World History of Haven

## **First Era (before year 0)** **Origins**

*See: Zet'tallan*

 Legends say the world was found by the Wandering God Zet’tallan as a shard of a larger world floating in the endless Aether. Taking pity on those who lived upon it, he used the leylines to stitch the world to his back.

### **The 1st Human/Gemna War**

*See: Humans, Gemna*

 The Humans were plentiful and prosperous, but their air of superiority would cause them trouble when first introduced to the Mountainfolk, which quickly led to their King ordering them to drive the Mountainfolk back into the mountains due to the fear of their foreign nature, slaughtering any who did not flee. The Kerrick family of Mountainfolk covered their brethren's retreat, and the only surviving Kerrick was crowned King of the Gemna for their bravery.**​**

### **The Landing of the Phoenix**

*See: The Phoenix, Uragma, Sheana, Noxcess*

The great being known as the Phoenix crashed onto Haven, landing in the dense jungles of Er’ac’sen, scorching them into a desert. The Trade-savvy Noxcess were sealed underground, the Sheana forced to the edges of the desert to survive, and the Uragma’s skin were scorched to a thickened hide as they nursed it back to health.

### **The Separation of the Hillanders**

*See: Hillanders, Gemna*

When the Gemna turned their focus towards war and vengeance for what the Humans did to them, the Hillanders did not agree with their brethren’s vengeful and warlike ways and made an agreement to present their case to King Kerrick. He did not agree to stop, however, in their plea to go back to the old ways he consented, giving them the lands that made up the foothills of their mountains on the surface.

## ***Second Era (0-1499 P.E.)***

### **(Year 0) The Fairfolk Exodus**

*See: The Fairfolk Empire*

Into a divided and human-driven world stepped Empress Brea and her fairfolk, quickly taking the eastern forests from the few Humans who had called it home, pushing them back to the Grasslands. They named this previously unnamed region Silva'natu, and were from the very beginning a military, magical, and political force to be reckoned with. With them, the Fairfolk brought Tanana's concept of linear time, a method of recording days, months, and years that was not yet known to this world, and from that day forward years were recorded using the Exodus as a baseline, having each year marked as P.E. (Post Exodus).

### **(25-30 P.E.) The First War of Ten Houses**

*See: The Fairfolk Empire*

Upon escaping from the dream, and after Lady Brea Somnia declared herself Empress of the new Fairfolk Empire, the fairfolk was divided. Four of the original ten houses (Serta, Cirkaan, Finien, and Harena) supported Brea in her bid for the throne. The remaining five houses (Maleficent, Goodfellow, Le Fay, Ayenta and Bareon, the last of whom they rallied around) opposed Brea's rule and, disappointed by their new mortal forms, wished to return to the dream and fight the terrors who drove them out. With both sides unwilling to concede, the First War of Ten Houses began, ending in the near utter annihilation of the latter five houses, with the remnants being absorbed into the remaining five.

### **(200 P.E.) The Arrival of the Unda**

*See: The Unda Inquistion*

Pleading with Zet’tallan, the wandering god, and he agreed to let them have a home on Haven if they would protect his wards and their home from the dangers of the Aether. They agreed, but the only land not taken was under the ocean and on the islands, so when they came to Haven and set their home their ethereal bodies took form and adapted to their watery abode.

### **(206 P.E.) The War of Tides**

*See:* The Unda Inquistion *, The Fairfolk Empire*

Empress Brea of the Fairfolk saw the success of the Unda and the prosperity of their island abodes she became jealous, waging war with them. After losing nearly her entire fleet in a single battle, however, she begrudgingly signed a Peace Treaty.

### **(300-305 P.E.) The 2nd Human/Gemna War / The Human Genocide**

*See: Humans, Gemna*

The Humans were already reeling from the loss of the easter forests when the Gemna emerged from the deep places of the Hiyehm Mountains, machines of war, built using spellcraft, spitting fire onto the grasslands as they marched for vengeance over the Humans driving them off in the First Era. They drove the Humans back to their final city, a small coastal town named Ponente, before taking pity on the Humans and letting them live, though their kingdom and monarchy were no more. Ponente would later become the Human capital due to this.

