World History

== Year 0 - 100: The Primordial Period ==
Every story has a beginning. But no story has a beginning like this one - this is the beginning of all beginnings, the beginning of time itself. The world is new, created by means that not even the spirits know about. The year of 0 is a year of turmoil in all worlds, whether mortal or divine. In one bright flash, born from a unknowable void, the universe comes into existence, as do the primordial divine entities. There is such confusion in the heavens that it takes the spirits ten full years to figure out what is what, who they are, and more importantly: what they are. These are the oldest spirits of them all, those who make up the very essential elements of the world, and thus, the heavens are quite underpopulated. But more spirits are swiftly born, as the primordial ones begin to realize and express their powers.
Year 11: life blooms on the cold, dense planet that is the realm of the mortals. The spirits shape and reshape the world to their liking, play and experiment with their own abilities, create to their hearts' desires and discard that which they are unsatisfied with. Animals begin to roam the planet as continents shape, mountains rise, oceans flood, and forests sprout. Ecosystems of predator and prey are orchestrated, the skies come alive with weather, the world becoming the canvas of the primordial gods' eager brush.
But by the time of the 36th year of existence, one spirit among them all realizes that his power may well rule over that of his fellow divines. He is the spirit of Souls, and he discovers that in being in possession of this power, he may dictate both life and death alike. Swiftly, he asserts his dominance over other spirits, using his powers to demonstrate that he can as much as they - and more. Many spirits are intimidated by this ferocious dominance, and with every spirit that he subdues, he grows ever stronger. It does not take long before he has grown so strong that he crowns himself king of the heavens, ruler of all.
But by the year 66, after 40 years of tyranny, the other spirits begin to form a resistance against their oppressor. Life and Death, Lyrras and Morrin, lead this resistance, as they are the ones whose places in the heavens have been stolen from them. Many spirits join them in their resistance, and through their combined powers, they succeed if defeating their tyrant. But they know they cannot kill him, for souls are an important aspect in upholding the balance between life and death. As such, instead of destroying him, they banish him to eternity in the Netherworld, which is but a vast and empty wasteland created as a bi-product of the bright flash that brought about existence. There, he is forever condemned, forever branded by a name that shall only be spoken as a lesson to others: Locux. In this prison, he broods and bides his time, playing with dark forces and creating monsters darker still.
4 years later, at the year 70, the spirits agree that the ultimate rule of this mortal realm cannot be in the hands of divine entities, but something equally mortal as the world itself. Thus, they agree that a creature must be created, a creature who will inherit and own the mortal soil. Together, they create an place of incubation, a cradle for the future kings of the world, located in the heart of the southern deserts, today's Aloria. It is after thirty years, at the turn of the century, that their plan finally bears fruit.
== Year 100 - 463: The Age of Dragons ==
From the cradle, two species emerge. One of them is the proud and noble creature, the dragon. With scales like steel and destruction in their breaths, they are fit for the throne of the world, unmatched by any previously created creature. They spread swiftly, carried upon massive wings, some heading north, others staying near their place of birth. But in their creation, Cermos has quietly snuck in another creation: the humans. A great proponent of natural selection, Cermos sees it as unfair that the dragons are to be put on the throne of the world without competition, and thus, give them some. It becomes a clash between quality and quantity - the monstrosity of the dragons versus the numbers of the humans.
In the year of 113, all parts of the continent are inhabited. The dragons and the humans scatter to all four winds, seeking home and shelter, and those who cannot lay down their territory quick enough, are soon submitted under the rule of a dragon master - or in one case, on what today is known as the Jemery Keys, the other way around. Most dragons remain on the continent, but others fly further south into a wasteland oblivion, or west or east over endless seas in search of land. A few humans depart from the continent as well in primitive boats, but these boats never go far.
Before long, the continent is divided into an almost infinite number of territories and mini-nations. The dragons create great roosts protected by whatever humans they have managed to enslave, while the free tribes of humans erect cities and townships scattered over the continent, preparing for the inevitable conflicts. Ancient prophets foresee that the dragons and the humans cannot remain in peace for long. It is in their nature to quarrel, to disagree, and eventually: to war.
In the year 124, the prophets are proven right. But against anticipations, it is not a dragon that attacks, but a human tribe. To the north, two of the four valleys are occupied by a dragon, while the remaining two are occupied by a human tribe - but over the course of a summer, the humans march upon the dragon and slay it in its roost. Its human subordinates clash with the invading tribe, but they do not stand a chance. It is during this battle that the blazing war god, Hrumalz, is born.
