Humans are not native to Arcadia. They originated in the world of Lohtan and dwell there still, in small villages. However, the Runeworkers, a native reptilian intelligent race of great magical power, thought it would be fun to throw the humans through various gates into Arcadia to see what would happen.
The result was chaos.
The first humans in Arcadia were shocked and frightened almost beyond bearing. Almost alone of the intelligent races in their native world they were two-legged, with the only other two-legged race, the Nightwalkers, looking substantially different. Here, they were surrounded by literally hundreds of other two-leggers who looked much like them, and nevertheless were not human. All these other races lived longer, wielded much more powerful magic than humans did- what little magic they had in Lohtan did not cross the boundary of the worlds with them- and worshipped different gods.
The first generations of humans attempted to adapt by adopting Arcadian gods and languages, living under the protection of Elwens and corame, and building technology that would allow them to survive. However, this world was too alien to allow for such a peaceful immersion. Above all, magic was a natural part of the background on Arcadia (as it never was on Lohtan), and was self-willed and mischevious, and didn't care for technology. Any weapons or inventions that the humans created above a certain level failed in any number of spectacular ways.
As well, the humans found that they did not like living in the alien societies of the other races, two-legged, four-legged, winged, or otherwise. These other races might have social customs that were violently alien to them, such as women holding most of the power (corame) or the genders holding an equal amount of power (Elwens), or simply think of the world in almost entirely different ways (dragons). The humans began to demand land to live on. They were, for the most part, granted it.
However, moving out from among the native Arcadians didn't help. Humans continued to suffer from magic, and their technology continued to fail. They became convinced that the other races were causing the havoc that was simply caused by bored magic, and also that they had deliberately given the humans land that could not be farmed.
As the decades passed, human enmity focused particularly on the Elwens. These peoples lived the longest lives, played with magic with the most ease, and refused to acknowledge bonds of blood kinship or religion, the two most important factors in human society, unless they felt like it. They might shelter humans, but were just as liable to attack them. Some races, in fact, including the viaquia and churni, looked upon humans as a source of prey. They were also beautiful enough to make humans feel ugly, and easy to hate because of their shameless pride, stubbornness, and bloody-mindedness. The humans began to feel that, could they only destroy the Elwens of Arcadia, they would advance.
In time, their demands for access to Elwen cities and their burning of land Elwen villages led Rowan to declare the War of Acceptance. Humans at first won the battles steadily, because of their greater numbers and the diseases they carried with them, like smallpox, that could attack Elwens. Then Eleriad Deerfriend began winning her battles. Human hatred towards her increased, until they tried to take her down in the Battle of Esshellen. The Lady died, but the land Elwens fought like fire, and the humans effectively lost the War in that battle. A century and a half of sniping and stalemates went on, but the Treaty of Lucinda at last halted the War, four hundred and fifty years after humans had first come to Arcadia.
In the two Ages that followed, humans lay mostly quiet. The Treaty of Lucinda had provided for Elwen occupation forces in human cities and even larger villages, withdrawn only generation by generation as the humans showed they had no interest in attacking the silverbloods again. Some humans lived in villages under Elwen protection; others continued to attempt genocide. The genocide-attempters were usually dealt with very swiftly.
Then the humans, feeling they had gathered their strength and stung to new hatred by the success of their most hated enemies, the Rowanians, under Herran Turnlong, rose once again in the Carar. This battle, the bloodiest in Arcadian history, saw the Elwen races unite remarkably quickly to defeat the human threat. Over a million human soldiers died in the three days of the battle, and after that the Elwens deliberately scattered and relocated the survivors of the race long distances from each other. (For a detailed perspective on this, see the story A Distance From Infinity.)
Humans ceased to have much influence in Arcadia after that, and have been declining ever since. Some bitter tribes still live in the wilderness, as far from Elwens as they can get, despising and hating magic, but others have accepted their inevitable doom. Some deliberately marry Elwens or corame, that their half-blood children might have a better future than they will.
The experiment of the Runeworkers with the humans was anything but a success for their subjects.
