Historical Timeline of Damasia

Timeline Key
B.E. - Before Empire. This notation is used primarily by mankind with Imperial calendar.

I.Y. - Imperial Year. This notation is used with the Imperial Calendar. Still widely used in Castil and Belthasia.

K.Y. - Kingdom Year. This notation is used with the Imperial Calendar. Used mostly within the Kingdoms of Men.

Pre-History
Sometime before recorded history, the Master Wyrms Mirnadros the Mithril and Nelfaros the Adamant slay one another, their bodies said to form the Mithril Mountains and the Nelfar's Spine Mountains, creating the major northern and southern mountain ranges which dominate the Damasian geography.

Age of Giants ( c.10,000 - 5453 B.E.)
- Much of the continent is ruled by the Giant's Empire. Under the whips of their Giant masters, great numbers of dwarves are displaced from their mountain homes to supply much of the slave labor to construct great cities for the giants, including Zere Komaak, Khal'Gor, and the great watchtower of Drogh'haj.

-Though the giants are cruel taskmasters, they are the first to discover arcane magic and create great wonders.

-Myth tells how a particular tribe of stone giants is gifted with great adaptability and inspiration. These are considered to be the ancestors of humanity.

5850-5453: Dwarvish Revolt. Dwarves across Damasia begin rebelling against the Giants.

5746-5463: Giantish cities throughout the Nelfar's Spine are thrown into chaos, battles occurring off and on throughout the mountain holds. The Giant's manage to maintain control.

5636: The hill dwarf city of Glimmerhold is secured from hill giant hands.

5526-5463: The three greatest giant cities in the Vale are sacked.

5453: The Giant's Empire finally collapses with the destruction of the Titan's Council in Zere Maegi, which is renamed Urik'modan, the Mountain of Urik.

Age of the Hammer and Anvil ( c. 5453-2684 B.E)
-The Dwarvish people claim dominion over the continent of Damasia, including many cities captured from the giants. A rennaissance of great architectural works sparks across the continent, including the great bridges over the White and King's Rivers in the Vale.

3386: Archavon the Stern, a mighty dwarvish warlord constructs a great vault within the Vale to seal away many of the giant's greatest and most dangerous magical discoveries. Magical learning across the continent is held back for years as the dwarves capture and ship as much of the giant's discoveries to the vault.

2684: The Nelfar's Spine Mountains are rocked by cataclysmic earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that are felt across Damasia. Untold numbers of dwarves die across the continent, the worst destruction being felt as the cataclysm's epicenter in the Nelfar's Spine. When the skies turn black, choked with volcanic ash, and no word comes from the capital of Urik'modan, it is quickly clear something horrible has occurred.

The Age of Shadow ( c. 2684 - 2373 B.E.)
-Dark clouds of volcanic ash blot out the sun for extended periods of time in many places across the continent. Hordes of Drow and rats that walk as men emerge from the Underdark and wage war on the surface races. Greenskin hordes reach unbefore-seen numbers and they join in the bloodshed. Damasia enters a Dark Age.

2579: Gnomish Exodus. Many gnomes flee the continent aboard metal ships. They sail far to the east to escape slavery and death at the hands of the drow.

2391: The gnomes return from their long exile on flying ships and with an army of golem warriors.

2391-2373: Liberation War.

2377: The last pockets of drow and ratmen retreat from the surface as the skies finally clear completely. Many gnomish wonders of magic mysteriously fall apart or cease functioning, effectively ending their dominion before it began. The gnomish people choose to settle into the Mithril Mountains while Damasia begins its long process of healing after the long night.

The Time of the Elves ( c. 2376 B.E. - 275 I.Y.)
2376: Eladrin ships land on the shores of the Gulf of Eamon and begin to spread northwest across the continent. Their arrival brings new growth and life to a dead land. The seeds of the Great Forest of Athel Kellar are planted. The ships continue coming for many centuries to come.

1000 B.E - 200 B.E.: Tribes of men begin forming cities along the southern peninsula of Damasia. These cities remain relatively small, though they grow steadily in time as they fight eachother and begin trading.

