History
Back an age, when Humans were little known in the world, the Elves and the Dwarves were on far better terms. Their societies enjoyed strong trade and friendship, and in their greatest endeavor they joined together to build a city standing between their two societies; a place where Elf and Dwarf could live together in unity. They named it Omentien Numenalu, meaning "Meeting at Westwater." The city was a marvel, thriving for thousands of years. However, near the end of the Great War, the great city was abandoned. No Dwarf or Elf is yet known to live who had seen it, so no one knows quite what happened. Stories and legends of the city remain, and all claim that it was destroyed by some great tragedy. There are many such stories, and each one is different. However, the one certain result of the loss of the great city of Omentien Numenalu was that Dwarves and Elves no longer trusted each other. From then on, the two peoples went their separate ways.
Malketh was a Human and former warlord who sought greater fortunes than were offered by the roving nomads and small city-states of the Human lands. Even among the humans, the legend of Omentien Numenalu was still told, and Malketh wanted to see it. The great city was gone, but in the mind of this ambitions human leader, it was the perfect site for mankind to found a kingdom that would be its salvation--a new human kingdom to begin a new age. He visited first the Dwarves and then the Elves, asking for each to join with them in retaking the city, but each refused. To their memories, the city was a site of tragedy, and they did not yearn to return to it to sift through the ashes, even after so long. Warning of the danger of such an attempt, they told the Humans that if they could restore the city--which Malketh had already begun to call "Omenaru"--then they could have it so long as they could keep it. Malketh accepted this and left, gathering his forces. Before his companions he took an oath that the city would be theirs, naming himself ever after "Malketh Omensworn." He then led his forces into the ruins. To the surprise of both Elf and Dwarf, the Humans succeeded. Malketh led his small army of men to victory against the dangerous creatures of the valley, and they occupied the old ruins of the city.
The city was reborn under the Humanized name of Omenaru in 2501, and within a few years it had become a small but thriving settlement. It came to be known as the City of Omens, as the bay before it had come to be called. The city became a symbol to Humans everywhere, and they began to come to it in droves. While some scholars, particularly certain parties in Lyne, would paint it as a pure human achievement, the truth is that while the Elves and Dwarves were not involved, politically speaking, many of their people were, and Omenaru was a truly diverse society. Yet, Malketh had struck an iconic, even mythical chord within his race. Within a decade, Omenaru had become a thriving town, and Malketh had been named king, abandoning his former title of High Lord.
Malketh ruled for seventy-six years, steadily consolidating the kingdom from the eastern shores of the Bay of Omens in the west to the Teliosan River in the east. The northernmost settlement was the holy city of Lumens Thelaris, and the Humans' territory stretched southward beyond the Elvish outpost of Numentir, to the Astorian River at the border of the Wilwaro Forest. Malketh gained great renown as a leader of wisdom and vision, leading Omenaru to great prosperity under his rule. Malketh remained healthy and cogent well beyond his centenary, until his death in the year 2577 at the age of 113. He was entombed within the city he rebuilt, and is still regarded the greatest hero of Humanity since the Great War. (It should be noted, however, that some scholars assert that the myth of Malketh the great human hero is just that--his longevity, they claim, hints that he may have had some blood coming from Dwarvish or Elvish stock, or that of aother more long-lived race.)