The Great Empire sprawled across the Midlands. The stories from that time that still exist are fragmented - no one living knows what caused them to rise to power or fall - but the Free Kingdoms know a piece of it. They know, for example, that the Great Empire was not as unified as those in Ceanas would say. The rulers of that time vied for power and influence and subjected all free mortals under their heels. To the west, they grew much of their food and while cruel, they also knew how to make the land green.
History of the Free Kingdoms
The Free Kin reckon time since Brevei’s Covenant, choosing to call the times before the Landless Era (LE), and after the Covenant Era (CE). What follows is a rough and brief history of the Free Kingdoms.
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1600 BE
The Ancient Empire 3,700 LE
Era beginning/end -
1 AEF
The End of the Empire 2,100LE
Disaster / DestructionThose subjected to the Great Empire rebelled and were crushed. Again and again. A great power far to the north rose up to resist the Empire and Heaven leaned in to offer its aid. Even that was not enough. In the east, in what is now Ceanas, the world broke apart. What happened is not known; what is known is that the Great Empire and all its works vanished, leaving behind only the Maker’s Way and the ruins that speckle the realm today.
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50 AEF
The Lawless Wild 2,050 LE
Era beginning/endWith the Empire gone, many things grew. With no limits upon them, they grew wild and fierce. Nothing good grew and all lived in fear. The once fertile and plentiful west became deadly to those who dared travel its realm.
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459 AEF
The Blight - 1,640 LE
Plague / EpidemicSuch exuberance would not last forever. Another arose from the Empire’s memories, a wicked man called Tabris. No man knows whether he was merely a powerful mage, or also an Avatar, but if he were of divine might, his dominion would be that of Blight. He stretched his hand out over the land and all withered and failed. The death and distress reached untold numbers, and the blight struck down the food of the mighty and slave alike. Soon, the wailing of families filled the air and reached to the heavens.