History

A Brief History

Prehistory
1 BA (Before the Ages) and older, counting backward
Nothing is known of these times except for speculation. It is unknown what the beginning of the Elven Age marked, and it is only known from the numbering of the years from elven history how many years in that age there were. Common theory is that the humanoid races were merely tribal bodies until 1 EA, when the elves founded the first empire.

The Elven Age (EA)
1 EA - 9753 EA
In this age, great empires of elves of elves ruled the world while the races of other humanoids were but bands of nomads and tribesmen on their fringes. Very little is known about this time, as much of it is closely guarded by elven sages, but it is this age when the elven race split to form the many subraces there are now. Also, the end of this age is marked by the thousand-year Drake War in which the elven empires began to crumble under the assult of many evil dragons. Their race would have been wiped out entirely if it were not for the many human bands allying with them against the dragons. Then the human hero known only as Reyvahr slew Gzandes Crimsonfang, it marked the end of the age.

Age of Legend (AL)
1 AL - 4285 AL
This age began when Reyvahr and his tribe founded what became the An-Palathar Empire, the year after the slaying of Gzandes. It was then that the human race began to create great empires spanning the world. An-Palathar was the first, but there was also Tibernia and Sleigard in the west and Zahlhazzar and Shen in the East. Early in this age is when the empire of Uteron is said to have existed. At some point during this age, in an effort to create identity for themselves, each of these empires began to worship their own pantheon of gods. Thus, the old gods lost power and went to war with each other over the remaining followers and slew each other. This clashing between the heavens and the hells was known as the Godswar, and in the end all the major powers were gone and the world was unprotected. This eventualy lead to the fall of most of the empires.

Age of Shadow (AS)
1 AS - 3250 AS
When the old gods died, the world was open to invasion from the outer plains, both celestial and fiendish. Though many Angel-Lords found footholds in our world in the beginning, it was powerful fiends from the hells who eventualy established dominance. This time was known as the Age of Shadows, for dark warlords working for infernal masters ruled the lands. For whatever reason, this was for the most part in the western lands, though the East felt the sting of the dark times as well. In this dark time, much culture, history, and technology was lost and people scattered. This age ended when heroes known only as the Three Sisters slew the three most powerful Fiend-Lords and brought peace to the lands once again.

The Current Age (CA)
1 CA - Present (1490s)
After the Three Sisters banished darkness from this world, they ascended to godhood. Unfortunately so did the the Fiend-Lords they slew. This became the beginning of a new pantheon and a new age of this world. While no kingdom has so far reached the scope of the empires in the Age of Legend, they make up for it in rich cultures. Many technologies and other discoveries have been made since the beginning of this era. Though no formal title has been given to this age as of yet, it is reffered to as the Current Age by those who keep records of the ages. Scholars say history itself will name this age when it has passed.

The Great Empires

An-Palathia
1 AL - c. 2300 AL
Known as the First Human Empire, this land was located in what is now Ambreth, Varan, Lorgoth, and Waythan, Leck, and Kost. Little is known of their empire, and most of what is known of it is from the Epic of Reyvhar and some artifacts from that time. Though it occupied some of the same lands that Tibernia later did, Tibernia did not invade it. Rather, Tibernia filled the void caused by An-Palathia's decline.

The Circle Builders
???
This is the name given to a race of people, most likely human or elven, who are responsible for building many stone circles which can be found all over the western lands from Umbria to the Waelar Islands and from Ambreth to Prahoa. It is beleived that their culture existed in the Elven age or even before that. Very little is known about these people, though it is suspected that druid religion originated from their culture. At any rate, druid conclaves still use these circles for their worship.

Shen
c. 1500 AL - Present
This eastern empire claims to be the longest empire to ever exist. This is no small boast, for it has survived in three ages. Still, it has been in decline in recent years from a series of weak kings, ogre mage invaders from the North, and On'Ghovei raiders from the South and its fate may be sealed within our lifetime. At its peak, however it claimed all of what is now Xan-Chu, mainland Gojosheon, Fushang, Dharamsala, Donkocha, much of On'Ghovei, Pendek, Beyong, and Mahadesh.

Sleigard
c. 900 AL - 264 AS
Also known as the Northern Empire, its inhabitants were tall, powerful warriors with a strong sense of honor. Though perhaps not as culturaly influential as Tibernia, their liniage is still alive today in the blood of the barbarians of the Northern Wastes, the kingdom of Nessel, and even the High Dwarves of Ymirgard. They were also the first users of rune magic. Their empire stretched across what is now the Northern Wastes, Perenia, Dunnlaugh, Nessel, and the Waelar Islands, but they were eventualy brought down by the Orc-Lords from the Coldspires.

Tibernia
c. 1200 AL - 837 AS
This great empire began as a small city-state at the southern end of what is now known as the Tibernian Peninsula, but grew through a series of conquests. They were great architects, tacticians, and sailors and at the height of their empire, they ruled what is now all of the Tibernian Peninsula, the islands of Tarmonia, Ravado, Sandalyon, and Salerno, Varan, southern Ambreth and Ruhmel, and some of the Near East all the way to western Ashara. They built the Old Wall (which was the northern border of their empire at its height) and along with the Shen Empire constructed the Highway of the Gods, which still runs from Devon in the West to Jinyan in the Far East and is still used as the major East-West trade route. They held out longer than the other western empires did in the Age of Shadowm but were finaly overcome by rampaging warlords and gnoll kings in the end.

Zhalhazzar
c. 400 AL - c. 3200 AL
This empire once lay in what is now Ashara and the Bedu-Wati Desert, and reached as far as modern day Brasov in the West, Arnikezara in the East and Mantenka in the south. The people of Zhalhazzar created great stone monuments larger than the Ziggurats of Ashara, and great cities. But some disaster befell the empire, turning it into a great wasteland which is now the Bedu-Wati Desert and the Mengodei Wastes.