The Concord of Soil and Sky

In the light of the Age of Reconstruction, as the High Elves of Mountainrun continued to rebuild their society, an unprecedented alliance was forged—one that marked the first major exchange between elvenkind and humanity. Known as the Concord of Soil and Sky, this moment symbolized a rare unity between two races separated by history, culture, and ambition.

The elves, led by King Aranethil Starleaf, had long maintained a guarded distance from the rising human settlements to the south. Though the elves were masters of magic and stewards of the land, centuries of internal strife—culminating in the fall of Lumispire—left their resources strained and their reach limited. Magic, though abundant, could not fill the granaries or feed the growing population of the Under City.

Conversely, the humans, newly establishing footholds in Shatterbleak and beyond, lacked the arcane prowess of their elven counterparts but possessed advanced agricultural techniques capable of cultivating even the most stubborn soils.

The Meeting at Rockcrest

It was at the fringes of Rockcrest, Mountainrun’s agricultural heart, where the two leaders met. Aranethil, aware of the humans’ growing influence in the fertile lands of Shatterbleak, sought out Lord Derrin Halebrook, a respected landholder whose family had pioneered new irrigation and crop rotation methods.

The initial meeting was brief but set the foundation for future exchanges. Aranethil offered arcane insight and simple magical wards to strengthen human settlements, while Lord Halebrook, in turn, revealed the secrets of crop diversification and soil revitalization techniques unknown to the elves.

This cooperation marked the founding of Rockcrest as a shared settlement, where human farmers and elven artisans coexisted. Over time, Rockcrest became known not only for its flourishing fields but also as a place where arcane symbols etched into plows and tools enhanced crop yields, blending magic and agriculture in unprecedented ways.

The Significance of the Concord

The Concord of Soil and Sky was more than a mere exchange of knowledge. It reflected a mutual recognition of shared vulnerability. Elves, for all their mastery of magic, could not subsist on arcane energy alone, while humans lacked the means to protect their lands from magical disturbances and encroaching shadows that haunted the outer edges of Mountainrun.

“Through the land, we find life. Through the sky, we find hope.”
—Inscribed at the entrance of Rockcrest’s town hall.

Though the elves never fully integrated into human society, nor did humanity become part of the elven enclaves, the Concord fostered decades of relative peace and prosperity between the two races.

Legacy

Rockcrest thrived, eventually becoming Mountainrun’s primary agricultural hub​

• The first hybrid farming tools, enchanted by elven arcanists and forged by human blacksmiths, were crafted during this period, many of which are still used in the fields today.
• This alliance indirectly laid the groundwork for future trade relations between Mountainrun and the human kingdoms of Shatterbleak and Nunca​.

While tensions between elves and humans would resurface in later centuries, the Concord of Soil and Sky stood as a rare example of cooperation in the face of shared need, shaping the cultural landscape of The Ancient Reach for generations to come.