### **(305-309 P.E.) The 1st Gemna/Fairfolk War**

*See:* Gemna*, The Fairfolk Empire*

Brea, still mad from her loss to the Unda and having just witnessed the slaughter of the Humans, turned her eyes to the Gemna and the power they held due to their holding of Compass Rose, and in turn the place where all leylines met. She took the town but found the Gemna were not so easily beaten. Still, on a high from having just defeated the Humans, they put up quite the fight with the Fairfolk, until eventually ending the war with an Armistice to be renewed every 100 years.

### **(703 P.E.) The Noxcess Emerge**

*See: Noxcess*

Surfacing from their underground tunnels, where they had been sealed for uncounted centuries, the Noxcess’s strange and alien ways made for difficult relations with the other cultures. However, they brought with them gold for the Sheana and water from underground rivers that all life in the desert needed desperately.

### **(809-827 P.E.) Second Gemna-Fairfolk War**

*See: Gemna, The Fairfolk Empire*

In 809 P.E., 500 years after the Armistice was originally signed the Gemna had had enough of the Fairfolk “condescension”, and refused to renew it. The war that ensued was one of the bloodiest wars in Haven’s history, behind only the 2nd Human/Gemna War.

* **The Siege of Grecale (824-826 P.E.) -** The Gemna pushed as far as Grecale, to which they laid siege. The siege between an impenetrable magical barrier and an unstoppable army lasted for nearly 2 years before the Fairfolk managed to surround the sieging force from the outside and annihilate the assailing force.

However, with the Gemna defeated, the Fairfolk marched into the foothills of the Mountains, torching Hillander villages they believed to be connected to the Gema. King Kerrick heard of this and saw no choice but to renew the Armistice to protect the cousins of his people.

### **(1376-1400 P.E.) The War of Water**

*See: Noxcess, Sheana*

When the Noxcess found out the Sheana had been stealing water from their wells, they, being immune to poison, poisoned their own water, leading to the thieves drinking it and dying. However they brought it home to their families, and when they were the ones killed waged war on the Noxcess. This bloody conflict between the neverending tides of Noxcess bubbling up from their tunnels and the hard to kill Sheana and their impossibly strong terracotta golems lasted for 24 years before the two sides eventually agreed to stop the fighting, to save either side from taking any more casualties.

## **Third Era (1500-2019 P.E.)**

### **(1838- P.E.) the Faebane Conflict /aka/ the Age of Hate (Beginning)**

*See: The Fairfolk Empire, Sheana*

When Brea tried to expand into the territory of the Sheana Clan Clan Jackrabbit, they fought back with far greater ferocity than she had expected. This is Haven's longest chronicled conflict, lasting several generations and even a renaming of Clan Jackrabbit to Clan Faebane.

### **(2017-2018 P.E.) The Second War of Ten Houses /aka/ the Fairfolk Civil War**

*See: The Fairfolk Empire*

When five Sidhe Wraiths escaped from Death’s Realm, they plunged the Fairfolk lands into Chaos. The Fallen Sidhe Lords, as they were called, belonged to five of the original ten houses of the Fairfolk empire, which had been destroyed in the First War of Ten Houses by the allied forces surrounding House Somnia. The Wraiths sought to return the Fairfolk to the Dream where they believed their people belonged. House Harena sided with them on this and brought Silva’natu into a civil war. The Gemna backed the rebels, having a vested interest in the fall of Somnia and the Fairfolk returning to the dream, but almost exclusively indirectly. The war was brought to an end when Prince Caeus Harena assassinated his sister Lady Grella Harena and ascended to the throne as Lord of the House. After this, the Gemna seceded from the war, and the Fairfolk hunted down the remaining wraiths.

