such a weapon. While not directly on the front lines, mostly due the mountain rages dividing their territories, Asmarin too was greatly affected by the war, and equally sent many young men to fight on the front lines alongside their Ezirithan brethren.

Elves

The elves are certainly the most disapproving of all races. Due to their culture and philosophies, elves are known to view life as highly sacred, and pride themselves on being morally good and just, as the children of Althys. They also have strong ties to magic, and in general frown upon the dependance of humans of technology and industry rather than working in harmony with nature and the magic from which life sprung. As such, the common perception of guns and firearms generally is they are crude, violent and inefficient. Where master elven archers can kill a soldier with a single well-aimed arrow to the heart, as painlessly as possible, guns induce much unnecessary pain, many victims bleeding out gorily for several hours before they finally die to a misfired shot. Especially when at the current stage of design, firearms are from accurate of easy to aim.

Dwarves

Dwarves respect the firearms of humans, although personally much prefer their traditional axes and weapons. As master forgers and blacksmiths, dwarven melee weapons are renowned for their strength, durability and damage. Many dwarves view the use of long range weapons, whether that be bows and arrows or firearms, as a cowardly practice, believing there is no better way show true courage and honour ones nation than charging into battle, enormous weapon in hand, to face a common enemy. However, as innovators and industrialists themselves, they do admire the elegant yet powerful nature of the gun, and the engineering that went into them. They also recognise the disadvantages of hand to hand combat against an enemy with long range earth-shattering spells, especially for 'weaklings' like the humans.

Goblins

Goblins, as a nomadic race known to mostly avoid the other races and keep to themselves, have little opinion over such human designs. Due to the prejudice they face because of their clashing communal culture, goblins are often unfairly villainised, seen as cruel and greedy rouges rather than generous sharers. Should a goblin 'steal' tools from a locked shed, it is the one who locked them up who committed a crime. As the goblin saying, roughly translated, goes, there is no worse crime than the selfish locking up tools or claiming sole ownership, everything belongs to the community! Thus, they are known to scavengers and take advantage of any abandoned resources, (or slightly less abandoned ones, though they quickly learned humans and elves don't like that) moving from place to place at the borders of kingdoms and built society. Although along their travels, the occasional goblin would have found an abandoned weapon, and taken much joy in figuring out its inner working (although often times hugely misinterpreting its intended use). While there's sure to have been many accidents and misfires, goblins would certainly delight in discovering such a tool, and quickly find a way to implement it into their day to day lives.