Timeline

Recorded Timeline of Amerilia

The common recording of time in the world of Amerelia is done by century, with the current year being 1731, each record is defined by the century and year it happened. Year zero marks when the first efforts to record history began. Amerelia itself is a very small moon orbiting a planet, tidally locked facing towards the sun where its orbital rotation leaves the world in near perpetual day. The land is a singular super-continent surrounded by a few sparse archipelagos and a sea that encircles the planet, with the non-sun facing side being left in perpetual cold, darkness, and few land masses save for ice.

Pre-History

Pre-History represents an extremely long and unrecorded or unknown history to much of the world, left to speculation by historians and scholars whose research is based on old and incomplete records. Most of pre-history can be considered factually true as written below, but exact dates and events may or may not be as exact as historians would like. The marking of the current age and date (Century 0) also known as the beginning of truly recorded history, or the age of Enlightenment are far more meticulously detailed and therefore can be treated with greater gravitas. For simplicity's sake, notable historical events are present in the century they occurred rather than with specific dates to account for overlapping timelines.

Onokrin Empire

Humans began forging an agrarian society using primitive bronze tools and equipment. These separated villages and farmlands maintain an uneasy peace with each other and see little serious conflict. Orc tribes, believed to have come down from the north, settled in this area of plenty and quickly set about raiding human settlements for tools, food, and supplies. Decades of this conflict pass until tribal gnolls arrive from the Southlands after plundering the southern plains of all it could offer. Gnolls quickly began raiding human settlements as well, reducing the number of raid targets among the relatively prosperous orcs.

Seeking to protect what they believe is their proper plunder, orc tribes begin attacking gnoll tribes, both races proving an even match when using primitive weapons. Upon seeing these conflicts, humans opportunistically noted orcs moving closer to their borders to better catch gnoll raids on their way to human settlements. Humans contact the orcs, seeking to pay them for protection against the gnolls in a ploy to have both races fight it out and leave the struggling farmers alone. Over time this conflict escalates, with humans shifting from paying a tribute of food and supplies to actively supplying orcs with weapons.

Given breathing room from constant raids and attacks, the humans discover and quickly make use of primitive iron weapons and tools. Orcs outfitted in iron armor and equipped with iron weapons quickly proved to be too much for the primitive gnoll tribes. Beaten back, the gnolls retreat south to harass the goblins of the southern plains once again. Orcs and humans maintained their alliance, over many decades integrating their society with humans making up much of the farming and merchant class, whilst orcs became the de facto soldier and military groups. The scattered towns unite under a single banner, believing that their common enemy will one day return, giving birth to the Onokrin Empire.

Warren Federation

Past the southern plains and in the mountain ranges of the Hell's Teeth, the fledgling race known as the kobolds and lagus are ruled by several dragons. The kobolds serve the dragons as menials while the lagus tend to the surface farms built into the mountain crags and plateaus. The dragons built a sprawling underground fortress of stone and masonry so intricately designed that it lasted to modern times. Despite this, for an unknown reason, the dragons disappeared, leaving their menials behind without leadership. The more independent lagus seize the opportunity and establish themselves as the new leadership. The kobolds agree to their terms, trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Over the years, the lagus began to exhibit signs of psionic powers that the kobolds viewed as similar but not quite magic, just as the dragons had openly used. Using their powers, the lagus began to expand on the holds that the dragons built, growing their underground empire. Tunneling deep, the lagus unearthed the rodentfolk, scattered tribes of rodent men who had a somewhat advanced civilization in the underground tunnels. Using their psionic abilities, the lagus easily opened diplomatic communications with the rodentfolk leadership. Seeing mutual gain, the Warren Federation is formed, with the rodentfolk, lagus, and kobold making the three factions that govern the council.

Steel Legion

Across the sea in the island nation soon to become known as the Steel Legion an established civilization of agrarian city-states fought for control between powerful minotaur warlords. The fledgling society grew from relatively peaceful cooperatives made up of minotaurs and deerfolk before devolving into war at the advent of their progress into a proper civilization. The result was centuries of conflict that ebbed and flowed with families and warlords switching sides, forming alliances, and betraying each other in ways that ultimately prevented any one warlord from gathering enough clout to conquer the island.