Whether it is the creation of the war god that causes it or if it is the natural consequence of growing tensions, cannot be said with certainty. But as no later than the autumn that year, 24 years of tension are released. A world war rages, and not just between dragons and men - dragons fight for one another's territory as well, as do the human tribes. Occasionally, humans and dragons forge alliances to destroy a common enemy, but inevitably, these allies will wage war once again. Nations swell and shrink, but by the year of 323, there are three dragons who reign supreme: Fiery Hatznagaar of the south, icy Firaznok of the north, and dark Umbranur in the west. But to the east, inhabiting most of Lumion, the Eastern Valley, and Yantsu Island, a single human tribe remains. It is in the year 323 that whatever human tribes that have not been destroyed come together in what is known as The Cockroach Concordant - named after a creature particularly hard to kill. This becomes the only chance the humans have at enduring Cermos' bloody game of survival of the fittest.
In the year of 342, the leader of The Cockroach Concordant, Khavel Remses, launches an attack upon Umbranur in the west. The two armies appear equally matched, the outcome of the battle nowhere near certain. However, as the armies clash, Ferva, goddess of courage and heroism, descends from the heavens to help the humans in their quest for survival. With the goddess' help, the Concordant defeats Umbranur and his army. Khavel, in celebration of this victory, lets himself bathe in Umbranur's black blood and clothe in an armor made from his scales and bones.
Unfortunately for Khavel, he does not anticipate that this act gives Umbranur's soul a window to possess him. Over the years, he becomes more and more secluded and paranoid, executing generals and officers at the slightest (and oftentimes unreasoned) suspicion of them being spies. At the year 346, Hatznagaar and Firaznok exploit this disarray and begin to march on the chaotic Concordant. Within the year, when both dragons are at his borders, Khavel's insanity reaches its crescendo. He urges his entire army to commit collective suicide so as to not fall in the claws of their dragon enemies. Furthermore, he murders his own wife and then his two sons for the same reason. And finally, he does the same to himself. But in the act of killing himself, he releases the soul of Umbranur that has been possessing him, unleashing it upon the world. It lays itself as an eternal darkness over the forest we know today as Nightweald.
Hatznagaar and Firaznok, frightened and confused by this sudden change in environment, order a retreat. It is this show of cowardice that opens up a window of opportunity for a small group of rebels to further their cause. On both sides of the warring armies, insurrectionists communicate with one another and devise secret meetings to slowly but steadily expand their influence over their fellow humans - most of which are still deeply loyal in their dragon patrons, or simply too frightened to consider questioning them. However, upon the retreat of both dragons, the rebels rise up and announce openly that they mean to bring an end to the slavery and tyranny of the dragons. Many join their forces, a majority of them remnants of The Cockroach Concordant, thus founding The Scalebreaker Union.
Breaking free from the service of Hatznagaar, is an aged man by the name of Kurio Tellos, previously a squire to a general of the fire dragon's army. During his service to Hatznagaar, he was stationed in one of the many outposts, this one located in the area we know today as Cercia. Upon announcing his rebellion, he and his followers flee north into The Dragonlands, which are at this time and age a lush and flourishing land, very similar to The Fairlands to the west. Avoiding the wrath of his previous king, he and his followers spend three years in attempts to find a defensible location, where they can settle in and claim land of their own. Great bastions grow, fortresses specifically designed to keep a dragon at bay - a dragon as dreadful as Hatznagaar, no less. During these three years, Kurio attains himself an eager adviser, a young woman who proves to be a valuable asset.
To the north, in rebellion against Firaznok, a woman named Irel Gweth takes the lead. But unlike Kurio's division of The Scalebreaker Union, she does not build great fortresses in defense against the ice dragon, but goes into hiding instead, using methods of stealth and subterfuge instead of force. This division spreads across the northern continent, inhabiting the mountains and the four valleys, but staying clear of the forest that Umbranur's soul has tainted. They settle into hiding, where they devise and discover magic spells meant to slay dragons. Over the course of three years too, Irel takes an adviser as well: a young woman much like the one in Kurio's service.
In the year 382, 32 years after the creation of The Scalebreaker Union, Kurio Tellos is slain in his home. Hatznagaar launches a bold attack on one of The Scalebreaker Union's larger fortresses, the odds most certainly not seeming in his favor. But upon arrival, it is revealed that he has help from a god: Hrumalz. With this help, the fortress is crushed, and Kurio Tellos killed. Hrumalz is questioned by his fellow gods why he would do such a thing, to which he responds that he simply does not like the humans - he finds them weak and flimsy in comparison to the might of the dragons and therefore unfit to be kings of the world. However, he is quickly forbidden by the other gods to get involved again - the same fate falls upon Ferva, who helped Khavel Remses defeat Umbranur.
