### The Recovery (Slow Rebuilding) (+200 to +600 years)
Religious Consolidation (+200 to +400 years):
- The Tehlin Church solidifies power
- Organizes scattered peoples under spiritual authority
- Suppresses magic use; labels it heresy
- Establishes moral framework for post-Ergen civilization
Cultural Fragmentation (+200 to +400 years):
- Four Corners begin to develop distinct identities
- Yllish culture emerges on island (possibly Yll separates during this era)
- Ruh (nomadic performers) emerge as cultural memory-keepers
- Regional languages and customs solidify
Knowledge Preservation (+300 to +500 years):
- University is founded/rebuilt in Imre
- Arcanum is established (with underground archive of Ergen knowledge)
- Church maintains libraries (filtered through religious lens)
- Adem oral tradition remains intact
Stability Returns (+500 to +600 years):
- Population stabilizes and begins to grow
- Trade networks are reestablished
- Fortified cities become centers of power
- Feudal systems emerge in Vintas and other regions
---
## The Aturan Rise
Duration: Approximately 300 years (+600 to +900 years)
Records: Extensive documentation; Church archives
The Aturan Empire emerges as dominant power after the Dark Ages.
### The Formation of Atur (+600 to +750 years)
Religious Consolidation:
- The Tehlin Church achieves near-total dominance
- Aturan emperors/rulers adopt Church authority
- Religious hierarchy becomes political hierarchy
- All major population centers recognize Church
Military Organization (+650 to +750 years):
- Aturan military is organized and trained
- Conquest of neighboring regions begins (mostly bloodless—religious authority)
- Vassal states establish tributary relationships
- Aturan becomes dominant power in central Temerant
The University Expansion (+700 to +850 years):
- University at Imre is expanded and formalized
- Arcanum secretly grows in power (hidden beneath University)
- Masters system is established
- Library acquisitions accelerate
The Formation of the Aturan Empire (+750 to +900 years):
- Aturan dominion spreads across Four Corners
- Ceald, Modeg, Commonwealth, and Vintas become tributary or allied
- Church becomes official religion of empire
- Aturan law begins standardization across regions
### Key Events
The Proclamation of the Eight Masters (+750 years):
- University officially establishes Council of Masters
- Eight major disciplines are defined (later becomes nine)
- University gains semi-autonomous status from Church
- Begins careful balance between freedom and religious oversight
The Creation of the Inquisition (+800 years):
- Church establishes Inquisitorial order
- Hunts magic users and heretics
- Suppresses "dangerous" knowledge
- Creates tension with University (secret battle begins)
The Founding of the Amyr (+850 years, possibly earlier):
- Amyr order is formally established (or emerges from hiding)
- Dedicated to hunting Chandrian
- Operates semi-independently from Church
- Begins collecting Chandrian lore and true names
The Yllish Revelation (+800-850 years):
- Yllish culture is recognized as distinct
- Yllish territories remain independent (not conquered)
- Trade is established between continent and Yll
- Yllish oral history and story knots are documented
---
## The Modern Era
Duration: Approximately 400+ years (+900 to +1300 and beyond)
Records: Extensive; Church, University, and Yllish archives
The Modern Era encompasses the current civilization of the Four Corners.
