History of the world
History in Niorath is defined by the fall of the ancient Elf empire, the Avaronian Empire. Dates in history are therefore labeled as after empire (AE) and before fall (BF).
Ancient History
Records from before the Avaronian Empire are vague but can sometimes be found within ancient ruins. From what little information historians have it is concluded that before the Avaronian Empire there were several small kingdoms of various races. It is however common belief that in this time the Dragonborn, Gnomes and snakelike race were among the first to build larger cities. Since not much is know about these snakelike humanoids, including their name, they are simply called the precursors. How these cities became destroyed is a mystery till this day but most historians agree that it was likely a combination of circumstances. The emergence of magic called the Magicfall could have been a determining factor for the power of nations in that era. One thing is for certain the High Elves emerged victorious out of whichever chaos came before. It is not known what gave the Elves the power to end the long ongoing conflict in that period and any remaining Avaronian records are vague about this era.
The Avaronian Empire was vast, expanding over all of Pavanor and Farlis and some parts of other continents. Although the usual religions were still practiced by the other races and some High Elves in remote societies, the majority of the Avaronian time line was defined by the religion of Mackevism. This religion was said to be started by a hero / prophet who had been in contact with a major deity called Indovir, who gave him power and vision beyond compare. Under his leadership the Avaronian Empire rose to power and imposed their religious rule on all other races within their borders. Historians do know this figure indeed existed but are not certain about any of the events regarding his persona since most of it has only come to us in myths. After the death of Mackevor the Avaronian empire was stable for a long time but eventually the religious leaders took more and more power in their own hands. Near the end of the empire the corruption was already running deep and practices like slavery and sacrifices were become more and more common. High Elf society started seeing other lands and races as barbarians and the living conditions for these humanoids was were very poor.
It was not until the rise of Archon, a human from Pavanor, that the other races could reclaim territories. Pavanor was the first continent to be freed and Farlis followed two centuries later. The end of the Empire was however swifter than expected. During the siege of the capital Babel something went wrong causing both the city and the surrounding army to be utterly destroyed with only few survivors. The region was plagued by Elemental storms for several decades after. After this event both armies decided on peace allowing the remnants of the Avaronian Empire to retreat to the inner regions of Farlis. However part of the agreement was to ban all practices of Mackevism and banning its clergy to remote Avak’am. It was the fall of Babel that signified the end of the Avaronian Empire and the start of the new date system.
The following centuries saw the division of the remnants of the Avaronian Empire into smaller countries, the rise of the Pavan Empire and many territory wars. Everything that happened after 1 AE is fairly well documented and can be retrieved within libraries.
Time Periods
Although not all history is known in full detail there is enough knowledge to define several periods in the history of Niorath:
- Ancient Era
- Avaronian Era
- Middle Era
- Progressive Era
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