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The war itself began as a result of the actions of a single god. His name was Lucifer, and he was something of a trickster god. He and his half-brother, Ercan, were somewhat fond of teasing the other gods and playing tricks on them. However, as the world began to mature, Lucifer began to have ideas of creatures to create... most of the races on the world were made in part, by him - there was a certain fevered intensity about the way he worked on his pet projects. Habitually he would visit the other gods and ask them to bestow gifts upon his creations - in this way the elves had infravision and the dwarves had tremendous fortitude. The centaurs were musical, being a personal favourite of Tareth, while the fairies were simply magical, blessed by the goddess Phynax.
As he created, Lucifer became bent on a single ideal - the perfect race, the master race. A race to rule the world under him - to be perfectly flexible and adaptable and, as the God of Change, he would be the ideal deity for them to favour. And so he created the humans. They were gifted, so very gifted, at adapting and changing, at accepting things and moving on. Lucifer was very proud as he watched them expand and begin to dominate their environment; but he had made them too well. Before long they had shaken off their faith in their creator and diversifying, finding a pantheon of gods better suited to their vast range of situations. Lucifer was enraged.
Humans were lucky not to be destroyed in a fit of rage, but Lucifer knew that if he was to create a true master race, they would need another race to subjugate - humans would be the slaves to his new race. He started work.
The other gods were not as impressed with their fellow's constant stream of output, which is why when Lucifer took his completed masterpiece to his compatriots, he met some resistance. He realised that the perfect race needed a little part of them to remain faithful to him - this would be provided by Movrast, god of Stoicism.
The meeting with Movrast was the turning point in the world's history. The opposition gods met at loggerheads as Movrast refused to have any part in Lucifer's plans... as the argument escalated, he then stated that he would canvass the other gods to prevent them having any part in it, either. Lucifer snapped, and slew Movrast, stuffing his deific essence into his new creation. Panicked, he cast the new being onto the planet and hid it... thus were the halflings born.
Lucifer's secret went undiscovered for some time, but Thorr, the lightning god, realised what had happened and went to confront his fellow deity. Lucifer killed him, too, and sealed his essence inside a great crystal. However, he was found out and matters quickly escalated from angry worlds to assault to full-scale war. There were three factions: 1) Lucifer, Ercan, Foria, Kedras, Archin, Mornan and others who felt that killing gods was acceptable and should not be punished; 2) the so-called '25', who believed that murdering gods was wrong; and 3) the others, who had no strong opinions and only occasionally fought.
To fight the war, the gods created new races. The 25 made the Tanar'ri, Eleurians and the Scythes, while Lucifer and co created the Baatezu, Ashabae and Scourges. The Tanar'ri were the generals of their respective armies, and the greatest among them was The'tan'i - a warrior hero and mighty tactician. The Eleurians were avenging angels - winged elf-like creatures bred for battle and ferocity. The Scythes were their foot-soldiers: tough creatures with a hardened carapace and saw-like legs. The Baatezu were the generals in Lucifer's forces, although his mightiest hero was not one of them. The Ashabae were winged daemons with imp-like barbed tails. The Scourges were creatures with a man's torso, a lion's body and a scorpion's tail.
The war was vicious, but thankfully left most of the races on the planet uninvolved. The Elves did join in, although they were but a fledgling race back then. Many of their number fought, on both sides of the war, and proved themselves a thousandfold times to be as brave and tough as the races designed for the purpose of war.
In the deciding battle, the two great heroes of the two great armies met. The'tan'i - mightiest of the Tanar'ri, strong and proud, with wings of purest white and lightning crackling in his very veins. His nemesis was Gethirah, a black armoured creature whose features had never been seen by any and were generally considered to be hideous - a dark warrior with ice for blood. Their battle was fierce, leaving both slain upon the bloodstained field that day. Lucifer's downfall came at the same time, betrayed bu his brother, Ercan, and led into a trap, followed by his four main conspirators and all his surviving minions.
The 25 sealed Lucifer and his fellows beneath the very crust of the world, accessible only through 4 holes in the surface. These they sealed with the hardest substance they could make with their combined might. Then they created a zone of null-magic around each of these Seals, so that no single deity could exert influence in that area, directly or otherwise. To guard the seals they selected four volunteers - Bel'tar Than'cor, Afithe, Seren Parel'areya and mali-Feran'us - and they blessed them each with a gift and great longevity. Finally, they placed the seals where none could find them accedientally, and then wiped the memories of themselves and all the creatures on the surface of the planet.
The Eleurians and the Tanar'ri were to be placed in a restful, eternal sleep - a sleep that would be broken if the Seals were ever breached. However, the Tanar'ri were unwilling and fled to the Abyss with the help of one of the gods, refusing to serve their masters and creators again. the Scythes were destroyed while the Baatezu, Ashabae and Scourges remained beneath the world, watching and waiting...
With the warrior races gone, the world began to return to normal, but there was always evidence of the war - great battlefields, scorched and bloodied; tests and tomes... half-breed races. The world was not really aware of its past, but at the same time, it never really forgot, either.
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