History of Traversus

## Chapter I: Signs of Life and Death

-As if by accident, the Confluence appears. No deities claim it as their own, and they wait to see what happens.

- Continents shift and form.

-A primordial sea. Signs of life.

-The oldest Sovereign ruins are dated around this time.

-Eventually, orcs evolve into existence, dominating the food chain and forming tribes. Some migrate to what will one day be known as Vestalt.

-Dwarves mysteriously appear, carved from stone in mountain caves by unknown forces. They set to work creating their mountain strongholds.

-The Jotnar awaken in Alderheim.

-The Jotnar travel south, discovering new lands to make their own. Occasionally they fight off daemons that find their way onto Traversus, but mostly fight with creatures such as dinosaurs.

-The Mother of Dragons appears from beyond the stars and arrives at an unknown location on Traversus. She gives birth to the First Brood, who disperse across the world.

-First contact between the Jotnar and the Dragons – a deadly meeting between the Great White Wyrm Nidhogg and the jotunn Hrymr. The outcome of this meeting is unclear, but both are presumed dead. Word reaches the dragons and the jotnar, and both sides prepare for war.

-The Old War, which the jotnar call Ragnarok, begins.

-Unstable magic fills the atmosphere as the war rages on. Evolution speeds up and is altered in unexpected ways. Beastfolk appear and begin to form tribes. Apefolk, already far along on the evolutionary tract, are beginning to use tools and form more complex tribal relations.

-Both sides begin to create soldiers; the jotnar carve niðjar from their flesh, while the dragons approach the orcish tribes, offering them great power, along with immortality, in exchange for servitude. Over half of them accept the offer and become what are now known as elves. These elves are taught the secrets of magic, the first recorded mortals to master it.

-About 30 percent of all dragons die. Around this time, Lune appears in the sky.

-The Dwarves continue to toil away, avoiding the conflict of Ragnarok. Some, however, steal the secrets of arcane magic from the Dragons and flee further into the ground.

-Some elves, unhappy with their bargain, desert the dragons. Some follow a deserter dragon known as Ryūjin to the east, while others set out on their own to the west. A small group descend into caverns beneath the earth.

-Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, calls for peace. Both sides begrudgingly accept. The war has raged for around a millennium. Both sides are exhausted and changed forever; the Dragons are fractured, split by their conflicting ideologies, while the jotnar are monstrous and physically altered, with only a few surviving intact. The descendants of those that survive are now commonly referred to as giants.

-As the ash of the Old War settles on Traversus, a new race arises from the dust; the first human is born.

## Chapter II: Rising from Dust

-The western elves find a landmass that they would call Deivieux. The Vindicalus Discordance, a democratic elven nation, is established, a civilisation of elves free from draconic influence.

-The eastern elves discover an island continent they call Kyō-tashi. Under the leadership of Ryūjin, they form the Naminaka Addendum, dedicated to arcane study and research.

-The elves that delved into caves find a massive complex of tunnels that stretch across Traversus. They call it the So-Below.

-Daoine Sidhe appear out of nowhere in various places on Traversus.

-The dwarves of Highgrave stumble into the So-Below, where their banished brethren have continued the use of darker and more powerful magics. Enraged, the pious High Dwarves declare war on the Grey Dwarves; the Stonefeud begins.

-Humans, a young race, begin to create settlements across Traversus. Many of them spread across the continent that will eventually be named Vestalt. Many live in the arid regions in the centre but most move to the south-east of the continent, where the land is lush and suitable for farming. Many Daoine Sidhe already live here, but the two races cohabitate peacefully.

-The magic of the Vindicalus elves begins to wane. They seek a new source of power.

-Some niðjar, left directionless after the Old War, leave their home of Alderheim to explore the world. Some land in the Stagvale on Vestalt, form the city of Dalheim, and begin to breed with the humans there.

-On the south-east of Vestalt, 5 warring human clans come to an agreement and form Lyrelyth. Many Daoine Sidhe join this nation and share their customs and beliefs.

-The Vindicalus Discordance begin to worship the High Heavens, and they are filled with divine power. They are the first Sun Elves. Around the same time, daemons appear on Traversus.

