Aradath History
Welcome reader to Aradath's Timeline ...
Note: BF stands for Before the Fall. AF stands of After the Fall.
The Age of Darkness - the first Sa-Taath Epoch (from the beginning of time until 4100 BF)
The time before 4100 BC is largely unrecorded or has faded into myth. What references do exist describe a wild time of strife and war. Dragon-kind seemed to be Aradaths most prominent race, who spent much of their time fighting an unknown ancient being of immense power and malevolence. The war with this being slowly eroded the numbers of dragons about the lands.
As the story goes, the major races of the time, those being the Dragons, Frontacians, Psycians, Humans and Lhumonir, rallied together for the first time in history to battle this ancient being. At some point during this conflict, the race known as the Lhuminor mysteriously vanished. What little we know of their existence today is that they seem to have been created by the heads of the Human tribes to protect themselves from the Dragons. They were generally peaceful beings, though extremely long-lived (in a range of thousands of years). What remains of the Lhuminor is rumored to be the race Muatana-al. Several ancient records suggest they had a bane cast upon them by the being, forever making them the polar opposite of that which they once were.
The Age of Mourning the Sa-Odarous Epoch ( 4100 BF to 3100 BF )
As the Age of Mourning began, the tide of the conflict quickly turned as the ancient being lost ground. With growing strength the opposition continued to hold more and more of the worlds power. Around the age 3600, the Frontacian race ingeniously devised a means to ensnare and imprison the ancient being, and with the help of their allies, all of whom took extremely heavy losses in the final battle, the foe was defeated. From that point on, a select group of Frontacians, known as The Keepers, would keep watch over the beings prison to ensure it never escaped again. By this act, the great conflict came to an end.
Having played so central a role in the final defeat of the ancient being, the prestige (and ambition) of the Frontacians grew. The completion of the trap marks for most historians the start of the Frontacian Empire, which would rule much of the world for the following 2600 odd years. The Frontacians, and their Psycian allies, quickly rose to power as the Dragons retreated far beneath the earth to lick their wounds, the Humans scattered to the four winds to return to their nomadic tribes, and many other races slunk into seclusion.
During the next 500 years, the Frontacians expand and enhance their rule over much of the world and its races. However, the Penthania-Secia civil war also breaks out during this time period. The fighting continues for quite some time until, unwittingly, the Arachnians of Arachnia get involved on the Secia side of the conflict. This war continued until the Penthanians released the unmagick, which essentially ended the war changing many things forever.
The Age of Lessons (3100 BF to 1000 BF)
The great change of Unmagick drastically modified the physical as well as the political world. With unmagick came the creation of the Penthanian and Secian races, apart and radically different from the Frontacians they formally were. It also saw a drastic change the in the make-up of the Arachnian race from a powerful magic-weilding one, to a hate filled vile race of vengeful creatures bent on destroying those who took their magic away. The staging process of dragons changes again, with the new need of a Bondmate to survive the feat.
During this time, the Frontacian Empire continues to grow in size and power, especially with the vacuum left by the withdrawl of Dragon-kind. The Psycians retain their independence in their hidden Isle, dealing still as the only equals to the Frontacians within their mighty empire. Remnants of several chaotic races in the Dark Marches, Arachnians and others in the Great Waste, and some Elven Clans and Flerians maintain a quiet existence, apart from, but generally at peace with the burgeoning empire.
The Epoch of Rinanni-Sa ( 3000 BF to 1700 BF)
The next 1300 years were a time of general peace. Although minor conflicts existed during this period of time, little occurred that affected the general world situation. The Frontacian Empire continued its hold on the majority of the world, while the fringe nations and clans continued their own development.
The Epoch of Sa-Set ( 1700 BF to 1000 BF )
The peace of the prior 1300 years is shattered with the outbreak of the Frontacian-Psycian war. This conflict ends with the destruction of the Psycian homeland, and the ensuing damage causes both races to suddenly become dependent upon magickal potions to survive. Both races quickly discover the only way to get a large amount of the magick source is through exploitation of the Dragons. It is found that the Dragons produce a substance created within their bodies known as essence which becomes the main ingredient of these necessary magickal potions.
Weakened by the War, obsessed now with the very survival of their race, the Frontacian grip upon power falters as they turn inward. The Empire begins a slow decline that will last some 700 odd years. A series of conflicts during this time, The Hithual Rebellion, The Leuian Independence, The Flight of the Anthians, and the growing boldness of raiders from the Dark Marches and Great Wastes bring the empire to a whimpering end.
