Timeline

The **Timeline** of major events lays out the major and most important points of history of Aelyn. All dates are given according to the Elvin Calendar, known also as *Kalendrium di Elydoron* in Elvish.

All dates are relevant to the Unification of Mankind during the time of King Conin Maeshlyn, the years before are considered Before Unification, or BU, and the years after are considered After Unification, or AU. However, because this is relevant to only humans and their society, the period of time before the unification are known as the Ancient Era (AE) and the years after are known as the Current Era (CE). This timeline uses the AE and CE distinctions.

## Before the Creation of Time

In the Beginning, there was only Ilio, the God of the Sky, Time, and Knowledge. He reigned supreme in the Garden, the oasis that he had created to be his home, and ruled over the Paragons, the beings who assisted and served Ilio. But Ilio grew depressed in his solitude and sought to create a companion who would be equal to him but different so he created Arra, the Goddess of Love, who became his wife. Together, they ruled over the Garden and rejoiced in their leisure. But, after a while, Arra grew unfulfilled in their lives in the Garden and asked her husband for a child that would be born from the both of them. Together, they created their first child, a daughter named Zirra. Next, Arra birthed two sons, Nerron and Darrion. Finally, she had twins, a boy and a girl named Anarr and Arriella. The Family, as they were thenceforth called, lived together in pure bliss.

## Creation of the World

### 155,000 AE

After much time in the Garden, the eldest daughter, Zirra, found herself desiring more fulfillment in her life like her mother once did. She sought, however, to create. Going to her parents, she asked if she could create her own plane of existence, one that she controlled and watched after. As a gift to their daughter, Ilio and Arra together created the World. Once the land was created, Arra breathed life into the desolate landscape and brought forth existence.

Over time, Zirra, the now Goddess of Flora and Fauna, created new life on the planet in the form of animals and nature. Additionally, she molded the land, creating oceans and continents with mountains and valleys. With her hands, she made it to her liking and watched over all those she had created, seeing them interact. This world did not have death and the animals lived harmoniously with each other. There was no maliciousness or murder, only peace and prosperity.

### Creation of the Elves

#### 132,000 AE

Seeing his sister create life in a new plane of existence made the eldest son of Ilio and Arra jealous. Nerron, too, wished to create something that he could watch and rule over. So, he began crafting his own species, one that was more intelligent and capable than Zirra's. Nerron decided to make a species which he called Elves, or *Elyd* in Archaic Elvish, who had a higher understanding of things in a way that he did. They were made in his image and were sent to the World in hopes of living in peace with Zirra's creation. Being their creator, Nerron favored the Elves and granted them many gifts. The Elves, too, never died or faced hardship and instead lived lives of contentedness. Nerron wished for them to be happy and allowed them to live as he did in the Garden. Because of this, they praised Nerron who they recognized to be their Creator.

### Creation of the Dwarves

#### 104,000 AE

Wanting to join his older siblings, Darrion decided he also wanted to create a race and deliver it upon the World. Wanting to not follow in the footsteps of his brother, he crafted his own species opposite of Nerron's. While the Elves were tall and skinny, Darrion's species, known as Dwarves, were stout and strong. He wanted them to live among stone and conquer the mountains that Nerron's Elves stayed away from. Darrion wished for them to be a working type and planted in them the desire to build. Because of this, they often did not rest and enjoy the fruits of the World as Nerron's children did. Instead, they worked and found enjoyment in conquering. They settled in the northern territories where many rock formations formed mountains and valleys. Using their surroundings, they created fortresses inside the rock and built shelters within mountains.

After the coming of the Dwarves, a noticeable shift is seen in the Family. While Ilio and Arra are supportive of their children's ambitions and successes in this New World, the youngest son, Anarr, grows quite disturbed by the idea of a lesser species enjoying a life of leisure as he does. Because of this, he grows to despise the creations of his siblings which quickly grows to a loathing. He feels as though those created by his siblings are unworthy of happiness and leisure because they are not gods. Anarr begins to formulate a plan to afflict the new creations.

