"Who and whence came, the Others?"
Jacob brought them to the Island. That was quite a major part of Season 6. Jacob brings people to the island to prove the Man in Black wrong about human nature. When Richard arrives, he makes him his representative and the "Others" form as a group (under the leadership or Richard and then other people).
"What is this island?"
If Jacob is to be believed, it is the place that separates darkness (i.e. Hell) from the normal world. The light source is the only thing that prevents this evil from spreading, and when the Man in Black was thrown into it, the evil managed to manifest itself in him (through his anger and hatred) and the Smoke Monster was created. Due to the "rules" the smoke monster couldn't leave the island since the light source was still active, and so had to kill the protector by manipulating his followers.
"What the hell is going on?"
That depends on which part of the series you mean. Pretty much the entire show is based around destiny and people being brought together. Jacob is looking for replacements as he knows the Man in Black will eventually find a way to kill him, and so he finds the people who live (or will live) empty lives, always being alone in some way. These people become candidates and are given numbers, and Jacob alters their lives so they will find themselves on the Island. The Man in Black can't kill the candidates directly (or perhaps only under some circumstances like with Eko...if Eko was a candidate) so he must manipulate people in order to do so.
It is clear (at least it is heavily implied) that the man at Jacob's cabin is not Jacob, but the Man in Black, since Christian Shepherd appears there, and the "shadowy" man who Locke sees bears a striking resemblance to the Man in Black. Jacob specifically says that he never talks to the Others directly, only through Richard. The Man in Black however does not follow such rules.
Jacob brought them to the Island. That was quite a major part of Season 6. Jacob brings people to the island to prove the Man in Black wrong about human nature. When Richard arrives, he makes him his representative and the "Others" form as a group (under the leadership or Richard and then other people).
"What is this island?"
If Jacob is to be believed, it is the place that separates darkness (i.e. Hell) from the normal world. The light source is the only thing that prevents this evil from spreading, and when the Man in Black was thrown into it, the evil managed to manifest itself in him (through his anger and hatred) and the Smoke Monster was created. Due to the "rules" the smoke monster couldn't leave the island since the light source was still active, and so had to kill the protector by manipulating his followers.
"What the hell is going on?"
That depends on which part of the series you mean. Pretty much the entire show is based around destiny and people being brought together. Jacob is looking for replacements as he knows the Man in Black will eventually find a way to kill him, and so he finds the people who live (or will live) empty lives, always being alone in some way. These people become candidates and are given numbers, and Jacob alters their lives so they will find themselves on the Island. The Man in Black can't kill the candidates directly (or perhaps only under some circumstances like with Eko...if Eko was a candidate) so he must manipulate people in order to do so.
It is clear (at least it is heavily implied) that the man at Jacob's cabin is not Jacob, but the Man in Black, since Christian Shepherd appears there, and the "shadowy" man who Locke sees bears a striking resemblance to the Man in Black. Jacob specifically says that he never talks to the Others directly, only through Richard. The Man in Black however does not follow such rules.
