Narsces Raphael
De Lyon sits in a plush chair, calmly reading a book. When you enter, he
carefully and lovingly places a embroidered silk bookmark within the book, and
sets it on the small table to the side of the chair in which he is sitting. He
then looks to you, and speaks with clairty and purpose. "Within this room
is contained a vast amount of knowledge, painstakingly collected from all the
corners of Theah and beyond. This all is a treasure trove of learned teachings
from the past, which I've endeavored to learn."
He stands, and walks toward you. "It is in the records of the past that we see visions of the future. All things have an origin and an end. Listen now, for I will tell you the history of Theah, and how this nation came to be. And when I've done that, we will disucss where this nation will go." And with that, he begins to tell the history of the world as we know it.
AUC (Ab Urbe Condita, "After the Founding of the City")
1: The city of Numa is founded near the mouth of the Tigres river in what would later become Vodacce.
102-228: Numa expands her borders, conquering or absorbing her neighbors. The Old Republic begins in earnest.
213: Outnumbered Numan soldiers defeat a superior Crescent army at the Battle of Pulo di Olimpia
228: Numa and Acraga (located in what would eventually become Castille) sign a mutual trade treaty, intended to strengthen ties between the two powers. Their relations slowly sour over time.
236-255: Numa launches a series of campaigns against the Eisen barbarian tribes. They are ultimately turned back.
255: The Republic constructs a huge wall on the southern bank of the great River to keep the Eisen hordes at bay.
268: Precious metals are discovered in the Acragan mountain ranges. Numa launches an attack to seize the resources, beginning the Acragan Wars.
344: Acraga suffers its final defeat and becomes a Numan colony for the next seven hundred years.
424: General Julius Caius conquers Avalon. Numan-controlled territory now covers almost half of the known world, with millions of people under its rule.
425: Caius declares himself Imperator, seizing power from the Numan Senate. The act marks the beginning of the Age of Imperators, transforming the Republic into an Empire.
502-508: A series of huge barbarian raids destroy the Republic colonies in Eisen.
573: contact with Avalon is suddenly lost and the island nation seemingly vanishes amid a hail of storms and fog banks. The Numan Imperator declares the nation cursed and refuses to endorse another invasion
581: The Age of Imperators ends with the rule of Clementes the Mad. A popular uprising restores the Senate to power.
623: The storms around Avalon cease. The inhabitants have not aged a day and are unaware that anything has happened.
698: General Gaius Philippus Macer declares himself Imperator and seizes power from a corrupt Numan Senate following an extensive campaign in Eisen.
724: In an effort to regain power, a small group of senators makes contact with an unknown supernatural entity. They bargain for magical powers, forming the foundation of Théah's modern sorcerous bloodlines. With their newfound abilities, the Senators force Gaius to give up his authority, and rule with absolute power for another fifty years.
774: The arrival of the First Prophet. Marked as AV 1 in the Théan calendar.
AV (Anno Veritas, "the Year of Truth")
1: The First Prophet appears on the floor of the Senate, advocating an end to sorcery and the worship of a single deity called Theus. The Senate arrests and executes him, but word of his teachings spread, forming the beginnings of the Vaticine Church.
32: The Empire of the Crescent Moon ejects Numan from its territory.
98: Legio II stops a barbarian invasion from Ussura just short of Numan territory.
98: The Empire is divided in two: the Eastern Empire (governed in Numa) and the Western Empire (governed by what will become San Cristobal. Twin Imperators head each Empire, although the senate still has nominal power over both The date is generally considered the beginning of the end of the Old Empire.
105: The Eastern Imperator recognizes the legitimacy of the Prophet's faith. The Western Imperator soon follows suit.
130: Most noble families in Numa now practice some form of sorcery and magic has become genetic, passing from parent to child with each successive generation.
203: Eastern Imperator Danatius announces his conversion to the Prophet's faith. Sorcerous nobles are forced to flee or face the wrath of an entire religion.
297: The Fall of the Numan Empire: Eisen hordes sack Numa and burn it to the ground.
299: Josémaria de Castillo is crowned the first King of a united Castille.
305: The Second Prophet appears from the Crescent Empire, preaching a message of piety and departure.
