History of Erru and Altharad
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1 P.A.
1 /1
The Age of Prosperity Commences
Celestial / Cosmic -
2100 P.A.
3 /3
The Founding of Verus
Construction beginning/end -
2150 P.A.
3 /2
The Founding of the Holy Midaevian Empire/ Crowning of the First Emperor of the House of Castomir
Political event
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2270 P.A.
29 /52271 P.A.
3 /5
The Conversion of the Great Mane of the Sheehanhara Pride
Religious eventIn this year, missionaries from the Church of the Four Gates successfully converted the Great Mane of the Sheehanhara, a powerful Felioreej pride, marking the first induction of the species into the greater Imperial community.
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2475 P.A.
14 /72486 P.A.
5 /11
The War of Two Empires
Military actionFollowing the culmination of a three-year infiltration campaign by the Ministry of Impartiality to destabilize the Sudyrian Empire and instigate a dozen small rebellions, the Midaevians, having gathered their forces in two secret staging grounds hidden on the other side of the World's Edge Mountains, launched simultaneous attacks on the Sudyrian cities of Hadeer and Dorayath, beginning the war in earnest. Although they quickly managed to gain a foothold, the Empire faced a number of setbacks, not the least of which being the difficulties of fighting in the ruthless heat of the Sudyrian summer. Following a number of particularly vicious battles which saw the golden sands of the Ghazari Desert stained red with the blood of a half dozen different races, the Empire was actually forced to withdraw, marking the first time the Emperor's armies had ever lost ground to an opposing force. The Imperial Commander, concerned both for his position in society and his reputation were he to return to Verus in defeat, pitted all his hopes on a desperate plan which involved sacrificing a full third of his army as a distraction while the rest of his forces were led by guides from a mysterious faction of drow through secret passages in the Underdark, emerging barely five miles from the walls of the capital city, Ksaroukhari. Knowing full well that they had to secure the city before the Sultan's armies could march to his aid, an assault was ordered at once.
The siege that followed was a brutal affair. Thousands of soldiers died storming the walls while in the skies above, dragon-riding knights and iron dragonborn clashed with sphinxes and flocks of harpies in a deadly melee. At the end of the fifth day of the battle, Imperial soldiers stormed the Sultan's Palace, securing him as a hostage even as the vanguard of the Sudyrian army was spotted on the horizon.
With their hostage securing them enough time to both strengthen their position and bring in reinforcements from the West, the Empire was finally able to force the Sudyrians to surrender. The Sultan and his entire family were transported to Verus, where his descendants remain to this day, and the Midaevian Commander was installed as Imperial Governor of the Province of Sudyria. This acquisition of one of the richest and most populated lands in Erru would prove to be the launching board from which the Empire would grow to dominant the entire continent.
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2637 P.A.
14 /32678 P.A.
11 /5
The Ulhoric Plague
Plague / EpidemicBeginning in the town of Shulwheat in Calderon, the pandemic that become known as the Ulhoric Plague quickly ripped through all of Erru, decimating the populations of every race on the continent. In total, 20 million are infected, dying in horrible pain. However, about 1 in 50 who contracted the plague did not die; instead, they developed horrible mutations which lead to the degeneration of their sentience and increased their tendencies towards violence. For years, packs of these Ulhoric mutants roamed the wilderness and plague-ravaged villages, capturing travellers and subjecting them to all manner of depraved horrors. Some were eaten. Some were tortured and broken. Some were used for breeding. Around 40 years after the outbreak of the plague, the nations of Erru had finally recovered, and launched vicious culls of the mutant bands. Those mutants which managed to escape these culls fled to the deep, foul places of the world; sewers, swamps, and the Underdark, where it is said they dwell still, watching ordinary folk go about their lives, all the while plotting their next abduction.
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2845 P.A.
5 /42851 P.A.
17 /5
The First Northern Conquest
Military actionThe First Northern War ended in an uneasy stalemate, with the Empire successfully occupying both Ravernorne and Southern Duskember, but solidifying the alliance between the rest of the Northern Kingdoms against the Empire.
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2910 P.A.
