The Wood Elf realm of Athel Loren is all that remains of the once numerous Elven colonies of the Old World. Millennia ago, when the Elves and Dwarfs fought their long and bitter war, most of these colonies were destroyed. The Elves left the Old World to face new troubles at home, where war was brewing between the High Elves and the Dark Elves. However, not all the Elves abandoned the colonies; a few retreated instead into the vastness of Loren Forest. They were to become the Asrai, the Wood Elves.

Today, the Wood Elves shun contact with other races and show no mercy to those who invade their woodland realm or who cause malicious damage to its trees. The space around their realm is distorted by means of strange enchantments, so that it is almost impossible to enter Athel Loren without the leave of the Wood Elves themselves. Any that wander unwelcome into the greenwoods soon meet with an untimely end.