Age of Smoke

The Age of Smoke is the current era of world history. This era began 422 years after Death of Nelrointh, with the reemergence of the elves onto the face of Chaia. The ancient elves who had left Chaia were no more, as three child races returned to the continent where before there had been a homogeneous elfin culture. The high elves, the dark elves, and the wood elves found that the world had changed a great deal during the 2,000 years they'd been away.
With the return of the elves, however, came a resurgence of magical threats. Subterranean beasts followed the dark elves to the surface, forces of nature who had taken refuge with the wood elves in Visala were driven mad when they emerged only to find their homes unrecognizable, and members of other planes followed the high elves through their portal looking for a soft home.
In the wake of these threats, the desire for safety and security has grown throughout the continent. Most nations turned to rigid feudalism in search of protection against the dark, and kingdoms have grown larger and more unified in response.
In addition to feudalism, there had also been a rise in the profession of adventurer. The members of this profession provide both control services to neutralize the ubiquitous threats of this age, and also will retrieve magical artifacts that possess enough power to dissuade monsters from their holders.
The Age of Smoke is captured on the following timeline: History of Chaia