2965 P.A.
The Altharadi/Imperial War
Military actionAfter launching a huge initial invasion and wiping out the Elves of Erladain, the Empire was drawn into a long, brutal war with the rest of Altharademer. Despite their significant numerical advantage, the Empire did not count on the various allies the Elves could depend on; fey, minotaurs, centaurs, even dragons. Neither did they account for the fact that the Elves would fight bitterly for every inch of ground.
Eventually, the end of the war came about, not because of the victory of one nation over the other, but because internal threats forced both sides to agree to a truce while they settled matters within their own borders. The Frost Giants were expanding into Elven lands, and the Empire had to redeploy troops to quell rebellions in both the Northern Kingdoms and Sudyria. Although there is peace in Altharad for now, it is widely accepted that this will only last as long as both sides have something else to worry about. As soon as either the Empire or the Altharadi have achieved enough stability to refocus their efforts, the war is bound to resume.
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2920 P.A.
19 /2
Death of King Calvenreth
Life, DeathWhile fighting in the rear-guard during the evacuation of Nargolen, the King of the Altharademer, is killed, only two years after being crowned following the assassination of his mother, the Queen. With no remaining heirs, the throne of Carraig Adhainn lies empty, and the Kingdom fractures.
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2964 P.A.
18 /22996 P.A.
22 /7
The Sudyrian Rebellion
Military action -
2965 P.A.
15 /11
The Imperial Altharadian Colonies are established
Political event -
2967 P.A.
24 /72978 P.A.
29 /1
The Second Northern Conquest
Military actionFollowing the eruption of rebellion across Ravernorne, supported by the Alliance of Northern Kingdoms, the Empire threw all of its efforts against the nations of North Erru, intending not only to pacify their conquered territories, but to vassalize the remaining lands. Although the Northern Kingdoms enjoyed some early successes, they simply could not match the Empire in terms of sheer manpower and resources. Following the death of the Alliance leader, the King of Merelia, both Carladaine and Jorland capitulated, submitting themselves to vassalisation. Only Ordayn continued to resist, but the Empire, exhausted from the war, had to focus its efforts on consolidating its hold on its new territories. Ordayn could wait for another day.
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3011 P.A.
11 /53011 P.A.
6 /12
The Third Northern Conquest
Military actionAfter enduring countless raids from Ordaynian warbands, the Empire's patience reached its limit. After assembling ten banner legions as well as the forces of the Kings of Ravernorne and Carladaine, they attacked Ordayn with overwhelming force. The war consisted of a single battle, in which the Ordaynian army of 12'000 faced almost 80'000 Imperial troops and vassal allies. Queen Theoda was killed by a bolt fired from a ballista wielded by an Armoured Ogre, and her housecarls died to a man defending her body. Imperial assassins then infiltrated Skaldenburg and killed every member of her family, though rumours persist that her granddaughter, Princess Sieghild, survived, and was taken by loyalists into hiding. Although their army was broken, the Ordaynian spirit of resistance ran deep in the hearts of their people. To ensure they could not rise again, the Imperial Commander, General Faurost, ordered the 4th Banner Legion to spend the winter ravaging Ordayn, burning its harvests and plundering its villages, while the 12th Banner Legion set up camp within a few miles of Skaldenburg, in order to keep their puppet-king, Rordin, in power. The Conquest has left Ordayn a broken country. With almost a third of its population deadeither at the point of a legion spear or to starvation, large tracts of the countryside have been reclaimed by the wilderness. Broken, remorseless men stalk the roads as bandits, preying on anyone foolish enough to travel without heavy guard. With no hunters or warriors to keep their numbers at bay, orcs and other monstrous beasts have multiplied in number, infesting the mountains and forests. And with the Empire's taxes driving the people further and further into poverty, it seems only the Gods could save Ordayn now.
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3015 P.A.
1 /7
Our Story Begins...
Our band of misfits find themselves thrust together in the bowels of the Imperial prison ship INS Salient, bound for the penal colony of Rotweed Island. Cold, damp and miserable, they sit in silence with the rest of the prisoners while the ship sails past the western coast of Ordayn and a storm brews overhead...