Timeline of Arkhaia
The War of Creation (Pre-History)
A cosmic clash erupts between the Primordial Titans (raw matter and element) and the Celestials (spirit and order). The intensity of the war cleaves reality in two. The victorious Celestials permanently seal themselves away within their distant spirit realm, leaving the physical world of Arkhaia entirely to the Primordials. Exhausted from battle, the Titans sink deep into the earth, their slumbering forms becoming the continent's mountain ranges, volcanoes, and oceans. Mortals on Arkhaia know nothing of the Celestials, entirely unaware of divine magic or gods.
The Age of Scales (Years 1 – 1400)
Intelligent, hyper-minds of elemental magic—the grand Dragons—awaken from the intense magic leaking off the sleeping Titans. The Dragons overpower the weakened Primordials, usurp control of the realm, and declare themselves living gods. Humans, Dwarves, and early Elves are enslaved, while chaotic Orc packs are driven into the extreme wilderness and Halflings vanish into secretive, nomadic bands. In the regional basin of Vael-Kaelen, a supreme Dragon King rules with absolute dominion over lesser dragon lords, humanoids, and enslaved early Dragonfolk. In these days, dragons are intelligent, terrifying tyrants of diverse shapes and sizes who rule the skies as living monarchs.
The Descent and the Vaelen (Year 850)
Seeking refuge from dragon tyranny, a large population of proud surface Elves flees into the massive subterranean caverns beneath Arkhaia. There, they encounter the Vaelen, an ancient species of intelligent giant arachnids. Over centuries of survival, blood rituals, and cohabitation, the Elves merge with the Vaelen, outbreeding them and giving rise to the spider-hybrid Nyctari, while the surface-dwelling Elves who stay behind remain isolated.
The Discovery of Primal Manna & The Rise of the Sunderi (Year 1220)
Deep underground, enslaved Dwarves and Humans breach a vein of raw, unrefined Primordial energy. Humanoid scholars and early engineers realize they can tap directly into the dormant Titans instead of relying on divine power. Exposure to these veins creates the first Elemental Born, while dragon-humanoid intermingling gives rise to the modern population of Dragonfolk. Meanwhile, the surface Elves, refusing to rely on subterranean power, attempt to challenge their draconic masters through ancient surface arts; the dragons respond with scorched-earth annihilation, hunting the pure-blooded Elves to near-extinction. The survivors intermingle with Humans, becoming The Sunderi ("The Broken-Lineage").
The Mind-Rend Ritual (Year 1399 – Duodecimus 29th)
A secret alliance of Human, Dwarf, Elemental Born sorcerers, and early Resistors unleashes a massive planetary ritual powered by tapped Primordial Manna. The spell targets the higher cognitive centers of the dragon race, severing their intellect. Within a single day, the hyper-intelligent Dragon Monarchs—including the Dragon King of Vael-Kaelen, who crashes into the valley to create the Glass Pit—regress into feral, highly territorial elemental beasts. Stripped of their higher minds, the surviving dragons absorb local environmental forces, mutating over time into distinct elemental variants (Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth).
The Rise and Fall of Matakor (c. Year 1450)
In the wake of the Mind-Rend, as arcane engineering and technology begin to flourish, a renegade Resistor-Lord named Matakor rises to power. Terrified of mortality, he rips his soul from his biological body and binds it to a mechanical chassis powered by a Manna-core heart. Surrounding himself with a fanatical following known as The Iron Cult, he forcefully transfers the souls of captured victims into metal frames, creating the first Forgeborn thralls to build his empire. Following a cataclysmic war where mortal armies and early Resistors overload his grounding network, Matakor is sealed deep underground beneath a Dead Vein. His freed thralls go on to establish themselves as an independent species, though hidden cells of the Iron Cult secretly work to revive him.
The Emergence of the Coiled Ascendant (c. Year 1650)
Deep within the subterranean dark, a dormant serpentine primordial named Shesha reaches out psychically to a human outcast named Sarpa. Transformed into a cold-blooded Snakefolk prophet, Sarpa begins engineering a new serpentine race and establishing secret cult cells across Arkhaia while his followers carve out a violent, territorial presence in the upper Underways.
The Era of Siphon States (Year 1400 – Present Day, Year 1750)
Humanoids break their chains and establish powerful industrial city-states around the Primordial energy nodes. The surface is now dominated by Humans, Dwarves, Elemental Born, Dragonfolk, Sunderi, and Forgeborn, who constantly navigate the threat of feral elemental dragons, the emerging shadow of Snakefolk infiltrators, and the looming threat of Matakor's return. Deep below, the heavily militarized Nyctari empire finishes consolidating its power, fighting territorial skirmishes against the newly risen Snakefolk in the depths while viewing surface dwellers as weak usurpers and preparing to launch an invasion to claim Arkhaia for themselves.