Every day the blackened sun rises, an inescapable legacy of the Treacherous Stroke and the Turning that followed after. In the daytime sky, history has been made real – its impact is inescapable. Alas, the Turning is one of the few events in history that is recorded with any accuracy. The War of Tears and the War of the Scourge before it have killed far too many loremasters and destroyed too many records. Only the haziest outline of the Ages before this survives, preserved in a few meager fragments of history jealously guarded by prelates, scholars, and magi. Those who would seek to understand our World and the strife that has shattered it must cultivate an understanding of the past, but this is no easy task. An understanding of the past could hold the key to ending the conflicts and troubles that plague the present. Unfortunately, too many historical researchers seek power instead of wisdom or understanding, scouring ancient records for the locations of lost treasures or the secrets of forgotten magic.

The Age of Twilight

No dates are given because Time did not yet exist. These events did happen in the following order:

• The Awakening of Braialla and the Birth of the World.
• The Birth of the Sidhe.
• The Awakening of the Goddesses.
• The Birth of the Centaurs.
• The Rise of the Dragon. Shadowbane is forged for the Elves. For the Elves, the Age of Twilight ends, Age of Dawn begins. For the Irekei, the Time of Darkness ends and the Time of Embers begins. For Dwarves, the Time of the Hammer Ends and the Time of the Forge begins.
• The Rise of Sillestor and the Deathless Empire.
• The Taming. Shadowbane is given to the Dwarves.
• The Creation of the Giants and the Weltwyrdangssaga.

The Age of Days

All dates are designated New Reckoning (NR).

• Year 1: The beginning of Time and the Birth of the Titans.
• Year 10: The foundation of the Blessed Realm of Ardan.
• Year 12: The War of the Stones begins. For the Dwarves, the Time of the Forge ends and the Time of the Axe begins.
• Year 105: The War of Darkness against the Unholy legion.
• Year 122 – 300: The Wars of Spite between Ardan and the Deathless Empire.
• Year 309: Troubled by the problem of Death and the undead, the All-Father journeys into the Void to seek a solution.
• Year 617: The departure of Torvald and the Northmen from Ardan.
• Year 2005: The Elves unleash the Blood Curse: The fall of Ardan. The surviving Titans are imprisoned by the Elves.
• Year 3,287: Elvish Magi create the Minotaurs.
• Year 3,659: A group of Human slaves escape the Deathless Empire, and learn the arts of Lore, law, and War from the centaurs. They found the Hidden Kingdom.
• Year 3,995: Torvagau the Liberator leaves the Hidden Kingdom and raids the Deathless Empire, starting a massive slave revolt. The captured Titans are liberated.
• Year 3,999: The Sun darkens, and Khalikryst transforms the Khalinviri into the Irekei. The war of Flames begins. For Irekei, the Time of Embers ends and the Time of Flames begins.
• Year 4,213: The Chaos gate opens, and the War of the Scourge begins.
• Year 4,223: The Grand Alliance of Humans, Elves, Centaurs and Giants forms.
• Year 4,226: Beregund Bladeseeker finds Shadowbane and is betrayed. Shadowbane is lost to the Lands of the Dead.
• Year 4,310: The All-Father and His host of Archons returns to Aerynth, drives back the Hordes of the Dark Lords, and invades Chaos. The War of the Scourge ends. The All-Father withdraws to his fortress on the Silver Moon.

The Age of Kings

All dates are designated King’s Year (KY).

• Year 1: Foundation of the Human Kingdom of Ethyria.
• Year 50: Phaedra and the Amazons reach the valley of Delgana.
• Year 161: The Human and Elvish Churches of the All-Father unite into one.
• Year 172: The fall of Ethyria. The 10 kingdoms are born.
• Year 799: Morloch returns. The Orcs, Ogres, and Grobolds arrive from Chaos. The War of Ashes occurs.
• Year 803: For Dwarves, the Time of the Axe ends, and the Time of the Chain begins.
• Year 913: Konrad’s Boast riggers the war of Tears.
• Year 1061: The rise of Cambruin.
• Year 1066: Cambruin is crowned High King.
• Year 1076: The War of Tears resumes.
• Year 1083: Caeric Blackhammer finds Shadowbane and delivers it to Cambruin.
• Year 1099: The fall of Kierhaven. Cambruin is betrayed. The Turning.

The Age of Strife

All dates are designated Shadow Year (SY).

