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The early ages of humanity were ones spent in hiding. Savage giants ruled over the land, and humans were only able to survive in the darkened corners out of reach of their seemingly endless tribes. Of these bastions, two were the largest and most notable. The first was The Great Forest of the West, a place so dense in greenery that the giants could never penetrate deeply into it, located even further west than the 'western' kingdoms of today. The second was The Great Forest of the East, located a ways south of where we are now.
Both forests produced their own legacies. The Great Forest of the West witnessed the descent of Brynn, who with godly strength and earthshaking magics rallied humanity and waged war against the giants for over 100 years before slaying the giant king Radulfr. Such a legacy is what allows humanity to reign supreme now, and is why The Great Forest of the West is now known as the birthplace of humanity.
The Great Forest of the East's legacy is far more infamous. Shortly after Brynn's victory over the giant king another being descended, this time upon The Great Forest of the East. It goes by many names. Its spawn refer to it as The Earthmother, and those in the west know of it as the Tree of Desire. To us it is the Mother Goddess of Depravity, a being that corrupted humanity to create its own race, and which bids them to oppose Brynn to this very day.
With the Mother Goddess of Depravity's intervention, the corrupted were born. They declared themselves the elves, recipients of the Earthmother's blessing, and took one of humanity's bastions for themselves. Within two centuries what was once The Great Forest of The East became The Darkwood, a land that humans couldn't step foot in.
After unifying The Darkwood under themselves, however, the corrupted didn't stop. In service of their 'Earthmother' they sought to expand the wood and drive humanity back in the process. This continued for many centuries as their armies gradually marched north, their horrid wood spreading throughout a third of the Lake Countries, covering where we eat right now and even further.
Fortunately, there was a hero to stop the corrupted. While he was no Brynn, the first emperor of the Carpathian Empire served a similar role, uniting a great many people against the corrupted and stalling their advance. A score of years later his nephew, the third emperor, followed up on this and committed to not only stopping their advance, but to pushing the ever-growing forest back. Thus begun The Great Crusade against the corrupted.
Unfortunately declaring that a war has begun is not enough to wage it. The movement of men and supplies lasted the better part of a decade, and it wasn't until the rule of the fourth emperor, Cassian, that The Great Crusade intensified. The united forces of the Carpathian Empire, the Spirit Emperor, and the remaining independent Lake Countries fought against the Darkwood, baptizing the entire region in blood.
