What is widely known about the First Partition is this. In the year 77 most of the continent of Teraf had been conquered by humanity. Warfare between the colonists was becoming increasingly common, however, as new land ran out. The territories of the various clans and tribes had yet to be settled; new arrivals were challenging the rights of the existing occupants. So the chieftains of the settlers met to definitively settle the boundaries of their lands. The ensuing treaty was the first formal division of Teraf into nation-states. It was also another declaration of mankind's possession of Teraf; although the Dwarf kingdom of Bedral was also recognised and Moonwood and Bladebranch Forests, the Icy Wastes, the Zanzin Mountains and the north of the Noriscan Peninsular were simply marked 'Wild Lands'. A cynical footnote to this account adds that Kakranfé and Labland started as soon as they left the conference hall and have been fighting ever since.
The resulting map of Teraf is quite similar to the one of 133, though there have inevitably been changes. Jurland, the dominant force of Teraf's early years, has vanished completely, carved up by an expanded Erenland and the new nation of Charlae. Tangland has also disappeared, mostly into the ocean during Narlan's Revenge, though sort of resurrected as Grail. Labland has shrunk almost as dramatically as Kakranfé has grown. Norisca has swelled too, at the expense of Bedral and a lot of Wild Lands. Dorlaf, Zabrial, Elsey, Notruf, New Duncan (now Gesund) and Lithuene (now Schall) remain with similar borders, albeit as mere provinces of Christoté. By contrast Astmad has fragmented into a dozen states. Nissal is, surprisingly, perhaps the most stable nation. After enduring conquest by two empires and fighting countless wars, it continues in much the same shape and size.
What isn't known about the First Partition, meanwhile, is a lot more. Where it took place, for one. Popular legend generally places it in a manor house at the conveniently location of Porinté, central Erenland. Other legends challenge this, however, and most countries claim that the First Partition was agreed somewhere inside their boundaries. Some scholars argue that the notion of a single conference was unlikely in those wild times. The First Partition is usually said to be the brainchild of a Jurick diplomat called Dydac Portousse. One theory has Portousse travelling across Teraf for years, meeting the scattered chieftains individually and trying to get them to agree to a single model.
If, that is, anything was signed at all. The treaty itself was lost long ago. So was the first map the drawing which has been used as the model of the First Partition, now kept in the Macronom in Erenland, has done on seventh century parchment. It isn't known how faithful this replica was, if one king was persuaded to sign one map, another a different one; or really, if the First Partition was ever anything more than a fanciful statement by Dydac Portousse. And even if a lot of men did meet in a hall, it's unclear how legitimate they were. Did, for example, the king of Jurland really speak for the people of Grencolé or Eberlan when he claimed they were in his domain? Had he even earned this right through conquest yet?
For a long time these were more than academic debates. Whatever it's origins, the First Partition soon became famous and so did the map it produced. Like every part of humanity's conquest of Teraf, it acquired a quasi-religious importance. To not exist at the First Partition was to not be a proper nation. This was used to deny independence to regions like Grencolé and Eberlan, and also Hyath, Craiglothe and Olbrack. They in turned claimed to exist on some 'real' First Partition map which had been destroyed. Inevitably, many details of the borders were also challenged. Zabrial, for example, denied with some justification that Dorlaf had ever held any part of the Green Sea coast. If the rumours are right about Portousse getting different kings to sign off different maps, it's possible that every side is correct.
Over time, though, the bargaining power of the First Partition has faded. New agreements were made; new countries did emerge and gained their legitimacy through simple force of arms. Nowadays the First Partition is mostly of interest to academics. It is generally used as the starting point of 'proper' Terafan history; rather than the year 0 and following decades, about which even less is known. Some scholars cling to the popular legend and marvel that all the rulers of humanity were at one time able to gather in a single place and make a common agreement. Though some point out that, by dividing mankind up so finally, these idealists made it much less likely the event would ever be repeated.