• Year 1: The Dark Years begin. Plague, famine, and war take countless lives.
• Year 5: Malorn and his followers emerge from hiding, and the Order of the Cleansing Flame is born.
• Year 9: Bishops, Archbishops, and Cardinals of the holy Church at last regain contact with the Archons.
• Year 24: The Druids emerge from seclusion, and plant Trees of Life in many major cities. The numbers of Undead begin to drop, and the Dark Years end.
• Year 51: The Aracoix first appear on Aerynth, entering through Runegates. The War of Talons begins.
• Year 54: The War of Talons ends. Angillar the Blue and other Wizards unlock the secrets of the Runegates.
• Year 62: The Synod of Dalgoth. The Patriarch and Cardinals rebuke Malorn, and proclaim the Book of Swords a heretical text.
• Year 63: Malorn returns to the city of Cair Haldoran on the fragment of Kierhaven. Malorn drafts and ratifies the Articles of Faith. The schism between the Temple and the Holy Church becomes official.
• Year 69: Drangellikor, a powerful Flame Drake, awakens and takes up residence among the ruins of Kierhaven.
• Year 96: A lone Wyrmslayer returns from the Ruins of Kierhaven to report that the ruins and the Drake are gone, and a vast pit lies where the World Tree once stood. Shadowbane’s whereabouts are unknown.
• Year 97: The Present. Five generations have passed since the Turning.

Nothing of substance is known of the times before the Age of Twilight, although ancient myths and the patient deductions of loremasters and magi have given some hint of what might have occurred in the Age Before. Seekers of wisdom or power should beware – few of the sources that survive agree on all of the details of the events they describe, and many stand in direct contradiction of each other. Also, any record of events rarely conveys the meaning of those events, or can accurately describe their causes.

The Timeline of the Age of Kings

After the end of the Age of Days, the Sons of Men begin a new calendar, dating everything from Year One of the King’s Age (1KY, or One King’s Year), which is the same as the 4310^th year of the Age of Days. The Elves, however, keep counting from the previous age, retaining their own dating system, the Elvish Reckoning (ER). To find the ER equivalent for any KY date, simply add 4309 to the King’s Year.

Year 1

• After declaring the Sons of Men the rightful heirs to His power and dominion, the All-Father departs from the World, taking with Him four Titans who have tired of the strife and horrors they have witnessed.
• Some of the Titans refuse to leave, and remain in the World, though they no longer dwell openly among Men.
• The lords of men, Centaurs, Elves, and Giants reaffirm the friendship born of the Grand Alliance, and place a perpetual watch upon the Chaos Gate.
• After fixing the borders of their realms in a great treaty, the various peoples withdraw to their homelands to rebuild.
• The Ethyri, decimated by the War of the Scourge, band together and re-establish the Kingdom of Ethyria, crowning Ivard Kandorian as King Ivard I.
• The other tribes of Men leave Ethyria, roaming far away to found new lands.
• The Centaurs return to the Vast Plains, while the Elves retreat to the vast forests in the heartlands of the Deathless Empire and build the Hidden Court, where they brood and mourn over all they have lost.

Year 1 – Year 799: The Times of Peace

The members of the Grand Alliance enjoy a long period of peace and stability, if not friendship. Trade springs up between the Ten Kingdoms and the Hidden Court of the Elves, and the Human and Elvish Churches of the All-Father begin to slowly merge themselves into one body. The Humans and Centaurs still enjoy good relations, while the Giants refuse any trade or contact with their former allies.

Year 6

• Phaedra, daughter to a mighty Human Lord, denounces the Kingdom of Ethyria, the rule of Kings, and the worship of the All-Father. Claiming to be guided by visions sent from Saedron, she agitates for the downfall of Ethyria and the Holy Church, blaming the All-Father for all the grieves of the past age.
• King Ivard attempts to arrest Phaedra, but the First Huntress escapes, and her gospel attracts many followers, who become the first Amazons.
• Phaedra leads her sisters out of Ethyria and into the steaming jungles of the South. As they search for a new home of their own, countless disenchanted Elf and Aelfborn women join Phaedra, and are welcomed.

Year 50

• Their numbers thinned by endless skirmishes with the Lizard men of the marshlands, the Amazons finally come to the Valley of Delagana.
• There they find the ancient Furies, a cult of weather witches who have been awaiting their arrival.
• The three races of Amazons establish a new empire, living in harmony under the Amazon Queen. Males are used as slave labor.

