Age of Antiquity

Known by scholars now as the Age of Antiquity, the Age of Enlightenment (as it was called at the time) is marked by the formation of the Tseluda Empire in the Great Desert, the first true power of humanity. The Tseludians were inventors and philosophers, thinkers and scholars, and pushed the boundaries of what the Elder Races thought were possible. It is from here that the Order of the Ghiscari was formed, and with them recorded history exits the realm of myth and tale. Tselua quickly came into conflict with the Eldari and the Stoneborn Dwarfs, both entrenched in their kingdoms. In the south, the First Iskari Empire was formed, conquering the Silver Coast over several centuries and extending north into the Westhold. In the East, the Second Dynasty of the Xa'a Empire had reformed the Empire, retaking much of it's former holdings. The Elder Races grew in power, and Earedar prospered.

The powers of this age were able to connect in a way no longer replicable, primarily through the use of mass teleportation magic. People were able to move mass amounts of people and materiel across vast distances, which allowed a level of interconnection never seen before, and not seen since. The use of this magic of course is prohibited by Celestine's Law now. The Elder Races also had access to technology now lost, most prominently being the airship, invented during the Second Dynasty of Xa'a, it's uses spreading into the Iskari and Tseluda Empires. Great wonders and libraries were built, and the accumulation of knowledge fostered by all nations. Most of the records from this time period are from the academic institutions that survived the Infernal Crusade, and the little information that was shared by the Ghiscari Order.

Without going into innate detail, a few events define the history of Earedar during this time period. The foundation of the Order of the Golden Dragon in the Dragon Coast during the early portion of the Age, followed by the period known as the High Hunt saw a massive campaign waged against dragonkind, seeing them flee the region surrounding the Inner Sea and the Golden and Silver dragon breeds eradicated from Earedar. This then caused them to begin to gather in the west, eventually forming the First Vraekar Empire under the Onyx Dragon Emperor in the Dragonhold. The empire of the Dragonlords quickly grew in strength, coming into conflict with the High Kingdom of the Stonelands, the Tseluda Empire, and the Iskari Empire. The Iskari Empire was pushed south, the Tseludians ravaged and the High Kingdom of the Stonelands broken into pieces until the onslaught was finally stopped at Gaerevon's Cliff through the intervention of Helmvor. Over many centuries the Vraekar Empire was pushed back, and finally with the death of the Onyx Dragon Emperor Kalshyyn the empire was destroyed, but not without great loss. The conflict took place primarily in Tseluda, and the fires that ravaged that land destroyed the Great Desert, starting the separation into what we now know today as two separate deserts, the Razorwind Desert in the south and the Tel'Shadar Desert in the north. Tseluda would never regain its full strength, eventually splitting into several pieces. The Iskari Empire would rebound, eventually regaining most of its holdings, however losing the Westhold to several squabbling human kingdoms. The High Kingdom of the Stonelands however would have no time to rebuild, moving straight into the Great Schism.

With the rise ofShel amongst some of the outlying clans because of his disagreements with Helmvor's teachings, his leadership during the war with the Dragonloreds, and Shel's theft of Helmvor's wife Hevedra, civil war erupted amongst the Stoneborn Dwarfs. Dwarf slayed dwarf, and the mountain holds of the Stoneborn were awash in blood. Although Shel managed at one point to bring his forces to the Vale of the Dwarflords, ultimately the Stoneborn were victorious. Helmvor banished the surviving clans from the Stonelands, and cursed Shel's followers for eternity. This created the Exiled Dwarfs, and conflict still exists between them and the Stoneborn today.

In the middle period of the Age of Enlightenment, a plague known as The Scarlet Death destroyed the Second Dynasty of Xa'a. After the War of the Dragonlords and the Great Schism, over one third of Earedar's population lived and died under the Jade Emperor, and their reach extended from the Endless Ocean in the east to the Inner Sea in the west. This great plague killed over half of the empire's population and exterminated the Jin-Qing Emperors that had extended back to the foundation of the First Dynasty. The Scarlet Death lasted for over four centuries, and it would take over a thousand years before Xa'a would reform under the Third Dynasty, under the Po-Kang Emperors.
In addition, during the middle period of the Age of Enlightenment the Tul Vos known as Budnir Karlsson was born in the Frozen North. It is unsure of which clan he was born to, as all clans currently claim to have descended from him, but it is known that he was the first and only person to unite the roaming Tul Vos clans, taking upon himself the title of Kudnir-Vaht, or Great Wolf. Under Budnir's leadership the Tul Vos clans ravaged the northernmost reaches of the Third Dynasty of Xa'a, as well as the northern Inner Sea, reaching as far south as Yvren. Eventually Budnir would abdicate his throne for reasons unknown, but his journeys thereafter are chronicled in the epic known as the Legend of the Great Wolf. Budnir is known to have journeyd across the Known Realms, and is one of only a few people to have ventured into the Far Realm. Upon his death, Budnir was raised to divinity, and is worshipped as a god amongst the Tul Vos clans. While several after him have claimed the title of Kudnir-Vaht, the clans have been consumed by conflict since his departure.
Perhaps one of the greatest events of the Age of Antiquity, during the late middle age we see the arrival of the Gnomes from their home realm. Pushed out of their home of Grashnyak by the forces of the Shadow, the gnomish arrival under Tiggdarren Farsight forever changed the makeup of Earedar. Arriving at what is now known as Glitterhome, they fled war and were well equipped for it. Conflict quickly erupted between themselves and their surrounding neighbors, but after only a decade the war ended, and the gnomes were able to integrate themselves into broader society. They would be known as famed inventors and scholars and would spread the use of artificery amongst the Elder Races.

During this period of the age we see the rise of several human kingdoms in the northern and central portions of the Continent, as well as the nascent formation of the region now known as the Free Marches. This period is defined by many local regional conflicts, as well as the rise of great city-states, such as Emberfall, Drakenos, Whitecastle,  Illidion and Shadowglen. In the south of the Inner Sea, the mageocracy known as the Republic of Tyrn was formed, a nation defined by its brutal suppression of non-mages.
The entire period saw Earedar mostly avoided by the conflict between the Light and the Shadow, although it saw often intervention by the deities of both.  It was quite common for those powers to take physical shape on Earedar, and greatly influence the vents that happened there. While there were a few incursions by the Shadow, for the most part there was peace, until the Infernal Crusade and the Age of Shadows.