A Brief History of the World

Creation of Werlyth (450000 BC - 100000 BC)

Creating the Planet

Around 450000 years⁽¹⁾ before the Cataclysm (BC ⁽²⁾), Ord began their Blessed project, attempting to create the perfect world for life. This was the latest in a long string of 'perfect worlds', the culmination of millennia of creation. First Ord created a star to provide warmth and light for this project, the star Altair burst into life after some small work of 20000 years. After 60000 years of carefully sculpting the world body itself, Ord painstakingly crafted the World Heart mechanism over the next 20000 years and placed it in the centre of the planet along with the small army of Modrons required to keep it in working order. Soluna, briefly leaving her hiding place, introduced a small amount of chaos to the World Heart to keep it from becoming too orderly. With these in place, Werlyth began to move, spinning on it's axis and orbiting the large star it was created near, to keep the axis stable Ord formed two large polar ice caps. Werlyth orbits this star every 360 days (resulting in a calendar of 12 months of 30 days each).

Pleased with the work done so far, Ord then took the time to create twin moons to keep the planet company in it's orbit, the larger blue moon Keller and it's own orbiting yellow moon Porus. Ord's requirement for perfection meant that they spent another 50000 years tinkering with the orbit of these two bodies and with some subtle whispering from Soluna settled on a 30 day orbit for Keller while it's companion Porus orbits it every 6 months (180 days)

Ord had not being idly tinkering though all this time and had already planned out the continents for their Blessed races to live on.

Creating the Continents

Between 300000 BC and 290000 BC Ord crafted the continent of Sulawei, a large continent spanning many biomes, from a frozen tundra in the north to a desert and savannah in the far south. Carefully placed mountain ranges split the continent in half. Created to be a cradle for all sorts of life, Sulawei was lush in it's plains and forests with a vast jungle occupying a western peninsula. Even the desert was crafted to be conducive to life with plentiful water beneath the ground.

For years between 290000 BC and 240000 BC, the task of shaping Kahlens consumed Ord. A continent consisting mostly of harsh deserts, from scrubland semideserts to sandy dunes proved difficult for Ord to balance with the needs of life. Too much water from rivers and lakes would erode the deserts and too little would make the land too inhospitable. After many years of tinkering with this Ord managed to find a balance between greenery on the Western and Southern coasts, oases in the deserts and a river delta in the north providing just enough life giving material to be hard but fair.

With the lessons learned from Sulawei and Kahlens, Ord was able to create Lathlenn in a much more orderly 20000 years between 240000 BC and 220000 BC. A verdant continent created around a central peak that towered over the remaining land, Lathlenn was mostly uniform in it's climate and biomes save some minor desertification of the South-Eastern peninsula shielded by mountains. Ord created Lathlenn with the plan of life spreading from the central peak with mountain ranges intended to direct the spread of life.

Over the next 40000 years (220000 BC - 180000 BC), Ord laboured over the Corind Archipelago. Originally, Corind began as a more cohesive landmass of thick jungles and active volcanoes, however, after some overenthusiastic interference by Soluna the over abundance of seismic activity led to catastrophic imbalances and the continent was torn apart by rampant eruptions and earthquakes. Ord watched this process impassively and as if this was all by design, shaped some of the remaining large landmasses to be more balanced and toned down some of the volcanoes. Now pleased with the collection of thousands of islands, large and small, Ord moved on

From 180000 BC until 150000 BC, Ord slowly forged the Forgyth Islands, consisting of two large landmasses with several smaller islands forming a string of land between the two larger islands. One island formed as a frozen wasteland, a seemingly inhospitable place, full of mountains and frozen glaciers, howling winds battering the peaks at all hours. The other larger island was formed as an almost flat tundra. Ord seemed to not spend much time in the forging of these lands, spending more time in contemplation than creation. Almost as if bored, Ord left the Forgyth Islands after 30000 years.

The formation of Shrouded Talgen between 150000 BC and 100000 BC proved to be the most difficult of the continent projects for Ord. A large swampy morass covers the majority of the continent, a collection of many rivers, swamps, bogs and thick forest give the land an eerie atmosphere. A large mountain range spanning from the East coast to the Northern shore holds back a high altitude glacial mass, the breakage and melt of which cause a large number of waterfalls and rivers to cascade down the mountains to the lower lands below. The thick canopy of the trees across the land keeps the temperatures in the swamps much higher than expected and the air heavy with a near constant fog.

