History of Etheria

The Age of Ancients

( Time Immemorial - ~10,000 BK)

  An age before written history, all we know of this time is of the Ancient Ones. Despite what the name suggests, the Ancient Ones are not a single species but instead a collection of sentient, magically empowered species that are the original inhabitants of Etheria, inhabitants that went on to evolve into the magicats, lizardfolk, seafolk, scorpioni, andreenids, vanara, changelings, fawns and myconids we know today. While certain scholars posit an interplanar origin of the Ancient Ones, these voices are few and far between.   Sometime at around 12,000 BK the first permanent settlements were founded, allowing for larger and larger groups of individuals and importantly sorcerers to gather and about 2000 years later the Age of Ancients ended.  

Spells Age

( ~10,000 BK - ~5000 BK)

The Spells Age begins with our first mentions of the First Ones. It was a time of massive growth for both peoples. Species such as humans, pixies and orcs became just as common as the two groups mixed.   Formal sorcery and the study of magic flourished, with most modern spells able to find their root in the learning that was done during this time.   Kingdoms and Empires rose and fell, the study of both metallurgy and magic allowing more and more devastating weapons, until finally someone pushed too far.  

Dark Age

( ~5000 BK - 1234BK)

The discovery of dark magic ended the Spells Age.   While the world had never necessarily been at peace before, now any mage could cause destruction on a scale unthought of previously. Cities were left in ruins, empires would crumble and kingdoms implode, and all the while, death and devastation fed the creature who had wrought it all in the first place.   It was during this time that Azura, the first Queen, united the warring tribes of magicats and formed Halfmoon, mastering the Mask of Saz and using its bestowed shadow magic to shroud her kingdom in illusions and protect it from the coming darkness.   Records say Azvatis broke into the material plane in 1576 BK, and immediately had legions of shadows, the remnants of corrupted mages left behind after they died, at his command.   Thus started the Great War and for over 300 years Azvatis ruled the remnants of the great cities that used to stand stretching for the sky, while the races of the world hid in the shadows that stretched across the planet. The only places that were able to resist falling were the cities containing the runestones, large gems of such enormous power that even Azvatis could not defeat the scores of mages that were empowered to protect the cities around them. In 1237 BK, the remaining leaders of the various cities, later champions, gathered together in the location of the Moonstone and together came up with a plan to lock Azvatis away.   Using First Ones technology, the peoples built the four elemental guardians, Iyeshi, Glycona, Aeolus, and Tuatha, in secret before gathering all their forces to face Azvatis. They were betrayed, and Azvatis learned of their plan. He attacked the reduced force at the Emberstone, defeating them and corrupting its power.   The fire guardian quickly adjusted to also allow lightning magic to flow through it and in 1234 BK Azvatis was defeated, banished, and all magical portals were closed, lest he find a way to escape back into the material plane.

Age of Strife

( 1234 BK - 0 )

Following Azvatis’ defeat, the 300 years of desolation left the world in a power vacuum. Local warlords fought for domination and much of the knowledge and history Etheria had kept up until that point was lost. Halfmoon became the world’s foremost military power, but remained isolationist, a bastion of stability in an otherwise tumultuous world.

The Founding

( 0 - 234 KE )

The Founding was a period of time that saw the end of the Age of Strife and the organization of regions into the kingdoms that we know today, the oldest being Salineas (Founded 0), followed by Plumeria (Founded 24 KE), Bright Moon (Founded 60 KE), Candella (Founded 60 KE), Mushroom Kingdom (Founded 97 KE), Geolon (Founded 129 KE), Skaleria (Founded 167 KE), Kingdom of Snows (201 KE) and Dryl the youngest (Founded 234 KE).  

Middle Ages

( 235 KE- 977 KE )

The Middle Ages are the period of time following the founding of the Kingdoms. It is an era of petty conflicts, but also of, for the most part, geopolitical stability.   Moments of note include the Crisis of the 4 Kings that engulfed Salineas in 346 KE. A young Mer’s ruling council decided to split the kingdom amongst themselves, one ruling from the Capital, one taking the navy and holding court on an island to the south, and the last moving inland and founding the township of Cascada. The young Mer was secreted out of the castle and raised in Brightmoon until they were of age, returning and confronting the three ministers, only the King of Cascada bent the knee, an event that has led the rulers of that town to use the title Prince or Princess ever since. The other two fought back, starting a war that ended in 367 KE with the defeat and execution of both ministers and the return of the rightful king to the throne of Salineas.   The Mountain Wars between Geolon and Dryl were waged in 432 KE, the Rockfolk devastating and naming the smaller mountain kingdom a tributary.   Halfmoon retained its position as a militaristic bastion but the Brightmoon took over as the center of diplomatic power on Etheria. Foreign ambassadors of every kingdom could be found in its gardens and every great power vied for the Celestial Queen’s attention.   The Snow’s invasion of Plumeria began in 775 KE and left several major cities on both sides in ruins. In 804 KE, due to the fighting nearing Brightmoon’s North West border, a request was sent to the Queen of Halfmoon, and for the first time in an age Halfmoon soldiers left their borders, occupying the disputed lands between the two belligerent kingdoms for 8 years until the Queens of the combatants finally agreed to meet in Brightmoon and sign a treaty.  

Pax Eternia

( 978 KE- 1008 KE)

In 978 KE, visitors from beyond the stars touched down on Etheria, the Eternian Empire.   They brought technology beyond anything any Etherian had ever seen. Setting up bases and outposts across Etheria. Their overwhelming power leading to the cessation of almost all conflict and the beginning of the Eternian Peace (Pax Eternia)   The isolationist tendencies of the Kingdom of Halfmoon led to them being the only kingdom to reject their envoys.   The First Ones, as these people came to be called, worked closely with the Royal Families, presenting the gifts of knowledge and strength, when instead they were using access to the Runestones to complete the Heart of Etheria project.   In 1005 KE the Provisional Squadron posted on the planet raised their banner in rebellion against the empire, starting an insurgency that ended with The Starfall and the start of the Moons’ Age.  

Moons’ Age

( 1009 KE - 2020 KE)

  With the First One’s gone, and the planet moved to Despondos, the accounts of those days turned to legends. Cities sprouted up in the ruins of old outposts, the most famous of these being the Instructionary Kingdom of Mystacor.   The Kingdom’s settled into an uneasy peace amidst the ruins of a civilization they never understood.   Dryl discovered a First Ones science outpost buried in the northern mountains, researching in secret until they had harnessed a fraction of the power the tech contained. In 1945, inventor Cecil B. Heimer made a breakthrough with the technology. The technology was named ShardTech and with it, Dryl was able to shake off the tributary status they had been held in by Geolon. Since then Shardtech has been at the foremost of all Etherian tech.   In 1986, Hordak arrived on Etheria, and would eventually go on to found the Etherian Horde. This began the decades long Horde Wars. This conflict led to the fall of Skaleria, as well as the destruction of Candella, Old Halfmoon, and Salineas.   The First Horde War ended with the destruction of the Fright Zone and Etherian Horde by Horde Prime .  

Rétoiles

(2021 KE - Present)

  In 2021, the Heart of Etheria’s activation by Queen Glimmer of Brightmoon led to Etheria leaving the dimension of Despondos and the return of the Stars. This also started the Second Horde War with Horde Prime’s bots and armadas occupying most of the planet and then almost destroying it before being stopped by the Rebellion under the command of the Princess Alliance.   On March 18th 2022, Azvatis managed to free himself from his prison, starting the Dark War which ended with his defeat and banishment on December 17th of the same year.