Year 86

• As the Elvish and Human branches of the Holy Church grow closer, the rampant corruption of the Elvish Church becomes more and more evident.
• An aged Human Prelate named Elliander agitates for sweeping reform, but is accused of heresy and is forced to endure physical “tests of faith.” Miraculously, Elliander endures the tortures of his accusers unharmed, and his plight changes many minds and attitudes in both the Human and Elvish churches.
• Patriarch Landovar exonerates Elliander, and the pious Prelate dies of old age shortly thereafter. Elliander is quickly canonized, becoming the first Human to be recognized as a Saint by an Elvish Patriarch.

Year 129

• The Ethyrian hero Vander leads a legion of followers north to the edge of the Northern Wastes, and fights a brutal war of conquest against the Northmen.
• By the time Vander dies, his forces have carved out the new province of Vanderlund.

Year 150

• Kellast, a Aelfborn Prelate, takes up Elliander’s crusade for Church reform, and after a rousing speech to the High College of Cardinals, the Church convenes the Council of Wanford, where a new High Canon is formulated and written.

Year 161

• Teams of Prelates and Scribes finish the definitive edition of the Book of Staves, and the work of the Council of Wanford is finally finished.
• The Holy Church is essentially reborn, with the Elvish and Human churches united as one organization. Dozens of corrupt, inefficient Bishops and Cardinals, most of them Elves, leave the clergy. They are quickly replaced by pious Humans.

Year 164

• A beautiful woman, her name since lost to history, appears in the kingdom of Ethyria, and quickly becomes the talk of the realm. No man can resist her beauty, and King Konwyn the Third quickly takes her as his bride.
• Intrigue spreads throughout the court as Konwyn’s lords and champions vie for the queen’s favor, and many carry on illicit affairs with her.

Year 172

• The Kingdom of Ethyria is split apart by a bitter civil war. Warlord battles Warlord, and each Lordling is quick to carve out a “Kingdom” of his own.
• The Beautiful Queen, who many blame for the discord, vanishes in the wars, and is presumed dead. Her fate remains unknown.
• By the time the smoke clears, Ethyria is no more and the Ten Kingdoms have been born. Ruled by the Ethyri, the Ten Kingdoms are named Alvaetia, Brethild, Carloon, Caledorn, Escalandor, Ghand, Lambourne, Melvaunt, Sorwenfells, and Vanderlund.

Year 178

• Almeus the Old, thought by many to be the mightiest Wizard among the Sons of Men, seizes the throne of Brethild from that land’s first king, Paolus the First. Later, Almeus takes on a strange pupil named Zeristan.

Year 194

• The Sages of the Irydnu arrive in a balmy tropical land, and establish a Magocracy there.

Year 237

• The Northmen come sweeping down into the Ten Kingdoms, sending hordes of raiders and Berserkers. Vander’s great grandson Theoderic leads the defense, and finally drives them back.
• After this year, the Berserker taint spreads to other kingdoms of Men, though it remains exceedingly rare.

Year 250

• The Free Cities of Tariponto. Reach the peak of their power. Merchants carry wares from Karraton, Harrando, and Rovayle throughout the known world.

Year 304

• Landovar, venerable Elvish Patriarch of the Holy Church of the All-Father, dies of extreme old age.
• The College of Cardinals convenes to elect a successor, and a Human, Cassidon of Carlind, is chosen. From this point onward, the Holy Church is primarily a Human institution. Although many Elves still piously serve, their influence within the Church declines steadily.

Year 349

• Grallokur the Devourer enters the forests of the Hidden Court, and the Elves rouse themselves to drive the monster away.
• The beast slays the Elfqueen Mirallinae in single combat before finally being driven away.
• Valdimathor, the dead queen’s oldest son, becomes the new king of the Elvish Hosts.

Year 399

• Almeus the Old vanishes while on an expedition to study the ancient Runegates.
• The nobility of Brethild vie for control of the kingdom, and are finally subjugated under the sway of House Daenyr, shrewdest and most ruthless of the Brethildi aristocracy.

Year 410

• Magi working in the Free Cities of Tariponto and the Dominions of Irydni develop the new magical science of Alchemy.