This marked the end of Ords creation of continents. A massive expanse of water stretched around the world between the Western shore of Sulawei and the Eastern shores of Shrouded Talgen and the Corind Archipelago

Seeding of Werlyth (100000 BC - 12000 BC)

The Genesis of Life

With the land masses in place, Ord began the next part of their Blessed project. Ord first went from continent to continent, placing animals and plants, shaping the environments to suit each and monitoring their progress over the next 50000 years. The lands grew wild and free and each living thing adapted to and adjusted the land to their needs. Ord then began to create more fantastical creatures in order to populate the world with more wonder and some danger. These would test the mettle of their Blessed races and keep them innovating, dragons to inspire, giants to shape the land and unseen things under the ground to keep them humble. Lathlenn was not populated with these more fantastical creatures as Ord had a different plan for the Blessed race that would be put there.

With this completed, Ord worked on creating their Blessed Races and putting them in the lands that had been sculpted for them.

Elvenkind was created and placed in the deep forests of Northern Sulawei in the year 54721 BC, near to the mountains and the inland sea. Created with the ideal of finesse over power, Ord instilled the Elves with the desire to shape their environment to beautify it and themselves. The Elves accomplished this through a unique blend of industry and nature, using their magic to combine the two rather than simply enhance nature itself.

After the Elves, Ord created Orcishkind in Southern Sulawei, among the savannahs and deserts, in 52366 BC. Born to be the embodiment of power and stamina, the eternal hunters, Ord carefully curated Orcishkind's connection to the land with a semi-nomadic lifestyle and a desire to form strong bonds. This manifested in strong family and tribal allegiances in the Orc, Hobgoblin and Goblin clans which had the unfortunate side effect of making war between these clans common. Orcs became less nomadic in the wake of these early wars and focused on fortifications, Hobgoblins became more nomadic, preferring to wander the steppes and savannah to not provide easy targets and Goblins went underground, creating opportunities to take advantage of their stealth and numbers to strike from unseen quarters.

In 41800 BC, the Mac'Tirnen were born in North-Eastern Kahlens. Near the Mar Beatha the wolf-like humanoids were settled initially. Ord had created the Mac'Tirnen to be the ideal of social cohesion; strong family, neighbour and racial ties defined them and were necessary to survive in this harsh land. The Mac'Tirnen built outward quickly, thriving through all the challenges of living in the deep desert, developing a matriarchal society that revered elder female leaders as the givers of life. Short gestation periods and large litters soon resulted in a large variety in the size, shape and looks of the Mac'Tirnen. Mac'Tirnen society soon turned to making child bearing a more sacred act resulting in a lowering number of births per year, staving off overpopulation and famine.

Some thousands of years later, in 35922 BC, Ord created Dwarvenkind as well as Gnomes and Halflings and placed them in Western Kahlens, in the shadow of the mountains that led from the coast to the inland sea and then down to the Southern coast. Ord wanted these races to embrace the land, created with the ideals of working the land, the satisfaction of good sturdy craftsmanship and enjoyment of life. Dwarves took to the farmlands with vigour and soon were cultivating wonders with the fertile lands, Halflings and Gnomes began to explore the hills and mountains, with the Halflings preferring the hills and gnomes delving deep into the mountains. Gnomes became master smiths and engineers, Halflings became masters of carpentry and homesteading while the Dwarves continued their pursuit of the perfect produce.

It wasn't long before Ord turned back to the Corind Archipelago and in 29549 BC among the wild jungles and shifting shores he placed the Tabaxi, the very idea of adventure and carefree attitude made manifest. Ord made sure to scatter the Tabaxi among as many of the islands as possible, to give them room to grow before their adventurous nature might lead to the extinction of the whole race. It didn't take long for the Tabaxi to embrace their nature and look for ways to escape their island confines and with this desire came the invention of boats and then ships allowing the Tabaxi to truly live their ideal adventures. Merchants, Pirates and Pirate hunters soon filled the waterways between and around the islands. When Ord took note of this they devised some subtle illusions between the continents to prevent any of the sea separated races from interacting until the Blessed had all been placed and had their footholds established.