This status quo was eventually upset by then-warlord Oda Ieyasu whose soldiers were outfitted with a newly discovered form of steel infused with the magic of a felled kaiju. This specially crafted metal was formed into weapons that Oda outfitted his legion, the Steel Legion, with before he began his conquering of the island. His superior military acumen, devious use of betrayal and politicking, and his supremely well-equipped soldiers allowed Oda to conquer all territories through military or diplomatic strength. His ultimate victory saw the nation of the Steel Legion formed, named in honor of his soldiers, and establishment of the shogunate that remains in power to this day despite multiple civil wars and internal conflicts.

200-299 Century Three

• The Lich war begins. An unknown necromancer succeeds in becoming a powerful lich of Xaal and begins an undead uprising across the Onokrin Empire. The empire is well-defended and fortified but struggles against the rising tide as fallen soldiers rise within minutes, turning every small engagement into a potential ruinous loss if casualties mount. Then legendary lords take the field at key points of defense where the undead become overwhelming, turning the tide of battle under their superior strength. The lich, now known as Black Harvester Lazarus, appears in these crucibles of war, and under his direct command his undead legions overwhelm even the legendary lords. Kyria the Black Blade, Salathiel the Unbreakable, and Chosen Malchiel are reported slain. Within a few weeks, the fallen lords were raised by Lazarus and began leading his now-fortified legions of undead. Scattered zombies and skeletons are now regimental troops using armor and wielding weapons churned out by unliving forges and dead smiths. Various cults begin to appear as external villages are lost and multiple towns are razed. The first of which is the Chosen of Xaal, a cult devoted to the god of death that has discovered a way to keep the dead and undead from rising again. The second and more prominent are the Sons of Baitaal, a cult of murderous zealots hellbent on stopping the undead. Their zeal and dedication saw their numbers growing despite heavy losses, the then emperor orders the Sons to be positioned at strategic locations. Prominent lords join both cults, pledging their legends to aid them. As they grew in number and zeal, greater support from Baitaal and Xaal began appearing. Several lords become paladins, most notably Huntress Damaris, Nathaniel the Hero, and Grand Wizard Malachi, their god-granted powers turn a few desperate last stands into impressive victories. Lazarus' forces begin losing, unable to rise again after defeat, and incapable of replenishing their forces due to the cult of Xaal's Chosen, they begin a fighting retreat to the east. Lazarus orders his undead lords to cover his retreat before they are overwhelmed by the newly knighted paladins and the Sons of Baitaal. Lazarus is pursued by Damaris, Nathaniel, and Malachi. All four are reported missing in action but presumed to have succeeded in slaying Lazarus as the remaining undead armies turned feral, losing cohesion and dispersing into the wilderness. Without organization, the threat of the undead and the lich war comes to an end.

800-899 Century Nine

• The War of the Rune begins, the unified ogres under the direction of their magi lead a surprise assault against the dwarven-ruled Iron Kingdoms, seeking to capture the primary mountain fortress to obtain the secrets of the Rune Lanterns. The war lasts several decades, with ogre mages proving too powerful for the dwarves to meet in open battle. Dwarven wizards are often killed in close combat by ogre battle mages, leading to a depletion of magical adepts among the Iron Kingdoms. Their inability to adapt to a changing conflict leads to desperate attempts to employ early forms of firearms to halt the advancing ogres as exterior holds and batteries fall. These weapons prove dangerous enough to give the ogres heavy losses, slowing their advance, but the ogres' greater numbers and active employment of summoned daemons and resurrection of their fallen dead into zombie warriors quickly overwhelmed the remaining holdouts. Seeing that their main fortress was doomed, the dwarven leadership decided that it would rather let everyone die than concede defeat. The remaining dwarven mages pool what little remains of their resources and detonate a mana bomb, the devastating blast destroying all remaining holds, leaving few survivors. It is unknown how, but enough ogres survived with the intact schematics for the rune lanterns, the remaining forces retreating from the devastated northern realms to the Onokrin Empire where they bartered their magical implants and talents to secure citizenship. Less than fifty dwarves are confirmed to have survived, with nowhere to go and their race now doomed to extinction, those that remained traveled to the empire where they were allowed residence but denied citizenship.

