History of the World

The Kingdom of Thule is founded near the north pole by Dream Giants. The kingdom prospers, as at this time the poles are merely chilly rather than the icebound hellscape they are today.

The Star Cults take hold of the Trans-Shyegh' culture

The ancient ancestors of the Du Ereth, or Jungle Elves, migrate into what is to be their homeland of Eredhis, driving the serpents from it. All that remains of the Old Shyegh' culture are the two isolated groups on the fringes of their old territory, those of Near and Far Vishkai to the east, and those of the Shyegh' mountains and the southern deserts to the west.

Interbreeding between Du Ereth, lamia, and primitive humans produces the Vishkanya in what is now Near Vishkai. The last pockets of true lamia remain to this day in Far Vishkai as the rulers of that place, but for the most part lamias have disappeared from the world except for the Shyegh' mountains.

Further pacts with the Blood Queen, now the size of a newborn, bring the shaman-kings great power, but at a price that none of them could have foretold. The Shaman-Kings find themselves overcome with a hunger for human flesh.Those that do not partake of their hunger slowly turn to stone.

As the ruling class of the mGya rKhar empire expands, their hunger for flesh becomes harder to sustain or hide. The Flesh Tax is thus instituted across the empire in order to provide food. They have begun to deteriorate from the blood queen's attentions, their forms and vocal chords twisting until they are barely able to speak any human language at all, forcing them to rule through intermediaries, those of their number not so affected yet. Thus the ruling caste, the shaman-kings, become known as the Unseen Lords.

The Samsarans are conquered by the Rose Kingdom. Its burgeoning population brings it into conflict with the Vishkanya of Near and Far Vishkay, as well as the Du Ereth, or Jungle Elves. The coasts are completely claimed, the Caecili driven into the seas.

Du Ereth hostility towards the violent migration and expansion of the mGya rKhar into their lands leads to war, the cannibalistic mGya rKhar flowing southward like an unstoppable tide into Eredhis.

The last major engagement of the war between the mGya rKhar and the Phoenix Empire fought on Qikuoan soil ends. The mGya rKhar retreat past the Zhangpa peaks, back to the plateau and the depths beneath it.

The Great Insurrection, also known as the Merchants' Rebellion, starts in the cities of Revali and Makaria on Occident's western coast, with a demand for independence from the Remaran empire. While masterminded by local merchant-lords in order to undermine what they considered stifling provincial control, it quickly grows beyond their ability to direct. The results, long and short term, of the rebellion will be the rise of feudalism within the empire and shift of economic and ultimately political power to the northern coasts.

Aureli Maxem declares himself "Emperor of the Coast" following his ascendance amongst the warlords of the region, secured by the very legions he was given to restore Remara's authority over the western coast. His charisma wins them over, and they serve him rather than the Emperor of Remara.

Both emperors and their armies clash on the shores of Lake Krasimi. Despite being outnumbered almost five to one, the Remaran forces emerge victorious, albeit the Remaran emperor is badly wounded. Aureli, however, is not so lucky; captured while trying to flee, he is brutally hacked apart by the Praetorians, kept alive by the magic of the church until eventually he is a screaming, limbless stump. His skull is added to the Imperial regalia as a sign of what happens to those who oppose Remara, and legend says that it still softly whimpers in pain to this day.

Southern and western Occident, scarred by war and having lost a generation, experiences a great economic depression. The West recovers within a decade, but the south never does.

Gw'ne Tlepchuk rises to "command" the Varshalshken forces in the Oriental Crusade. In truth, she is a figurehead and powerful magical weapon -- true authority at this point is still held by Meqlesh Arshuk.