With these illusions in place, in 15932 BC, Ord created Humankind and placed them at the foot of Mount Camborn, the immense peak at the center of Lathlenn, it's heights hidden above the clouds. Humankind was created with no particular ideals, a blank slate on which to inscribe their own paths. For the first several thousand years, humans did not leave the lands around Camborn, only spreading so far as to keep the peak in sight, which they seemed to revere. In 12678 BC, a tribe of humans was taken by Azak the Collector, but hesitating, worried that Ord might notice, Azak dropped the human tribe on Shrouded Talgen and quietly retreated back to their cosmic vaults. A brutal dictatorship subjugated most of the human race in 12301 BC, excepting those that had begun to leave the Camborn lands through mountain passes. The regimes prevention of any expansion and suppression of any dissent, real or imagined, resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, shrinking the population.

Uplifting of the Gods

While Ord was creating races and filling the lands of Werlyth with life, history marched on and the existing races and creatures moved and changed. As the Blessed Races grew and expanded, Ord monitored them for paragons of their instilled ideals. When one of those Paragons was found, Ord uplifted them to Godhood and imbued them with the power to guide their race, empower their clerics and perform minor miracles.

Elven Gods

46798 BC - The Elf Laucian Castwind created the methodology behind Mechanomancy, the infusion of magic, industry and nature to create mechanomagical creations that would in time revolutionise Elven society, and is uplifted by Ord as Krellin, the Elven God of Artisanship.

38719 BC - Deep in the mines that feed Elvish society with the precious metals it needs and desires, the Elf Casie Trillian successfully fused gold and silver to create the alloy of electrum, this new alloy gave the artisans new life during a period of war and stagnation. Casie was uplifted by Ord as Aiwin, the Elven God of Industry.

37423 BC - War with the Orcish races had been ongoing for nearly 2500 years, and though it was certainly less heated than it had been in the first 500, skirmishes and even full scale battles still occurred. In this environment Prince Galen stole into Orcish lands and through cunning diplomacy and shrewd negotiation managed to secure a lasting peace, which was largely at odds with Elven policy at the time. In the very citadel where this peace was signed, Ord uplifted Prince Galen as Isarrel, the Elven God of Elegance and Nobility.

19414 BC - By this time, Elven society had fractured into different groups; Wood Elves who eschewed Mechanomancy and tried to live in quiet harmony with nature itself, High Elves who embraced all the fruits of their society and the Drow (or Dark Elves) who worked mostly in the mines and mountains. In 19450 BC - a massive explosion collapsed a mine under the northern mountain ranges trapping several hundred Drow. Quelenna Gemflower refused to give up on her people and when it became clear that escape was unlikely, organised the remaining Elves to build shelter, farm lichen and mushrooms and maintain a society in the dark. They thrived and during a council meeting, some 36 years after the event, Ord uplifted Quelenna as Uthoras, the Elven God of Mountains and Caves. Drow primarily revere Uthoras.

Orcish Gods

49176 BC - War was common between Orcs, Hobgoblins and Goblins, as strong tribal attachments led to fierce rivalries. Kegth Axekeeper, a Hobgoblin warlord was renowned for his honour and strength in combat. At a massive battlefield, between 6 clans of various races, Kegth issued an honourable challenge to the other 5 warlords. He would take them all on, one at a time in order to settle this war without massive bloodshed. The other 5 warlords secretly conspired to fight him all at once. On the day of the battle, Kegth approached the field and was met in combat by all 5 warlords, and summarily defeated them all. His advisors pleaded with him to slaughter the rival tribes for such treachery but Kegth refused, and in the midst of 5 corpses as he was honouring their passing with rites Ord uplifted him as Kegth, the Orcish God of Honour.

38901 BC - After some long term peace between the various tribes of Orcishkind, in 39923 BC, the Elves broke through the mountain pass and began to wage war upon the Orcs. At the fortress of Garhek, a siege lasting 40 years began. The massive Elven army rebuked any reinforcements that attempted to relieve the fortress but could not breach it's walls. Yotol Rockhand spent every night of that siege on the walls, fighting back wave after wave of Elvish invaders, even as her companions fell to their blades. In the final days of the siege, as Yotol and Mahzeg were among the final surviving orcs, fighting from the inner chambers of the fortress, before a final swing could finish her, Ord uplifted her as Yotol, the Orcish God of Endurance.

