Minotaurs

Minotaur Male
Minotaur Female

With their great libraries, intricate and powerful legislature, and their impressive physique, the Minotaurs are seen by many as the strongest, most advanced and organized race. Although they are deadly warriors and expert tacticians, Minotaurs prefer the scholarly life, and initially settled on Etherea to slake their undying thirst for knowledge. The Elders encouraged the exploration of the new lands, both to gain new knowledge and increase the glory and renown of their race.
Yet, unbeknownst to most, there were a number of Elders who used their minions for more sinister machinations.

Striking out boldly soon proved to be an advantageous and highly lucrative move for the Minotaurs. Strange minerals, wondrous alloys and other unknown or long-forgotten materials provided a vital boost to economy, culture and research, and were soon exported en masse to the Homelands, where creations of great artistic and architectural skill should soon to follow.
It was the Minotaur race who initially commissioned the construction of the Central City of Etherea, a common ground for all the intelligent races of Etherea to reside and debate. However, even during this height of civilization, there were those among the Minotaurs who sought to do all in their power to foil these plans.

As word reached the Minotaur Elders of the other races entering the new lands, they quickly reached the conclusion that the Sorcerer must have initiated the Return. In a drastic step to prevent the corruption of their way of life, and to forestall any threat to their Homelands, the Elders issued laws to keep any Minotaur from taking the journey to Etherea. Those Minotaurs already settled in the new lands were suddenly and irrevocably cut off from their home. Forced to put their traditions and laws to the test, these settlers created governments to guard and protect themselves, to further their search for knowledge, and encourage the advancement of arts, science and military theory.
However, the sudden secession of the new colonies from the Homelands had finally torn the Elders apart, with one faction intent on learning everything possible about Etherea and their one-time foe, the Sorcerer, while the hardliners were set on maintaining a choke hold on expansion into the new lands.

Panterrans

Panterran

When the Panterrans had last been encountered by the other races, they had been little more than sleek, agile hunters, deadly but primitive. In time, however, the cat people have evolved into a tightly structured tribal society eager to venture out of the Homelands and claim their share of the new lands.

The hunger for empire stood in stark contrast to the ancient vows of isolationism the Elders had enforced for decades, however. Secretly, even their ambition had been sparked, and a few Elders saw the opening of the Portals as a quick way to power and fame.
The Panterrans are a society governed by strict rules and ancient traditions. Influence and power are awarded to those Panterrans who show prowess in combat - either amongst the tribes, or against the common enemy. With the advent of the Return, however, wily Panterrans have found that the acquisition of knowledge from the other races is just as quick a route to power as is luck on the battlefield.

To venture into Etherea means to forsake the Homelands forever. No Panterran is permitted to return to the tribal lands, and those who try are quickly dealt with. While the Panterrans see themselves more than able to deal with any threat they might face as a whole, they are still bound by their vow, and by their traditions.
The Panterran Elders agree that the Portals may have been opened by the Sorcerer or one of his minions, but have put the thought aside until a confrontation seems inevitable. For now, they are more interested in expanding their influence in the new lands without falling ill of their vow.

Elves

Elf

Claiming to be the penultimate melange of both the physical and the magical world, the Elves regard the other races partly with pitty, partly with scorn. While their peers are of a different mind regarding this statement, no one can deny that among all the races, the Elves are most intimately in tune with Nature. Their innate bond with the force of life has given rise to a unique way of life.

Xenophobic to the extreme, the Elven Elders were dismayed at the opening of the Portals, fearing that their people and their way of life would invariably become tainted with the influence of the lesser races. In an attempt to prevent the Return, the Elders named those Elves who ventured from the Homelands outcasts, and spread a plethora of stories - some simply exaggerated, some outright lies - to keep others from leaving.
However, the propaganda was not to last, and soon the Elders were forced to perform an ancient ritual that called the other races' Elders to a magickal meeting. Here it was agreed that all settlers on Etherea would be prohibited from returning to the Homelands, and trespassers killed.

Those Elves who had forsaken their ancient homes and dared the Return now desperately longed for a new way of life, a re-ascension to perfection, and once again a connection to a clean and healthy Nature. However, this lofty goal brought with it another, more basic need: To obliterate everything that stood in their way.
Although the Elves possess a number of advantages over the other races, their greatest ally is Nature, and they prefer to rely on her support. While from an outside view, Elves may seem pompous, idealistic or even fanatical, it is their belief that they are fighting the just war, and nothing can convince them otherwise.

Humans

Human

At first glance, humans may seem inferior to the other races. They are not as strong as the Minotaurs, nor as quick as the Panterrans or as magickally gifted as the Elves. But for all their inadequacies, humans have always held a trump up their sleeve.
Humans are so diverse that they can overcome nearly any obstacle. They are the technologically most advanced race, and have a strong aptitude for the mercantile business, making them one of the wealthiest races in the new lands. Human products are manufactured according to the highest standards, and there is scarcely a field of expertise where humans are not the undisputed leaders. Although they are quickly copied by the other races, humans are always one step ahead of their peers, and maintain a crucial edge, most importantly on the battlefield.
Humanity's most crippling weakness is its greed. While its artisans are driven to create the most magnificent wonders of the civilized world, there are those who would seek to profit from selling them to the highest bidder - no matter the race.

The Human Elders were initially intimidated by the Portals' opening, thinking themselves ill-prepared for the attack they were convinced was soon to follow. In a frantic attempt to make their race as inconspicuous as humanly possible, they were the second to abandon their settlers, and to prohibit their people from joining the Return.
However, the basic human curiosity - and to a large part, their inherent greed - led many to disobey the Elders and proceed to settle on Etherea nonetheless.
The human settlers quickly learned to fortify their outposts. At the same time, their technology - inspired by strange new raw materials abundant on Etherea - advanced at an alarming rate. The other races soon found the human outposts were best to be avoided, as the range of human weapons was far superior to most of their own, and the well-trained human units, though small, could withstand greater forces with ease.
While humans may appear physically and magically weak, their adaptive minds and innovative technology are more than a match for any other race.