Humans

History
In the Second Age, a cabal of Dwarven Sorcerers succeeded in their goal of empowering a specially-created flesh-golem with sentience, which they named Human.

Dwarven industry had already grown to massive proportions, and the Dwarven leadership realized that they could not properly take advantage of their technology without help. Dwarves have very long life expectancies, and the average Dwarf does not reach maturity for centuries; Their rate of expansion was very quickly exceeding their ability to maintain the Dwarven Empire.

For hundreds of years, the Dwarves had employed Golems, magically-created beings shaped from stone or clay with limited abilities to take orders and complete tasks. However, these beings were extremely difficult to create, they had a limited lifespan, and they required one or more Sorcerers to maintain control at all times.

To solve these problems, it was determined that a race of sentient beings would be needed; people who could actually understand what needs to be done and be able to do it. They would need to be capable of biological reproduction and, most critically, independent thought. In order to maintain compliance, the Humans would physically be very fragile. To ensure a large workforce, they would have a relatively short gestation period (9 months versus 4-5 years for Dwarves) and would also mature to adulthood very quickly (15 years versus 200-300 years for Dwarves). This did mean that the Humans would have a much more limited lifespan (usually less than 100 years), but the Dwarves could ensure that there were always enough people to satisfy their needs.

It is not known precisely how the Dwarves were able to accomplish their task, though rumors abound. It did not take long, however, for the fact of the Humans' existence to become known. Dwarven strongholds were suddenly filled to the brim and abuzz with activity, with scores of Dwarven soldiers attended by Human servants. Dwarven industrial projects, such as excavations or deforestations, sprang to life with Dwarven foremen shouting orders to Human workers. Some Dwarven Generals even ordered Humans to the front lines as cannon fodder during battles.

The Elves were steadfastly against the enslavement of Humans from the beginning, and they have frequently come to the aid of Humanity. Most recently, this has manifested in the creation of the Human Underground, which, though it began as a social movement, has ultimately become a major faction in their own right.

Two hundred years ago, a group of secret operatives from the Elven Alliance were able to foment enough resistance within the Human slave ranks to stage a major revolt. This was so successful that the Humans managed to overpower their Dwarven overlords, freeing the majority of the Human slaves from captivity and crippling the Dwarven Empire in the process. Within a decade, the Dwarven Empire crumbled and fell to in-fighting, leaving the freed Humans to their own devices. During this time, most of the Dwarves who still had Human slaves did their best to keep the status quo, with the notable exception of the Sea Dwarves. The Sea Dwarves renounced slavery entirely and freed their remaining Human slaves, instead offering them gainful employment or safe passage out of Dwarven lands. It should be noted that many Humans did choose to stay with the Sea Dwarves, and even today it is common to find Humans working alongside Sea Dwarves.