Nightfall, the Fall of Night, the God War, the War in Heaven, the Demon War. These are all names for the same event, for which there is no set date. This is when the Demon Gods were cast into the earth, their minds set to slumber. The People of Sun and River have records that date back to these days, but only their priests may read those ancient texts.
The Imperial Record
The Iron Empire does not pretend that it has always existed, or even that it has always operated as it has under its Empress. The Imperial Scriptorium does its best to maintain a record of known history. Entire groups of Scribes dedicate their time to piecing together ancient records into a continuous timeline.
Days of Blood and Shadow
... 1000
The end of the primordial era of Terraneus. This age has no start for there are no histories among any surviving people that can say what came before the Days of Blood And Shadow. This was the final days of the reign of the Demon-Gods. This was when they were banished from Terraneus, unable to be slain, so their bodies imprisoned as their minds cast to eternal slumber. Their voices still call out to those who will listen, and their cults linger through the ages. This is when humans are said to have wrested the secrets of sorcery to cast down the eldritch gods.
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Circa -1000 AI
Nightfall
Era beginning/end
The Long Night
999 600
Following the Days of Blood and Shadow, there is known to be a dark age where little that was recorded has survived. The People of Sun and River are some of the only peoples in the Shimmering Sea that have stories that date back to this era, though they are woefully incomplete. The Tribes of the Iron Spines and the Ivory Savanna likewise have stories that the Imperial Scriptorium believe could have originated during this period, but there is nearly four centuries of lost time between the 'end' of the Days of Blood and Shadow and when the Old Iron Empire appears on the historical scene.
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The Years of Shadow
The Mist Wars
Religious eventThe Mist Wars are spoken of in the oral traditions of the Ivory Savanna Tribes and the Tribes of the Iron Spines. To a lesser extent, it exists as a reference made in ancient Imperial texts from which the Imperial Record is compiled, but there is little information recorded of what truly occurred. The People of Sun and River have more records that date back to that time, but only the Kana may study them...
Age of Storms
243 0
The Age of Storms is the name given to the nearly two hundred and fifty year period when the Wyrdwinds would blow strong enough to create storms upon which armies of Mistwalkers would invade. There were periods of calm between these periods of invasion, but this period of time is seen as one of great upheaval. Much of the information regarding the previous age was lost. This age sees the Old Iron Empire enter its decline before its eventual collapse. Nations rose and fell as they tried to push back the storms.
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-157 AS
-157 AS
The Creation of the Band of the Unfettered Dawn
Gathering / ConferenceThe Iron Legions are recalled, leaving the Penal Legion behind, during the Age of Storms, as the Empire began to collapse. Those who were abandoned formed the Band of the Unfettered Dawn.
Location
Ivory Savanna -
-67 AS
-1 AS
The Final Storm
Metaphysical / Paranormal eventThis is the nearly seventy year period that is known as the Final Storm, as estimated by the historians. While the Old Iron Empire had been in decline before this point, this event is what spelled its end. The Storm began and the Iron Empire had sent its forces to hold the invasion at the Jungles of Kar'ack, but they had not expected the winds to come from the south, bringing the Mistwalkers through the Firelands and the Savanna. Unable to hold them back, the Mistwalkers reached the Wyrdtower and from there, the Storm did not end until the Empress and her forces retook the mountain pillar in the center of the Shimmering Sea.
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-8 AS
-7 AS
The Empress Takes the Wyrdtower
Military actionThe Empress leads the Legions she has rallied along with the mob of people that have flocked to her banner to the Wyrdtower in the center of the Shimmering Sea. This year long campaign against the Mistwalkers and their hordes of Wyrding slaves resulted in a victory for the Empress and is considered to be where the Storm began to pass, though fighting continued for another 6 years.
Location
The Wyrdtower
Age of Iron
1 AI and beyond
The current age, and also called the Days of Peace, this era is marked by the dominance of the Empress and her Iron Empire (not to be confused with the Old Iron Empire). While the Mistwalkers are still a threat, there have been no further Storms.
