History of Oderia

The History of the Oderian Archipelago is divided in several major era's, in total spanning thousands of years. Each era is defined by a certain status quo or an upheaval of that status quo.

While all sentient races preserved history in one way or another, the most effective means of passing historical knowledge throughout time proved to be Dragonkinds incredible memory, and Dwarven stonecarving. Both methods lasted for hundreds or thousands of years and remained reliable over time. Human archiving and Elven storytelling were far more common, but less reliable with large stories and their historical integrity degraded with time as alterations of the original events seeped into the story's told or written.

## Major era's

### Era of the precursors

The most ancient definable era of Oderia is the Era in which the enigmatic forerunner civilization lived. Very little is known about this Era, as very few records or artifacts remain from this time period, aside from the remnant constructs of the forerunners. Most prominent of these remnants are the towering spires such as the Aeternum Spire. As these remnants can be found all over Oderia, and even in other Planes of Existence, suggesting that the ancient forerunners were a highly advanced civilization with access to sophisticated constructing techniques. Aside from the remnant structures, very few artifacts can be atribitued to the forerunners, puzzeling modern scholars. It is believed that a majority of the forerunner civilization collapsed or vanished sometime before or during the Era of Calamity.

### Era of Calamity

The Era of Calamity was a period of unknown lenght in which the world was covered by magical storms, ravaging over the lands. These storms were quite inhospitable to most forms of sentient life, as suggested by stories of Ometiklan the Storyteller and the continuing exploration of lands beyond the Diaspora in modern days. Nearing the end of the Era of Calamity, the World's Heart first appeared, protecting the archipelago from the effects of the Calamity.

### Era of Awakening

The Era of Awakening is the 'first' true era of the Oderian Archipelago. It started with the appearance of the World's Heart which provided a liveable archipelago for surviving sentient species. However, most sentient races still walked a fine line between survival and extinction in these early days. Small populations and scattered islands kept almost all races as hunter-gatherers for roughly 2000 years. The island group of Giaden and its surrounding isles were lush and bountiful due to its proximity to the World's Heart, and many of the long-living elves gathered here over the centuries to worship the life-giving pillar of light. As their knowledge of centuries gathered in a central location, and the lands of Giaden became more and more tamed by its inhabitants, the idea of civilization began here.

### The Elven Era

As the Elves established the first cities and mastered various advancements, like the art of sailing, they started to expand their sphere of influence across the Core and the Inner Circle of the Archipelago. During their travels, they encountered several proto-civilizations that they either conquered or subjugated into thralldom. While this elven empire was domineering life in the Archipelago, it did so out of a parental sentiment, teaching the other races the benefits of living in Elven civilization. As the Elven empire spread, they brought culture, art, technology, and civilization with them that the other races eagerly accepted, wether they liked subservience to the empire or not. During the height of the empire, various expeditions with settlers set out towards the far-out Diaspora, encountering native tribes there. During this height of the empire, the elves grew so arrogant that they tried to bring the ancient dragons into service as well. The Dragons were not pleased with this, and united to destroy the Elven empire. With the razing of their capital city on Giaden, the empire fell into a rapid decline. Several hundred years of decline later, the empire was toppled by continued human and dwarven uprisings, whose populations had grown exponentionally under the Elvish rule. The ancient elven empire was the primary power of Oderia for roughly a thousand years.

### Era of Exploration

The Era of Exploration is the current era of Oderia, ongoing for 2 centuries now. The Era of Exploration sees the large scale exploration and exploitation of the Diaspora following cultural and technological developments, which allowed for larger and more reliable seafaring ships. During this era, two large political alliances emerged in the Core and First circle, rivalling each other for dominance over the Oderian archipelago.