Albeyn was a prosperous, peaceful and very beautiful kingdom. The hands of nature had forged with great dedication and love its forests, valleys, rivers and mountains. Beautiful landscapes and abundant fertile land surrounded the bustling royal capital, in whose vicinity the smaller towns were scattered, equally enjoying the stability of the great kingdom.

Two races lived together in Albeyn: Humans, and Athralis. Athralis were beings very similar to humans, but with feline characteristics, the most obvious being their ears and tail. According to their legends, it had been their creator, the goddess Ath, who had given them that shape based on her own feline nature.

In spite of their differences, the relationship of both races came from the very beginnings of Albeyn as a kingdom.

Albeyn hadn’t always been the strong and established kingdom it had managed to become after many years. Its founders had forged it with the help of something known as Athesis, special and natural gems of the territory. The magical, healing and strengthening properties of these gems had been a crucial aspect in the built of such a vast kingdom, but it wouldn’t have been achieved in any way if both humans and Atharlis hadn’t worked together.

Since the gems were said to have been a gift from goddess Ath for her children when she created them and inherited them that land, the Athralis were very sensitive to nature, minerals, and especially the Athesis gems, which presence they were the only ones able of sensing. These wonderful gems were incredibly hard to find, but equally useful in many ways, and therefore, extremely valuable.

Those who had taught humans all about how to use the properties of the gems had been none other than the Athralis; and with that, they had marked the beginning of what seemed to be a harmonious and equal coexistence. Many believed that the years coming would bring a prosperous and harmonious alliance between both races.

However, that didn’t happen.

Over the years, the relationship between humans and Athralis started twisting and distorting. It didn’t take too long before the differences between both races caused disputes and intolerance; and soon, humans decided that they couldn’t see the Athralis as their equals.

The situation worsened with time, degenerating more and more the concept humans had towards Athralis until they were completely robbed of their dignity as equals and totally denigrated to inferior beings with no value or rights to be respected. Each new generation of the passing years inherited a new legacy of hatred and disdain for Athralis, finally degrading them to mere objects: Slaves, tools, pets. Never an equal.

Thus, it was natural that little by little Athralis began to scarce more, until they were almost on the verge of extinction. And since they were the only ones able of sensing the valuable Athesis gems, the few who still survived were constantly hunted to be sold to whoever paid the highest price. An Athralis was a very expensive rarity, coveted by nobles as an ornament or pet, or by mercenaries, merchants and any other interested in taking advantage of their abilities related to the gems.

And although in the midst of this turbulent society there was always a minority of humans that could appreciate more sensitively their relationship with the Athralis, in hundreds of years it had never been heard again of anyone who saw an Athralis as their equal...

Even worse, as something more special than that.