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1 AI
11 AI
/1
The Coronation of the Empress
Political eventThe Empress is crowned the ruler of the Iron Empire following her rise to power during the Great or Final Storm, when she prevented the complete collapse of the Empire. No records of this event contain any identifying information on who the Empress was before her ascension. It is treated as the first year of the modern Imperial calendar and of the "Age of Iron".
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53 AI
53 AI
The Founding of Opal
FoundingOpal had started to be resettled by the people of the Gold Coast from the moment the Storm ended. Those who had been forced to live nomadic lifestyles to avoid devastation of the Mistwalkers returned to the walls. It took over 20 years before Opal resembled what it would become today and became the model the other Jeweled Cities would follow.
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65 AI
65 AI
The Founding of Ruby
FoundingFollowing the example of government and civil structure the Merchant Families of Opal created, the second Jeweled City of Ruby was established. Already an autocracy ruled by a warlord, the nascent trading guilds used their economic pressure to gain certain privileges from the Warlord, who transitioned to the First Prince of Ruby.
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72 AI
72 AI
The Founding of Jade
FoundingAs Opal and Ruby began to become major centers of trade to the rest of the Shimmering Sea, particularly the nations of Ceralus, the need for secure passage to the Southlands re-emerged. Jade is a fortress built where the South River splits into the Horsetail and the Red River.
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80 AI
87 AI
The First Family Wars
Political eventThis was a period of unrest in the Gold Coast, where the weak reign of the Prince of Opal resulted in bloodshed not long after the founding of the City as the Merchant Families fought one another openly and violently. This spread to Ruby. At the end of the Family War, many of the Merchant Families had fled the Cities before order was restored. They would go to found the cities of Beryl and Pearl.
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89 AI
89 AI
The Founding of Beryl and Pearl
FoundingThe Twin Cities are founded, following the Family War. Those Merchant Families who had lost power and influence in Opal and Ruby fled, bringing the Jeweled Cities with them to Beryl on the mouth of the Red River and Pearl, the island fortress. Both these cities had been occupied, but with hired mercenaries, the Merchant Families were able to conquer them both and elect a Prince from their numbers. Beryl and Pearl are often called the Twin Cities for they elected a Prince in the same year and had similar origins.
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Circa 90-150 of the Age of Iron
The Firelanders' Conquest
Population Migration / TravelThe Firelanders arrive from the Firelands, the deserts to the south of the coast of the Shimmering Sea that stretch to the Ivory Savanna. They sweep along the northern coast and quickly seize many of the cities that had been there, establishing themselves as the rulers.
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106 AI
106 AI
The Founding of Garnet
FoundingGarnet was founded not on the rivers or by the coast, like most of the others, but on the banks of Elephants Lake, a large body of freshwater near the Demonspire Mountains. This is the most western Jeweled Cities, not far from the Savanna. The Demonspire Mountains are rich with metals that are then sent to the other Jeweled Cities and beyond. It also sits near the land route to the Southland through the Demonspires.
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157 AI
157 AI
The Founding of Moonstone
FoundingMoonstone is the youngest of the Jeweled Cities. Founded by ambitious Merchant Families of Beryl and later joined by others, Moonstone stands along the trade route through the Jungles of Kar'ack to the Great Scar. During the days of the Shadowlord, it was one of the few safe routes to avoid the sorcerer's domain. Now, with the Imperial annexation of Scarmouth, Moonstone serves as the first stop for those who wish to avoid Imperial tariffs by taking the old land route through the jungle.
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157 AI
157 AI
The Firelanders Retreat from Beryl
Military actionHaving conquered and settled in the Firelands Coast, the Umari of the Firelanders hoped to repeat their success in the Gold Coast. They rode through the Ivory Savanna, pillaging the settlements of the Rustspeaking tribes and raiding what they could to feed their armies. Their cavalry and infantry arrived with their banners at the walls of Beryl where they sought to overwhelm the city as they had in the west. Beryl had been aware of their coming, however, from the many tribes that had been moving east to flee from their advance, and had prepared itself for a siege. The walls were shut and despite the best efforts, the Umari could not break them. Not having a foothold in the Gold Coast to supply them (for they had hoped Beryl would be such a foothold), they were forced to retreat and ride back through the Savanna to the Firelands.
