World Timeline

Approximately 150 years after the conclusion ofThe First Dragon War, an empire was formed of the Mortals who survived. It was so long ago that historians debate about the specifics of this empire, but it is known it was the main force of Mortals in the Second Dragon War.   This empire was a reaction to the events of the The First Dragon war, seemingly having been developed to unify the mortals and prepare for the return of the Dragons.

Approximately a century after the end of The Second Dragon War, those Dragons who sought to live alongside Mortals signed a pact with The First Empire, desiring to work with mortals toward living in harmony within the Emergent Plane

The Champions had become arrogant, thinking themselves masters of the world. Mortals had driven back the Chromatic Dragons, and had built their whole civilization from nothing. In their arrogance, the Mortals desired a world free of the oversight of their deities, thinking themselves to have "outgrown" the Gods which sired them. In an act of unprecedented and misguided ambition, the leaders of this great civilization banded together and altered The Script such that these supreme divine beings were forever barred from The Emergent Plane.   This severing of the tie between the Gods and the Emergent Plane had cataclysmic effects on the world, shattering the single landmass of Isvanyr into continents and killing large swaths of the population in the following natural disasters. The aftermath of this action continues to ripple through the plane of Mortals even to this day, and even the least devout of Mortals would struggle to deny that this might have been one of the greatest cataclysms in the history of the world. Once again, a working of powerful magic irrevocably changed the course of history: A conclave of arrogant Dragons invited the Gods into the Emergent Plane, and a conclave of arrogant Mortals banished them once again.

Around 1200 ADD, after the beginning of the civil war that split The First Empire and the event referred to as "The Sundering", the dragons who had previously helped bring the first mortal civilization to its zenith seem to have lost faith in the mortal species, and disappeared into the fringes of the world. Some went into hiding, others simply left, but we know the dragons by and large cut ties with The First Empire around the same time as The Sundering.

Some spread further during the Great Diffusion, seeking untouched lands far from the former First Empire. Over a little under a century, we begin to see records of three more kingdoms: Yvach'qell, Morannir, and Daelus.

The Dwarven kingdom of Ghoran-Tor, upon seeing that war was once again upon the world, sealed their stone doors and retreated into their underground homes.   According to Dwarven tales, some of the oldest in the world, their people saw the resurgence of war amongst themselves happening once again in the nations of mortals, and instead focused their efforts on what they felt was a greater threat: Their ancient enemies, the Demons.   There is no record of interactions between Ghoran-Tor and the other kingdoms after this point.

After the Kalaevaan-Aethosa armistice, Daelus began to rapidly lose to Kalaevaan, an entire third of the territory of Daelus now being held by their enemy.   Daelus sued for peace with Kalaevaan, conceding significant resources and all conquered territory.

Morannir experienced a civil war, for reasons not entirely clear. By best approximation, it seemed to be class or racially-based, and might be more accurately called a revolution.   The civilization of Morannir split, becoming the factions of Thallyn and Drakkor. Some 20 years later, an armistice was signed, with both factions becoming their own independent kingdoms.

By 2250 ADD, Kalaevaan had fully restructured its society towards the pursuit of understanding the mysteries of the arcane. Their major cities each specialized in a different school of Arcane study, and they quickly gained a reputation as the most powerful spellcasters in the known world.

Daelus, still slighted by Aethosa abandoning them to Kalaevaan, uses the rumors of a dragon attacking Aethosa to declare war on their former ally, conquering some of their territory and effectively reshaping Daelus significantly from where they began at the advent of the Age of Strife.

The small nation of Thallyn had long sought to expand their borders, and wanted to do so without inciting another war with Drakkor, their rival sister-nation from the Civil War of Morannir.   When word of Aethosa holding back three nations in a continuing war reached eventually reached Thallyn, the small nation grew ambitious. Expecting Kalaevaan to have underestimated them, Thallyn attacked Kalaevaan from the opposite side, putting the Arcane-focused nation into a war on either side of its territory.