### **(2018 P.E.) The Rise of the Game Master**

*See: The Game Master*

Challenging a group of mortals to come to his realm for games to win great prizes, the entity known solely as The Game Master, his true name banished from time itself by Tanana, the old god of time, ended this night of games with a challenge for Tanana. He would have a champion of his, one Carreg-Gwaed In’i’nen, fight a champion of hers, one Lance Cestil, in a duel of Fate and Time. If Lance won, the Game Master would return to exile for all of eternity, but if Carreg won, Tanana would restore his godly powers to him, making him divine once more, but she herself would go into exile. As per the rules of the challenge, each god would be allowed to power one spell from the repertoire of their chosen champion, effectively extending the abilities of that spell into infinite. The Game Master’s magic allowed Carreg to find a fated path to victory, and Tanana’s dominion over Time allowed Lance to rewind time back 10 seconds to try again every time to attempt to prevent the perfect strike from landing. It is said that for Lance the battle lasted nearly a week, while for Carreg, it was mere seconds. The battle was ended when a string of devoted of Zet’tallan begged Tanana to stop the fighting, and she, in all her cold and calculating madness, took pity on the boy Lance, and called the fight. She said she would restore him godhood but remain in power, and that the wager was off. And so it was that the Game Master became a god, and Carreg his first bishop. However, The Game Master's reign would not last long, as his rivalry with the other gods would boil over soon enough.

### **(-2018 P.E.) The Faebane Conflict /aka/ The Age of Hate (End)**

*See: The Fairfolk Empire,Sheana*

For just short of 2 centuries the war raged on, until a new Matron took charge of Faebane, Matron Jaydenn Aztlyn, who had spoken with Prince Dae’avel Somnia and convinced him of the war’s pointlessness. By the time she took power, Empress Brea was killed near the end of the Third Era and Dae'avel became Emperor, leading to the two newly crowned sovereigns agreeing to end the conflict. As part of the arrangement, Faebane became Jackrabbit again.

### **(2018-2019 P.E.) The Muldratha Conflict**

*See: The Unda Inquisition, Compass Rose*

A Great Aether beast came to the town of Compass Rose, crushing all in his path and using the inanimate as playthings. Its name was Muldratha and its power seemingly knew no bounds, growing with each inch of earth it corrupted and consumed. The Unda underestimated its power at first, sending but one crusader-team to destroy it, only for them to all perish in their first clash with the beast. The Keystone where all leylines meet was luckily protected from the corruption by a ritual performed by a Noxcess named Meo Noakes, who sealed himself away inside the keystone as well, but the rest of the town fell and had to be evacuated. Months later, the Gods made their decision. If they allowed Muldratha to live, the world would be destroyed, and so all but the most powerful of their Heralds gave their lives to empower a group of local heroes, including many of the Grey Wardens, giving them the power to destroy the beast forever, with the help of a veritable legion of Unda keeping the corruption at bay.

### **(2019 P.E.) The Shattering of Leaderships**

*See: The Fairfolk Empire*

Empress Brea, the supernaturally powerful leader of the fairfolk since they arrived on Haven, was found dead in her throne room, amongst the bodies of her personal guard and a collection of Gemna. There was no explanation for this event, and even the ghosts seemed to have vanished. The Fairfolk blamed the Gemna for this, but the Gemna were too busy with the fact their King, Queen, and entire royal Court had been slaughtered in a similar way, by Fairfolk with strange weapons which had included Brea’s spy master. This was the end of the Immortal Empire and the true symbol to the world of the ever-growing mortality of the Fairfolk.

### **(2019 P.E.) Founding of the First Knights Order**

*See: Order of the Golden Lance*

The Order of the Golden Lance was founded in wake of the town of Compass Rose being left bereft of leadership as the Humans, Gemna, and Fairfolk all pulled their governments out after the Muldratha Conflict. Zy Ravenheart became the first Lord Commander, naming the Order after his recently deceased friend Lance, and set to restoring justice and hope to the town. Little did he know that the act of founding the Order would lead to a Knightly renaissance in the Human lands, and a perpetual role as law enforcement and keepers of peace for the Golden Lance in Compass Rose.