306: The Second Prophet gathers large flock and leads them on a pilgrimage to the Crescent Empire. They are slaughtered by marauding tribesmen, and the Imperator orders a crusade against the "infidel murderers."
312: Imperator Corantine comes to power, conquering most of western Théah. He declares the Faith of the Prophets to be his Empire's official religion.
313: King Alonzo Al-Mahmud de Josémaria is named ruler of both Castille and the Crescent Empire, marking seven centuries of cooperation between the two nations. Imperator Corantine severely limits his power, however, and the Crusades bitterly divide his subjects.
325: The Corantine Convention presents the Vaticine Credo to Cornatin, which effectively unifies the bickering cults of the First and Second Prophets into a single entity: the Reformed Vaticine Church.
347: The Church founds the holy order of the Knights of the Cross (die Kreuzritter).
376: Corantine dies. His three sons divide the empire between them; their lesser kingdoms quickly fall apart.
~400: First appearance of the White Plague
523: An Eisen warlord named Johann von der Velde launches an invasion of Ussura. His army is buried by an ice storm that strikes in the middle of summer.
600: The rise of Imperator Carleman. Carleman conquers most of Western Théah, forming the foundation of several modern nations.
609: Carleman is declared High Imperator of Théah by the Vaticine Church, legitimizing his rule.
654: Carleman dies, leaving his Empire to three sons: Charles, Stefan and Iago.
659: Charles dies, leaving his kingdom in the hands of his wife, Isabeau. She marries her cousin, Léon Montanus, and renames her newly-claimed nation "Montaigne."
686: Dracheneisen is first discovered in the Eisen mountains.
691: Stefan officially founds the nation of Eisen.
782: Eisen Imperator Gottschalk I conquers much of Vodacce, including Numa.
818: The fierce barbarian tribes of the northern oceans are united under a single name: Vestenmannavnjar. Their coastal raids will plague Théah for centuries.
~900-1300: The White Plague runs rampant throughout Théah. It spreads for centuries and ultimately claims one-third of the population; Castille is spared the worst effects, due to its connections with the Vaticine Church.
918: The inbred von Drachen family is destroyed by a popular uprising. Their sorcerous line is wiped out and their kingdom ultimately absorbed into Eisen.
1000: The Third Prophet arrives in Castille. Preaching words of bloodshed and zeal, he deposes Castille's sorcerous kings and receives the blessings of the Vaticine Church.
1002: A Vaticine bishop is murdered by a mob of Crescents in the Castillian city of Malaca. The Third Prophet declares a new crusade against the Crescent Empire. Civil war erupts in Castille, as the Prophet's forces battle with pro-Crescent loyalists.
1009: The pro-Crescent High King Garcia is defeated in El Fin del Ciclo. His death marks the end of sorcerous power in Castille.
1011: Vodacce's "Mad Queen" Marrietta Lorenzo attempts to end the Crusades by using Sorte to wipe the Crescents from existence. The result destroys her family, her servants, and the island fortress from which they rule.
1011: The Crusades sputter to a halt, with Vodacce in disarray and the Vaticine forces too exhausted to continue the attack. Fighting will continue for another three centuries however, waxing and waning according to the current Hierophant's zeal.
1012-1019: The Hieros Wars. The Third Prophet moves the seat of the Vaticine Church from Vodacce to Castille, starting a new war between those two countries.
1014: Roman Sandoval is crowned High King of Castille, the first in a long dynasty of Sandoval rulers.
1014: "Mad Jack" O'Bannon returns to Inismore and drives the Vestenmannavnjar
invaders away from its shores.
1019: Vodacce forces are decisively defeated by a defending Castillian army, ending the Hieros Wars. The capital of the Vaticine Church moves from Numa to the newly-founded Vaticine City.
1021: Jack O'Bannon abdicates the Inish throne and wanders away. Infighting erupts over his successor.
1028: Henri du Montaigne invades Avalon, Inismore, and the Highland Marches. He defeats the army of King Herygh at the Battle of Three Roads, and annexes the three nations. The Sidhe flee Avalon, taking the powerful Graal with the. Glamour ceases to function and Montaigne begins a lengthy occupation of the country.
1030: The Third Prophet dies.
1088: The five Vodacce cardinals place the libraries of Alexia - books and scrolls stolen from the Crescent Empire - in Numa as a "gift to the Hierophant." The move consolidates Vodacce's power base within the Church.