38901 BC - During the siege of Garhek, the fortress siege master Mahzeg Garhek (grandson of the fortress designer) devised all manner of fortifications, traps and passageways that allowed the Orcs to hold out for 40 long years. It was in the last year of the siege, that Mahzeg singlehandedly dug the escape tunnel that allowed a large group of Orcs to escape, and collapsed the tunnel behind them refusing to leave his beloved fortress. In a last ditch attempt to prevent the Elves from claiming the fortress, as Yotol was uplifted, Mahzeg triggered the mechanism which caused the entire inner fortress to collapse inwards, killing hundreds of Elves. Ord plucked Mahzeg from that collapse and uplifted him as Mahzeg, the Orcish God of Fortifications.

21670 BC - In the wake of a Goblin warlord wiping out multiple clans of Goblins and Hobgoblins, Dura Texee was a lone Goblin wandering the plains, living off whatever she could find. Dura came across a few survivors of attacks and took them under her wing, she nursed them back to health and taught them to survive on the plains. After some time Dura developed a large following of refugees, moving across the plains until they came across the Goblin warlords camp. Vowing revenge for her situation, she used her knowledge of the plains to set a few strategic fires and forced the camp to rout. In the ensuing chaos, in a disguise made from plains wheat and grass, Dura cut the throat of the warlord, ending his reign of terror. Ord uplifted her as Dura, the Orcish God of the Plains.

Mac'Tirnen Gods

40380 BC - Very soon after the Mac'Tirnen were created, surviving in the harsh deserts of Kahlens, Bhioctoria was the matriarch of a small group. In what was considered a blessing, all 4 females of the group became with pup at the same time; however tragedy struck when 3 of the mothers died giving birth leaving Bhioctoria to raise a litter of 21. Despite the hardship of keeping 21 pups fed and sheltered, Bhioctoria refused to give up and worked alongside the men to gather enough food and supplies to keep all 21 alive. When they were able to fend for themselves and help the family, Ord uplifted Bhioctoria as Anymine, the Mac'Tirnen God of Family.

35811 BC - As Mac'Tirnen societies grew, and the families and clans associated, so too did strife and it became increasingly common for groups to fall to war especially between those considered "Purebred", called Canites (whose features were all similar in the clan and praised) and "Mut", pronounced Mute (where features were more varied between individuals). It was in this rising conflict that Ceana, Matriarch of a Canite clan began her great work of unifying Mac'Tirnen society into one empire, this took many decades and to prove her dedication to unification joined her clan with a Mut clan whose matriarch had passed without successor. After a long campaign that was ultimately successful, the Cean Empire was born and when Ceana was ready to pass with her daughter succeeding her, Ord uplifted Ceana as Metensia, the Mac'Tirnen God of Society.

33899 BC - Moire was a clanless woman, a Mut whose clan was wiped out with dozens of desert villages during a tempest of a sandstorm. She wandered the deserts of Kahlens and became a legend, an angel in white robes who would swoop out of the sands to save those in need. Some years passed and during another sandstorm season, Moire came across a dead Canite with 4 pups. She sheltered and fed the pups to keep them alive. When she carried them to a village she knew of nearby another sandstorm whipped out suddenly, she kept the pups safe with her body and bore the brunt of the fast moving sands and winds. Once the winds wound down and the villagers could leave their homes, they found Moire on deaths door with 4 safe pups in her arms. When she took her final breath, Ord uplifted her as Helleboris, the Mac'Tirnen God of Deserts.

14145 BC - The Cean Empire was at its height, with the most cohesive society on all of Werlyth, but despite this there was still occasional strife and inter-clan issues could run deep, and run bloody. Lili was a young pup of a Canite clan, the clans ascendancy was assured by a proposed marriage into the royal family. This unfortunately made the family a target for the machinations of political maneuvering and it was one such plan that resulted in the slaughter of Lili's entire clan. Lili survived by covering herself in the blood of a brother and pretending to be dead. This began the years long cat and mouse games as her opponents hunted for her. Lili grew practiced at surviving their attacks and eventually found the perpetrators of her familys downfall and was able to infiltrate and retrieve proof, surviving even a deviously placed acid trap to do so. As Lili presented this information to Empress Sileas, Ord uplifted her as Petira, The Mac'Tirnen God of Survival.

