History of Kataris

The city of Shas'Ellith is destroyed by a great earthquake.

This is traditionally said to have been the year that Talatazi Gul ka-Katta'zaya, the orc who would become the first Tulkhan, was born.

Talatazi Gul ka-Katta'zaya, the First Tulkhan, unifies the three khanates under their banner.

Zulgazi Elia, Amuriel ur-Edommu, Hassorieliath, Morkatherit, Dendrithekimallion, and Zuravatuul all swear the Oath of the Long Watch.

The warrior-scholar Alavar Scriptorum rises to power in Vash Edom, overthrowing the Third Dynasty and reforming Tevashi society. He suppresses the worship of the Gods Below, outlaws the practice of slavery, and reforms the system of clans and castes, creating the foundations of the Tevashi guilds.

Two dragons set about conquering the northern part of what is now Kataris, unifying the dragonborn tribes that dwell there.

Following increasing tensions between the elves of the spire-cities of Terianis and those dwelling on the ground beneath, several of the main clans of "low-elves" are censured and forced into exile. They disperse across Kataris.

According to one prominent theory, this was the year in which Hrenisha achieved apotheosis, and thereafter elevated the other Daughters of Null to divinity.

The 8th Tulkhan, Oyazi Tigul ka-Abdra, dies at the age of 102 years. The Urkhaganate falls into disorder, and then into outright civil war, when not one, but three children are located who match all the omens that the 8th Tulkhan declared would reveal his next incarnation.

The Larian capital of Tholos is captured by the Katari Empire.

The fortress of Kinik Kataris, seat of the Ordo Arcanorum, is destroyed; the circumstances of the event remain enigmatic, and there is some significant uncertainty over the precise date at which it occured - which is recorded as having been at any time between 542AK and 545AK. Most scholars now place the fortress' destruction as having occured in 544 AK, and attribute the uncertainty to the cataclysmic effects of the uncontrolled release of the accumulated magical energies that had been stored within the citadel.

A terrible disaster befalls the land of Volsanger, as a freezing mist descends upon the agricultural land near the coast, causing crops to fail and the deaths of thousands. In its wake comes an army of the dead, marching out of the frozen south. Those who stand and fight are overwhelmed; many take to the seas, abandoning their homeland in the desperate hope of finding somewhere to begin anew, whilst others retreat to the coastal fortress of Ulfgart in the hope that it might stand up to the siege of the dead.

Baltha Sturmdottir, Jarl of the Volsangan Clan Vattenkrig, lands at the site of what will later be called Trolfjord. Her clan settle the area, and begin a campaign of conquest of the nearby land.

Baltha Sturmdottir dies in battle against remnants of the Katari legions at the Red Field, on the shore of Lak Doal.

Lawspeaker Inga Mitzonskind of Balthas leads an unsuccessful campaign to annex the Vale of Viraky. Her vanguard cross the mountains, expecting little resistance, only to be ambushed by the vampires under the cover of night.

The Grand Jarldoms of Balthas fall into civil war following the killing of Lawspeaker Eberwulf Anatskind at the Althing.

In the remnants of the Eastern Katari Empire, popular unrest has been building for several years. High Regent Nikomedes sends two legions to Ecumanalus to keep the peace; when the Consul of Ecumanalus voices her objections, she is arrested and executed by the Commander of the Cataphracts on a charge of sedition. This proves disastrous, and sparks off a series of riots in the northern provinces which are only worsened when the soldiers of the Provincial Auxilla, ordered to turn on their own people, mutiny against their commanders and join the uprising. By 715 AK, all land north of the Bay of Xendriti has fallen to the control of the rebels.

Ilse Sarren van Malaborg leads the Dread Cohort of Malaborg to a decisive victory over the Batrarchiarchy of Verag near the site of the ancient Mitstoen north of modern-day Westerholt, bringing the War of the Frog  to an end.

After a decade of increasingly tyrannical rule, Queen Pyronike of Aldernord is assassinated by her granddaughter, Heliodora. A civil war breaks out, in which Heliodora is eventually victorious, having won the support of many of the Baltho-Alderni nobility including a number of the Jarls who dissented from the Treaty of Tolheim. Heliodora becomes the third Queen of Aldernord, and is simultaneously acknowledged as Jarl of Jarls in the Balthan territories, thereby succeeding at uniting the two nations under one banner as even Erastes could not do.

Strategos-Autokrator Vaal Xendritos succeeds in uniting several warring factions in the Ephan Reaches, and marches on Achyras. They expel the Cataphracts from the city and declares themself Imperator of New Kataris. Over the next three decades they enact numerous political reforms, decentralizing the rulership of the nation to the rule of elected Magister-Autokrators, which after their death will be renamed the Magisterium of Vaal in their honour.