900-999 Century Ten

• The first prototypes of firearms appeared, with early designs being musket, flintlock, and rare breach loading designs. While somewhat known, the designs are mainly created by remnant dwarves from the iron kingdoms who jealously guard their production methods and schematics. Those who obtain them do so by paying outrageous prices, leading to few seeing active military use beyond specialist and private mercenary conclaves. Rumors of gatling gun designs employed by private pirate vessels from the Steel Legion surface but are never confirmed.

• Contact with the Warren Federation is established, the Empire and sprawling under-federation find common ground and quickly move to diplomatic relations after mercenary and military groups posture for dominance in newly disputed borders. The federation employs its vast collections of gems, ores, and materials mined from their kingdoms beneath the earth, rodentfolk caravans led by lagus diplomats bring wealth and goods that fascinate empire citizens. Kobolds quickly ingratiate themselves with salamanders working among humans, a common ancestry causing them to develop an immediate kinship. Diplomatic relations take a few decades, but within a relatively short time, the Warren Federation and Onokrin Empire enter an official alliance. This alliance is considered martial, trade, and diplomatic, with both factions agreeing to act as a singular faction on all external fronts while maintaining individual sovereignty and autonomy.

1200-1299 Century Thirteen

• Early versions of more modern firearms begin to see more common use, and basic weaponry becomes more refined and more common, with empire legionaries employing battalions of rifle-toting soldiers. While slow and somewhat ineffective by modern standards, they prove exceptionally powerful when employed en-mass. The secret of gunpowder slowly spreads from there, with non-dwarven guild halls, mercenary groups, and enthusiasts making gunpowder weaponry well-known and commonly produced.

1300-1399 Century Fourteen

• An event later to be known as the rebellion of the forty-seven invincibles begins. The ruling shogunate began the process of disarmament of the populace and creating stricter rules on those wishing to become samurai. By edict, all deerfolk are disallowed from carrying weapons and all deerfolk samurai are to disarm and return to life as peasants. Most deerfolk comply, seeing it as the only honorable and logical choice. One well-known samurai by the name of Kenji the Mountain refuses, and rebellious samurai flock to his side and his fortress to become ronin. Daimyo who had heard of this rebellion mobilized to besiege the fortress seeking to gain the shogun's favor by putting down this rebellion. A protracted siege begins with minotaurs dying in droves as the then three hundred ronin prove far too dangerous and well positioned to be easily put down. Weeks become months, and casualties on both sides mount to the point that multiple daimyo are forced to retreat as their forces deplete. Kenji and his ronin continue to hold out, word of their rebellion spreading across the land and begin to galvanize the other disparaged deerfolk. Seeing a potential for other rebellions to begin the shogun himself takes the field against Kenji and the remaining forty-seven ronin, now known across the steel legion as the forty-seven invincibles. The shogun's eldest son and heir is tasked with defeating Kenji. The heir is slain in a duel, canonizing Kenji as a lord. The shogun then offers to accept the terms that Kenji and his remaining invincibles may die honorably through hikomori, recognized as samurai, and buried with honors at a shrine temple. Kenji and his ronin accept and are later honored as mythical heroes among the deerfolk. The shogun remains unmoved and continues the disarmament of the deerfolk, though it is said that many of the stricter rules and edicts that the shogun planned are scrapped for fear of another rebellion.

1400-1499 Century Fifteen

• The first single-action revolver design was created and patented by human gunsmith Samuel Walker. Its revolutionary cylinder design and relative simplicity caused it to be adopted universally by the Onokrin empire, mass production went into effect immediately as multiple guilds formed producing not only revolver designs but cartridge munitions, also designed by Samuel Walker.

• The Steel Legion and Empire make first contact through pirates, rebel mariners encounter legion warships outfitted to take down the kaiju surrounding the legion's island home. Despite hostile contact between criminal ships, the reports are investigated by both sides until initial contact is made. Rumors of a first contact war on the seas abound with both sides suffering minor losses as they probe each other's defenses. These unsubstantiated claims are ignored, and official diplomatic channels open under the pretense of trade and mutual discovery. Embassies on both sides worked towards peaceful resolutions as the then emperor and shogun positioned for potential war until mutual understanding was made. Though tense, the Steel Legion and Onokrin empire sign a non-aggression treaty and peace prevails. The legion is vastly enriched by access to empire technology and magic while the methods of weaving and massive supply of magical reagents collected through kaiju hunting are traded, both kingdoms benefiting greatly from trade, and thus conflict both official and unofficial ceases in a few short years.