Some time shortly after Aethosa refocused their efforts on Yvach'qell, Kalaevaan's studies into the Arcane underpinnings of the world revealed something to them. Something they found concerning enough that they almost immediately began evacuating their population from the regions nearest to Thallyn, leaving only minimal forces in the regions to defend what could reasonably be defended.   The best conclusion that can be reached is that Kalaevaan discovered the effects of The Sundering on the Arcane. Something they saw in The Script seems to have caused the individuals in power to suddenly believe this Herald of the Flame was an apocalyptic figure, that needed to be stopped at all costs.

The fall of Yvach'qell confirmed the suspicions of the Divination Mages in Kalaevaan that the Herald of Flame was an incredible threat.   Knowing that they needed to focus their efforts on Aethosa while the Herald was in Yvach, Kalaevaan organized, as best as can be surmised, a secret meeting with Drakkor. It seems the agreement made between the two nations brought Drakkor into the war with their old enemy of Thallyn, with Kalaevaan supplying Drakkor with the results of their Arcane Study in the form of magical weaponry and texts.   With this, the war between the two former factions of Morannir began once again, and Kalaevaan began advancing its forces into Aethosa.

As the known world erupted into full-scale war, Daelus was still fighting against the ravenous Orc Warhost wreaking havoc across the their lands.   Having already accepted they would likely lose their territory gained from Aethosa and moved their main force to stop the Orcs, Daelus seems to have finally pushed back the warbands around the year 2444 ADD, as it seems their armies begin to move back across Daelus yet again to continue their war with Aethosa. Not much is known about the details of this battle, but it seems as if an important Warchief of the Orcs was slain, causing their host to splinter back into warring tribes.   The Horde was driven back into the wilds, but this conflict with the Orcs would prove to shape the future of the region considerably throughout this age and the next.

Once Drakkor had taken the capital, the command structure of Thallyn was thrown into chaos.   Thallyn had overextended in their conquest of Kalaevaan, seeing an opportunity they felt they could not afford to ignore. They left enough of their military stationed in the important forts and towns on the borders of Drakkor to defend themselves, or so they thought. However, they also knew they'd need to dedicate a significant amount of their military might to invade Kalaevaan due to the defenders having a reputation for proficiency in Arcane warfare.   What they had not counted on, however, was Kalaevaan pulling Drakkor into the war and supplying the country with Kalaevaan's Arcane advancements.   Kalaevaan had left bait, and Thallyn had taken it eagerly.   In their campaign to expand their territory and carve out a swath of Kalaevaan, Thallyn had spread its forces across multiple settlements of varying distance from each other. Eventually they reached the interior of their enemy's land, where they discovered that they could no longer progress without extended sieges and costly battles.   Meanwhile, the forces of Drakkor, bolstered by their Arcane benefactors, were taking settlements that Thallyn expected to hold them off for months in the span of weeks.   The armies of Thallyn participating in the campaign began to see desertion in droves, some soldiers trying to return home while others saw the writing on the wall and wanted to make a life elsewhere while they could.

Daelus had not made a major offensive against Aethosa in some time, due to the invasion of Orcs on the other side of their territory.   However, despite Aethosa having been embroiled in a war with Yvach'qell for decades and Daelus being raiding by the Orc Hordes, the war between the two nations which began many years ago never actually ended.   While the main forces of the two nations were elsewhere, the territory of Aethosa initially conquered by Daelus at the beginning of the war was still contested and had experience multiple smaller battles and changing of ownership over the duration of the war.   After a long hiatus, upon the return of the main force of Daelus to the Aethosan border, their war resumed in earnest. The forces of Daelus were led by a heroic warrior that had gained the title of "Hand of Daelus" during the campaign to drive off the Orcs, and leading the forces of Daelus, they swore to put an end to the war with Aethosa and triumph over the Herald of the Flame.   Based on the timing, it is assumed that word of the return of the forces of Daelus to Aethosan territory is what prompted the early withdrawal of Aethosa from The Battle of Tethrain Field.

The recent years made it clear that Aethosa's destruction was immiment.   Kalaevaan was still in their territory, recovering from the large-scale battle with the forces of Aethosa that left both of their main forces at less than half their strength.   Meanwhile, Daelus, led by their war hero, was marching toward the capital.   And, as if the situation wasn't dire enough, The Herald of Flame was returning, seemingly having turned traitor and gained the loyalty of a significant percentage of formerly-Aethosan forces over the campaign in Yvach'qell.   The nail in the coffin for anyone holding out hope was the death of the Aethosan king. Their cause of death is unclear, but the two most likely options seem to be assassination, or suicide. Either way, this only further solidified the imminent doom that Aethosa now faced.