### **(2019-2020 P.E.) The War of Time**

*See: Compass Rose, Order of the Golden Lance, The Fairfolk Empire, The Unda Inquisition, Noxcess, Sheana, Uragma, Humans, Hillanders, Game Master, Tanana, Zet'tallan, Sensus*

* **The Rise of Caliban (2019 P.E.) -** But in Muldratha’s wake was a letter, a letter claiming that Muldratha was but a pawn in a bigger game, signed one Isaac Embersteel. Within months of the Grey Wardens (Compass Rose’s protectors at the time) fighting the cult, a turn of events took them off-guard. Isaac had been killed by a subordinate that his followers began to see as a prophet, a Sluagh known as Caliban. Caliban the Betrayer plunged the world into the first Haven-wide War, those loyal to the gods of Time and Fate who wished to end this timeline and forge a new one in its image, one which they had more control over, warred with those of Earth and Knowledge, who wished to preserve it. However, she made the mistake of making it truly personal and killing the fiance of the founder of the Order of the Golden Lance, Zy Ravenheart.

* **Death of the Chainbreaker (2019 P.E.) -** Through use of a Sidhe Would You Kindly and a Sluagh traitor within her Cult of Caliban known as Omen Presro, Caliban was forced out of her camp, and into the clutches of the Wardens. Through a ritual, Caliban’s eye, heart, and lung were taken to restore Zy’s fiance Tanda Raven to life. However, Caliban’s body was taken away, and many believe it was Zy who gave the cultists permission to bury their leader. However, the cult carried on as though they had not lost their leader.
* **The Council of Races (2019 P.E.) -** A representative from each race met in the town of Compass Rose, discussing what to be done. The Noxcess continued to bicker and would continue to do so until the war was over, for they were not used to acting quick. The Fairfolk refused to fight directly, but instead sent covert operatives to strike out without the gods’ knowing, so that they might win no matter which side won. The Uragma formed two great warbands who each fought on different sides of the war, one travelling north who believed in strength above all else who would later be known as the Icebloods. All 6 Sheana clans were brought together by one Jaydenn Atzlyn of Faebane, and fought on the side of the Wardens. The Gemna King ordered them to fight on the side of the Cult, but his people were growing ever more restless and a revolution was stirring. The Cultuni sat and meditated on what actions to take as the Hillanders and Great animal spirits were brought together by a Raven beast-kin by the name of Tanda Raven, and fought on the side of their patron Zet’tallan, keeping the Gemna armies from leaving the mountains. The Humans fought to defend their own lands, and the Unda fought for Zet’tallan as well, the god they were sworn to protect.
* **The Fall of the Old Gods (2019-2020 P.E.) -** As the two sides clashed, the town of Compass Rose was the heart of the war. A newly resurrected Caliban, her heart gone leaving her even more cold and unfeeling than before, made one final strike against the town, her plans betrayed to the Wardens ahead of time by the first spymaster of the Golden Lance and former bishop of the Game Master, Carreg In’i’nen, attempting to make it to the keystone to end the timeline once and for all. But she was stopped by the Wardens in a fight that saw the deaths of many great historical figures. The forces of Earth and Knowledge only won because a subordinate of Caliban, the Uragma known as Orvek who led the Icebloods, did not listen to her words and believed if he used his raw strength he could break the unbreakable keystone. He was successful in cracking it, however he was also blown up and his axe shattering. Tanana herself appeared and set to mending the keystone, as to preform the ritual it needed to be whole, and the Wardens took this opportunity to follow her into her Realm. It is unknown what became of the Wardens after this, but what is known is that by the dawn of 2020 P.E. they slew the Old Gods in the only place they could be killed, and ended the war once and for all.

## **The Fourth Era (2020-Present [2278])**

* **Publishing of Warden's of Time: An Account of the Defence of Compass Rose and of Haven**, The Memoirs of Uzak de Somnia, the loyal guardian of Emperor Dae'avel Somnia and Grey Warden, who was presumed KIA along with his Warden comrades during the War of Time. Miraculously though, Uzak would survive the war, appearing nearly 260 years later in Compass Rose, the site of his disappearance more than two centuries earlier. Knowing his time on Haven was fading, he would record the memories of his adventures in a journal, the original of which is said to be kept in the Grecale Library. In recent times, scholars have begun to rely on the text as the defacto account of the War after the aging Ogre's identity was publically confirmed. (Warden's of Time can be read OOC here, though its remains unfinished as of yet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d-VCtj\_QZ--\_XMhzBdrKXgINria84rmCHrdwUGFOkWw/edit?usp=sharing)