Location
Beryl -
175 AI
179 AI
The Firelanders' Savanna Campaign
Military actionFor four years, the Firelanders attempt to expand their lands into the Ivory Savanna as they had to the Firelands Coast. They had learned from their last attempt upon the Jeweled Cities that it would not be so simple to take the Jeweled Cities. Though 'successful' in winning battles against the Tribesmen, the dearth of cities to occupy and logistical problems involved in bringing reinforcements to replenish the armies of the Umari. In the end, due to exhaustion and fatigue, the Umari returned home with their forces. While individual Amir may still lead forces into the Ivory Savanna, this was the last time that the Umari as a whole attempted to conquer the dry bushlands.
Location
Ivory Savanna -
181 AI
186 AI
The Construction of "The Jewel of the Firelands"
Construction beginning/endHaving given up on the idea of a conquest of the Gold Coast by land, the Umari had turned instead to the sea. The Jewel of the Firelands was the construction of their first warship, a galley that was based on Imperial designs. It is said that the Resh-miin-Umara had traveled in person to Citadel to request a trade of information, offering many of the secrets his people had wrested regarding the use of Lotus and other engineering marvels in exchange for talented shipwrights who could teach the Firelanders the Imperial method of constructing ships. It took 5 years from receiving the designs to complete this vessel.
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192 AI
192 AI
The Battle of Lion's Arch
Military actionThe Jewel of the Firelands had been raiding the trade routes of the Merchant Families of the Gold Coast, in the name of the Amir Tariq the Starwatcher, when the Falcon, the Daughter of Venta, and the Blackwood caught it near the Rustspeaker port of Lion's Arch. Outnumbered, the Jewel of the Firelands was forced to retreat after disabling the Daughter of Venta, but took heavy damage itself.
Location
The Gold Coast -
207 AI
209 AI
The War Against the Shadowlord - The Crystal Mother's Forest
Military actionThe Imperial Legions sail to Crystal Mother's Forest to fight against the armies of the Shadowlord. They have several large battles over the two years the Imperial Legions are there and many skirmishes. The final battle was the Battle of Rose.
Location
Crystal Mother's Forest -
213 AI
216 AI
Shadow over the Gold Coast: The Ruby-Opal War
Military actionA three year conflict that started over trade disagreements that led to Ruby sending a fleet and army of fortune to besiege Opal. The conflict dragged on due to the involvement of Jade and Beryl. At the end, it was resolved with a payment of gold from Opal but Ruby had lost a good number of its warships and many of its forces.
Location
Opal -
216 AI
216 AI
Valoresian Rebellion
RevolutionThe three month rebellion against the Empress's Law in the provinces of Valoresia. The dissidents were nationalists who desired to restore their independence and rule themselves as their own kingdom. It was put down by the Chosen Forged In Iron, the Raven Lord. The provincial governor and his entire family were killed and a rival aristocratic family, who were allies to the Raven Lord, were placed in power in the arid western province.
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224 AI
225 AI
Shadow Over the Gold Coast: Moonstone Falls
Military actionThe Shadowlord's forces besiege and capture the Jeweled City of Moonstone, overwhelming its defenders through sorcery, siege, and subterfuge. For the next six years, Moonstone is an occupied city until the Empress's Legions and Navy arrive at the Gold Coast to prepare for Scarmouth.
Location
Moonstone -
231 AI
236 AI
The War Against the Shadowlord - The Jungles of Kar'ack
Military actionThe Empress sends her Iron Legions to the Great Scar to eliminate the Shadowlord a little over two decades after his armies had been driven from the field at the Battle of Rose in the Crystal Mother's Forest. This campaign took five years and ended with the annihilation of the Shadowlord and the annexation of Scarmouth by the Iron Empire.
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253 AI
25 /11253 AI
25 /11
The Battle of Cat's Eye Grace
Military actionThe Battle of Cat's Eye Grace took place on the plains near the village between the Band of the Unfettered Dawn, under service to the Boravici Family of Moonstone, engaged the forces of the Swords of Khana. Though costly, it was a victory for the Band of the Unfettered Dawn.