The armies of Thallyn were in disarray, and in enemy territory. Word had reached their commanders that the capital, Erutak, had been taken by the forces of Drakkor, and furthermore, that the main force of Kalaevaan was returning.   Lacking the information that Kalaevaan was not in fact returning to combat the forces of Thallyn, the commanders of the army had grown resentful of their ruler. Their actions thus far had been reckless, and now when the consequences of those actions arose, they were now indecisive.   The king of Thallyn, who'd been travelling with the army, mysteriously disappears from history in 2454 ADD, and the forces are taken over by one of Thallyn's generals after this point. One can only assume that the malcontent generals are responsible for their king's death.   This then caused a schism among the remaining forces of Thallyn. Some commanders joined together with the intent to return to Erutak, mustering the troops they could and beginning their journey. Others, however, took their own forces and disbanded from the army.   While there is not a clear record of what happened to these soldiers who left, it is likely that they largely became vagabonds in Kalaevaan, mercenaries, or went off to settle regions at the edges of civilization.

In the year 2456, the Kalaevaan city of Nerekhana fell to a cataclysmic event. Kalaevaan had long dedicated itself to the study of magic, and this pursuit of of mastery over the arcane fostered a culture of ambition.   This apparently culminated in some kind of catastrophic failure when mages in Nerekhana attempted to perform a high-level Necromantic ritual that they did not fully understand.   This spellcasting seems to have resulted in the destruction of Nerekhana almost immediately, and a corruption that spread through the lands of Kalaevaan, depriving the lush jungle of life and turning the land barren.   An undead horde emerged from Nerekhana, driven by the desire to exterminate life in the region.

The forces of Kalaevaan and Daelus left Aelos after waiting out the winter in the region, which seems to have lasted a few months.   Accompanying them were a number of caravans, with many in Aelos seeking to build a new life elsewhere. As the forces returned to their native countries, they seem to have done so in good relations, with the intent to bring forth an era of peace between their nations.

As the remaining regions of Kalaevaan continued to fall to the corruption of Undeath, The Hand of Daelus, now ruler of the country, felt strongly compelled to come to the aid of the forces that they fought alongside in the war against the Herald of Flame.   However, with the country still recovering from its recent wars with the Orcs and Aethosa, many of those within the upper layers of Daelus' political sphere felt strongly that it was time to tend to their own borders, rather than involving themselves in the problems of their neighbors.   The plea from Kalaevaan had not gone unheeded by the Hand, and over the decade since their return to Daelus it seems there were a great many divisive moments within the leadership of the country over the issue. The Hand's capability as a leader came into question among a subsection of the population, spearheaded by those within the hierarchy who took issue with their ruler insisting on providing resources to Kalaevaan despite the fact that the country was struggling to regain its footing.   This eventually culminated in the Hand of Daelus forsaking their title and abdicating the throne, marching into Kalaevaan with whatever forces would join him, primarily comprised of those who'd fought alongside the Hand in the previous war.   This desertion out of a sense of duty would ultimately result in a fracturing of the country of Daelus.

Very little is known about the fall of Ghoran-Tor. What remains of the lost Dwarven Kingdom through tales passed down by the Dwarves differs, but it seems to have been the result of a cataclysmic event.   By best approximation, some kind of affliction localized to their underground settlements spread throughout Ghoran-Tor, consuming it from within. As far as Dwarven history claims, some form of "madness" spread throughout the population. The surviving Dwarven Clans spread across the mountains and hills of the world, establishing the subterranean homes that survive into the present.   Ghoran-Tor remains a historic enigma, an ancient civilization that disappeared at an unknown time and without notice. It is said the remains of these lost Dwarven cities still hold untold riches, but even the Dwarves cannot find the heart of their ancient empire, and what little is known about the sudden collapse of Ghoran-Tor is inferred from scant writings and former small settlements. It seems that for the most part, the other civilizations of the time weren't even aware of this event.   Most likely, Ghoran-Tor is now called home by many dark and terrible things of the deep.