The Age of Revelation the Epoch of Sa-Taath ( 1000 BF to 100 BF )
Few agree on what brought the Age of Lessons to a close, and began the Age of Revelation, but some say the turning point was the great dragon hunt of 1000. After 700 years of eking by on rare and meager sources of the dragon essence that ensured their survival, the Frontacians and the Psycians were contemplating the end of both their races. In the year 1000, An Arachnian alchemist in seeking both the potential wealth the sale of dragon essence would bring him as well as a supply for his own use, managed the largest killing of dragons in recorded history.
In the vacuum of power left by the fall of the Frontacian empire, the various temples rose in influence. The peoples of the world, lacking the guidance and structure that the empire provided, organized themselves into smaller communities, states, and nations. These often had at their center one or more of the temples. Though some were clearly theocracies, others were not. Whatever the case, the priesthoods greatly increased their power and influence. When armies marched, they marched under the banners of the Orders of the Sword. When the needs of a community were met, they were most often provided under the auspices of an Order of the Heart. And, when strange things happened, most attributed it to the quiet and subtle instruction of some Order of the Hand.
In the century 700, a caravan discovered the remains of an ancient city, centrally located among the continent Aradath, which in turn is centrally located among the known lands of the world, the site was ideal to be reclaimed as a settlement. Being near a navigable river, and very defensible, the town quickly became a major trading center, and soon a center of commerce and manufacturing. This settlement, as it grew from outpost to village to town and eventually to city, became known as The Spur. In the century 600, when those accomplished in making magicks organized themselves into the Artificers Guild; they set up the first guildhouse in the Spur, further enhancing the City's importance. With the founding of the Artificer's Guild, the Guild System, as it is known today, began. It developed as other guilds were created around professionalism and other related interests.
The century 400 began what is called the War of the Temples. A series of conflicts over the next 400 years involving, predominantly, the Temple of Odarous and the Order faction of the Temple of Sa against the Temple of Taath and those of the Chaos faction of Sa. The Temple of Rinanni sought, of course, peace, but was often forced to defend itself and its followers against attacks from Taath-Sa/Chaos. Rinannians were frequently aided by the Temple of Elindale, as well as the Odarous-Sa/Order on occasion. Sa/Entropy was not seen during this entire period, while the temple of the Nameless One, as usual, quite visibly preached in the streets and fields and wherever a willing audience could be found. In the last century of the Age of Revelation, the Temple of Rinanni began to find some success in bringing the long War of Temples to a close.
The Golden Age of Aradath ( 600 BF - 0 )
To this day, none can say what set off the conflagration, but the simmering rivalries of those gathered Temples exploded into a battle, which spread throughout the city. Suddenly, the Council Chambers became a maelstrom of runes and a clash of weapons. The Governor and the Mayor fell, as did many of the High Priests and their entourage. The battle waged furiously, some say the Gods themselves grappled with each other in the blackened skies above the Spur, though few give credence to this. But, what all agree upon is the one moment when the battle paused throughout the city...."
From the northeast section (now the arts district), walled off since soon after the first settlers arrived in the Spur, came a sound few could describe save for the horror of it. This sound was followed by a glow, then a rumble, and an explosion as a glowing bolt shot into the sky. A ball of flame hovered above the city, then sped south, disappearing into the distance. As the citizens rushed to where a meeting of the head priest of each temple was taking place, they found themselves just beneath where the ball of fire had exploded into the sky. They found the door sealed shut by an amazing amount of heat. It took days of work before the doors, seemingly sealed by a fire more powerful than that even the mightiest of Dragons could create, could be penetrated. They finally forced open the door to the chamber where the heads of each religion had been meeting only to find an empty room; all of them had vanished without a trace.
Following the Conflagration, Spur retained its status as one of the major cities of the world, but it has ever since been a far less tranquil place. The truce of the temples has held to a point, but is constantly violated and every day looks as if it will completely collapse. The Clerics Guide dissolved, and the temples have moved once again in their separate directions, with little trust between any of them.
The Age of Gods (0 to 317 AF)
The Sage's Guild is currently writing up this section.
The Age of Mortals (317 AF to present)
On the 17th day of the 11th month in the year 317, The Age of Mortals started after the rifts of Taganoth closed.
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