Whilst returning from a diplomatic visit to Freeport Reserta where she had been attempting to negotiate a peace treaty between Clan Kepeshmolik and the clans loyal to the Five Great Dragons, Queen Margaretha II Erastes of Aldernord's ship is caught in a storm and lost, with no survivors.

Queen Hildegard III Ysern of Aldernord visits Ket Azel, where magicians of Kalamak and the Gilded Tower have successfully created a portal linking the ancient site to Ket Brezi. The Queen asks to witness the portal first hand, and enters with several of her advisors - but disaster strikes, and the portal collapses in on itself several minutes later. Neither the Queen, nor any of her companions, are ever seen again.

A series of territorial conflicts between Aldernord and Corlindale, resulting in the annexation of all lands west of the river Nyel by the Alderni.

Theophana Argyros is assassinated by cultists of the Queen of Shadows. Her surviving allies form the Order of the Broken God to continue to promulgate the teachings of Kassin.

The various smaller kingdoms and states of the Kerrid are united in a federated monarchy by King Kalinxifa

An Alderni incursion into the Hything of Jeddrum faces defeat at the hands of Corlish cavalry as they approach the Fields of Brynnellee. Queen Hildegard IV Sarren of Aldernord takes the field, but is wounded and taken prisoner by Corlindale; she is ransomed back several months later at great expense.

An epidemic spreads through the Ysberwaal, killing several thousand people including Queen Emelia II Ysern of Aldernord.

In Ras Amur, a charismatic sorcerer by the name of Rethis Highwater claims to be the reincarnation of Amuriel, the nation's founder. He is brought before the Aeropagus of the Archons on charges of seditious blasphemy, and in an unprecedented turn of events the Aeropagus is unable to come to an agreement. Tensions come to a head when Rethis is assassinated - allegedly on the orders of High Archon Xerxes Harnalla - and Ras Amur falls into civil war. The war is short but extremely bloody, and ends with a number of brutally oppressive crackdowns aimed at annihilating the Rethis Sect.

Following allegations of vote-rigging in the election of Calixta Akropos to Consul of the Republic of Vaalus, her defeated opponent Nereida Bardas is arrested on charges of treason and flees to the Ephran Reaches, raising an army to attempt to displace the Akropos family from power.

Amat Volkenglass elected High Archon of Ras Amur following the death of Basileia Albarach. She reinstates the Aeropagus, though with vastly reduced powers.

Imperatrix Calixta Akropos is assassinated by members of her own bodyguard, the reformed Cataphract Guard. She is replaced by the Commander of the Cataphract Guard, Hippolytus Gregorios, who takes the title of Imperator.

Twelve Baltho-Alderni barons swear an oath that they will rise up against the High Houses and reclaim the land that they consider rightfully theirs from Alderni rule.

Queen Ekaterina Mettvergen assassinated by Balthan separatists.

Following the assassination of Imperator Avienus Theopontus at the hands of a rival faction within the Cataphract Guard, the Republic of Vaalus descends once more into civil war.

A cessation of hostilities between Aldernord and the Heirs of Baltha, ceding all lands east of the river Kiska to the control of the newly-founded Grand Jarldoms of Balthas. Universally unpopular, this treaty was violated frequently on a small scale until hostilities resumed in 1178 AK.

Queen Margaretha III Bheuren of Aldernord dies after a short period of illness. It is widely rumoured that she was poisoned by a political opponent, or by the Heirs of Baltha, or perhaps even by the office of the Queensknife.

Balthan agents infiltrate the tower of Vasilika with the aid of mercenary mages trained at Ira's Flame, and successfully capture the arcane citadel. The Alderni attempt to retake the tower, and a bloody battle ensues; Queen Altea IV Bheuren is killed in battle whilst leading the Aerial Lance, and the Alderni forces retreat in disarray.

The forces of Beatrix Bheuren, one of the three claimants to the throne of Aldernord, seize control of Ysberinge and take her niece Ekaterina, porphyrogenitus daughter of Queen Altea IV Bheuren, into "protective custody". She rules as regent for several months, before the 14-year old Princess Ekaterina dies (allegedly having succumbed to a fever, but most likely murdered on her aunt's orders), before declaring herself Queen Beatrix II Bheuren.

An assassination attempt against Queen Beatrix II Bheuren is foiled after several elves are caught attempting to break into the royal palace under cover of nightfall. One is captured, and under torture confesses to have been hired by Duchess Relinde Ysern, who had sided with Agnetha Bheuren during the Inheritance War. The Queen has Relinde Ysern arrested and executed for treason, strips all members of House Ysern of their noble rank and title, and seizes the entirety of the Ysberwaal as her personal demesne. Many members of House Ysern are killed in the following weeks, whilst others renounce their loyalty to Aldernord and side with the Balthan Jarls.

