Origins
Though the actual origin of the Warrheda and their world, like ours, is occasionally contested and debated, nearly all believe in the legend that the gods created them. Only a rare few believe differently: some that it occurred by chance (extremely rare), and a few others that the humans had a hand in their creation (still rare, but slightly more numerous than the chance-believers).
Either way, the Warrheda were created, and lived as true wolves did within packs, relying on their instincts and the leadership of their alphas. The exact history and development of this time is murky, though it is known that over time they began to create tools and such. Their intelligence was discovered and utilized. Eventually one got it in his head that he should try to ride one of the wild equines, thinking that if he could find some creature to ride on, his hand-paws and arms could be used to hunt or for other uses; so was the Link found when he felt that "click" between himself and a wild khashir. The Warrheda of the Ice never found this Link, as they had no equines, and the Desert Warrheda instead Linked with Tigaan horses, which were native to their Sand Isles. The Ices, however, were able to create boats around this time, enabling them to travel further out and hunt in deeper waters. Dragon Linking was discovered much later, after another came face-to-face with a kheri for the first time. Soon packs got it into their heads that with these new kinships with the wild creatures, they could more easily take things from each other, or at least hunt prey in each others' territories and get out faster. Many battles followed, and activities changed from painting each other and other harmless things, to creating tools to use in battle. The world was in an uproar.
Civilization
A few packs wanted nothing to do with this new war. Some split off and decided to not Link, nor use tools, and instead just rely on their wolf instincts--these would become the tribal packs of the present. Still others decided the best way to deal with the war was to make a united front, to band together in a larger pack and offer refuge for those who wanted salvation from the fighting. They named a Forest Warrheda called Kalo'in as the alpha of this large pack, and soon word spread through the forest and Sand Isles that his pack had peace for those who wanted away from the fighting. Soon there were too many Warrhes to continue with the nomadic lifestyle, and so they settled in a place close to the large bay and river that led to this bay, and so to the sea. Believing it worthy of a name, they called it Calden--"Cal" for the first syllable of the first alpha's name, and "den" for the place of refuge and peace that they had all experienced as pups.
At about this time, humans began filtering through, somehow finding the fabric that split the worlds. They were often killed, but the Warrheda found these fur-less creatures interesting. Their objects were taken and used; their construction methods copied. With the aid of man, Calden began to grow into a city. And as there was no easily-found reason why humans would just suddenly appear in the forest, certain Warrhes decided to investigate this, and took on magical properties of their own. These would become the forerunners of the mages.
Quite soon, a large feeling of peace was restored, with the packs no longer fighting as much as they once did. Was it because there were soon not enough war-hungry Warrheda out there, as their packs had joined civilization? Or because they found it all silly? No one really knows. What is known, however, is that smaller settlements were started up around the land, copying Calden. These were never full-blown cities; rather, they were places to pause and trade one's food and items for better ones. There were still many nomads and packs throughout the world; however, the full-scale battling had ceased.
Development
Development soon began of the Warrheda's culture. Human weapons were found, and by observation--and occasionally, bravely, speaking with them--technology developed rapidly. Saddles could be made from wood and leather. Metal could be manipulated into both weapons and useful items. Man's languages began to take influence. A small party of Ices saw the first ship, and so aided the others in creating their own, patterning them after the humans'. Openings were found in the fabric, ways to travel to the humans' world, which enabled them to find more human objects to use. Listening to the humans speak also helped them: human government was used, and the alpha, a title that no longer fit the strength of the position, came to be known as the King, and his mate the Queen. Eventually the Warrheda could develop and discover on their own, but at the start it was man's genius that began the Warrheda's.
War
Around this time (a few hundred years after Kalo'in's death, and likely the 1400s or so for humans) the humans finally figured out that there was another world beside theirs. War parties came through, larger than before. Human observation enabled the Warrheda to fight back, but they were not used to fighting this species. Some settlements were lost, and others destroyed, by the invading humans.
It was at this time that Nikolai, a creation of Artemis, entered the fighting force. This was not particularly odd--after all, females were considered as powerful as males in battle--but still was slightly unusual, as few females wanted to join in with the fighting. Some were skeptic of her; however, that all changed when they saw how powerful she was in battle. She rose in the ranks, though never fully achieving "knight" status because of her lack of Linked mount, even though she was as good as the best knights. Eventually the humans were sent home for a good while, starting the first age of peace. The king of the time had been mortally wounded in battle; however, because at the time Nikolai had been the most trusted fighter there and had fought off the enemy in an attempt to save the king, as well as the fact that he had no mate or pups, he named Nikolai as Queen after him. Soon after, she found her Link in a Tigaan horse named Tyg, and so became the powerful leader she was likely destined to be.
After a few years, she gained immortality from the gods, the kind that protected her from old age, but not from battle wounds. Years later she had a son with Lord Jhoradnr, a Norse-like Forest ex-pirate that she had met long before. Her son was named Luke; Prince Lukeriah, to be exact. His mix of his father's diluted monster and god blood, along with his mother's pure blood from her creation, meant that he was larger and more powerful than any other Warrheda known before. As he aged, he Linked with a heavy-type khashir, and grew to become the commander of the Queen's army. He and his father earned immortality as well.
It was a short time after this that the humans invaded again, with more powerful weapons and a slightly larger force. Years of development and the new, strong leaders enabled Prince Luke and his forces to defeat the humans easily, though the war itself took years. This was the second major human war, but there have been none since, and many years of relative peace have passed. There are still the tribal packs that are most like true wolves; there are the small, nomadic groups that fight amongst themselves, others, or not at all; and then there are those that choose to remain in civilization, under the current Queen Nikolai and Commanding Prince Lukeriah's protection.