Year 508

• Formosus the Pious is elected Patriarch of the Holy Church. Under his leadership the Church becomes increasingly conservative and reactionary.
• The roles and importance of the Titans are minimized in the liturgy, and the roles of other Gods (most notably Saedron and Braialla) is completely eclipsed by the All-Father Himself. The “Old Faiths” wane throughout the lands of Men.
• Finally, the Church begins active persecution of the Druids for venerating the Beast Lords, and many Druids are driven into hiding.
• The Elves and Centaurs, concerned by these developments, have less and less to do with the Sons of Men.

Year 799

• Somehow (accounts differ) an insane Wizard (whose identity is hotly disputed) learns that Malog is still alive, trapped beyond the Void in Chaos. The Wizard journeys to the Chaos Gate, slays the guards, and opens the way for the Traitor God’s return.
• Malog, now transformed into Morloch the Dark Lord, storms through from the Pit of Chaos. At the Dark God’s heels come the twisted hosts of Grobalds, Orcs, Ogres, and Trolls, the transformed remnants of his former soldiers.

Years 799 – 804: The War of Ashes

The Twisted Breeds make war on all the peoples of the World, with Morloch the Dark Lord directing their armies. Though relations between its members have grown strained, the Grand Alliance endures, and goes to war again.

Year 801

• The Battle of the Whispering Dale: the Human and Elvish Armies drive the Orcish host out of the Elvish Forests once and for all.

Year 803

• Morloch leads a host of Orcs deep underground, hoping to wrest Shadowbane from the custody of the Dwarves at Haganduur. Thurin intervenes, and blocks his brother God’s ambitions.

Year 804

• Torvald the Titan and Kenaryn the Hunter defeat Morloch in combat, hurling him into the heart of a fiery volcano.
• The chaos-born retreat into the wilderness, where they become a thorn in the side of all civilized peoples.

Year 901

• Frykka, the Mother of Winter, escapes from her frozen prison in the uttermost North and unleashes a terrible wave of cold that culminates in a year-long winter that rages as far south as the Fens of Viriang.
• Torvald the Titan rouses himself for war, and leaves the Northmen to battle the Ice Witch for the second time. The winter finally ends, but Torvald does not return.

Year 902

• Driven south out of the Mountains by Frykka’s resurgence, hordes of Minotaurs raid the lands of the Hidden Court. The Elves revive the ancient spells that gave them total dominion over the beast men, and the Minotaurs are again enslaved.

Year 913

• The lords of Elves, Men, Giants, and Centaurs hold a great festival to celebrate the thousandth anniversary of the creation of the Grand Alliance. Held in Alvaetia, strongest of the 10 Kingdoms, the celebrations last an entire week.
• At the height of the festivities, Konrad, King of Alvaetia, inadvertently insults the Elvish guests while making a toast at a feast. Valdimanthor and his henchmen leave the celebration.
• Tensions between the 10 Kingdoms and the Hidden Court spiral out of control.

Year 914

• The Elves of the Hidden Court patrol the borders of their realm for the first time in centuries, driving out many bands of Men from Escalandor who had expanded into the Elvish forests.
• In retaliation, a band of Human Warriors massacres an Elvish village.
• Furious, Valdimanthor declares war on Humanity, and the War of Tears begins.
• The King of Escalandor appeals to the other kingdoms for aid, but the Sons of Men are too divided to mount an organized response.

Years 914 – 1046: The Early War of Tears

The Elves periodically raise great armies to ravage the kingdoms of Men, while the Human Kings squabble amongst themselves, hoping to gain advantage from the troubles of their rivals. The Elvish invasions are intermittent (occurring yearly at the beginning of the conflict but dropping off to once or twice a decade by the end of this phase), but brutal. The Sons of men are unable to mount an effective defense against Valdimanthor’s armies, and are squashed again each time they try to regroup.

Year 917

• The border kingdoms of Escalandor and Ghand are razed by the Elves. Large portions of the two kingdoms are occupied by the Elves and fortified as staging points for invasions.

Year 1045

• Cambruin is born, the son of a minor Duke in the Kingdom of Caledorn.

Year 1046

• The armies of King Valdimanthor invade the 10 Kingdoms again, and fight their way into the heart of Alvaetia. King Meynard of Alvaetia falls in battle, as does Cambruin’s older brother Cambord.
• Konrad’s insult finally avenged, the Elves withdraw from the lands of men, and the War of Tears subsides for many decades.

