"Ah, so you want to know about Oerth, do you?" Byarl says, smiling - his fangs look rather sharp. "Well, Oerth is a strange and wonderful place where animals walk on two feet, and speak. Not all, mind you - there are six races of intelligent beings here on Oerth... No, I can't count them all to you. You'll have to explore and find out for yourself! But be warned - the Wild Wood, vast as it is, is merely one small part of an even larger world..." Byarl replies, and smiles again as he continues.
"Here in the Wild Wood is where our story begins." Byarl explains, gesturing around him. "It is an ancient forest my people discovered ages and ages ago. Our legends say our people are a band of Mustelids that came from the jungles of the far south. They migrated north back at the dawn of time, when magic was in the breath of every being and gods walked Oerth." You nod as Byarl continues his story.
"They made this great migration because one of our chiefs had, in that now long-ago time, seen a bright star flare in the sky, and said it was an omen to go north. The other chiefs disagreed, and stayed in the south. Our people found that moving north was a good decision, because the food was plentiful. Unfortunately, there were many bears and other wild things, and it was many generations before our people could truly be called the Masters of the Wild Woods." Byarl says, shaking his furry head for a moment before he continues.
"Many, many lifetimes later, the legends say the Mouse-people arrived. Our people saw them first as possible prey, as they were virtually defenseless. Then, just as we were gathering to begin the hunt, a raven cawed. The Great Chief Lonarr looked, and the trees nearby were full of ravens. This would be expected at an enormous hunt - the feasting for the scavengers would be very great - but the ravens weren't watching the mice. They were watching the musties, and sitting there silently. Lonarr ruled this was a Sign, and an Omen. He ordered all the musties to put away their killing-clubs, slings and other hunting tools, and instead approach the mice with the open paws of friendship." Byarl says, then pauses.
"And in that moment, our history was changed...." he finishes quietly.