Kurio's adviser takes his place as leader of the southern division, and only five years later, marches on Cercia. At the same time, Irel begins a long-term project of assassinating key figures in Firaznok's ranks, generals and officers of intelligence. The battles, whether violent or cloaked in subterfuge, last for three long years, until both sides can claim victory. Cercia falls into Scalebreaker control, and Firaznok's ranks are significantly weakened and in disarray. However, in the summer of the same year, Irel is betrayed by one of her own generals who kills her by means of poison. Her adviser takes her place as leader of the northern division.
Ten years later, at the turn of the century to the year 400, both leaders have become women of age. But their leadership has far from faltered. With their magic spells honed and their armies trained, both sides initiate attempts at putting an end to the dragon rule, once and for all. This only takes a single year, and though they suffer great casualties, both Firaznok and Hatznagaar are defeated in the summer that year. Upon his death, Hatznagaar's soul is immortalized as a blazing heat that falls over The Dragonlands. Rivers dry up, plant life withers, and the land is transformed into the barren canyons of today's world. Similarly, Firaznok's soul is immortalized as the aurora in the north.
A human war known as The Ash War follows in the death of these two dragons. Three sides clash for 63 years in a time of constant battle, shifting nations, and scientific and theological stagnation. No new magic is developed, no new technology appears, as the three factions slay one another with great prejudice. Two of the factions consist of the remaining humans still loyal to Hatznagaar's or Firaznok's memory, the third one whatever is left of The Scalebreaker Union. The Union is the first to fall, in the year 437, now that many of their people think their tasks to be finished - the dragons are dead, and thus, recruitment falters. The two dragon factions continue to wage war for 26 years afterward, fighting over the memory of their fallen kings. But with the dragons dead, even this soon fades as well, and the war grows smaller and smaller, until it disappears entirely. 463 is recognized as the year where the fighting finally stops, and the age of dragons comes to an end.
== 463 - 623: The Alorian Imperialism ==
With the last dragon slain and the last strips of faith withered away, the heavens are forced to consider the circumstances. The creatures that were meant to be the kings of this world are now all dead, and in their place, their servants remain. Much confusion and disagreement arises because of this. Cermos, god of nature and instincts, claims that it is a natural and expected change in the food chain - he advocates to let the humans remain as they are, to let natural consequences decide who gets to inherit the mortal realm. Aendor, god of law and justice, however, sees this turn of events as a terrible and unjust revolution that must be undone. He blames himself and his fellow gods that their plan was faulty, that they must try again with different circumstances - and that humanity must be erased from existence. Lyrras, god of life and mercy, finds it in his heart to spare the humans, to deliver unto them his divine mercy. Hrumalz has no love for the humans, though, and supports Aendor. But in the end, as the votes in the divine council are counted, Cermos has his will. The humans remain.
Throughout the slow transition from dragon faith and dragon tyranny, the humans have had plenty of time to spread and settle. Far to the north, tribes rule the valleys and the mountains. The dark forest remains yet uninhabited, welcoming of no life. The south is split into smaller areas and regions, and the islands off the shore remain without government, but are still visited and inhabited by smaller peoples. The scattered peoples develop their own languages, further dividing them. Though the humans are wide-spread and largely divided, there is one thing in common throughout all of them. From the birth of time, they have been created to be servants, but now their masters are dead, slain by themselves. A human-centric philosophy rises and steadily increases - it seems as if they, the humans, can do anything now that there are no dragons to oppress them. They realize that they are the new kings of the world.
This is particularly true in the far south, in Cercia, Aloria, and the Z'chara Savannah. There, a previous high priestess of Hatznagaar, Ishmi Ulon, begins to preach the superiority of the Alorian people. Before Ishmi, the south was divided into countless nomadic tribes and families, but under the shadow of the place where dragons and humans were incubated in the Primordial Period (a pyramid known as 'the Heart of Aloria'), she manages to unify them. Her rhetoric mainly consists of the southern people being 'the original humans', and 'the true heirs of the world', which is true in many ways. With the growing human-centric philosophy, her words convince tribe leaders from near and far, and before long, the entire idea of tribes is annihilated - the Alorians are unified within the course of a single year.
At first, the unification of the Alorians is seen as strange but nothing particularly dangerous, in the eyes of the rest of the continent. The druid folk of The Fairlands, the Rimnoll Wetlands, and Lumion do not pay them much heed, and the king of the northern realms, Gerhart Dundrson, does not see them as any threat, because of what forces he has at his own disposal. Ishmi's nationalistic philosophy remains harmless for the first five years after its rooting, but in the year of 471, all native Alorians (or other of southern heritage) are forbidden to mix genes with the so-called 'lesser humans' of the north. The Alorians become seclusive, and rarely leave their borders. They found the city of Aegon.