Tabaxi Gods

26711 BC - The Tabaxi were trapped on their islands and the burning desire for adventure was driving them a little crazy, up until this point, travel between islands was limited to those willing to risk rafts and very small boats or canoes. This was not very successful in general given the wild seas around Corind. That was until Kinsey Snaggletooth came along, his desire to explore the wider world drove him to create the first ship, a 3 mast schooner he called Horizon Seeker. Rather than teaching others however, Kinsey took his ship and began exploring the islands, his journeys tales were spread far and wide and it wasn't long before more Tabaxi ships were made, nobody is sure when Kinsey was uplifted as he sailed westwards, not to be seen again until appearing before other sailors to bless their journeys. Some say the ship ran aground on some unknown island, full of maps and notes about other unknown lands, where as he died Kinsey was uplifted by Ord as Kinsey, the Tabaxi God of Sailing.

22271 BC - Not all Tabaxi were the epitome of selfish adventurer, some were born with a simple love of the sea, like Adelia, born upon the galleon Summer's Keeper. Adelia's mother would regale her of tales of pirates and privateers, adventurers and hidden temples, but Adelia's love would always be the sea. The Summer's Keeper ran aground upon a hidden sand bar and had to be abandoned when even the high tide failed to lift it. This stuck with Adelia when it took 6 months and many deaths for them to be rescued. When she was old enough to get her own ship and crew, she set out to map the entire Archipelago and using a heavy weight on a marked rope even managed to map out much of the ocean depths. She then spread this information in the form of charts as far as she could. In her old age, finishing a tome of charts and guides, Ord appeared before her and uplifted her as Adelia, the Tabaxi God of Oceans and Navigation.

18876 BC - If any Tabaxi could embody the nature of adventure, it was Pelagia, the pirate/privateer/explorer who would come to be famous even early in her career. Her exploits cannot be covered in a single paragraph but her most famous was her last. While searching for the lost treasure of the Pirate King Patch she was hunted by the Pirate hunter Steren, she successfully evaded his fleet in her ship Calamity's End and managed to find the Pirate Kings hidden jungle keep. She escaped with a priceless artifact as the keep crumbled around her, but unfortunately Steren was waiting for her. During a fierce sea battle in which she sunk several of his ships the adventure concluded when she defeated Steren in a sword duel upon the top mast as she ship exploded beneath them. Ord retrieved the drowning Pelagia from the water and uplifted her as Pelagia, the Tabaxi God of Adventure.

15679 BC - Kae the Pirate was one to be feared, supposedly cursed at birth to always beckon storms to his position, Kae used this ability to his profit, drawing larger and slower targets into deadly storms and tsunamis. Many were the hunters who sought to out manoeuvre the pirate, but they all fell short. A great fleet was brought together, it's one goal to end this great threat upon the seas. 30 war ships descended upon the bay in which Kae was anchored. When Kae was informed of the fleets approach, he laughed with his crew and left his Keep to sail upon his ship, the Storm Rider, and as soon as he stepped upon the deck, a monsoon began to whip up the sea, the winds howling through the rigging. His crew was cowed, having not seen a storm quite this furious in all the years of sailing with Kae. They sailed, and dipped between the larger ships as the storm battered the fleet to splinters. Kae went to the crows nest to truly revel in the chaos as a whirlpool opened up beneath his ship. Waiting at the bottom of the ocean was Ord, who uplifted Kae as Kae, the Tabaxi God of Storms.

Dwarven Gods

30051 BC - The Dwarves were masters of the worked land, having practiced the art of farming for thousands of years. However that paled in comparison with the skill and love that Gwendielle Darkward would bring to the art. From an early age Gwendielle was an adept farmer and developed some skill at getting more out of the soil than expected but it was during the Great Blight of 30050 BC that she truly shined and through careful observation and crop control was able to prevent a famine and restore the farmlands to health. Ord uplifted Gwendielle as Jasosul, the Dwarven God of Farming

27814 BC - As far as Gnomes go, Ranryn Mulbearer was considered to be particularly Gnomish. All Gnomes are concerned about the quality of their tools and equipment, always seeking out the best for their work, whether it be the perfectly balanced mining pick or the finest and clearest monocle for jewellery work, but Ranryn took this to a level not seen before. Many days and nights locked in a forge, the banging of tools and muttering of curses could be heard throughout, this process carried on for years, food left outside the door occasionally disappearing without witness, when she finally emerged from her forge, dishevelled and gaunt, Ranryn was holding what could only be described as the most perfect set of blacksmithing tools. As she collapsed and her clanmates peered inside her forge to see tools for every possible trade in the same style. The Ranryn set of tools is currently held in a secure vault awaiting a prophesised group of crafters to put them to good use. Ord uplifted Ranryn as Shetres, the Dwarven God of Sturdy Crafts and Good Tools