### Creation of Man

#### 99,000 AE

Arriella, the youngest daughter of Ilio and Arra, eventually is convinced by her sister to create her own species. She crafts a being that is a combination of dwarves and elves. Humans, as she called them, were of medium height and slim builds. They had great intelligence but did not travel or explore as willingly as the dwarves did. Instead, they remained in groups and spent their time playing games with one another. It was not uncommon for them to come into contact with the other species but it was always friendly meetings.

## The Fall of Anarr

### 88,500 AE

Anarr, enraged at the actions of his siblings and the creation of new species who were like gods, created a plan to punish the new creatures. He wished to corrupt them and bring them fear. In his eyes, by making them suffer, they would be ungodly from then on and would no longer enjoy the pleasures of being divine. He created the concept of death, or mortality, which would rip the creations from the bliss of the World. With this concept, he created the Wasteland which was where he intended to lock away all the souls of the Dead forever where they would sit in nothingness for eternity.

In order to enact this plan, he had to corrupt the creations. He introduced to them enviousness, dishonesty, cruelty, and greediness. To do this, he created a fruit bush that brought forth plump berries. A young human man found the shrub and consumed the fruit. The berries tainted him creature with all things evil. Upon consumption, the man was cursed with morality. To survive he killed a doe, a child of Zirra, whom he ate to stay alive. The act of murder and bloodshed enraged Zirra. When the doe died, its soul was released and Anarr took it, locking it away in the Wasteland. From then on, all creations were tainted with mortality and the need to survive. Because they needed to survive, they grew selfish and cruel. Quickly, Anarr began collecting souls one by one on a large scale.

Seeing the collapse of the World, the four other siblings banded together to stop their youngest brother. Nerron and Darrion were the first to confront him, demanding that he erase the evilness of the world and release the souls he had imprisoned. Refusing, Anarr told them of his grievances against their creations and cursed them for every making such vile and rotten beings. Now equally as enraged, Nerron and Darrion brought Anarr to their father to settle the matter. Ilio ordered Anarr to do as he was told and relinquish his hatred for the new creations but still Anarr refused. Because his son had defied him, Ilio decided to punish Anarr and choose to banish him from the Garden until he returned the souls to their creators. But, once more, Anarr did not listen to his father and did not leave the Garden. Nerron and Darrion then took matters into their own hands and decided to forcibly remove their young brother from their home. The confrontation turned sour and a battle began between them. Anarr, however, was defeated by his older brothers and banished from the Garden forever. Anarr made the Wasteland his home and resides there, overseeing the souls who are trapped there along with continuously corrupting those who live in the World.

In modern times, it is prophesied that Anarr will return to the World and only a descendent of Nerron, Darrion, or Arriella will be able to defeat him completely which will set the souls in the Wasteland free. This prophecy is shared by most religions of the World.

### Creation of the Omari

#### 86,000 AE

Anarr, from his new home in the Wasteland, created the species which he deemed to be the Omari, a species of low intelligence that were violent and savage. Though they were sentient beings, they lacked compassion or true emotion making them disconnected from the psychological effects of immorality. The Omari were driven by the idea of conquering others and were determined to overcome Zirra's world. They are described as being green in complexion along with having pointed ears like elves but being built as humans. All Omari have a mouth full of teeth and dark eyes colored red to yellow.

## Prehistoric Times

### 85,900 AE

Elves, dwarves, and humans live in tribes. In the eastern lands, the elves reign and settle primarily in the large forest at the center of the land. While there, they often fought amongst each other for resources and over territory. Occasionally, some groups of elves would be brought together over their shared devotion to Nerron but language and communication produced conflict between them.

Dwarves settled primarily in the cold, northern mountains where they bore in the cliffs (using sand and rocks) and began tunneling throughout the large mountains. While tunneling, the dwarves often relied upon each other to produce food from the surface and quickly separated into a caste which was based upon which level of earth you lived and worked on. At this time, however, the caste system was not absolute and was often just generational, not enforced.