-On Vestalt, in response to daemonic incursions, the Kingdom of Carill is founded, a proud and strong human nation that protects surrounding lands from monstrous and daemonic threats. They live in harmony with Lyrelyth.

-Elves from the Naminaka Addendum discover Vestalt and make contact with the Kingdom of Carill. They share their arcane knowledge with the humans and the city of Ula’lume is created.

-Something occurs in the Vindicalus Discordance that results in the elves fleeing Deivieux, following a leader known as Dhavinaud across the seas. During this exodus, he is crowned king of the new Levissian Empire. It is said they followed the sun, as Deus guided them to a new home.

-The Levissians make landfall on Vestalt and begin to explore the new continent.

## Chapter III: The Sun Also Rises

-The young Levissian Empire, merely a small fleet of ships, lands on the northern shores of Vestalt and wage bloody war with the orcs. The wildlands prove too much for the elves and they retreat to their ships, heading along the coast to the east.

-Some humans from the Stagvale discover the secrets of the runic language of the Jotnar. Seeking to profit off it away from niðjar scrutiny, they head west.

-The Levissians have found hospitable land in the south-east of Vestalt. A great pillar is raised from the sea, and Solaire is founded atop it. The Levissians begin marking their borders, which crosses into Lyrelyth, Carill and Sidhelands. The inhabitants of these places are not pleased.

-Eventually, as their power and influence grows due to their arcane practice, and seeking autonomy from Carill, Ula’lume seeks sovereignty and becomes a city-state.

-Due to minimal resistance, The Levissian Empire has completely claimed the Sidhelands, and easily captured a large majority of Carillian land, while many Carillians choose to defect and join the Empire. Lyrelyth proves more formidable, using guerrilla tactics to defend themselves.

-Dhavinaud disappears, and, with his son too young to lead, his older sister, Marguerite, takes the throne. She presses the attack on Lyrelyth, inciting awe and terror with her battle prowess, and spreading the influence of Deus to every corner of the Empire.

-Following the example of Ula’lume and seeing the decline of the Purple Kingdom, as well as wanting to not be at odds with the Empire, the cities of San Valento and Krossgarde declare independence from the Kingdom of Carill.

-To protect the ill-equipped peasants and ‘groundlings’ of the Sidhelands, the Empire creates the Grey Wardens, a militia dedicated to the protection of what will eventually be referred to as the ‘Wardenfields’.

-Marguerite is slain in battle, and her corpse erupts in a mountain of flames. This is seen as a great sign from Deus himself, and the war ends in a cease-fire. Lots of Lyrelythian land is under imperial occupation, but due to heavy losses in the war, they are unable to reclaim it. Dhavinaud’s son, Theorick takes the throne and sets about bringing peace to the fractured lands of the Empire, promoting the teachings of Deus.

-The inventors from the Stagvale have founded a rapidly growing city of technological innovation dubbed Schwarzgarten. The heads of companies squabble for a full year over land rights, patents and ownership but eventually sign a treaty known as the Steel Accord. They pool their resources, form the Konsortium and crown the first Eisenkaiser, Ludwig von Schwarzgarten I.

-Ula’lume begins to grow wary of the Levissian Empire’s encroaching borders and zealousness and tries to muster a rebellion. The other states are hesitant to help due to dwindling resources and fear from the last war. Regardless, they begin to spread anti-Empire and anti-Deus sentiment.

-The Empire responds with a slandering of Ula’lume, and of arcane magic. They also begin to crack down on non-Deus worship, seizing idols and sacking places of prayer.

-The Tragedy occurs. Thousands of lives are lost. Ula’lumian lands are left devastated and unstable. Nobody can recall any specifics of the event. King Theorick declares arcane magic to be a danger to life itself, and the drafting of laws begin that limit its use.

-The first Witchbreed is recorded on Traversus.

-King Theorick disappears. With his son, Dhavinaud II, too young to rule, Margrave Obadiah Warwicke is named Regent Lord of the Empire, and he carries out Theorick’s wishes for arcane prohibition.