66: An eladrin from the island realm of Celenar named Calendor Sunsworn discovers Archavon's Vault, and though he cannot gain access to the main vault, he learns many other things from the wonders within the fortress. He begins spreading this knowledge of the arcane amongst others of his kind.

1 IY (Imperial Year): The formation of the Castillan Empire. The southern peninsula is united under the Castillan Empire, and legionaires set their eyes on further conquest, but are largely held back by the elvish guardians at the center of the continent.

73: Violence erupts in the city of Celes'sindor between the followers of Sunsworn and the druids of the Circle of the Ravenclaw. The riot is quelled and the druids exiled from the city.

73 - 275: War of the Sundering. A great war erupts between elvish factions. The war is terrible and costly for both sides, though the wood elves of Athel Kellar suffer most with skirmishes with men on their southern borders and goblins on their northern borders. The Castillan Empire slowly expands along the coast of the Gulf of Eamon and north toward territory being claimed by the goblins of the northern wastes. The first skirmishes between men and goblins begin in the lands which would become Torland.

275: In an effort to win the war, and amidst almost constant fighting with men and other creatures on their eastern borders, the druids complete a ritual cursing their arcanist kin to lose themselves to the magic they sought to control. The resulting backlash during some of the heaviest fighting results in the destruction of the lands now known as the Grey Wastes and effectively ends the War of the Sundering. Many of the magical cities built by the elves in the Vale crumble into ruin without the sustaining power of their magics. Horrified at the destruction wrought partially by their own hand, many Kel'dorei retreat to the safety of their forests while the now twisted Shar'dorei (Forsaken Children) flee northwest out of the Vale and into the Forsaken Lands.

The High Empire of Man (1 - 983 I.Y.)
300 - 970: Height of Imperial Settlement across Damasia. Humanity spread across the eastern coast, north into the rocky plains and hills of Torland. The mighty General Tor gains his title "the Goblinslayer," in the legion's efforts to push the goblins north of the Grey Mountains. Legionnaires also travel as far north as the Vale and settle in small communities in the wild forests.

973: The first-born son of the Emperor, Belthasar is passed over in favor of the second son Melchor. Belthasar leads a failed attempt to assassinate his father and brother. Him and his followers retreat west into exile.

983 IY (1KY): The Castillan Empire finally collapses with the death of the Emperor. Melchor is unable to rally the legions behind him. Belthasar consolidates his power in the bleak volcanic wastes of his new kingdom.

The Age of Kingdoms (1 K.Y. - Present)
1 K.Y. (Kingdom Year): The Empire officially splinters into four nations: Torland in the east, the City States of Ea along the Gulf of Eamon, the Empire of Belthasia along the southern coast of the Nelfar's Spine Mountains, and High Castle at the war torn remnants of the empire's heart. The Vale remains splintered in the hands of former imperial Praetorships.

20-26 KY: Twilight War.

27 KY: General Marius Corwin is named Watcher King of the Vale.

40 KY: High Mechgineer Mithrilgear discovers a lost cache of wonders from the Liberation War, including a large collection of preserved Arcanotech devices. With this find, the gnomish people experience a resurgence of long lost arts. The mountain city of Mithril Pillars becomes the seat of the High Mechgineer of the Confederacy, and over the next 50 years grows into a metropolitan center of magical and technological learning. The Arcane Renaissance begins in the Mithrilgear Confederacy.

73 KY: Lightning Rail is completed between Mithril Pillars and the city of Eastgate, sparking the Arcane Rennaissance in the Vale.

99KY: Traitor's War. The Vale falls as it is attacked on both its western border by Twilight Elves and on its southern border by the armies of Belthasar. The final blow to the unity of the Vale comes with the sudden and tragic destruction of the duchy of Corwinshire, the seat of the crown. The Twilight Elves are pushed back when a full third of their host transforms into a new race of elves, the Dawn Elves. Belthasar conquers the duchies of Southshire and Eas Landing while leading his legions from atop the Great Wyrm Pyreclaw.