History of Oacca-Seri

*"The Universe, like all things, is a cycle. What matters is if the cycle truly repeats" -Plonkstomp the Mad*

## Paleolithic (pre-stone) Age

In the beginning, there were Nambas & Higwards. The Nambas lived in the southern plains of Baze, where they sung songs under the sun, and hid at night for fear of the night creatures who hated its warmth. The Higwards flourished in the coldest parts of the mountainous Tenoir, where they feared the sun, and the savage creatures that lived off its light.

The two groups would mark the very beginning of civilization on the planet, each flourishing in their own unique way. They were curious beings, the Nambas having adapted to the heat of the arid plains by growing thick skin and thin dark hair, reaping the gifts of the bountiful earth, yet unable to farm. Their numbers thinned, as they had no way of providing for themselves in the long term. They were forced to become a nomadic peoples, their diaspora spreading through the mega-continent on which they dwelled. The Higwards, conversely, thrived. Growing thick fur and leathery green skin to camouflage themselves at night, and adapting to the dark with powerful ears and noses, they flourished in their nocturnal society. Their diminutive yet strong stature allowed their proto-society to flourish, developing what is likely the first form of currency on the planet, consisting of pieces of flint and shiny minerals.  The two groups lived for hundreds of generations in relative solitude, with minimal contact with the other group.

### Evolution of the Nambas and Higwards

Soon, the natural shifting of the earth formed the continents in to slightly more distinct pieces, eventually forming the landmasses lived on today. After nearly a million years, the Nambas and the Higwards had evolved each into a number of distinct beings that would eventually populate the earth. The day dwelling Nambas became a wide range of bipedal species. Tall and graceful elves flourished in dense forests, living in tandem with the less advanced creatures. Powerful orcs lived near the waters, growing strong off of the abundance of fish. The stout dwarves and halflings migrated into the mountains and hills, becoming expert hunter gatherers and gaining immense fortitude in the hostile environment. Certainly the most widespread, however, were the humans, a diverse species that quickly developed complex social systems. The Higwards developed into much more monstrous, yet still social beings. One of such were the goblin species, descended from a group of cave dwelling Higwards who had discovered how to use fire to warm themselves. Many goblinoid subspecies have lost their ability to grow fur over time, potentially due to their use of fire. The diminutive goblins and their less diminutive sister species developed tight knit, insular societies. By this point, a parallel society had developed underwater, of highly intelligent draconian sea creatures which had established language and trade, with complex political structures. Some of these creatures migrated to land and became the ancestors of modern dragons.

By around 10,000 A.K., the humans had developed tools of flint and began domesticating plants and animals, ushering the world into a brand new era.

## Neolithic (farming) Age

The fist to discover farming, humans began to establish a rudimentary form of communication and trade among themselves, using rivers for transport and selling regional crops to other locations. As survival was still the dominant motivator, war was scare and cooperation thrived. Because of this, the humans soon reached out to the other species living on their landmass, and soon farming became widespread. However, around 7,000 A.K., cooling of the rash caused the ocean’s levels to fall, creating a land bridge between Baze and Tenoir, allowing the species to spread throughout the majority of the world. The resulting interbreeding had numerous effects, including certain Namboid species gaining the ability to see in the dark, but also began to lead to greater distinction in physical characteristics. Humans gained a multitude of skin colors depending on the lands in which they live. Archaeological evidence suggests goblins began organizing their societies based on seemingly trivial characteristics such as ear scars or tooth size. Elves eventually distinguished into a large amount of separate groups, some preferring to remain within the woods, others thriving in the highlands of Baze. Some even migrated onto the seaside and then into the sea, adapting to the high pressure and liquid environment through their Higward ancestry. Orcs divided into two main groups during this era, the lowland orcs, which had smaller brains to allow oxygen to flow better to their other muscles, and highland orcs, which were more cunning hunters and fishers. Additionally, the orcs’ ancestry allowed them to breed with humans, creating half-orc half-human hybrids that had the intelligence of humans and brute strength of lowland orcs. At this time, civilization was minimal, with little to no scientific advancement beyond stone tools and housing. However, this would soon change with the discovery of copper.