Year 1047

• The two sons of Meynard both try to lay claim to the throne of Alvaetia. After months of arguing, the War of Brothers begins, and the greatest of the 10 Kingdoms falls into disarray.
• Webs of alliance and intrigue spread from Alvaetia into the rest of the 10 Kingdoms, and soon all the heirs of lost Ethyria are embroiled in war.

Year 1061

• The Kingdom of Caledorn is attacked and invaded by the neighboring realm of Brethild. After a ruinous defeat, a young Knight named Cambruin takes command of the remnants of Caledron’s armies. The young warrior displays superhuman valor, skill, and strategic sense, and single-handedly turns the tide of the war.
• King Essengal of Caledorn receives a vision from Archons revealing that Cambruin has been blessed by the All-Father himself, and is his chosen champion among Men.
• Essengal steps down from his throne, anointing Cambruin the king of Caledorn. Cambruin pledges to marry Essengal’s daughter Esenmay, but not until he has restored peace to the Ten Kingdoms.

1061 – 1064: The Rise of Cambruin

Cambruin preaches a new social order, a Code based upon five virtues, designed to ensure justice and well being for all Men. Knights and Champions from all over the 10 Kingdoms flock to his banner, and Cambruin adopts the Golden Lion, ancient emblem of Ethyria, as his standard. Cambruin declares that the realms of Men must be united once more, and commands the other nine kings to swear fealty to him. The remnants of Escalandor and Ghand pledge fealty to Cambruin, but the rest defy his will. The War of Seven Crowns begins.

Year 1064

• While campaigning in the kingdom of Melvaunt, Cambruin winters at Brackenford Castle, where he falls in love with Bronwyn, daughter of Lord Edmar.
• Cambruin marries Bronwyn in haste, much to the offense of the former royal line of Caledorn. Esenmay joins the Holy Sisterhood in grief, but Eric son of Essengal remains loyal to Cambruin, becoming one of his Champions.

Year 1065

• A young warrior, Caeric Blackhammer, defeats fifty Knights in single combat while on a quest, hoping to prove himself worthy of serving Cambruin.
• When Cambruin finally meets the smith’s son, he promptly Knights him and names him one of the Champions.

Year 1066

• Cambruin defeats the armies of the six “upstart kings” at the battle of St. Wend’s Hill, eliminating the last opposition to his rule.
• Legends of Cambruin’s might and virtue spread all over the World, and he is crowned High King in the City of Mellissar.
• Cambruin reunites the Ten Kingdoms, creating the High Kingdom.

1066 – 1076: The Golden Age of the High Kingdom

For one brief span of time, the lands of Men stand united, and at peace. Cambruin and his Champions seem invincible, fending off any invasion. Hostilities still smolder along the ancient Elvish border, and Cambruin chafes at the notion that some of the lands of the 10 Kingdoms are now claimed by Valdimanthor as a buffer between the Hidden Courts and the High Kingdom.

Year 1068

• Fjolvar Fireaxe, a mighty Thane among the Northmen, leads a mighty host of Northmen south to attack the High Kingdom, believing that the War of Seven Crowns has left Cambruin’s realm weakened and drained.
• Cambruin and his Champions are more than a match for the fury of the Northmen, and drive back the invasion at the Battle of Clement.
• Sir Eric wins great fame at the Battle of Clement, slaying Fjolvar in single combat. Eric earns the epithet “Eric the Drake” for his prowess and ferocity.

Year 1076

• At the urgings of his most trusted advisors, Cambruin treats with Valdimanthor, and tries to negotiate the return of the occupied portions of Escalndor and Ghand to Human control. Valdimanthor’s response is insulting in the extreme.
• Cambruin invades the former lands of Escalandor and Ghand to take back lands that are rightfully his.
• Valdimanthor, who has been steadily mobilizing for the last two decades, unleashes an overwhelming onslaught of Elves and Minotaurs against their ancient enemies.

Years 1076 – 1099 The End of the War of Tears

The War of Tears resumes with a vengeance, and for the first time Cambruin is not invincible in battle. Defeat follows upon defeat, and all looks dark for the High Kingdom. However, Cambruin and Caeric Blackhammer eventually turn the tide, and the Humans achieve near total victory, destroying the Deathless Empire of the Elves. Anti-Elvish sentiment takes deep root among the men of the High Kingdom, and the seeds of future calamities are sown.

