The Birth of Elves and Orcs

During the Age of Falling, when the domains of gods were being established and The Source had recently thrown down the former god of light Altarein and turned him into Diavon, one god moved around the Perfect World without a care. This was Corellon Larethian, a flighty deity given domain over the idea of freedom, which he took to the nth degree. Corellon would play tricks on his fellow gods, most of which were harmless japes that were met with laughs or blanks stares, but one day Corellon had a devilish plan. He knew of the temper of the god Gruumsh, and knew how little he cared for nature or Corellon, so he lured Gruumsh into one of his glades using the voice of his wife Luthic. When Gruumsh entered the glade he was beset my fey servants of Corellon who dressed him in flowers and robes of green before magically whisking him away to stand before the other gods.   The gods all laughed at the sight of the might Gruumsh dressed in daffodils and verdant coloring, eve Luthic mocked her husband for his attire as well as clearly being tricked by Corellon. With the laughter ringing in his ears, Gruumsh lashed out at Corellon, a battle ensuing between them. This shocked many, as conflict between gods was not tolerated, even Gruumsh respected this rule unless another agreed to the battle. Corellon replied with violence as well, piercing Gruumsh's eye while Gruumsh stabbed Corellon's side.   The blood that fell from Gruumsh's eye took form born from his anger in that moment, his explosive temper, and his ferocity in battle, these were the first orcs born into the world. At the same time the blood that spilled from Corellon took shape from his whimsy, glee, and grace in conflict, becoming the first elves. The violence was stopped by the other gods, but not before marveling at what had occurred. This was when The Source intervened, commanding the two to cease their conflict and as punishment, particularly for the freedom-loving Corellon, were to be saddled with the responsibility of the beings born from them.   Gruumsh grumbled and accepted this but still despised Corellon for leaving him with one eye, and Corellon was pleasantly pleased, though frustrated with the newfound responsibility. It is this event that led to the infamous hatred between elves and orcs, and how the elves and orcs first came into being

The first written account of the creation myth was from the elvish point of view during the Age of Conquest by the elvish emperor Securuous' scribes in the famous play The Divine Born. The story painted Corellon in an impossibly pure light that would make any who knew enough about the god to laugh.   Most point to the countless wars between orcs and elves, even on petty subjects, and believes their innate hatred could only stem to their very creation. And the story was first told by word of mouth but was written in the journal of Dalos The Lone, half-elf hero of the Demonic Incursion after he traveled to the realm of knowledge with his allies. Some maintain the idea that this was an entirely figurative adventure, spiced up by Dalos. However, scholars will point to the fact that Dalos never intended to publish his journal and it was only his great-grandson that published it as a book and first-hand recount to the Demonic Incursion.   Other than this there are records said to lie in the archives of the deep elves that points to the truth of the legend, though this information was given by the dwarven explorer Adrik Deep-walker, who was known to embellish his many autobiographical tales.

The story of elvish and orcish creation are usually told separately but they are as widespread as the tale of human or dwarven creation. However, few tell the tale in its entirely, usually recounting it with variations fitting whoever is telling the story.

Elves that revere the Seldarine all see this as the brilliant birth of their kind, and usually exclude the creation of orcs entirely from the story, putting emphasis on Corellon's grace and Gruumsh's rage. Elves that worship other gods usually paint this as Gruumsh's fault, but that he was egged on by Corellon and will mention the orcs as well. Drow on the other hand focus on the story as the creation of Lolth, sometimes excluding all other aspects of the story.  As for orcs, those who worship Gruumsh and his pantheon see this as Gruumsh justifiably responding to the foolishness and weakness of Corellon, removing Gruumsh's embarrassment and instead claiming Gruumsh sought out Corellon on his own to discipline him. However, Garhunian orcs view this as a fault in both deities, calling them reactionary and childish whether it be Corellon's tricks or Gruumsh's temper.

Both the elves and the orcs use this story as excuses for their hatred of the other, as well as for their greatest shared quality, their egos. Both see themselves as inherently from the gods they worship and therefore superior to lesser races, and pity the other race for coming from what they perceive as an inferior god.  There are exception, particularly among elves that don't worship Corellon or the Seldarine, or in Garhunian orcs that actively despise Gruumsh. Both see the event as either an embarrassment or as simply something that happened.

Books on the story are mostly children's tales told so that elvish or orcish children can learn their roots, and the bias is always clear based on who is telling the story. Some more academic accounts exist via outside sources, like the halfling scholar Bryna Dolbin who wrote an encyclopedia of myths and legends around 268 A.R.

The art of the high and wood elves always depict Corellon as a graceful and righteous warriors while ignoring his role in the violence, while the art of dark elves and growing elves all depict it as Corellon's childishness instigating Gruumsh. The few orcish pieces mostly show Gruumsh as the triumphant warrior dressed in red, responding to an irresponsible child of a god with discipline and force, though some Garhunian pieces depict neither as in the right and both as tempestuous and reactionary.