Didn't Lucian send his agent (Ifan) to get the elves out but he didn't make it in time?
I haven't got past chapter 2 yet so this is speculation but, at present, it seems to me that the gods are flawed because they too were mortals - once called eternals. One, Armadia was recognized by Fane as Lady Armadia. Fane says the seven races all have some similarities to eternals in how they appear, there was a comment somewhere or another that referred to a people who just disappeared, Fane mentions that the gods somehow look familiar to him, etc.