### Origin of Druidic Magic and the first Deity

Druidic Magic was first performed by a woman of the name Flembog the 3rd. She was the smartest of her clan and with the mental growth of the highland orcs a higher sense of spirituality developed, with that spirituality came miracles of life and blessings of prosperous hunts. As time passed the belief of nature spirits and their blessing spread across the dense tree covered mountains of Baze. Core principles of this faith were that respecting the land on which you dwell will reward you with good fortune. As this first religion spread there were accounts of an Orc woman planting trees where wildfires ravaged the land and creating beautiful nature and fertile soil wherever she was spotted. As stories spread about this Orcish woman of the woods spread the wilds only became more lush wherever these legends were spread.

## Eneolithic (Copper) Age

Bronze is perhaps the single most significant discovery in the history of Oacca-Seri. Discovered by a few insular groups of goblins around 6,000 A.K., these proto-civilizations soon learned that bronze was a valuable resource for making tools. However, many hallmarks of a real civilization, including writing, roads, and governments, did not exist. It was dwarves who discovered the process of smelting ca. 5,500 A.K., by placing copper ore into a stone chamber filled with burning coals and then shaping it into tools. The first usage of hammers and double edged swords is similarly attributed to the dwarves at this time. Within the next 200 years nearly every civilization on Baze and a significant amount of civilizations on Tenoir were utilizing copper tools in a widespread capacity. This time period also marks the first prominent diaspora of multiple cultures within each species. Perhaps the most powerful civilization at the time was the Awalishka, a desert dwelling civilization located on the coast of the Paktos Sea. The only civilization from the copper age to still exist in the modern period, it is a bastion of scientific advancement. By 5,000 A.K., this multi-species civilization had invented roads, wheels, and incredibly advanced weaponry for their time, notably the development of gauntlets able to fling javelin long distances, which are still used in a ceremonial aspects. Other civilizations at the time rose and fell to famine and war, but the development of iron and bronze would soon create lasting civilizations. However, one other civilization rivalled the Awaliska, a sprawling civilization of humans and elves, unmatched in military prowess. They crafted massive war machines capable of decimating any other civilization. In time, they fell, for an unknown reason, leaving behind the ruins of their once great power. Legends tell that an adventurer who wanders across the mysterious ruins can find magic and wealth untold. But there's a reason the empire fell, and rumors suggest the culprit may still lurk within.

### Slightly Abridged timeline

* c. 6,000 A.K. - bronze is discovered by a variety of scattered proto-civilizations, although very few of the hallmarks of civilization exist yet.
* c. 5,500 A.K. - The Awaliska civilization is created when a variety of city-states near the center of Oma decide to band together for trade purposes. This is generally considered to be the first civilization on Oacca-Seri
	+ c. 5,500 - 5,000 A.K. - The Awaliska grow massively, creating a network of city states across the entire continent. Their massive trade caravans stretch for miles and were often considered to be cities of their own due to how many people traveled on them. At this time, natural philosophers in major metropolitan areas began developing highly dangerous weapons using nitre to propel explosions.
* c. 5,300 A.K. - The Lost Empire rises in south baze, quickly developing military technologies that allow them to spread their empire across nearly the entire continent.
	+ c. 5,300 - 5,000 - The Lost Empire expands massively, and the empire's premier Theologians and Thaumaturgists begin to imbue mundane items with magic, greatly expanding their power. This is the first recorded creation of Magical Items on Oacca-Seri. At some point, they also harness the power of the Pallid Sigil, and potentially other ancient beings, to power their magical technology.
* c. 5,000 A.K. - The Awaliska and the Lost empire come into contact, beginning a century-long conflict now referred to as the Only War.
* c. 4,500 A.K. - An unknown incident causes the Lost Empire to crumble, leaving their cities rotting and abandoned. The Awaliska, politically fractured from the war, breaks into four major empires - One in the south, the Awa Empire, one in the east, referred to as the Tono, One in the west near the highpeaks called the Liska, and one in the center called Omo'xana.
* c. 4,300 A.K. - The Philosian empire and the Ehuau empire arise independently on opposite sides of the Paktos sea. They quickly become trade partners and develop a complex navigation system, allowing for transport of goods across the sea.

## Classical Age

The period between ca. 1,200 A.K. and ca. 100 P.K. is referred to as the classical age. The discovery of Bronze, and later iron allowed for civilizations to wage war and increase their defense, while also providing greater opportunities for scientific advancement than ever before.

1. ↑ This is a point of continuous debate amongst researchers, with some believing currency evolved several hundred years prior with the undersea ancestors of the dragons.