Media Arcana (MA)

Media Arcana (MA, '[in the] midst [of] magic') is the label used for the calendar year in most Eulanan cultures. It is dated to the earliest recording of systemically harnessed arcane energy. Praearcana (PA, 'before magic') is used for dates before 1 MA.

### Usage and Measurement

The Media Arcana system is used by all major human and Elven cultures, and splits the year into four astronomical seasons of 90 days, regardless of local climate. A period of four days at the end of Winter is considered the Adjunct Season, and is typically a period of new year's revelry in most cultures which follow the MA calendar.

### Timeline

~15000 PA - Estimated age of earliest known Elven material artifacts.

~1255 PA - Earliest recorded war between organized state societies of different species, between an Orcish tribal confederation and an Elven city-state. Accepted starting date of the Orcish Wars.

1222 PA - Foundation of the first recorded Elven kingdom, in which several Elven city-states surrendered sovereignty to an autocratic war leader 'and his heirs in perpetuity' as a means of uniting against Orcish aggression.

496 PA - Foundation of the First Elven Empire, which would eventually unite all existing Elven governments under a single monarch.

~115 PA - Estimated date of founding of the first known human kingdom.

1 MA - First unambiguous mention by Elven sources of 'true' or 'modern' magic, in which an individual can consistently and repeatedly manifest measurable arcane phenomena.

50 MA - The generally accepted starting date for the Elven Golden Age, at which point Orcish power recedes against the magic-wielding empire of the elves.

78 MA - The first post-Orcish Wars conquests of human settlements by the First Elven Empire begin, initiating an extended period of expansionism known as the Elven Hegemony.

251 MA - The First Elven Empire organizes a scholarly circle of magic research to support the wars against the human kingdoms.

363 MA - The last major human settlements in modern-day Sertorio formally submit to the overlordship of the First Elven Empire.

~1100 MA - The autonomy of human regions under increasingly lax Elven overlordship and the development of human sedentary society begins to result in what would become long-lasting feudal institutions and structures.

1563 MA - The last Emperor of the First Elven Empire is assassinated by Elven radicals. While the resulting civil war is comparatively brief, significant expanses of Elven territories are lost to newly sovereign Elven kingdoms and never recovered. This is considered the end of the Elven Golden Age.

1650 MA - The formal establishment of the Holy Human Empire, uniting several long-standing resistance groups, aristocratic families, and monied interests which had engaged in sustained hostilities against their Elven overlords since the rise of the Second Elven Empire. The beginning of the Human Wars of Independence.

1719 MA - The War of the Alliance ignites between an alliance of human states and the Second Elven Empire over a revived expansionist policy against weaker human polities. Most of the war-weary breakaway Elven kingdoms remain neutral.

1723 MA - The final peace treaty of the War of the Alliance is signed with the Second Elven Empire (and co-belligerents), formally establishing the multiethnic Steppe Commonwealth and ending the Human Wars of Independence on the 72nd of Spring, 1723 MA. In the treaty, the Elven Emperor formally renounces all claims to human settlements and lands. This is also considered the end of the era of Elven Hegemony.

1770 MA - Present day.