25561 BC - Maintaining the food supply of the ever growing Dwarvenkind society means maintaining the farmlands and caring for them, but it also means making improvements where possible. Bennam Braveeye started as a normal farmhand, working the farms and growing crops but after a few years, the nearby well began to dry and despite digging it out further water became more and more scarce which caused quite the furore in the community. Nobody could accuse Bennam of being the most ambitious and moving to a new farm wasn't exactly his idea of a good future so he sat down and gave it a good think. It started to rain and a small trickle of rain ran down a gutter and poured onto Bennams head, giving him an immediate idea. It tooks a couple of days of hard work and concentration but when he finished, he had successfully developed an irrigation system using pipes and a water wheel that was hand turned from a small rivulet further down the valley. This idea spread and for his efforts to improve the farmlands for everyone Ord uplifted Bennam as Odesul, the Dwarven God of Farmlands

14490 BC - If there is anything Halflings love more than good food, it's good food on a bright sunny day. Corrin Copperlade was one such Halfling and enjoyed spending his days resting on a hillside with some bread, cheese and a nice ale. Corrin became a barometer for good weather in the wider community because you could always rely on it being a sunny day if Corrin was resting upon the hillside. This became local legend and spread quickly and soon enough halflings everywhere were waiting with bated breath for the Corrin report to know if it's safe to go out that day without an umbrella. Upon his death, on that hillside with some bread and coldmeats Ord uplifted Corrin as Agudo, the Dwarven God of Good Weather

Talgen Vampire Gods

In 54721 BC, Ord created the Elves and placed them on Sulawei, shortly afterwards Soluna selected three of them and uplifted them to be gods of Death (Gieth), Life (Gliere) and Blood (Gallow), to keep a balance and maintain the movement of souls from death, to rebirth. For millennia these gods maintained the cycle and kept it moving having no clear ties to any race or ideal other than the cycle. In 12678 BC a tribe of humans were dropped on Shrouded Talgen by Azak the Collector and the trio became immediately interested in them. After some time, in 12218 BC, Gieth gifted some leaders in the tribe with undeath, creating the first true vampires. As they changed the humans, so did the humans change them, imparting on them their despair and fear. The trio still maintained the cycle but were now drawn to the perceived hypocrisy of the other immortal gods.

The Cleansing (12000 BC)

The Cleansing

By 12000 BC, the Gods of each race were aware of each other and communicated. They were aware of the illusions in place by Ord and had started to petition Ord to drop these barriers so their people could interact with the rest of the world. Despite their pleas falling on deaf ears, the gods began to form their own allegiances and rivalries which lead to the races being exposed to new gods and ideas. It was in this time of change that Gieth plotted to adhere the other gods to the cycle of death and rebirth.

In 11762 BC the Elf Carius Longwind, who blamed the gods for every misfortune he had suffered in his long life and had since turned such bitterness into burning hatred, wielding the cursed blade Fateshear, performed a ritual taught to him by Gieth to summon and bind all the gods so that they may be killed and once again joined to the cycle. At the last moment, an interruption to the ritual caused it to fail and only summon and bind two of the gods, Kae (Tabaxi God of Storms) and Anymine (Mac'Tirnen God of Family). Not one to squander any opportunity to take revenge upon the gods he considered evil and capricious slew them both.

As he finished his grim work, the world turned grey and time seemed to stop, his body frozen in place as a presence filled the room and cowed the haughty Elf. Ord themselves appeared before Carius, in the guise of a fiery giant, and without a word incinerated the Elf and the entire area went up in flames, what was once a verdant jungle on the West coast of Sulawei, reduced to a black and unforgiving land where nothing would ever grow again.

With this accomplished, Ord ascended above the planet and convinced that none of their Blessed Races could be saved, easily corrupted as this one way began to chant the song of Cleansing that started to sweep across the planet as a wall of Mist and banishing only the Blessed to the empty void.

Soluna attempted to intervene and began to erect a barrier emanating from Mount Camborn which only managed to get a small distance out of Lathlenn before meeting the Cleansing Mist

Azak was more successful in their intervention by sending nearly all of the Blessed being consumed by the Cleansing Mist to the cosmic vaults in the Astral Plane.

Following the chant, Ord places the Werlythian Gods into torpor while Soluna traps Gieth, Gliere and Gallow in giant gem prisons in Shrouded Talgen

Ord and Soluna then immediately disappear in to the Aether, Azak having already returned to the cosmic vaults with their prizes.

