A cataclysmic event occurred in the northeast corner of the continent, permanently rendering that area a blasted wasteland, and altering the shape and culture of the continent. The Adlon Empire collapses literally overnight, and Rhyduania fractures into nation-states mostly along provincial lines. Natural disasters decimate populations, and the sudden absence of central government and trade regulation causes enormous and vicious conflicts for resources over the coming decades. As a result of the widespread destruction, nearly all history from before the Sundering is lost, and history from the first two centuries after the Sundering is foggy and poorly understood. Any attempts to sail past the northeast corner of the continent end in doom, with rare survivors claiming to have witnessed entire ships dropping beneath the waves like stones.
Major History of Rhyduania
Noteworthy historical events of Rhyduania
After Sundering
1 AS and beyond
Years counted since the Sundering that marked the end of the Adlon Empire.
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0 AS
The Sundering
Disaster / Destruction -
249 AS
Cultural Decline of the Chuul'res
Cultural eventThis is an approximate time period at which it became clear that the cultural decline of the Chuul'res into their current state was permanent and ongoing. Aethelbrand's Histories reference another contemporary source dated to 250 AS that claims the permanency of their decline is clear, but no surviving copies of this other source are known to exist.
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467 AS
482 AS
The Beautiful War
Military actionA large scale war sweeps across the continent, starting primarily as a holy war between Rhianite and Serenian churches (and nobles with scions in the hierarchies of those churches) over philosophical differences of opinion on the nature of art and its relationship to the public. As the holy war ground on and escalated, the two churches began to lose sight of the original contention, and nations began to choose sides. Some nations took advantage of the chaos to prosecute smaller conflicts with their neighbors, igniting conflicts with little relation to the holy war.
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550 AS
606 AS
The Golden Famines
Disaster / DestructionAfter decades of relative peace, nations destabilized by the Beautiful War and still harboring grudges end up at each other's throats again, with nearly 70 years' resource build up behind them. The resulting conflicts were characterized by a mad dash to recover resources sealed away in supply caches left across Rhyduania by the fallen Adlon Empire. These resources fueled ever more destructive conflicts until finally the last of the nations based on the power structures of the old Empire ground each other to dust. The resulting famines and anarchy killed more people than the wars themselves.
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891 AS
The Ministry of Dorval
Religious eventAfter a religiously motivated conflict destroys his clan, a Khalvari Dwarf named Dorval begins preaching the Bloodchant, encouraging people to seek power from within themselves instead of submitting to authority, especially any authority claiming divine right. His new religion found a modest following among his fellow Khalvari, but exploded in popularity among humans outside the Khalvarn mountains.
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1092 AS
The Tel Ramiya Crisis
Metaphysical / Paranormal eventTel Ramiya, once the capital of the province of Nehemen, becomes the site of an incursion by the Demon Prince Zuggtmoy, the Queen of Decay. In a desperate attempt to purge her corruption from the land, the most powerful magi and priests of the city sacrificed themselves in a ritual to turn her away. The city and its occupants were annihilated in the resulting blast, which sent waves of energy rolling over all of modern Nehemen, rendering the region a sprawling, sandy desert.
Location
Tel Ramiya -
1401 AS
1408 AS
The Primrose Crusade
Military actionNasir Shazeiros, a half-elf warlord, becomes obsessed with the history of the Golden Famines and begins building an army to seek more ancient supply caches and restore the Adlon Empire by conquest. His crusade comes to an end at the Battle of High Tide, when his forces are ambushed from behind by a coalition of Mii'res and Val'res forces. Nasir's body was never found.
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1836 AS
Druugheim Pilgrimage
Population Migration / TravelRumors begin spreading that a powerful orc shaman is seeking to create an independent nation in an uninhabited stretch of southeast Rhyduania, for all of the "monstrous" races to live free from interference. Over time, Druugheim's population comes to contain nearly every orc and ogre, the vast majority of the goblinoids, and several large populations of kobolds. Some races view this flight with disdain and chose not to go, such as the gnolls of the Kartheesan plains, and most of the true giants.
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2098 AS
Founding of the First Bank of Sarcrist
Financial EventThe First Bank of Sarcrist, island home of the Oceonoi gnomes, is founded. The bank would later grow to be the dominant financial institution of Rhyduania. All across the continent, merchants engaging in business of more than a handful of gold pieces often do business by swapping letters of credit from the First Bank.
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2805 AS
Confederation of the Karthin Cities and Kartheesan Tribes
FoundingThe scattered human settlements along the east cost of Silt Bay enter a treaty with the Kartheesi catfolk, officially becoming a protectorate of the Kartheesan Tribal Council. The larger settlements sign a webwork of mutual defense treaties with each other, establishing themselves as a loose confederation of city states mostly bound by complex trade routes.
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3044 AS
Civil Unrest Begins in Noctabia
Diplomatic actionAfter the kobolds of neighboring Druugheim find themselves on the wrong side of a power struggle between the two dominant orc clans, they seek asylum in Noctabia. Opinions differ on how to handle the kobolds, due to the long standing enmity between gnomes and kobolds. Racial tensions flare as the majority of Nomoi support granting asylum and the majority of Thanamoi support seizing the moment to destroy their ancient enemies.
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3044 AS
Noctabian Civil War Begins
Military actionTensions in Noctabia boil as all out civil war erupts between the Nomoi and Thanamoi factions. The Svirnoi population mostly opts to stay uninvolved, but a small faction of Svirnoi begin using their network of underground tunnels and roads to evacuate refugees, sheltering them with their Val'res allies to the northeast. The war continues to the present day.