A way to end the war with chalced [posible spoilers]

[redchild]

^ Great analysis

There is also the mystery of what happened to the Elderlings and dragons. What happened in the past that wiped them all out? It seemed they had achieved that "balance" yet even they were wiped out. Was it really a natural cataclysm? I highly doubt a single large earthquake could have wiped out the entire species. Perhaps there was some force that subverted the balance that started a domino effect that ultimately destroyed them?

I'd also like to bring up Fermi's paradox, where it is proposed that as a civilization grows in power, it will ultimately reach a point where it will destroy itself. If this is the case for the RotE, then the Fool's mission to bring humanity's wagon out of its rutted track is much more profound. The small changes that contribute to restoring balance, such as those you've described, would also be very important to avoid self-destruction.