The root cause of the animosity between the Suel Imperium and the Baklunish Empire is lost in time, but the end result of their final war haunts even the modern day, as it is from this conflict that the Flanaess in its current state came to be.
The Path of History: The Flanaess
The commonly understood history of the Flanaess begins just over one thousand years ago, when the great conflict between the ancient Suloise and Baklunish empires forced massive migrations eastward across, around, and even under the western mountain ranges. This resulted in the mixture of races and cultures that defines the modern Flanaess.
Tales of the era before the migrations are fragmentary and poorly understood. Did monstrous creatures rule Oerik before the advent of humanity? Did the great races of humans, elves, dwarves, and the like arise by fiat of the gods or journey here from elsewhere? Did the elves raise humanity to civilization, or did humans achieve this on their own? Did the Flan once have their own empires and civilizations? Who built the oldest tombs in the Cairn Hills, the half-buried ruins in the Bright Desert, or the deserted stone cities in the Griff Mountains? Where were the fabled realms ruled by Johydee, the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, Vecna the Whispered One, the High Kings of the dwarves, or the elven King of Summer Stars? What became of the mysterious Isles of Woe, and who dwelled there? No one knows with any certainty.
Even histories of the early years of the migrations are unclear on many points. The Oeridian tribal realm of Thalland was so thoroughly absorbed by the kingdom of Aerdy that it survives only in name as the Thelly River. The ancient kingdom of Ahlissa, ruled by the Flan and easily conquered by Aerdy, is known today only for its founding wizardqueen, Ehlissa the Enchantress, and a magical nightingale she made. (The Flan here have almost vanished through intermarriage.) So, it goes for much of recorded time.
What is presented here is a history of the land accepted by most learned authorities and understood by almost anyone with a rudimentary education. The current time is the Common Year (CY) 576, which is also 1220 OR (Oeridian Record), 6091 SD (Suloise Dating), 5038 OC (Olven Calendar), 3235 BH (Baklunish Hegira) and 2726 FT (Flan Tracking).
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484 BCY
Beginning of the Baklunish-Suloise Wars
Military action -
465 BCY
First Employment of Humanoid Mercenaries
Military actionDecades of conflict with no end in sight led to the Suel and Baklunish each resorting to the hiring of humanoid mercenaries, said races' first contact with humanity. Though the swords for hire provided manpower, their raids were indiscriminate, and the aftermath of their contact with humankind would echo for generations to come.
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457 BCY
Oeridian Migrations Begin
Population Migration / TravelThousands survived the early years of the Suel-Baklunish conflict by fleeing east over the Crystalmists. The Oeridians, a confederation of barbaric tribes in close proximity to the warring empires, took the wars as a sign to migrate eastward in search of their ultimate destiny. They were the first large group to enter the lands of the Flan, which they termed the Flanaess.
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446 BCY
Suloise Migrations Begin
Population Migration / TravelSuloise refugees soon followed the Oeridians, sometimes working with them to pacify the land, but more often warring with them over which race would dominate it. For over two centuries, Suel and Oeridian fought for control of the region from the Crystalmists to the Solnor Coast. Many Suloise were debased and wicked, and they lost most of these battles and were pushed to the periphery of the Flanaess.
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422 BCY
Twin Cataclysms
Disaster / DestructionThe war between the Baklunish and the Suel came to a sudden and horrific end when each side, unable to gain the upper hand on their foe, launched one final and destructive attack. So terribly did these acts plague the world that they have come to be called the Twin Cataclysms, a term understood by nearly every resident of the Flanaess. The Dry Steppes and Sea of Dust are geographical reminders of this unbridled magical power, now lost to all people - perhaps for the better.
Invoked Devastation
After decades of conflict, the Suloise Mages of Power called down the Invoked Devastation upon the Baklunish, resulting in an apocalypse so complete that its true form remains unknown. Entire cities and countless people were purged from Oerth, leaving few signs of the great civilization that thrived from the Sulhaut Mountains to the Dramidj Ocean.Rain of Colorless Fire
A cadre of Baklunish wizard-clerics, gathered in the great protective stone circles known as Tovag Baragu, brought the Rain of Colorless Fire upon their hated enemies. The skies above the Suel Imperium opened, and all beings and things beneath this shining rift in the heavens were burned into ash. -
422 BCY
Baklunish and Humanoid Migrations Begin
Population Migration / TravelThough some Baklunish folk migrated eastward in the wake of the cataclysms, many more fled north toward the Yatil Mountains, or to the shores of the Dramidj Ocean, where their ancient cultures flourish to this day. The very nonhuman mercenaries the Oeridians had sought to avoid found themselves swept up by these migrations. These renegade mercenaries trailed after human migrants in search of plunder, food, and slaves.
