Timeline

Adrastea’s years are numbered as starting from the date SC; this practice’s origins predate recorded history and are thus unknown. As of the time of the current campaign, it has been 2118 years since SC.

Prehistory (??? - 816 SC)
An era predating historical record. Information about this period is scant and pieced together from ancient ruins. What is known is that the people (or group of peoples) now dubbed The Precursors reigned during this time. Though they possessed technology and a mastery of magic that would put the Dwarves and High Elves of today to shame, they worshipped pagan gods instead of the Celestials, which is said today to be their undoing.

Their civilization, which spanned every corner of the globe, fell, and a period of darkness subsequently overtook the world. Eventually, the Elven Infinite Empire and a Dwarven Kaiserreich, spanning much of the Eastern Continent, arise in this time. Interestingly, iconography from this period has two moons in the sky rather than one; it is unknown if this is symbolic or literal.

Age of Empire (816 SC - 1199 SC)
This era of history is dominated by large, continental powers: the Infinite Empire, which holds Shangri-La and parts of the Western Continent, and the Dwarven Kaiserreich, which dominates Kannarokilk. Although most Humans and Wood Elves exist in small settlements, several city-states of theirs are strong enough to resist subjugation by the larger empires. The Orcs exist in nomad tribes; recorded only through accounts of their raids south and eastward.

816 SC:
The first dated historical record, an incomplete Dwarven tablet excavated from the area known as the Great Maw. From it we learn that: The High Elves have recently (in Dwarvish terms, within 50 years) pushed further into the Gargarean Jungle, ostensibly to challenge the Wood Elf god-kings.
 * The Humans in the lowlands, though not directly part of the Kaiserreich, pledge both loyalty and tribute to the Dwarves.
 * Astrolatry is the dominant religion of the empires and most “settled” peoples. Paganism still exists amongst many barbarian tribes, something the Kaiserreich is attempting to remedy via conquest.
 * Guns, albeit in a form much different from the ones used today, exist and are employed by the Dwarves.

1073 SC:
The longstanding rivalry between Kaiserreich and Infinite Empire breaks into all-out war, beginning a conflict known now as the War of the Elders. Its cause lost to time, the war spans a century and much of present-day Dardania, most of it a bloody stalemate. These developments unfold over the course of the war:
 * Practice of Astrolatry wanes as both sides turn to arcane magic and extraplanar allies (Fae for the High Elves, Fiends for the Dwarves). The Dwarves in particular turn to atheism, and the chaos and upheavals see pagan cults make a return.
 * The intervention of the Spirits results in the largest population of Tieflings and Changelings to date; most scions today can trace their lineage to this war.
 * The Dwarves unleash a forbidden arcane artifact on Shangri-La, destroying one of the sacred roots of the Gaokerena. In retaliation, High Elf geomancers cave in the great Dwarven stronghold of Mar Gandrum.

1200 SC:
The Dwarven Kaiserreich, and with it the Age of Empire, comes to a close. The capital of the Kaiserreich, its name now forbidden to speak, is consumed by a massive sinkhole some ninety miles across. Some claim that it was the result of the Dwarves’ blasphemous attempts to create a thinking machine; others a High Elf plot involving forbidden magic. Similar catastrophes begin to unfold across the world. In any case, the opening of the sinkhole, known now as The Great Maw, marks the beginning of a new Age, one of darkness and desperation...

1200 SC:
Though the Infinite Empire is ostensibly the victor of the Elder War, the conflict has pushed them to the breaking point; even to this day, the High Elves’ numbers have not fully recovered. They withdraw from their holdings in the Eastern and Western Continent, keeping only the region of Suvarnabhumi. While the Dwarves had territory both below and aboveground, the war had forced them to retreat into their subterranean strongholds. With strange horrors now swarming the Roofed Roads (the massive tunnel system that acted as the veins of the Kaiserreich), these fortresses quickly become isolated and independent, laying the foundations for most Dwarven nations today. Old grudges and unsettled grievances keep these fortresses from reuniting. Ravaged by war, deprived of imperial protection, and surrounded by the fallout of forbidden weapons, the relinquished lands fall prey to cults, civil war, famine, and plague. Relatively untouched by the Elder War and now nigh-unopposed, Orc armies begin to raid and conquer throughout the northern hemisphere, on sea with their powerful longship navies, on land with their legions of mounted archers. This period, which lasts several centuries, is known as “The Fanged Tide” by some.

1269 SC:
A lich raises an undead army from the ruins of a ravaged Human kingdom. Several nations stand together in defiance and desperation; the now legendary heroes known as The Azure Triad infiltrate the lich’s castle and slay him on the steps of his throne.

1302 SC:
Bulughan, a great Steppe Orc Khatun, conquers the Dysterian city state of Tanwir. The invaders eventually assimilate, and to this day the city has one of the highest populations of Orcs south of the Giantrend Gorges.

1358 SC:
The Dysterian city state of Kabira suffers a series of earthquakes and tsunamis, before finally sinking into the sea.

1374 SC:
The Stone Man temple-city of Havuparvata falls under the sway of a mysterious god-king, known only as “The Serpent.” Rumours abound that the title is literal, and that the monarch is a powerful necromancer. Indeed, his rule has allegedly continued to this day...

1414 SC:
First recorded instance of Halflings, in particular, their trades with Humans and Dwarves from their lake city of Rower’s Run.

1456 SC:
Human king Sraosha enters the Great Barren from the south, in search of the fabled Lapis City. Though he fails to find it, he is the first to cross the enormous desert, thanks to the arcane sand skiffs of his invention, and he establishes a lucrative trade route between Dysteria, the Tarengai, and Shangri-La.

