The war from which history is currently dated is variously known as the Great War (humans), the GiantsDawn War (dwarves), the EarthBreaking (halflings and gnomes), the FlameWing War (elves and dragons), and the Perishing (savage humanoids).
What is known is sketchy in places, but elves and dragons provide most of the best history. Worshippers of a great infernal creature attempted to ascend him to Godhood by controlling the world. As belief by sentient creatures of free will is what gives deities the majority of their power, the demon or devil sought to take control of a large enough population to create a belief system that would elevate him to godhood.
The savage humanoids are generally considered the first aggressors -- ogres and giants, with seas of goblins and other monsters, that swept down from the north and decimated large parts of the country. Dragons attacked the countryside, even the "Good" dragons -- under the control of some powerful artifact that has since been lost to the ages, even its nature murky and unclear.
According to elven and dragon records, the Char is a direct result of the war, possibly a final battle or some worldrending spell gone horribly awry. The EastKingsTeeth are said to have been created as well, in some powerful sorcerer's attempt to keep the savage armies at bay. The dwarves, who were near death from giant attacks and cut off from all allies, eventually survived through an alliance with the intelligent spiders that had previously been competitors in their underground realm. The dwarves and spiders were able to beat back the giants' attacks, and most of the great giants were said to have died -- those surviving today are weak, stunted descdendants of their great precursors.
In the end, the savages were beaten back, and the humans filled most of the void -- the desert warriors in the Char, the Wyvernin in the EastKingsTeeth, the Riders in the JadePlains and the Northen in the arctic reaches of the north. Almost three thousand years have passed since that time, and the savage humanoids have regained most of their population. No one knows what happened to the demon or devil. No one even knows what or who it was. Its name is lost to the ages.
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