1118: Hughes Allais du Crieux establishes the Poor Knights of the Prophet to protect lands captured from the Crescents during the Crusades.
1153: Queen Eleanor of Montagine has her husband declared dead while he is fighting the Crusades and marries the King of Avalon.
1157: Robin Goodfellow is born.
1175: Eleanor's brother-in-law Charles arrests and executes her on charges of treason.
1175: The last public member of the Serrano family falls into financial ruin, effectively ending the sinister Lorenzo line of Vodacce.
1177: Robin Goodfellow returns from the Crusades and launches a guerilla war against King Charles.
1199: Goodfellow is killed during a skirmish with King Charles' men, but legends of his deeds grow. Avalons continue to report sightings of Robin Goodfellow for another twenty years.
1215: King Charles of Avalon is defeated by a Montaigne army, losing Eleanor's claims to Montaigne lands.
1215: The rise of Robert the Dark in the Highland Marches.
1216: Charles' nephew, the true King of Avalon, returns from the Crusades and deposes his uncle.
1218: Robert the Dark defeats the Avalons at the Battle of Dun Vahl.
1219: Robert is declared High King of the Highland Marches.
1267: Eisen Imperator Stefan III orders the construction of a military base on the Rotstrom River. The base, known as the Stein, serves as the heart of Eisen's defense for three hundred years.
~1300: The Vodacce renaissance begins, forming the foundation of a great mercantile empire. Vodacce traders dominate Theah's economy until the rise of the Vendel League in the sixteenth century.
1308: The Poor Knights of the Prophet are condemned as heretics. The Knights are executed and the Church declares the Crescent borders closed to all faithful, effectively ending the Second Crusades.
1347: Another outbreak of the White Plague breaks out across Théah. It lasts only a few months, but still has an
effect. Avalon is particularly hard-hit.
1355: The notorious pirate Justice Rogers disappears while being pursued by Montaigne warships.
1386: The Castillian capital of San Cristobal is struck by an outbreak of the White Plague. It kills the entire royal family, launching a flurry of political infighting for the throne.
1394: Cristoforo Scarovese publishes Means to Ends , which becomes a pillar of Vodacce political thought.
1398: The Vestini family of Vodacce receives permission to destroy the infernal Bianco family. The Biancos use strange powers to defend themselves, however, and manage to stave off all direct attacks on their territory.
1400: After nearly two years of fending off Vestini assaults, the Bianco family is finally wiped out with the aid of a young Vodacce knight named Andare del Casigula Rosa.
1402: Cristobal Gallegos leaves San Cristobal in an effort to sail around the world. He is never seen again.
1411: The holy order of die Kreuzritter is wiped out at the Battle of Tannen in Eisen.
1413: David III assumes the throne of Avalon.
1418: David invades Montaigne, defeating a superior army and laying claim to several western provinces.
1422: David dies, leaving his ten-year-old son on the throne. The younger David soon falls victim to political infighting.
1425: Avalon relinquishes its claim to Montaigne territory.
1513: Through the machinations of the Villanova clan, Aldo Caligara is forced to renounce his family's heritage and change his name to Caligari. The two families become bitter rivals.
1516: The Vestenmannavnjar farming class (carl) conspires with the serfs (thrall) to seize political power from the Vesten warrior kings (most of whom are away on raids).
1517: Matthias Lieber, an Eisen monk nails a series of questions to his superior's door in Heilgrund. The act marks the beginning of the Objectionist movement. Lieber is arrested for heresy, but is rescued from Castille just before his execution and returned to Eisen.
1527: Henri IV, "The Bloody Boar" of Avalon attempts to assassinate his rival to the throne, Richard Lovaine. The plot is exposed and civil war ensues.
1528: Vestenmannavnjar officially changes its name to Vendel, over the protests of many of its militant tribes.
1531: Henri IV is defeated at the Battle of Bedgrane by Richard, who assumes the throne as Richard II.
1531: Richard II launches an invasion of Inismore.
1535: An anonymous Avalon monk publishes an illegal book of traditional stories entitled The Graal.
1541: Avalon crushes the last elements of Inish resistance, annexing the entire island.
