Millennia ago, a sect of Elves traveled from the Ironlands to The Old World after being banished. They intermingled some of the inhabitants, and before long half-Elves were born. Eventually, a sickness struck this group that the Skulde were immune too thanks to their Iron blood. But the Elves on the continent were wiped out. The half-Elves eventually decided to take the continent by force, believing in the superiority of their race over the human-blooded inhabitants of The Old World, forcing many to flee to the cursed Ironlands. This group became known as the Ironlanders. They believe that the Skulde would never travel to the Ironlands after their ancestors were banished.
However, one Skulde was brought among the Ironlanders: Kova Lensdatter was found as a baby during a raid of a Skulde settlement in The Old World just before the Ironlanders set off. She now lives among the Ironlanders, though most do not consider her one of them even despite the fact that she knew very little of Skulde culture.