Between Two Calamities (12000 BC - 1 BC)

These are very brief time points for each continent, hitting on major events but with less detail than a full retelling would have. Many events took place between these major ones, small advancements and changing borders, too many to list here right now.

Lathlenn

Lathlenn was unaffected by the Cleansing, protected by Soluna's Barrier. The human population was very small at the beginning of 12000 BC and struggled against the natural dangers of the world. Huddled as they were at the base of Mount Camborn, slowly they developed tools and settlements. The massive mountain provided all they needed for the time being, it's forested foothills and abundant wildlife provided foods and skins, the mountain itself provided the wonder for exploring. By 11000 BC the first of the human nations would be formed at Mount Camborn, the Yrrimite settlement grew to encompass other settlements and soon became a nation. Humans slowly began to drift out of their home, spreading out through Lathlenn, first westward, then north, south and finally eastward. By 6823 BC, humans had officially spread to every corner of Lathlenn and the modern era had begun. The founding of the nation of Ezzin on the far south-eastern coast would give rise to the first Empire of Lathlenn, it's reign lasted just over 1000 years and led to an age of advancement, but also high brutality. The fall of the Ezzin Emporer Hazzik II fractured the continent once again, and many were the city states and petty warlords eager to claim some form of legacy for themselves. Borders changed frequently and by 1900 BC Lathlenn had seen the rise and fall of dozens of kingdoms and city states as well as 3 additional empires, though none could match the longevity of the Ezzin, nor leave so much still in use infrastructure such as the First Way.

In 1545 BC, where Braedon would be, an intrepid coastal fisherman would launch the first ship, a massive vessel by the standards of the time. Designed to withstand the brutal waves and high winds of the sea, Grev Woodstock would launch his 2 mast schooner and return 2 weeks later reporting that he had encountered a wall of mist but dared not sail any closer. All around Lathlenn, ships using Grev's design and various improvements would launch, many not to return after piercing the mist wall. Travel around the edge of the continent was faster than ever giving rise to new communication and the spread of technology.

910 BC was the first year of the 'Modern Era' of Lathlenn, firstly the nation of Orilon formed in the ruins of old Ezzin followed shortly after by the central nation of Camborn (born of the two dozen or so city states that occupied the area), named for the home of humanity. These two nations would go on to forge diplomatic certainty for all other nations, using Queen Philia of Orilon's diplomatic ability and the raw militaristic might of the newly formed Camborn nation. Slowly over the next 900 years, did the nations of Lathlenn as we know them formalise.

It was in the year 537 BC that Ferghill, formalised the practice and teaching of magic. Prior to Ferghills treatises on the subject, magic was mainly the realm of sorcerers and in some countries completely outlawed but from his tower in south western Lathlenn, Ferghill would codify the laws of magic use, research and practice that would lead to the rise of mages being in every court in the land. In 510 BC an accident at Ferghill's tower led to his demise and a massive tear in the land itself around it. One of his surviving students would take what could be scavanged of his writings and with it form the great nation of Ferghellin, the home of magic in Lathlenn and the arbiter of all mages across the continent.

In 31 BC, a small part of the Eastern Peninsula of Sulawei is found poking out from the Mist causing a large stir in various courts of Lathlenn, there was a race to collect information and attempt to claim this land for one of the major nations but in 26 BC, Perl is founded on this new piece of land by Damien Perl, an independent trader aided by the Ordarian priest Marrik Slaghurst and with some gold and silver deposits discovered below the settlement, a prosperous and powerful naval city grows.

Sulawei

With the silence of the Cleansing falling upon the world, not much happened for the first few thousand years in Sulawei.

Northern Sulawei

In Northern Sulawei, the forests began to reclaim the lands of the Elves, the carefully cultivated gardens, parks and forests of the High Elves would overgrow and take over their confines. Beautiful roads and bridges, a craft honed over 1000s of years of use would crack, break and the vegetation would take over. Over time, the occasional explosion would be heard as a mechanomagical device failed, the sudden sound startling the wildlife that had begun to take over the old cities.

In 7671 BC a massive explosion wrecked havoc in a hidden laboratory in Elion, the land remained scarred for centuries but untold horrors crept out of the ruins of the lab, the cries and screams of abominations without count would echo throughout the forests and silence the natural wildlife for years.

