In the modern era, Aeln are widely accepted to be extinct, that is, by anyone who believes they were ever real at all. In truth, the history of Aeln and mankind goes back far further than the Kelzen and Antlem—all the way back to the mother world from which all humans hailed from: Earth.

On Earth centuries ago, in the valley of the Hemwood, the Aeln first emerged from their home to dominate the realm of man. Two brothers, the fearsome Wolf and the sovereign Alder King, fought for supremacy of the Hemwood and the humans who lived there, but Aeln are not the only mysterious things lurking in the Hemwood. From the desirous machinations of man did something new from the murky soil emerge: the much coveted Rose of Landow.