Consul Sebastianus Lascaris of Vaalus is murdered by an angry mob in the streets of Achyras after he attempts to intervene and prevent the mob from ransacking a Madduri temple in the city.

The Prefecture of the Light of Kassin wins the backing of a number of smaller factions in Vaalus. With a promise of restoring law and order, they are able to bring an end to the civil unrest that came in the wake of the Blight. Among the edicts of the Prefecture is that the public worship of the gods of the Madduri Pantheon is banned.

Queen Beatrix II Bheuren of Aldernord collapses and dies during a banquet in honour of her daughter Rosemund's eighteenth nameday. A second inheritance war is feared, but does not come to pass, as Rosemund publically acknowledges the porphyrogene claim of her younger sister Mathilda to the throne. Rosemund acts as her sister's regent until she comes of age, before stepping down to allow Queen Mathilda II Bheuren to reign in her own right. Years later on her deathbed, Rosemund admits to having poisoned her mother in order to end her reign of terror.

Kassinite authorities in Vaalus crack down on the public veneration of the Madduri Panthoen in the military, assigning Kassinite chaplains from the Prefecture of the Watchful Blade to all legionary forces.

In Vaalus, the Kassinite authorities pass an edict that restricts the higher ranks of military command to members of the Prefecture of the Faithful Sword. This has the effect of barring all shifters from holding significant military rank.

Artula Crake  and her co-conspirators lead a mutiny within the Tarlaean Legion, sacrificing two dozen Kassinite clerics and officers to the Madduri war-god Aziz .

Near the ruins of Heraconium, the insurgent forces of Artula Crake clash with the Kassinite paladins under the command of Bythos Kyparissenes. Outnumbering the paladins two to one, it seems to many that Artula's victory is inevitable - until her divinely-ordained powers to fail her at a crucial moment in battle. She is witnessed being engulfed by a blinding light from the heavens, burning to ashes in the space of a few seconds; this seeming act of divine intervention breaks the will of her forces, who rout and are massacred by the Kassinites.

In Vaalus, a force of military deserters, criminals, and convicted heretics six thousand strong is marshaled at the edge of the Desolation. They are marched into the wasteland under the Kassinite banner, their offences forgiven in exchange for a binding oath: to stem the tide of the Blight, or die trying. None ever return.

The Madduro-Vaali shifter clans are declared heretical organisations by the Kassinite authorities of Vaalus, and are forcibly disbanded. Those clans that do survive become little more than criminal gangs.

A powerful spirit, later called the Knagger awakens in the southern parts of the Alterwald, taking the form of a gigantic turtle which is said to have been hundreds of feet in length. It proceeds to make its way out of the forest and down the Alu valley, crashing through the Balthan army encircling Bauslott and partially demolishing the tower itself - allowing the remnants of the Balthan forces to seize control of the tower. It continues its march down the valley, nigh-impervious to all attempts to stop it or get it to change its course, before swimming out to sea in when it reaches the coast. It is said that it is still out there somewhere, occasionally mistaken for an island by sailors blown off course. It leaves behind a great crater that became known as the Pits of Knagger.

Kassinite authorities decree that shifter children in Vaalus are to be adopted as wards of the state, and to be raised in institutions away from their families in order to indoctrinate them in the Light of Kassin.

Isabella Kruidenhandelaar's followers split from the Prefecture of the Heralds of the Dawn, founding the Provisional Prefecture of the Watchers of the Horizon - better known as the Sarian Sect.

The high-elves of Khor Kespis rise up against the Lunar Council of Terianis, claiming that the Lunar Council have become corrupt and no longer represent the true interests of the deities of the Solar Council. They create the nation which becomes known as the Free Conclave of Kespis.

Queen Hildegard VI Bheuren of Aldernord, increasingly erratic in her decisions, dismisses Grand-Marshall Arcadio Sarren from his post and issues confusing and contradictory orders to the armies in the Lyskan plain in advance of a battle against an invading Balthan force. The result is nothing short of chaos as the Alderni forces lose all cohesion and are routed by the warriors of Clan Vildstrom. Within weeks, all the ground gained under Helena III is lost as the Balthan forces surge toward the river Lyska, encircling the Alderni army in Kjelslund.

Beset by famine, some of the clans of Balthas fall to infighting, especially in the region of Kjelslund which is particularly badly hit. The once powerful Clan Haraldsson is almost entirely destroyed by the ascendant Clan Hemskaber, who pillage their way across the Lyskan plain to feed their soldiers.

Balthan forces advance through the duchy of Zallen. Considering much of the duchy lost, the Alderni abandon Haraldslott and fortify the river Boya, constructing a line of makeshift forts along the western bank. The Balthans attempt to cross the river, but are forced back, and another stalemate ensues.

A populist revolt led by Mazayima overthrows the Dynast of Yualin, plunging the Empire of Yua into civil war.