In 2198 BC after a ferocious territorial battle in the Eastern Ilphas Jungle between green dragons resulted in an ancient dragon called Calphalax relocating her brood and lair to the ruins of Fenlamin on the shores of Lake Llamiryl.

Between 2000 BC and 1000 BC a massive migration of Frost Giants into the Frozen Call occurred, these giants having migrated over from the Forgyth Islands.

In 728 BC a large group of monsters, led by a group of driders, took over the Drow city of Gallaneth in the Western Lierin Mountain Range.

In the blighted lands of the Western Ilphas Jungle, called Longwind's Folly, a portal structure erupts from the ground and opens in 614 BC. Stepping out of the massive portal, several hundred haggard Tieflings blink in the harsh light of Altair, unsure of their surroundings they desperately attempt to survive in this harsh, unknown land.

In 114 BC a large scale battle between new arrivals the Eladrin, who had managed to ally with Tieflings from Eastern Longwind's Folly, and the Green Dragons of Eastern Ilphas Jungle resulting in the dragons having to go into hiding or moving to other jungles and forests in Sulawei. The Eladrin took over the jungle and cultivated it to be a wilder place, no longer under the yoke of the Greens.

Southern Sulawei

Centaurs taking over the plains, though avoiding the more permanent settlements

Red Dragon

Kahlens

Y

Corind Archipelago

U

Shrouded Talgen

P

Forgyth Islands

E

The Cataclysm (1 BC / 0 CR)

1 BC / 0 CR/TR Cataclysm Reckoning (Human Calendar) / The Return (Elven/Orc Calendar)

In the city of Perl, 26 years after its founding, a massive explosion from under the monastery decimates the city.

Following the explosion, a large magical eruption wipes out all the life in Perl, as a beam of blue light from this eruption is visible all the way in Luminaire. Faintly in the beam, the forms of Kae and Anymine can be seen.

This magical explosion blows away the Mist wall, revealing the rest of the world of Werlyth. A strong magical wind washes over Lathlenn causing immense pain for all wizards and sorcerers.

There is a moment of quiet as the world seems to settle but then, the very ground begins to buckle and crack. A massive earthquake shakes the foundations of Lathlenn as huge rends in the land begin to form. A deafening crack echoes throughout the land as the entirety of Camborn begins to subside and break. After a short while, a mass of water breaks forth from the base of Mount Camborn and this tidal wave of liquid washes over the land forming what is now known as the Camborn Sea, only the very top of the peak of Mount Camborn now peering above the waves.

A large chasm forms, stretching out into Ferghellin as the land around Drakellen begins to wither and die. The land of Lathlenn is forever changed in but a few moments

Ord and Soluna return to Werlyth almost immediately to discover Soluna's barrier and the Cleansing Mist completely dissipated. Finding the forms of Kae and Anymine, Ord pulls the other Werlythian Gods out of torpor to attempt to investigate the happenings.

While Ord is distracted, Azak summons back all the Blessed to where they were transported from, in an event that is known as The Return, though this is a bittersweet return as the world had grown and changed in the 12000 years since The Cleansing and many perish through mishap in this time.

Ord is confused by the turn of events but decides to withhold another Cleansing after some persuasion from Soluna, in order to see what happens.

Post Cataclysm 0 CR - 50 CR

The Aftermath (0 CR - 10 CR)

Lathlenn

The map changes little as the political landscape stays tense without the diplomatic influence of Camborn to keep the nations in check, border disputes and skirmishes occur across most borders.

Nyrae goes completely dark almost immediately after The Cataclysm, with no envoys or missions able to make any contact with the Burghers that previously ran the country.

The wasting of the land in Ferghellin continues to spread, causing Cullen Wood to being to die as well. Dark rumours of the walking dead escape Drakellen but these are largely ignored by the other nations.

A dragon is seen flying out from Mount Camborn before returning to the peak.

Darkenwell and Lunaris both have sightings of strange creatures leaving caves in the surrounding mountains

Werlyth

In 8 CR Ord strengthens the Aetherial connection of the planet by attempting to make the Werlythian Gods more powerful and thereby preventing the events that lead to the original Cleansing. This had the unforeseen result of even stronger access to magic for all inhabitants of Werlyth and creating areas of wild magic where magic was already very strong

Today! (~50 CR/TR)

Current Day (51 CR)

You are here!

1. Years here refers to Werlyth years, rather than some cosmological constant.
2. BC is Before Cataclysm.