1473 SC:
Seven human kingdoms are razed to the ground by the Fiend Dragon Fafnir in retaliation for a theft from his hoard. A hasty compensation (with interest) sends him back into his deep subterranean sleep.

1534 SC:
The city-state Beacon, which has weathered the Age of Indigence better than most, is threatened by an army of barbarian northerners, marching under the banner of a pagan god. With the enemy at their gates, the greatest Human priests to ever live give their lives to summon a Star to earth, its holy presence driving back the invaders. Pledging service to the summoned Star, the city forgoes its status as a secular state, its government becoming the Ecclesiarchy, its army the Inquisition.

1553 SC:
Wood Elf god-emperor Suvaryaman III becomes the only leader in history to push the High Elves from Suvarnabhumi, going as far as to chase them to the shores of Shangri-La. Invasion of the island falters, however, mainly due to High Elf naval superiority, and the Wood Elven coalition retreats within the year.

1562 SC:
Suvaryaman III dies of disease and his empire fractures between his bickering sons and advisors.

1575 SC:
A city-state in the south Human lands is overtaken by pagan cult of decadence. Marshalling their strength, the Ecclesiarchy intervenes, sending forth the Inquisition to root out and destroy the threat. The result is a Pyrrhic victory; though the cultists are killed before they can summon their god, much of the city is destroyed as a consequence. Emboldened and perhaps intimidated by the strength and success of the Ecclesiarchy, many nations across the Eastern Continent begin to pay tribute to it in exchange for security from Anathema.

Age of Inquisition (1576 — Present SC)
1604 SC:'' ===

The High Elves marshal their strength and retake Suvarnabhumi, shattering one of the Wood Elf nations and restarting the colonization of the Gargarean Jungle.

1623 SC:
After decades of fierce fighting, the Dwarves of Mar Voltaz reestablish a Roofed Road network connecting Kannorokilk and Tamalgalz. Though the tunnels (known as the Path of Widows) are long and winding, ostensibly to skirt the more haunted areas of the underground, a period of great trade and treatise begins between the two long-separated Dwarven areas.

1635 SC:
The Inquisition makes its first overseas venture to war with the Lich of Qadim in Dysteria. It is a terrible battle, but the paladins prevail. Eager to prevent such a dark force from arising again, the Inquisition burns down Qadim’s library, thus beginning their heavy-handed practice of censorship.

1643 SC:
The Canyon Dwarves of the Giantrend Gorges invent (or, rather, rediscover) the ability to make firearms. Although their first creation is a crude handcannon, they quickly take to the new art and have working muskets and pistols by the end of the century.

1697 SC:
The Arcane University of Altenheim is razed to the ground by an angry mob. Many sorcererous organizations disband or decentralize, afraid of persecution; new wizards are often orphans or unwanted children taken in as apprentices.

1712 SC:
Kaba, a Human city west of Shangri-La, suffers a series of devastating earthquakes, followed by an invasion of Fomoire, who have a Giant in their thrall. The High Elves send in an elite regiment of spellswords to combat the situation.

1753 SC:
High Elf prince Harun XI marries the Human princess Samira, thus beginning the creation of Elven Dardania.

1771 SC:
Having conquered or exterminated virtually every other Sea Orc tribe, warlord Temurin crowns himself Orkhan and declares his confederation the Great Horde, the largest united Orc army in 500 years. They quickly begin to raid and conquer south and eastwards.

1829 SC:
The Dwarven Stronghold of Mar Kaltkraz uncovers and restores an Einherjar from the ruins of the Great Maw. An arms race to recover lost technology from the site begins and continues to this day.

1844 SC:
The Ecclesiarchy suffers its most devastating defeat in its history. A crusade in the north, incidentally against the descendants of the barbarians that besieged them some 300 years before, goes terribly wrong as the pagans summon a calamity from beyond the Stars. A major portion of their army is wiped out, and the site of the battle is forever scarred and blighted. The Inquisition, once proactive in their persecutions, is now on the backfoot against Anathema.

1899 SC:
The Great Horde conquers Tir Tairngire, their first holding on the Eastern Continent. The colony acts as a forward operating base for their further conquests.

1901 SC:
Manning the restored Kaiserreich ship Dauntless, a combined crew of Dwarves and Humans set off from the easternmost coast in an attempt to circumnavigate the world.

1923 SC:
The trolls, usually a divided and reserved people, organize suddenly into an army, which raids and plunders through the Human lowlands. The adventuring party known as the Crimson Company uncovers the arcane interlopers behind the invasions; Fae Baroness Eithne and Fiend Warlord Asmodeus.

1966 SC:
The Dauntless returns to the Eastern port, having failed its mission with most of its crew dead. Though the sailors only felt around fifteen years elapse, it has been over half a century since they initially left. Before turning back, they claim to have landed on a strange island: the fabled Southern Continent, but the madness of most of the explorers puts this claim into question.

1983 SC:
Orkhan Daguan sends an Imperial delegation to the court of Wood Elf King Pogna, gifting him an enchanted kanabo, thus beginning a long alliance between the two distant peoples.

2000 SC:
An eclipse lasting the entire day occurs. Though there are no major incidents, reports of strange weather, monster sightings, and mutant births occur. In the time following, Anathemic incursions grow more and more frequent.

2018 SC:
A Lich arises in the land of Moravia, and begins a ritual that will transform his phylactery into a mountain-sized Giant. The Inquisition stops him, but not before his exploits scar the region forever.

2065 SC:
The Great Horde creates Goblins and Hobgoblins with forbidden alchemy.

2092 SC:
The world’s first airship, the Dwarven Unconquered, takes flight.

2118 SC:
Present day. Aided by the Inquisition, the kingdom of Straslau battles forces of the Anathemic Deity Nergal.