Humans were travelers who remained in hunter-gatherer groups. Much like the elves, they often fought each other over resources, especially livestock in the fields. The mortality rate was high in the flatlands and plains because there was little protection from nature. However, on the coasts and in the forests, they often survived longer. Because of this, populations in the coastal areas grew much larger and tribes began to form early on.

The Omari remained in the arid desserts, barely surviving off of the small resources they were provided with. Infighting was extremely common and violence became an integral part of their culture.

### 49,000 AE

During this time, all three races began to separate themselves as they populated, although the mortality rate was still extremely high and life spans were very short. The elves separated into three divisions or races: First Elves, Wood Elves, and Sun Elves. The first elves were considered to be the ones first descendants of Nerron who originated and remained in the northern regions of the Elvyre Hills. They are the ones considered to be the closest to Nerron and thought of themselves to be the superior race. The second race were the wood elves, the most common race of elves, who resided in the major forests in the eastern continent. The least common race of elves were the sun elves who lived in the plains and fields beyond the forests and near the splitting river, later known as the Hultara. By separating into these three races, the elves were better united and began forming small congregations in each region. Settlers in the northern hills and regions were considered to be the most advanced technologically and socially.

Dwarves continued to burrow into mountains and also created small communities on the surface which fed into their homes below ground. By doing this, they established a long history of class and caste that depended on the level of earth in which they lived. These communities quickly joined and merged to create villages, the first and largest being Thurrem, named after their leader named Thuro. In Thurrem, resources were shared and the first dwarven language began to develop among them.

Humans remained in hunter-gatherer groups. However, the average size of a human group, known as a clan, was approximately 8 people including a number of children who stayed with the mothers. There was typically one older male and two younger, each of which had multiple partners, often sharing them among the other men. The children were also very important to the clan and were often the one thing that kept certain families together. This as well as the fact that multiple hunters were able to hunt more food for the clan. Women were extremely valuable and were greatly respected by the men because they brought up the children and maintained the clans at home. However, it was during this time that humans began to separate themselves similarly to elves. Those who lived in the region feed by the northern Elingjour River and beyond into the northern territory towards the mountains of the dwarves. These humans in the north were considered Northmen and those who lived south were considered the Children of Arra, commonly known as the Karra.

## Coming of the Elves

### 5,150 AE

Elves, now powerful in numbers and weapons, crossed the Hultara River into the unknown vastness of the Sunset Forest, as the Harwin Forest was named by them. Riding horses and welding iron blades, they overran and conquered most of the land just west of their own, stretching from the Pass down to the Flatlands that appeared to stretch on like a grass sea. The Elven legions created fortifications and were quick to suppress any attacks from the native human clans that resided in those regions. Most humans who came into contact with the elves were taken as workers and slaves who would do the manual labor for the new elven lords who ruled over them. Each elven lord, the leader of a legion, claimed a plot of land and named it as their own. The humans who lived in these areas would be quickly overtaken and indoctrinated into the elven way of life which included long days in fields and tending to livestock, tasks that humans were only recently becoming familiar with.

However, resistance against the elves was met in the north. The Northmen, who ruled in large tribes in the foothills of the mountains, were resilient and fought against the invading foreigners. They were quick to attack and use their knowledge of their area to their advantage. Being a warlike people, they gained an upper hand in combat and were able to prevent the incoming of elven legions. The elves, knowing nothing of significance lied in the north, decided to return their attention to those they had under their control.

## The Omari Invasions

### 1,650 AE

The goblins invaded from the south into the lands of the Elves, prompting the majority of the legions that had been stationed in Azoria to travel back across the Hultara and defend their homeland. However, some elven lords who were more concerned with their power over the humans remained in their fortifications.

