The Naga changed Einarth before they ever claimed a homeland.

Their creation had already shown what divine power could do to mortal life. Two human children and a serpent had been transformed into something entirely new by Yaroth’s uncontrolled fear.

Nothing about that could be undone and it changed the way mortals thought about magic.

Until then, magic had been something associated with the gifts, teachings, and wonders the Divines had brought into the world. The Naga proved that magic could have far reaching, permanent effects in a single moment.

The descendants of the first Naga reinforced that lesson. Every new generation was a reminder that magic could leave permanent marks on Einarth.

The rest of the world did not respond well. Wherever the Naga went, they were met with fear and suspicion. Towns turned them away; settlements drove them out. The other races often judged them by the circumstances of their creation before knowing anything else about them. As time went on, that rejection became twisted into hatred.

The Naga had no homeland and little reason to believe anyone would willingly give them one. Generations of suspicion hardened into resentment, and resentment eventually became determination. If Einarth would not make room for them, they would make room for themselves.

The Rith’yar became their target. They were viewed as an easy target due to their small stature and lack of military strengtht. Their jungle home on the Jungaran Peninsula was the perfect habitat for the fledgling race.

The Naga attacked the peninsula and forced them from their homeland changing the history of two races.

The Naga gained the land they had been denied elsewhere, and the Rith’yar began an exile that would last for generations.

The creation of the Naga also changed the way other races understood transformation. If magic could create a new race once, it could happen again; the boundary between what a mortal was and what magic could make them had already been broken. That knowledge could not be forgotten.

The Naga wrought chaos on the political world of Einarth as well. Their search for a homeland changed borders. Their conflict with the Rith’yar changed alliances. Their continued existence proved that magical transformation could become permanent enough to pass from one generation to the next.

By the middle of the Age of Magic, the Naga were no longer known only as the result of Yaroth’s mistake; they had become a political power in their own right.

And Einarth had already begun dealing with the consequences.

Next week, we will look at the price that came with mortal magic, and what happened when those who wielded it pushed beyond their limits.