1500-1599 Century Sixteen

• The first railroad was invented by renowned ogre inventor Bill Bessemer, within the next few decades, all major cities and towns had a railroad connecting them, increasing trade, speed of travel, and production across the entirety of the empire. The first trains were steam powered before being quickly replaced by more refined versions made using coal engines and magic engines.

1600-1699 Century Seventeen

• The ruin known as Hammer's Fall is discovered, an ancient mountain fortress buried beneath the earth and accessed by a stone entryway. This ancient relic has no recorded history save for a mercenary company known as the Blackwood Agents that had formed a small outpost outside it. From these mercenaries, the structure's name is learned along with rumors that it may contain a dragon’s hoard of treasure. However, once entered the ruins could not be left and the company was using it to dispose of their enemies, promising them freedom if they escaped with treasure. The mercenary company is executed by Empire agents before their holdings are seized. After their information is confirmed as true the Empire begins disposing of prisoners with the same promise, many legendary figures, criminals, and men of means who became enemies of the state end up thrown into Hammerfall on the small hope these accomplished men and women successfully escape with the dragon’s hoard. A railroad is built to connect the empire to this outpost, the ease of travel attracting treasure hunters, madmen, and mages looking to willingly enter the fortress to obtain riches and wealth beyond their wildest dreams.

• The War of Thorns begins, marked by the arrival of an elven diplomat in federation territory. An impromptu meeting is made between federation leaders with the elven diplomat who demands complete secession of all federation leadership, military, and police and total surrender. The majority of the council dismisses these demands as the words of a madman and sent the diplomat away. Two members of the council, both psions, use psychic means to verify if the elven diplomats' threats mean anything and, upon reading the alien and visceral evil in the elf's mind, take steps to prepare for an attack. Despite preparations, the federation is caught off guard, defenders take extreme losses but ultimately obtain a defensive victory in strategic locations. Outer holds along the southern borders are attacked by elves, the primary force being a vanguard distraction so the elves may hit civilian targets. The worst of which is referred to as the First Skirmish Massacre, an entire hold down to civilians is butchered by elven attackers and horrifically displayed as gored trophies. The horrendous slaughter is so damaging to federation morale that relief forces diverted to retake the holds have to be quarantined as psionic legions suffer breakdowns and lose control of their powers at the sight of the butchered civilians. The federation calls for aid immediately and the empire answers, both kingdoms immediately forming a joint military pact and fortifying a greater defensive position as panicked scouts report more elven forces moving to siege the federation line. After months of active conflict and constant siege, the defensive lines are drawn and the war devolves into a defensive front against ongoing attacks by the elves. The Steel Legion pledges additional support by guarding the seas, but the war shows no sign of ending and continues to the present day.

• Garm refugees arrive in scattered groups at the federation front lines, bringing stories of their kingdom being razed by the elves after refusing surrender. Though wary at first, the garm are screened by psions to verify their stories before being accepted as refugees into federation holds. Officially given resident status, the garms soon begin showing signs of a racial affliction known as the feasting and many begin to suffer as they seek revenge by joining the ongoing war. After several incidents involving Garm devolving into wendigo, all soldiers are pulled from the front lines and barred from active military duty. Many races become extremely distrustful of the garm and resent their lack of contributions in the ongoing war with only the lagus remaining sympathetic, describing the feasting as a magical curse similar to the psions affected by the First Skirmish Massacre. Garm numbers are low enough that most assimilate into federation society, what remained of their empire and culture erased in just a few generations.

1700-1799 Century Eighteen

• The Ancient Patrol is sent to discover and probe elven kingdom defenses after decades of the joint federation/empire alliance being on the defensive. Led by renowned commander Donovan Barrister a volunteer squad of "ancients", soldiers well past middle age and with decades of experience, are sent on a suicide mission with heavy golem and ogre battle legion support to wreak havoc on elven lines before reporting back with their discoveries. Despite being made of the best of the best soldiers, the ancient patrol is slaughtered to the man with the only survivor being veteran scout Lannister who reported the events and doom of the expedition. Despite failing to return, the ancient patrol is lionized under memorial as heroes, each name carved into a monument placed in a seat of honor outside council chambers in the federation capital Locus of the Accord.