The Eternians
After the falling of the Mother, and most importantly the forced evolution that it caused, the Eternians as they are known today began to form. Regarded as the apex predator, evolution favored the large cat species that had, for lack of better term, been trapped with the change in the mountain and ecosystem.
These big cats eventually began to group together and form social groups, and from there the story of evolution is familiar. Hunters became hunter gathers, and societies rose. With every generation, the influence of the Mother became clearly established, until the first recorded event of an Eternian tapping into the Mirror crystals became known.
It became clear as time passed that those who became the Eternians were living much longer, and those that seemed to possess more of the crystals had extended lives. Eventually, these traits began to pass along genetically, until the point that the Eternians became known by the magical crystals that covered their bodies. Once it seemed that evolution had settled one a form for them, the Mother's power continued to show through various influences that worked their way into the Eternian's way of life. At night, the crystals of the Eternians would glow, spreading to the rest of their body as well as their markings, making them and the land around them bioluminescent. After this bioluminescence formed, the Eternians began to discover that their crystals allowed them to influence and shape the elemental shapes around them with magic.
This elemental magic continued to spread throughout the Eternians, displaying itself in vastly different ways. Eventually, this magic caused a division amongst the big cats that made up the otherwise peaceful pride. Despite this, the Eternians suffered no war and maintained their carefully crafted peace for thousands of years. Many of them spent their lives mastering their elemental powers, and many more honed their physical prowesses. A Council was selected, primarily made up of those who were most powerful amongst their castes and elements. Overall, this created a balanced representation for all Eternians.
Until it seemed that these magical abilities and traits favored certain casts of Eternians, which were inherently stronger than their lesser magical brethren. This cause a significant rift in Eternian society, and for thousands of years the various clans separated. Because these traits favored certain big cats over others, the castes that split caused a certain type of "species purity", making the Eternians even different in appearance.
The clans would remain separated until an Eternian with incredible elemental skill was born. They were able to command all the elements with superior levels of control, and together they drew Eternians back from their solitary clans and prides, bringing them together once more as a collective group. This stated a small golden age in Eternian society, and this golden age rapidly improved the lives of all Eternians. They formed the Second Council, modelled after the first successful one, and most importantly led by the powerful Eternian.
Eternian life thrived once more in peaceful happiness, forming large tree top villages and cities that sprawled across the Tholian Jungle. The Mother and the Mirrors became focuses of worship for the Eternians, and all seemed good.. until technology finally made it possible for the outside world to find them. Once discovered, and no longer a secret, the Eternians were a hotbed of gossip and research, as there had never been a species like them before.
Eventually, peaceful endeavors into Eternian society turned into greedy exploits, as Eternians were killed for their crystals and pelts. Soon collectors began to demand them alive, causing the current Council to come to a difficult decision:
The Eternians could remain hidden no longer. Instead, they would have to rejoin the world.
