A Brief History

## A Brief History of the Setting

> *To begin your study of the history of the Prime Material Plane, then, take care to orient it in its place: above the lower planes of Hell and the Abyss, and below the upper planes of Arcadia and Elysium. Do not be deceived by its great distance from the latter, nor the fact that the two planes were uncoupled for much of contemporary history. The history of the Prime Material Plane, the heavenly body known as Terra, is a history of Elysium. **From "Manual of Terra" by Professor Irulan***
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We can divide the history of the Prime Material Plane into three eras, each characterized by contact with the High Material Plane known as Elysium: the *First Era* of Elves and Men, the ill-titled *Modern Era*, after the destruction of Elysium and mass exodus of the Ascendant Races to the Prime Material Plane, and the post-genesis *Reform Era*, the story of which is still being written.

### History of the First Era and Calamity

Little is written about history on Terra before contact was established with Elysium, when the Elves walked the first fey-bridges into the Prime Material Plane. Some scholars claim that there *was* no history on Terra before the Elves: that Men are their descendants, Halflings the descendants of Dwarves, and that Orcs and Goliaths, the few native races on Terra, were content to live, breed and die in local and unintrusive subsistence with the land. Nevertheless, this *post-contact* period comprises the vast majority of the history of Terra. During this time, the first kings and kingdoms emerged, universities were founded, wars were waged, and, aided by the tremendous latent arcane resources of Elysium, first attempts at industrialization were made. Beginning in year 3504 (though predicted and, some say, measured by scholars as soon as 3482), Elysium began to experience hints of calamity: great shudders in the ground, the release of terrible primordial beasts, and deadly arcane storms. These forewarnings allowed many, though not all, inhabitants of the plane to reach safety on Terra. In year 3548, all extraplanar bridges between Terra and Elysium were severed.

While no firsthand accounts of the Elysian Calamity are available to researchers, young Elves (prior to their Drawing of the Veil) sometimes report reveries of victims of the Calamity. These memories suggest that the world *"began to melt away, hard earth and stone walls into sand, which was picked up by hot and violent winds. I began to fall, and my body blew away from me, until I was naught but the breath in my lungs."* Arcane researchers were no longer able to detect traces of Elysium by early 3553.

The question of blame for the Elysian Calamity is still an open and highly contentious question. Elven communities often blame the Dwarves, who they allege dug too deep and too greedily, disturbing the pool of arcane energy at the heart of the world. Dwarven communities blame the Elves for depleting the surface natural and arcane resources of Elysium in their aggressive pursuit of industry. However, most contemporary scholars agree that the Elysian Calamity was caused by the extensive extraction and refinement of Elysian Arcanite, an essential component of arcane practice, which was carried out by Elves and Dwarves alike (and often transported and sold to the Prime Material Plane).

### History of the Modern Era

If the history of the First Era was characterized by cultural, economic and arcane exchange with Elysium, the Modern Era was in turn characterized by contention with the surviving traces of Elysium. While nations went to war over access to residual Elysian arcane power (surviving magical artifacts, stockpiles of refined Arcanite), many of these nations also fought to exclude refugees of the Ascendant Races. Under the guise of preventing a similar Calamity on the Prime Material Plane, many refugee Elves were stripped of magical articles, wealth and titles, though this response varied by nation. In particular, the near-complete expulsion of Elves from Brimm in late 3720 led to the establishment of New Elysium, a designated Elven state.

In the absence of plentiful Terran deposits of Arcanite, the development of arcane industry largely ceased. Instead, nations pursued divine and druidic magic, alternative sources of arcane energy (such as Solarium), and the construction of non-magical infrastructure and industry. Aided by these developments, standards of living grew substantially over the Modern Era, such that the majority of inhabitants of Terra are literate and work in non-agricultural pursuits.

While territorial disputes are still somewhat common among nations, the nations of the world are largely stable: the mercantilist Vandrian Empire,Brimm, the Dwarven community of Dhurn, the Solaric Holy Kirlian Empire, the autocratic United Kingdoms of North Kirlia, as well as the Nation of New Elysium.

### The Reform Era

On February 17, 3818, arcane researchers at Moun Phorr University discovered traces of a new plane at the historical frequency of Elysium. This finding was soon corroborated by other researchers, suggesting the Reformation of Elysium. The signal grew stronger over time, and on March 28, 3818, Vandrian planewalkers successfully established an arcane bridge to the plane, finding a newly-reformed Elysium in a primordial state. As yet, all nations have established contact with the plane, and representatives from Vandria, Brimm, Dhurn, and the UKNK agreed to tentative territorial boundaries at the Council of Gel Badur; New Elysium and the Holy Kirlian empire have refused to recognize these borders.

While Elysium exists in a largely prehistoric state, explorers have discovered half- or fully-formed structures and tombs from various eras in the history of Elysium. These structures often hold artifacts of great arcane power, and occasionally refined or unrefined Arcanite. As such, many nations have authorized governmental or private expeditions into Elysium, in a mad dash to claim the power and resources of the High Material Plane.

1. ↑ Reveries of a Dying World. *Anders Pernelis Quila.* 3712*.*
2. ↑ Dwarves were often saved from a similar fate for several reasons. Firstly, Dwarves had settled in Terran communities for much of history, even establishing a colony on the continent of Taebren. Secondly, while Dwarves also pursued the arcane arts, they largely focused on the creation and study of magical artifacts (rather than the personal practice of magic), which would have been both familiar to and essential to the functioning of many Terran communities. Finally, Dwarven leaders on Elysium predicted and prepared for the Calamity many years in advance, such that the vast majority of Dwarves still living on Elysium were settled on the Prime Material Plane at the time of the Calamity.