In the long era between the extinction of the dragons and the Crimson Convergence, elves dominated Criozevan. They were not a fractured or primitive people — they had built a vast, advanced civilization that spanned much of the continent, ruling unchallenged and uncontested. No other species could rival their reach or organization. The elf civilization of this period represents the last great pre-Convergence society, far larger and more powerful than anything built in the thousand years that followed.
The Golem King’s Dormancy
During this same period, the being who would become the Golem King was dormant deep within the mountain range now known as the Jagged Mountains. Elven explorers venturing deep enough into the rock sometimes discovered him — an enormous, ancient figure sleeping in the dark. Those who found him did not know what he was, only that his presence was wrong in a way they could not name. They grew frightened and left without disturbing him. No record of these encounters survives in the current era; they are known only through fragmentary legend.
The Convergence and the Fall
When the Crimson Convergence came, its lethal light struck the elves hardest of all — every elf it touched died instantly. Those who survived did so only by retreating into the deepest, most shadowed forests, far beneath the canopy where the Convergence light could not fully penetrate. Their great civilization was obliterated in 40 days.
From this remnant population, over generations, the Darkmane Elves emerged. The vast architecture, records, and accumulated knowledge of the pre-Convergence elf civilization were lost entirely.
See: The Crimson Convergence (History), Warring Darkmane Realm (Kingdoms).