Year 1078

• The Holy Church sides with Cambruin, and calls the Crusaders to the High King’s aid.
• The ancient Order of Rangers refuse to join the battle, and are universally persecuted in the High Kingdom. They flee to the marshes of the South.

Year 1081

• As all hope of victory fades, Cambruin winters in Mellisar, where at the midwinter’s feast he and his Champions see a vision of Shadowbane, the Sword of Destiny.
• Caeric Blackhammer and eight other Knights embark upon the Quest for the Sword.

Year 1083

• Caeric Blackhammer enters the lands of the Dead, and is blessed by one of the Archons, becoming the First Paladin.
• Caeric finds Shadowbane, and defeats Ithriana the Lich Queen.
• Cambruin launches a daring offensive against the Elves, but is defeated and quickly put to flight. Trapped at the city of Rennelind, Cambruin prepares to make his final stand, when Caeric returns and throws Shadowbane to the king in the thick of battle. Cambruin slays Valdimanthor, and the tide of the war turns forever.

Year 1084

• Cambruin and his Champions retake all the lands of Ghand and Escalandor that had been lost in the first part of the War of Tears.
• Cambruin launches an invasion of the Hidden Kingdom to destroy Elvish power once and for all. The Centaurs leave the Grand Alliance, distancing themselves from the conflict as much as possible.

Year 1085

• The Church withdraws its support from Cambruin, for the Patriarch fears that the High King could eclipse him as the All-Father’s representative on Aerynth.
• One Crusader, a seasoned veteran named Malorn the Just, leaves the Holy Church’s service and pledges his sword to Cambruin, becoming a Champion.

Year 1090

• Cambruin takes and sacks the city of Forgalliost, the capital of the Hidden Kingdom. The great library of Aerynth is burned, and much ancient knowledge is lost.

Year 1091

• The Knights of the Sash, a semi-religious faction of Knights who strive to follow Caeric the Paladin’s example, now number several hundred, and many of Cambruin’s more cynical Knights fear that Cambruin’s religious devotion might deprive them of glory and plunder.
• Cambruin grants the Knights of the Sash many favors, feeding the envy of more worldly Knights and Champions.

Year 1093

• One of Cambruin’s armies, led by Sir Malorn, conquers the ancient Elvish city of Cair Haldoran. Malorn discovers many ancient documents in the libraries of the ancient cathedral there.

Year 1094

• Spurred on by gossip and rumors, Sir Gerriant the Old, first of the Champions, accuses Queen Bronwyn of having seduced Cambruin through the use of black magic, and declares her a traitor to the realm.
• Strife rocks Cambruin’s court, and Sir Mardiock finally stands as judge in the trial that follows. The Queen is finally declared innocent, and the entire incident is discovered to be the work of the Lady Essenmay, plotting in secret. Essenmay is executed for High Treason.
• Sir Eric the Drake mourns the loss of his sister, and formally renounces his family line, claiming loyalty to Cambruin alone.

Year 1097

• The Council of Furies goads the Amazons into leaving their hidden realm and invading the lands to the North. Prophecies warning of the end of the World worry the warrior women, who invade the High Kingdom and seize several large domains there.

Year 1099

• Kierhaven, last stronghold of the Elves, falls after a long siege.
• Caeric falls during the fighting, but whether to Elves or his fellow Knights remains unclear.
• After the battle, Cambruin is betrayed by on of his own Champions, who stabs him in the back with Shadowbane. The High King is pinned to the World Tree by the great blade, and the tree turns to stone. In that moment, the tree turns to stone, the skies darken and the World splits into fragments.

The Turning begins, and the Age of Kings ends forever.

The Timeline of the Age of Strife

All dates are designated Shadow Year (SY).

Years 1 through 24: The Dark Years

As the High King breathed his last, the once continuous World shattered into many pieces, some large and some small, all isolated from each other. Great realms were dismembered, with neighboring provinces (or even halves of a single province) now separated by great gulfs of Void: warring kingdoms were separated forever, or ancient enemies found themselves crammed together on a narrow island of stone that was all that remained of their world. Travel and communication between fragments was initially impossible: few knew the cause or even the extent of the Turning, and many fragments thought that they were the only survivors of the end of the World.