During this time, the most well-known and widely loved elvish lord was named Lord Kolvar Ashlydyn. Ashlydyn was most known for the first Golden Age of Humanity. Under his rule, the University of Winderlyn was built. The University, overseen by Ashlydyn, allowed humans to learn trades and learn to read as well as write. It was during this time that humans began expanding and settling towns where they were finally able to cultivate crops and raise livestock without the intervention of elves.

### 867 AE

After a great deal of time, the elven legions began to expand north across the Pass and into the mountains of the north. In their pursuits, they encountered resistance from the dwarven druings, their form of kingdoms in their mountainous strongholds. The three dwarven druings united under the Chieftain of Krammad and fought against the elves for nearly an entire century. These wars, known in history as the Great Dwarven Wars, lasted approximately 150 years, ending with the victory of the elves when they destroyed most of their army and pushed the dwarves to the far northern coast under the remaining leader, the Chieftain of Krammad.

### 300 AE

After 1100 years of peace, one descendant of Kolvar Ashlydyn decided to return to his homeland to Elvindahl, the realm he had never visited but knew he belonged in. In doing so, he brought with him the other elven lords who had remained in Azoria, leaving the humans to their own devices.

When the last of the elven lords left Azoria, the golden age of peace and prosperity ended. Without a governing body, men fought each other for power, leading to an unruly population that began fighting against each other. The once powerful and united people under elven rule was now fragmented and unable to agree with each other. Factions were formed and kings were appointed to small communities but infighting among the kingdoms was common. There was no unity or kinship as there was under elven rule. The King of the North also proved to be a dangerous enemy who often attacked without warning or hesitation.

## The Unification of the Humans

### 1 CE

Under the leadership of Conin Maeshlyn, the King of Maerlyn, unified the humans under one banner and one cause. Together, they fought and defeated the Omari, pushing them back into the Flatlands where they fled deeper into what became known then as the Omarizar.

### The War of Two Brothers

#### 187 CE

After a number of generations of Maeshlyn kings, the succession of the Maerlyn throne was threatened. High King Willan Maeshlyn had not produced any heirs with his first wife but had produced a bastard son with another woman. When the boy was born, he was legitimized by the King and made the heir. After the king’s first wife died, he remarried and had a son with this new wife. Many wondered who was the legitimate heir. Although Willan’s first-born son had always been recognized as the heir, the son of the King and Queen was favored to be the next king. Upon the death of King Willan, his bastard son, named Kartis, claimed the throne while the true-born prince, Prince Donvin, did as well. Donvin was favored by most of the lords in the south while Kartis was favored by those in the north. Ultimately, Donvin was named the next High King of Maerlyn. Kartis in retaliation named himself the King of Valaara which was not favored by Donvin who considered it to be an act of high treason and rebellion. This began a civil war between the half-brothers. The fighting ended in a stalemate. Valaara, however, was greatly reduced and Maerlyn, grew larger. Donvin decided to seek peace with his half-brother and decided to acknowledge the Kartis as the King of Valaara. He then named his own realm the Kingdom of Maelydor.

During this time of the human civil war, the elves threatened invasion and began putting their army on the coast as a way to make the Maerlyns uneasy. They never actually crossed the Hultara but they were on the verge of doing so.

### The Reign and Fall of House Maeshlyn

#### 192 CE

**Reconstruction:** At the end of the War of Two Brothers, King Donvin Maeshlyn of Maelydor reorganized his kingdom. Knowing he needed strong unity among the kingdom to ensure the peace and security for its people, the king established the five Great Houses of Maelydor which ruled over their earldoms in different locations in Maelydor. These five great houses ruled over the many regions of the kingdom while the King of Maelydor. Some of the families of old from before the unification were appointed the heads of each their respected constituent regions while the others were those whom King Donvin trusted. For the remainder of his rule, Donvin established traditions and practices that would be upheld by the many kings and lords of the realm to come.

### The Reign of House Elloway

#### 414 CE

After many generations, the Kingdom of Maelydor was under the rule of House Elloway.