A History of Parhelion
Before 1582
It is unclear which was the first island to arrive in the Void was. Senka, the island of Shadows, is the oldest known but the remaining records suggest it wasn't the first. Already, the Void had others.
Senka, having escaped the Shadow Plane before the imprisonment of Zon-Kuthon by Abadar, found the realm around it to be a blank space, a rippling reality hidden away within the Maelstrom, but not part of the Maelstrom. It had rules - rules that seemed to hate any trace of life that didn't live on the islands, true, but rules and laws all the same.
Most of whatever islands were also in the Void were destroyed, 1590 years before the current period, when the Black Sun Phoenix attacked the Void. Anything living was burned to dust by the powerful beast's fire, leaving nothing but dead rocks. The armies and warriors fighting it could kill the creature, but it only bought time...within a year the beast would be back, buying time only.
It took eight years to finally defeat the Phoenix, and even then, the records suggest it couldn't be killed. Instead, it was lured into a trap, the tomb of a dead and forgotten God lost to time and sealed within.
With the Phoenix gone, the Void began to grow again. Dead Islands faded away or drifted to the Outer Ring, and were replaced...New Avalon, the Obliviate Islands, Savrud. One by one they winked into being, either by an action of their own communities or some strange twist of fate.
Transport became less of an issue when the rail tracks began to appear. No one was sure how they started to appear, or how they form, or even why. Strange tracks, running between the islands. A group of engineers began to create vehicles and devices to use them. Using the void shields used by void ships, they managed to protect the contraptions.
Needless to say, this caused a certain level of...war, as the islands vied to control or destroy this new form of transport through the Void. The islands battled each other viciously, destroying rails in the knowledge they would return, seizing trains and crews from other islands when they could or blowing them apart when they couldn't.
Eventually, the engineers in charge of creating the trains took control. They hired adventurers as troops and seized Olympia, the main facility for building the new trains. Then they issued their ultimatum: not a single train would roll out until the islands agreed to let them be neutral. In return, the engineers would maintain and run the trains neutrally, not siding with or against any one island. Except those that didn't agree to their terms - those, they would fight.
Finding the lack of transport to be...problematic, and with the knowledge that their enemies could have the train's support if they didn't agree, the major powers capitulated. The engineers, having no desire to be a nation, instead formed a neutral company called Parhelion LLC.
New Arrivals
Towards the end of 1582, the Inner Ring islands were stable. The rail network was running smoothly beneath the now long-running Parhelion LLC.
And suddenly, things were upturned. New arrivals to the Void - people and things that fell through the cracks in reality or dug their way through dimensions to reach the Void - were hardly uncommon, but there was a massive, sudden uptick in the numbers as dozens of people all arrived in a very short period. Many of them arrived at Parhelion's Olympia Station on a single train, but plenty more arrived all over the open parts of the Inner Ring.
Since then there has been a noted uptick in these new arrivals, especially those who tend to fall under the umbrella term of 'adventurers'. Many of the governments took note of this with mild concern and began looking into this influx...
1583
1583 proved to be an explosive year.
Soon after the New Year's festivities, there was a large accident at Olympia Station. Over a dozen adventurers present were essential at keeping the station safe from the disaster.
Soon after that, a new island appeared. Found by the astronomers of Senka in the Outer Ring the island was notable for three things...first, it was mostly made up from the centre of a large city, towering buildings of glass and steel forming its heart. Second, the island was overrun by the undead. And third: it was heading towards the Inner Ring.
Three groups of adventurers were sent to stop the island. One group held their landing sight against the vast waves of undead, keeping the area safe for the mission but were unable to make it a more permanent location.
A second group moved into the city trying to find more out. After looting a bookstore and a vehicle containing one of the earliest samples of the undead outbreak they were forced to withdraw to the landing site and help hold it, unable to get deeper into the city's heart.
The final group rigged magical engines to the island to force it to a stop. Despite the undead attempting to stop them the island was put in a stable position, nearby by not a danger to the Inner Ring.
Soon after a band of adventurers re-took a Parhelion facility from the Shattered Glass raiders, with the terms that they could take any equipment they were able to. They took control of six multi-dimensional train cars and the Silver Ghost, a massive train possessed by the spirit of an ancient silver dragon. Sadly the Shattered Glass were able to escape with a new train, a massive armoured beast and carriages armed for war...
The Midsummer Solstice saw the handover of power from the Summer to Winter courts of the Fey. For reasons unknown, the great and good of the Void were invited to witness the event. No one was able to discover what the Fey were doing before the party ended, leaving it a mystery.
An adventurer named Princess constructed a massive new palace including baths, an arena, it's own inn and many more facilities. She began to run events and tests of skills - fights in the arena, drinking contests and riddle competitions for other adventurers to enjoy.
Later in the year, rumours began to emerge that a strange group made up of mainly of Ratfolk and their allies had been formed, a band of criminals manipulating things from the overlooked places. Known as the Guild of Calamitous Intent, no one has been able to confirm they exist.
More openly, the Adamant Titans Airship was constructed and launched, letting the Monster Hunting Guild travel the void in search of prey.
Nearing the end of the year four strange trains assaulted the various stations of New Avalon, Senka, Zoge and Viva Vanam. They seemed to be related to the Four Horsemen and took the same themes as the powerful outsiders did - War, Pestilence, Famine and Death. After they were each repelled a fifth train, Chaos, appeared and assaulted Olympia Station itself. It generated an aura of chaos that nearly defeated some of the adventurers around it, but they eventually prevailed.
Soon after a weird occurance happened, where the dreams of rats seemed be become real in an event known as Raturnalia.
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