### The Settled Empire (+900 to +1000 years)
Consolidation:
- Aturan Empire reaches stable size and power
- Regional lords accept imperial/Church authority
- Trade becomes standardized and profitable
- Cities flourish; population grows
The Maer's Rise (+950 to +1000 years):
- Maer family emerges as dominant in Vintas
- Vintas begins to challenge Aturan dominance politically
- Court culture develops
- Competing centers of power emerge (Renere, Severen)
The Tinker Networks (+950 years onward):
- Tinkers emerge as mysterious trade network
- Operate across all nations; loyalty to no one faction
- Carry goods and information
- Some suspect connection to Fae or Chandrian
### The Current Era (+1000 to +1300 years, PRESENT)
The Balance of Powers:
- Aturan Empire remains dominant but declining in relative power
- Vintas challenges for supremacy
- Commonwealth remains independent
- Modeg and Small Kingdoms maintain autonomy
- Adem remain isolated but respected
The University's Secret War:
- University maintains veneer of neutrality
- Secretly competes with Church and Amyr for knowledge
- Masters pursue forbidden research (naming, ancient magic)
- Underthing archive expands with discoveries
The Amyr's Vigilance:
- Amyr continues hunting Chandrian (possibly futilely)
- Maintains networks in all major cities
- Sometimes cooperates, sometimes conflicts with Church
- Searches for true names of the Seven
The Ruh's Persistence:
- Edema Ruh continue as nomadic performers
- Maintain culture and stories despite hardship
- Occasionally persecuted by Church
- Serve as keepers of pre-Aturan history
The Adem's Emergence:
- Adem begin hiring out as mercenaries
- Maintain isolation but engage in limited trade
- Mysterious about their history and philosophy
- Occasionally involved in major conflicts
The Fae's Intrigue:
- Fae courts remain partially hidden but active
- Some humans deliberately seek Fae contact
- Fae make bargains and extract prices
- Their ultimate goal remains mysterious
---
## Timeline Reference Table
| Year (Approx.) | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown antiquity | Primordial Age; world created/discovered | Primal forces emerge |
| -5,000 to -2,000 | Age of Singers | Reality is fluid; magic is dominant |
| -2,000 to -1,200 | Golden Age of Singers | Civilization at height; reality stable |
| -1,200 to -1,000 | The Darkening; Chandrian emerge | Magic becomes destructive |
| -1,000 to -400 | Creation War | Reality is unmade and remade |
| -400 (approx.) | The Cataclysm | New reality emerges; Singers' age ends |
| -400 to 0 | Ergen Empire (post-Cataclysm) | Advanced civilization; high culture |
| 0 (approx.) | Fall of Ergen Empire | Collapse of civilization |
| 0 to +600 | Dark Ages | Knowledge is lost; survival era |
| +600 to +750 | Aturan Rise; Church consolidation | Religious authority dominates |
| +750 | Proclamation of Eight Masters | University achieves semi-autonomy |
| +800 | Creation of Inquisition | Church suppresses magic |
| +850 | Founding of Amyr (formal) | Chandrian hunters organize |
| +900 to +1,000 | Aturan Empire settles; Maer rises | Power stabilizes; rivals emerge |
| +1,000 to +1,300 | Modern Era | Current civilization (PRESENT) |
---
## Significant Historical Events
### Events with Campaign Implications
The Battle of Drossen Tor (date uncertain, possibly +500-700 years):
- Adem warriors fought against unknown enemy
- Possibly against Chandrian or pre-Chandrian force
- Event is referenced but details are lost
- Adem oral tradition preserves memory
- Campaign Hook: Investigating Drossen Tor reveals ancient secrets; possible Chandrian connection
The Burning of Trebon (date uncertain, possibly +1,200 years):
- Town was destroyed and abandoned
- Reasons unknown (war, plague, magic, or Chandrian?)
- Later repopulated; cultural memory is vague
- Campaign Hook: Trebon's history contains Chandrian evidence; ancient magic lingers
The Forgetting of Myr Tariniel (during Creation War, date uncertain):
- Legendary city is erased from common knowledge
- Only fragmentary references survive
- Possibly hidden in Stormwal Mountains
- Campaign Hook: Discovering Myr Tariniel's location is major quest; contains pre-Cataclysm knowledge
The Separation of Yll (date uncertain, possibly +400-600 years):
- Yll becomes isolated from main continent
- Reasons unknown (geological shift, magic, or deliberate?)
- Yllish culture becomes distinct
- Campaign Hook: Discovering why Yll separated; Fae involvement suspected
The Founding of the Arcanum (date uncertain, possibly +700-800 years):
- The secret magical school is established beneath the University
- Connection to Ergen Empire knowledge
- Amyr infiltrates or works with Arcanum
- Campaign Hook: Players gain University admission; discover Arcanum's secrets
The First Inquisition (+800 years):
- Church executes multiple alleged heretics and magic users
- Some were Amyr members
- Others were sympathists and scholars
- Campaign Hook: Investigating witch trials; discovering innocents were persecuted; finding hidden knowledge
### Historical Events Players Can Encounter
Ancient Ruins:
- Pre-Ergen sites (oldest, most mysterious)
- Ergen city remains (moderate age, much to learn)
- Dark Ages fortifications (relatively recent)
Lost Libraries:
- Ergen knowledge in Underthing (beneath University)
- Church archives (accessible if party is trusted/infiltrates)
- Adem oral tradition (if party earns trust)
- Fae memory (if party negotiates with courts)
Sacred Sites:
- Myr Tariniel (if discovered)
- Drossen Tor (Adem significance)
- Great Stone Road (ancient engineering)
- Waystones and thin places (Fae/Chandrian connection)
Battlefields & Graves:
- Creation War aftermath sites
- Ergen collapse locations
- Inquisition execution grounds
- Recent Chandrian attack sites