[ WP ] Describe a fantasy world devoid of the usual stereotypes : where dwarves do n't live underground , orcs and ogres are not savage brutes and dragons are neither dumb beasts nor hyperintelligent ancient beings .

( I'd like to do a narrative but that would n't explore much of the world, so here's a bit of forced exposition. ) 
 
 The sun flared bright red mere years ago. It grew three times its original size in mere years. The moon tore itself apart. 
 
 No one really knows why. Some thing it's just a natural phenomenon. Generally those believers were sacrificed in volcanoes to the Sun God or in more interesting places to darker gods. None have so much as peeped a word much less an explanation. 
 
 So the land is burning. The icy north is melting. The tides no longer change. The winds are angry all the time. 
 
 Life was failing until the first Shard fell. 
 
 It was found by a benevolent Mage-King in the north. His city was faltering, albeit slower than everyone else. Most were retreating underground, though everyone knew that was only a short term solution. 
 
 Albrecht the Third gathered the Wizards and Warlocks of every race who would come - Man, Orc, Elf, Ogre, and even Dragon and Zombie. It was a time of desperation and a time for old enmities to give way, though Skeletons and Wights obviously did n't care at all. 
 
 The first Dome was powered by that Shardfall. An object of incredible Celestial mana, each Shard became the Anchor of a Dome. Inside the Dome, the Mages could cool and calm the air. They could collect the water and still the earth. More advanced mages could even create food from nothing. The experiment was an incredible success and gave the first glimmer of hope in a decade. 
 
 It also spawned the Shard Wars. 
 
 They fell slowly, these pieces of the former Moon Goddess. Kingdoms across the world fought bitterly for each Shard big enough to house a Dome. Where large realms had held together in solidarity, clinging to anything that resembled authority in the times of peril, now every city poured every resource into obtaining a Shard. 
 
 Battles raged when Shardfall was sighted. The land was blighted from more than just the Scorching. Armies would melt against each other as valiant men and women attempted to secure their homes and kin from the fiery Sun. 
 
 The blood of every race darkened the ground. Cities split along race lines: a neighboring Orc city would gain a Shard and suddenly every Orc in the town was an enemy. The melting pots separated. Even though those foreign cities would n't take in their kin - the Domes are only so big after all, many Orcs, Humans, Ogres, and others were forced into the wilderness. 
 
 Interestingly, Dragons, Dwarves, and Halflings never fell to this sort of xenophobic exile since their kind had never had cities of their own. 
 
 The Peace of Mount Aranar came too late. Shards came less often and were often too small for a Dome. The population of the world had plummeted. That is, the living population. The Undead Alliance had seen weakness. And they never let weakness last very long. 
 
 The Third War of the Living began four years into the Time of City States and mere days after the Shard Peace. 
 