1552: Cardinal Alfonso Orduñez proposes building a massive prison on the island of la Palabra de Dios.
1563: Orduñez's prison is completed and begins accepting inmates.
~1565: The Vestenmannavnjar King disappears after an argument with the Vendel merchant Leagues. He is the last Vesten King to publicly proclaim his crown.
1570: The Firework Dam incident. A huge Montaigne dam, constructed to provide the King with a fishing lake, is destroyed in a massive explosion. A group calling itself the Rilasciare ("Free Thinkers") takes credit for the incident.
1571: Orduñez builds walls around his island prison "to keep civilization out."
1587: Weiss III becomes Imperator of Eisen. He forbids the persecution of
Objectionist in his realm, easing tensions between Objectionism and the Vaticine faith.
1598: Cameron MacCormick founds the Explorer's Society.
~1600: By now, Vendel has established a Guild of merchants which effectively forms their national government. Vendel trade continues to flourish throughout northern Théah, challenging Vodacce's traditional economic power.
1600: A revolt on la Palabra de Dios - now known as "la Bucca" - kills ninety percent of the inmates and a third of the guards.
1608: An anonymous Vendel scholar invents the microscope.
1610: Church scholars complete the first map of the human body.
1614: Richard IV ascends the throne of Avalon.
1622: Richard IV asks the Heirophant for permission to divorce his wife. The Hierophant refuses and Richard passes the Act of Supremacy in retaliation. The act creates the new Church of Avalon, with the Avalon king at its head.
1636: Imperator Weiss III dies, to be succeeded by Imperator Reifenstahl. A strict Vaticine, Reifenstahl resumes persecution of the Objectionists
1636-1666: The War of the Cross. Reifenstahl's oppressive policies ferment an open revolt in southern Eisen. The conflict would quickly spread across the entire nation.
1636-Present: Vendel uses the Eisen conflict to vastly expand its economic power. The Vodace princes finally realizes the threat to their power, and launches a quiet economic war.
1637: Vendel Objectionists, led by General Stefano Wulf, overrun the Vaticine forces at the Stein. The loss ends the Vaticine's absolute hold over northern Eisen.
1638: "Gentleman Pirate" Philip Gosse retires to a hidden island paradise.
1639: General Wulf retreats from the Stein, leaving the once-mighty fortress in ruins.
1644: The Swordsman's Guild is founded.
1648: The Crescent corsair Kheired-Din makes his first raid on western shores, attacking a coastal town and taking many citizens as slaves.
1649: Eisen fisherman Faulk Fischler discovers a dracheneisen mine near the Sudlache. Reifenstahl gives him a new barony, formed from parts of other baronies. The act further destabilizes Eisen.
1650: The Inish revolt against Avalon's "Iron" Queen Margaret, in an attempt to establish an independent nation.
1651: Mad Jack O'Bannon returns to Inismore, leading his people to war against the Avalons.
1654: "Iron" Queen Margaret of Avalon dies, leaving no heir. Civil war ensues. The Highland Marches declare independence from Avalon.
1656: Margaret's half-sister Elaine appears with the Graal. Glamour returns to Avalon.
1656: Jack O'Bannon calls for a cease-fire in the war against Avalon.
1656: Théah's first newspaper, the Steinhalt Gazette, is founded. With the coming of Niklaus Trägue, it changes its name to the Freiburg Gazette.
1658: Elaine succeeds in reuniting Avalon under her rule. Inismore and the Highland Marches swear allegiance to her, creating a Triple Kingdom of linked-yet-autonomous nations.
1658: First reported appearance of the Crimson Rogers.
1659: Niklaus Trägue discovers a dracheneisen mine in the mountains of Eisen. He asks for the ruins of the Stein as his barony.
1659: The king of Castille raises a mighty armada to destroy Queen Elaine. Privateer ships under the command of Jeremiah Berek sink the armada off the Coast of Avalon.
1661: Avalon scholar Jeremy Cook publishes The Rational Chemist, denouncing alchemy and advocating Empiricism. The book causes a huge controversy, and the Vaticine Inquisition demands his death as a heretic.
1662: Cook invents the air pump, but is executed by the Inquisition before he can reveal it to the public. A group of scholars calling themselves "The Invisible College" manage to save his notes and recreate his lost invention.