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342 BCY
Kingdom of Keoland Founded
FoundingThe most successful union of Suel and Oeridian came in the Sheldomar Valley, where Keoland was founded eighty years after the Twin Cataclysms. The Suel Houses of Rhola and Neheli joined with Oeridian tribes on the banks of the Sheldomar and pledged themselves to mutual protection and dominion of the western Flanaess, an agreement that set the course of history for the region for the next nine centuries. Of all the new realms formed during those tumultuous days, only Keoland remains.
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216 BCY
Kingdom of Aerdy Founded
FoundingFarther east, the most powerful of all Oeridian tribes, the Aerdi, reached the Flanmi River. From there they spread outward again, conquering indigenous peoples and fellow migrants alike. In time, the kingdom of Aerdy ruled the whole of the eastern Flanaess and moved its borders westward.
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110 BCY
Battle of a Fortnight's Length
Military actionAerdy defeated Nyrond in this battle for dominance over the region, marking the end of the last meaningful threat to Aerdi sovereignty and the beginning of a new era for the newly-titled Great Kingdom.
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1 CY
Common Year Established
Era beginning/endGrand Prince Nasran I, the leader of Aerdy, was crowned as overking of the now-unchallenged Great Kingdom. His rise to power marked the birth of a new calendar, as with his Declaration of Universal Peace, the sun arose in the east on the first day of the first Common Year.
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4 CY
Greyhawk Annexed by the Great Kingdom
Diplomatic actionThe writ of imperial Aerdy eventually encompassed holdings as far west as the Yatils, controlling the southern Nyr Dyv with a small garrison at an insignificant trading post known as Greyhawk.
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213 CY
Age of Great Sorrow
Political eventOver time the Aerdi overkings grew lax, caring more for local prestige and wealth than for the affairs of their vassals in distant lands. This period was called the Age of Great Sorrow. As each sovereign passed, he was replaced with a more dimwitted and less competent successor, until the outer dependencies of Aerdy declared their independence. The viceroyalty of Ferrond led the way, becoming the kingdom of Furyondy. Other regions also broke away from the ineffectual government of the overking over time, creating their own governments after achieving success in their 3wars of rebellion. The most notable of these was the western province of Nyrond, which declared itself free of the Great Kingdom and elected one of its nobles as king of an independent domain. Armies gathered from all loyal provinces of Aerdy to suppress this brazen act. At this time, however, barbarians from the Thillonrian Peninsula raided the Great Kingdom’s North Province, forcing the overking to divert troops from the western front. Nyrond easily survived and thrived.
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356 CY
The Kingdom of Keoland Reaches its Peak
Diplomatic actionThe Kingdom of Keoland awoke from a long slumber in the third century, expanding to dominate its neighbors. This would be the beginnings of a Keoish empire that lasted almost two centuries.
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375 CY
Greyhawk Rises to Prominence
Political eventTreasures plundered from the ancient tombs in the nearby Cairn Hills brought the Free City of Greyhawk to its first period of greatness under the leadership of Zagig Yragerne. For hundreds of years adventurers have sought out entrances to unexplored cairns, with the hills surrounding Greyhawk crawling with swordsmen and wizards consulting ancient maps and bizarre historical riddles in search of long-forgotten treasure.
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461 CY
Creation of Ulek and Celene
FoundingOver time far-flung wars and internal strife laid low the Kingdom of Keoland and its imperialist expansion. With the outer dependencies declaring their autonomy, Keoland resumed its peaceful isolation.
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479 CY
The Rise of Iuz
FoundingA minor despot in the Howling Hills left his domain to his “son,” a being known as Iuz. Within a handful of years, Iuz had conquered his neighbors, setting up a small realm for himself. Tales told by refugees entering Furyondy spoke of unmitigated evil: Iuz was building a road of human skulls from the Howling Hills to his capital, Dorakaa. Worse, divinations and rumors marked Iuz as the offspring of an unholy union between necromancer and demon; he was seen to be a half-fiend towering 7 feet in height, driven by a thirst for blood, destruction, and conquest.
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513 CY
Humanoids Take the Pomarj
Military actionIn the wake of the so-called "Hateful Wars" that drove the humanoids out of the Lortmil Mountains, a half-orc named Turrosh Mak arose in the Pomarj and led orc and goblin armies to conquer the southern half of the Wild Coast and half of the Principality of Ulek.
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576 CY
The Guide to the World of Greyhawk Completed
Era beginning/endHumankind is fragmented into isolationist realms, indifferent nation, evil lands, and state striving for good. The Baklunish countries in the northwest have grown in power. Nomads. bandits, and barbarians raid southward every spring and summer. Humanoid enclaves are strongly established and scattered throughout the continent and wicked insanity rules in the Great Kingdom. The eventual result of all this cannot be foretold.