Setting
The Nephilim were the first intelligent creatures to appear in the universe. They are not in fact a single race as most modern-day scholars believe, but two; evolving in tandem from the creatures of the binary planet system now known as The Whitespace.
In the beginning, planet Nyx was originally a rogue planet, ejected from orbit by the explosion of its parent star. By chance during its lonely journey through the void, it encountered the planet Ziv which was orbiting a healthy sun, forming a gravitational bond that would encourage the evolution of the micro-organisms already inhabiting the two planets.
From the bowels of the planet Nyx rose the Dem. They were a peaceful race, exemplified by their strong unity. Their cooperative nature arose from the need to band together against the extremely harsh conditions of their home world. Their unparalleled technological advancements were motivated by constant battles against powerful Nyxian predators and the natural elements to protect their underground habitat.
The calm waters of Nyx's partner world Ziv gave birth to the powerful El. Their primitive ancestors, mesmerized by the beauty of the sky, crawled out of the water and eventually took flight. The El dominated the skies with their powerful wings, and lived their lives battling each other for territory. Ziv was quite a populous planet due to its superhabitable environment, causing the El to constantly wage war against their encroaching Zivian neighbors.
As the population of Ziv reached a critical point, the El began to look beyond the horizon towards Nyx, hoping to gain more territory to support their overwhelming numbers. They had discovered that twice a year, Nyx would pass so close to Ziv that their atmospheres would connect, forming a kind of weightless zone connecting the two worlds. This otherworldly phenomenon became known as the Worlds' Kiss. After advancing their technology enough to safely traverse the Worlds' Kiss, the El immediately sent expeditions to the surface of Nyx. They began studying the terrifying creatures residing on the bleak surface, only discovering the highly advanced underground Dem civilization centuries after by sheer accident.
The El promptly prepared for war as soon as they discovered the technologically advanced Dem, while the Dem who had been hiding to avoid conflict in the first place tried in vain to establish peaceful relations. Needless to say, the Els' war initiative and overwhelmingly superior numbers completely annihilated the peace-loving Dem along with most of the primitive surface-dwelling creatures. This destroyed the fragile balance of life on Nyx, slowly turning the planet into the dead one it is today.
Eons passed, and the El eventually split into seven different species, each uniquely adapted to the environments the members of the original race decided to settle in. Although the death of planet Nyx had backfired on the Els' ambition to use it as a new frontier, evolution had ultimately provided them the solution to their population problem.
A remarkable species, said to have inherited the most traits from the original El, were the Divine Elves. They were descended from the high-ranking El who settled in the gas torus surrounding Ziv, which was formed by the atmospheric gases of Nyx and Ziv deposited over time during the Worlds' Kiss. This gas torus was named Arc, due to its shape when viewed from the surface of Ziv. As such, Divine Elves who resided in Arc were also sometimes referred to as Arc Elves.
The High Dragons and the Deep Dwarves on the other hand were the descendants of the El that settled on Nyx shortly after the annihilation of the Dem. Mistakenly classified into two different species due to the vast difference in their appearance, they were actually members of the two sexes of the same species. A mutation in the original settlers of Nyx turned the female El into the High Dragons, and the males into the Deep Dwarves. Over time, the two sexes diverged and evolved into completely different races, each having their own sexual counterparts.
The Dark Elves took the path of the original Dem and created their own haven in the underground tunnels of Ziv called The Hollow. Developing features and adaptations similar to the Dem, they thrived and dominated in their underground world, and even adopted many of the Demish technologies that their Elish ancestors had discovered. The Dark Elves were not, however, peace-loving like the Dems were, and were every bit as brutal as their underground home.
The Source Elves were remarkable in that their ancestors returned to the original source of life on Ziv: the Zivian Oceans. Completely at home in the vast oceans of their home planet, they adopted the peaceful attitude of the Dems, coexisting with the legions of different species in the oceans. Their peaceful nature can be attributed to their ancestors' regret of wiping out the entire Dem race due to warlike tendencies.
The Elish ancestors of the Beast Fathers settled in the dense forests of Ziv. They considered themselves the protectors of nature, as their ancestors had learned the importance of nature to the survival of a planet. Their deep connection with nature developed in them many outstanding powers, such as the mythical ability to transform into powerful creatures.
The last and most numerous of the Elish descendants were the surface-dwelling First Humans. This species bore the least physical resemblance to the original El. This was due to their unparalleled ability to reproduce, resulting in mutations that diverged greatly from the original bloodline. However, it can be said that they completely preserved their ancestors' warlike tendencies. Although First Humans had long natural lifespans, the constant wars among themselves and other races effectively reduced their life spans to a small fraction. Many advances in weapon technology were attributed to this species.
Though not strictly a species, there is, however, an eighth classification of creatures. The death of Nyx caused many apocalyptic changes over eons to the planet, chasing out many of its settlers. Many High Dragons settled in Arc, while the Deep Dwarves ventured into The Hollow. The unprivileged few that remained began showing symptoms of a strange plague that would cause them to go berserk and massacre each other. As there were many adventurous Zivians — primarily Dark Elves — who still searched for riches and loot from the ruins of the Demish civilization, the disease eventually spread to some of the inhabitants of Ziv as well. This new class of creatures became known as The Damned.
Many imperial researchers studying this phenomenon have conjectured that this plague is actually the residue of the dark spells that the Dem — now referred to as the evil Ancient Demons — had used to brutally kill the righteous Elish Nephilim. Less popular opinion describe it as the uprising of the vengeful souls of the peaceful Demish Nephilim, who were heartlessly massacred by the warlike Elish Nephilim.