Although scholars are unsure at which point in time dragons first appeared
on the world, legends state that for some reason, dragonkind was asleep during
the Golden Age. At some time following the uneasy settlement of the
First Wars, the hitherto unknown creatures called ‘Dragons’ emerged from
their sleep. While it is believed that the good dragons must have (naturally)
been cautious and careful in their dealings with the humanoids, ancient tomes
hint at the destruction of huge civilizations belonging to all the myriad
races, and much of the marvelous treasures of the golden age were said to
have fallen into the grasp of the dragons. Most people hold that this
was solely the work of the evil chromatic dragons, although many historians
would argue that it is more likely this was the work of a more ancient ancestor
of the dragons, which had not yet branched into the various subraces.
Whatever the case, the ancient demi-human civilizations were destroyed, leaving
much of the land wild and unclaimed, and much of the latter part of the second
age was spent trying to readjust to their new lives by the shattered remnants
of the demi-human civilizations.