On the heels of the Turning came a host of other calamities. In many places great cities stood shorn of the vast farmlands needed to feed them, and trade could supply scarce necessities. Famine and plague ravaged the fragments of Aerynth, and bitter wars quickly broke out for the control of precious resources, keeping ancient rivalries alive or even pitting folk against their own kin. Some turned to raiding, pillaging their neighbors to survive, while other communities transformed into fortresses, fending off the evils of the World with stout gates and thick walls. In some lands ancient hatreds were forgotten in the name of survival, while in others, formerly peaceful folk degenerated into savagery and ignorance. Worst of all, the All-Father himself had fallen silent, and has not been seen or heard since the Turning.

Just as in the early years of the Age of Days, the souls of any who were killed quickly manifested themselves as Undead. In the wake of the Turning the Unholy Legions are more numerous and destructive than ever before. Entire towns are devoured by hordes of ravening Zombies. Beasts of Chaos, awakened by the tumult of the ground, rose and stalked the land again, destroying everything in their path.

1 SY

• At Kierhaven, the Champions try to pull Shadowbane from the World Tree, but fail.
• Cambruin’s body is finally burned. Zeristan takes the ashes of the High King and hides them in a secret tomb. Sir Malorn manages to end up with possession of Cambruin’s crown.
• The Champions and the remnants of Cambruin’s army try to return home, but find their way barred by the Void. Many begin questing for a way to leave their fragment and get word back to the rest of the World, while others renounce their knighthood and start carving out petty kingdoms of their own.
• At the city of Mellissar, Cambruin’s capital, both King Cambruin and Queen Bronwyn are absent at the Turning. Sir Adelard, one of Cambruin’s Champions, takes control of the city and proclaims himself Steward of the High Throne. His able leadership averts disaster.
• The first Shades are born, much to the horror of their parents.

2 SY

• Guided by visions, Malorn the Just takes control of the secluded Cathedral at Cair Haldoran and sequesters himself there with several Prelates and a Bishop, Meldrin of Sorwenfells. Working in secret, they compose the Book of Swords.

3 SY

• Large numbers of Dwarves move into the remnants of the Lands of men, seeking news of their kin and any information they can uncover about the nature of the Turning.

5 SY

• Malorn and his followers emerge from hiding, and the Order of the Cleansing Flame is born.
• Malorn’s faithful win back the favor of the Archons, and manage to send visions and messages to pious Prelates on other fragments, the first communication at all between fragments of Aerynth.
• Malorn’s gospel appeals to the frightened Human masses, and converts join his new religion in droves.

7 SY

• Malorn and his followers capture Sir Sesherin, who they proclaim to be the Traitor. They hold him and torture the Aelfborn Knight for his crimes.
• Malorn proclaims a Grand Inquisition against the mis-born, and his followers on many fragments begin persecuting both Aelfborn and Shades.

9 SY

• Bishops, Archbishops, and Cardinals of the Holy Church at last regain contact with the Archons. The clergy of the Holy Church regain their miraculous powers, although their abilities are diminished.
• The depredations of the Unholy Legion reach their peak. Finally, Prelate Cambrell Nash uncovers ancient Church documents in the archives of the Cathedral at Wanford, and the Undead Hunter discipline is reborn. Divine messages quickly carry the secrets to far-flung fragments, and in many places Undead Hunters are able to halt the growing shadow.

20 SY

• The Magi of the Arcane Conclave formally recognize Warlockry as a new branch of Magic.

24 SY

• The Druids emerge from seclusion, journeying to the surviving cities on every fragment. They reveal that they have devised a partial solution to the plague of Undead that threaten to overwhelm the World: Trees of Life, stone trees somehow linked to the petrified World Tree, that serve as anchors for the souls of the dead, drawing them back to the World and clothing them in new flesh.
• Soon each great surviving city hosts a Tree of Life, and other factions regularly vie for the right to acquire one of their own.
• The advent of the Trees of Life slows the explosive growth of the Unholy Legion, but does not halt it.
• The Old Faiths gain new strength as the only Church wanes, and for the first time Druids and Rangers take open custody of certain lands and towns.

51 SY

• The Aracoix first appear on Aerynth, entering several fragments through Runegates.
• Initial contacts between the Bird Men and the Children of the World are extremely hostile: the bitter conflicts that follow are all remembered as the War of Talons.
• During the war, various Magi become aware of the potential powers of the Runegates.

54 SY

• The Aracoix are finally defeated. The War of Talons ends.
• Angillar the Blue and other Wizards unlock the secrets of the Runegates.
• Physical contact between the sundered fragments of Aerynth becomes possible for the first time since the Turning.

