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 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

Humans begin 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 prove 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 maintain their alliance, over a period of 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.

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 lasts to modern times. Despite this, for an unknown reason the dragons disappeared, leaving their menials behind without leadership. The more independent lagues 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 open diplomatic communications with the rodentfolk leadership. Seeing mutual gain, the Warren Federation is formed, with the rodentfolk, lagus, and kobold making the three factions which govern the council.

800-899 Century Nine

• The War of the Rune begins, the unified ogres under 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 hold outs. Seeing that their main fortress was doomed, the dwarven leadership decides 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 appear, 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, 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.

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 causes it to be adopted universally by the Onokrin empire, mass production goes into effect immediately as multiple guilds form producing not only revolver designs but cartridge munitions, also designed by Samuel Walker.

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 have a railroad connecting them, increasing trade, speed of travel, and production across the entirety of the empire. The first trains are 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 Hammerfall 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 possibly contain a dragon’s hoard of treasure. However, once entered the ruins cannot 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.