In the year of 492, Ishmi Ulon dies of old age. In her place follows her closest disciple, Asmet Dji, who raises a wall to split Aloria from the rest of the world, in honor of their deceased prophet. Asmet delivers a much more furious philosophy in comparison to Ishmi, beginning to propagate that Alorians and northern humans are not even the same species - that Alorians are 'true humans', and the others are but animals. A much stricter investigation of genes is investigated, using old dragon-taught magic and blood samples, and only the purest are allowed to stay.
The following year, Asmet crowns himself pharaoh. From his palace in Aegon, he declares war on the druid folk on the other side of the sea. The unified forces of Aloria crush them effortlessly. Alorian outposts are raised in these druid lands, and the natives are taken as slaves. Gerhart Dundrson, who has become an old man at this point, recognizes the growing threat of the Alorians, but instead of waging war on them, he offers a peace treaty, an alliance that would secure the safety of both nations. Surprisingly, Asmet accepts.
For an entire century, the Alorian empire continues to oppress and enslave the people of The Fairlands, the Rimnoll Wetlands, and Lumion. At this point, their influence has grown over The Dragonlands too, alongside the islands off the shore to the east and the west. Ships have been sent to explore what lies beyond the horizons, but none have returned. The Alorian sense of superiority has given more than enough space and motivation for mechanics and inventors to reach even higher, and have begun to discover technology far beyond that of their northern neighbors: the musket rifle, the railway, and the factory are few among many. Aegon flourishes greater than ever, fueled by the goods that the Alorians have reaped from their colonies to the north - Alorian society enters a period of industrialization unfathomable to the rest of the continent.
Tensions rise between the Alorian empire and the king of the north, and things are beginning to seem quite similar to what happened in the Age of Dragons - two great factions splitting the world in two. With their new-found machinery, the Alorians begin to harvest the earth and the oceans with efficiency thousandfold that of before. This leads to a deficiency of natural materials, a problem that the Alorians solve by erecting harvesting stations on northern soil. The king of the north, Halgrim Gweth, a descendant of Irel Gweth, asks them to take their business elsewhere, but they refuse. Considerations are made to violently expel them from their territory, but Halgrim is advised to not make war with the Alorians.
Menhet Suula, Asmet's successor, is one winter night given a divine audience. Lyrras, god of life and mercy, and Illis, goddess of altruism and empathy, appear in her sleeping quarters and ask her to reconsider what she is doing. Both gods supported Cermos in sparing the humans, and would rather see them right their wrongs than annihilate them. However, Menhet does not care to listen to their pleas. The gods leave, disappointed.
In the autumn of the following year, 611, as if in sheer mockery of the gods that came to ask for her mercy, she assembles the greatest spellweavers from the far reaches of the empire, and gathers them in the streets of Aegon. Here, a ritual takes place, a ritual that would become a pivotal moment in world history. Together, they summon Loom, the goddess of wonders and magic, claiming to wish to seek her council. But instead, they enslave the goddess by means of ancient draconic rites. With this goddess enslaved, they are granted an endless source of energy, and not many months pass before the Alorian inventors discover the endless potential of mixing magic and machinery.
This magitech propels the Alorian arrogance to new heights. They quickly find themselves with a cornucopia of resources and manpower, now that they have created robotic sentries to watch over their slaves in the southern area of the mainland. Convinced that nothing can her and her people now, Menhet declares war on the north. Halgrim is given no choice but to assemble his armies.
The Shadow War lasts twelve years - named so because most of the battles took place in the uninhabited area of Nightweald. Though the north has well-trained armies and are many in number, they are no match for the Alorian magitech. War machines unlike anything a mortal mind can fathom, armies composed purely of robots, and biologically engineered super-soldiers are what win the Alorians the war. In the year of 623, Halgrim Gweth is executed, and the northern kingdom eradicated. The Alorian empire conquers the entire continent.
But their victory is short-lived. In the spring that year, Aendor and Hrumalz call for another meeting in the heavens. Seeing how the Alorians have abused the land and their fellow man, they urge the other spirits to realize that the humans are not fit to be kings of the world. This time, Aendor and Hrumalz win the vote with a staggering majority. Aendor, Ferva, Hrumalz, and Cermos descend to Aegon and free Loom from her chains. In the summer, all twelve gods, even Lyrras, come together to create the spell that will wipe out all of humanity. It is known as 'The Spirits' Wrath', and changes the mortal realm forever. Over the course of a single hour, all humans cease to exist in a might shock wave that spreads from both poles of the world - all but the druids are undone. The Alorian machines continue to operate for a few years afterward, but soon enough, they too will falter to the decay of time. The world goes quiet.
== 623 - ???: The Silent Years ==
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Category:World