55 SY

• Queen Bronwyn finally returns to the Alvaetia fragment and journeys to Cambruin’s capital of Mellissar. She demands that Steward Adelard open the Throne room so that she can be crowned High Queen, but Sir Adelard refuses.
• Sir Eric Essengal, called Eric the Drake, also journeys to Mellissar from Kierhaven with many of Cambruin’s former Champions. They argue with Bronwyn and the Steward over who should sit on Cambruin’s empty throne, and finally open hostility erupts. Eric attempts to sack Mellissar, but Zeristan the Wise intervenes.

56 SY

• Sir Eric and many other Champions withdraw to their shattered homelands to rebuild their strength. They adopt the title of Dark Knights, and soon are known as the War Lords. They quickly begin battling with each other for control of the pieces of the High Kingdom.
• Sir Mardiock Wyrmslayer returns to Kierhaven, and meets with Sir Adelard. They devise a new order of Knighthood, hoping to keep Cambruin’s Code alive. Adelard keeps his post as Steward, while Mardiock leaves on quest, seeking word of Cambruin’s heir or return.

57 SY

• The first Tournament of the Sword is held near the ruins of Kierhaven, where Knights, Warriors, and other pilgrims vie for a chance to draw Shadowbane from the World Tree.

58 SY

• Several great Elflords and Elvish Magi from scattered fragments meet near the ruins of the Elvish metropolis of Diveryand. They send out a call to wandering groups of Elves, and start to plot the rebirth of the Deathless Empire.

62 SY

• Nestor the 38^th, Patriarch of the Holy Church of the All-Father, convenes a great Synod in the Holy City of Dalgoth. For the first time since the Turning, the Archbishops of the surviving fragments of Aerynth are able to meet and speak face to face.
• Sir Malorn the Just is in attendance, and proclaims his new paradigm of divine law to the assembly.
• The Patriarch and Cardinals rebuke Malorn, and proclaim the Book of Swords a heretical text. Malorn leaves the meeting, outraged. Many Prelates follow, and soon join the ranks of Malorn’s Confessors.

63 SY

• Malorn returns to the city of Cair Haldoran on the fragment of Kierhaven and declares it the High City, holy headquarters for the Temple of the Cleansing Flame.
• Malorn drafts and ratifies the Articles of Faith, and the schism between the Temple and the Holy Church becomes official.
• The Temple of the Cleansing Flame quickly organizes an administrative hierarchy, and adopts a rigid set of canonical laws.

66 SY

• Sir Malorn is canonized by the Council of Pontifices of the Temple of the Cleansing Flame, becoming Saint Malorn.

69 SY

• Drangellikor, a powerful Flame Drake, awakens on the Kierhaven fragment and ravages it. The beast is driven back from Cair Haldoran by St. Malorn and his Templars, and finally takes up residence among the ruins of Kierhaven. The beast slays all who attempt to draw near the World Tree. The Tournaments of the Sword end.

85 SY

• Rumors circulate of an Aelfborn Ranger who has taken the title of Briar King and founded a new realm composed entirely of Aelfborn. Many Half Breeds leaves their homes to seek this new kingdom. Few return.

90 SY

• The Burned Prophet first appears in the Burning Lands, moving from Virakt to Virakt and telling Irekei leaders that the time for the Final Blood War has come.

92 SY

• Rumors of kidnappings and bizarre ritual murders spread through several large cities. The Brotherhood of the Shroud, a mysterious Shade death cult, is thought to be responsible.

94 SY

• Hagen Hraudingsson, a powerful Northman Storm Lord rumored to be the son of a God, returns from a long quest into the northern glaciers bearing Tharsir the Stormer, an ancient hammer wielded by Herogar, first thane of all Northmen.
• Many Barbarians and Thanes flock to Hagen’s banner, and the cunning Northmen begins working to claim the title Thane of Thanes. Many believe the Barbarian will lead the Northmen on another great invasion of the southlanders.

96 SY

• A lone Wyrmslayer returns from the Ruins of Kierhaven to report that the ruins and the Drake are gone, and a vast pit lies where the World Tree once stood. Shadowbane’s whereabouts are unknown.
• St. Malorn sends a large contingent of Templars and Confessors to stand guard and keep vigil over the former site of the World Tree.

97 SY

• The Present. Five generations have passed since the Turning, and trouble looms on every front.