Waylaid Part I : Thieves in the night.

Forward

Once long ago, magic ruled the land.  Not in the law making, ruling the people kind of way, but in the way it was used for just about everything.  From winning wars, to finding fresh sources of water and growing crops.  Only those with the skills or natural talent could yield its awesome power however.
It is said in the history books that in its earliest days, the practitioners of magic gave of their talents freely to any who would ask.  But then slowly over time they began to ask for greater and greater payments for their time and efforts till only those with great wealth and power could afford their services.  This is what is said to have opened the door for magics only true rival, technology.
For centuries, technology took a backseat to magic when it came to doing just about anything.  But over time, technology began to make headway on the evolutionary road of advancement.  Slowly at first, but as magic had mostly became the tool for the rich and powerful, more and more people turned to technology to get the job done.
After years of growth, everyone was using technology, not just those that could not afford to hire a magic user, but the rich and powerful as well.  Unlike magic, technology could be used by anyone.
With technology being used more than ever before, magic began to fade into obscurity.  Fewer and fewer people were willing to go forth on the long road to become a magic user when technology was so much easier to use.  And those did learn stopped selling their magics to the highest bidder, and started living reclusive lives where they could hoard lots of magic items and books.
The decline of magic and its obscurity is what is said to have opened the door for one of histories most hated and reviled foes, Marcus Lifebane.  His fusion of technology and magic caught the world by surprise.
The war was devastating.  No one saw it coming, but they should have.  Everyone was just too wrapped up in their own age old fights that they had been fighting with each other to care about one common, well organized, and heavily armed enemy.
The Elves had always set themselves apart and aloft from everyone else.  Content to keep to themselves deep within the woods.  While the Dwarves stayed in their mountain homes unwilling to trust anyone as a friend.
The Humans on the other hand were far too busy waging their endless wars on everyone around them.  From other Humans, to Orks, to Dwarves, or just about anything else that would increase their various rulers wealth and power.
When Lifebane showed up, he quickly formed an army of followers that were armed with his new magically enhanced weapons, and set out to rule all that lay before him.  That which would not be ruled by him was left totally destroyed.
The Human kingdoms, the kingdoms of the Elves, the tribes of the Orks, it did not matter.  All who would not kneel before him were wiped out before any real battles could even begin.  Even the most powerful of Dragons could not stand up to Lifebane and his armies.
It cost the world a staggering amount of defeats before it was realized that everyone must stand together to fight Lifebane, or all the world would be lost.  So it happened that old enemies came to stand side by side to fight him.  Human kingdoms united under one banner, Dwarves stood side by side with Orks, enen the Elves came out of their woods to help shoulder the burden.
Armed with the most advanced technology they could bring to bare, and the most powerful of ancient magics, the newly united world began to turn the war against Lifebane and his armies.
In the end, Lifebane was defeated.  Lifebane himself had vanished.  No one knew where he had gone, and no one really seemed to care either.  The war was over.
In the wake of the war, the new alliances that were formed did not end or fall apart as was expected by most, they only grew stronger.  Over the next few decades all the different people of the world grew to live together as one.  Sure there were some that went back to their old ways, but they were few indeed.
Everyone kept waiting for Lifebane to return, but he never did.  Soon he was seen only as a legendary note left behind in the books of history.