History
In the beginning...
Eon of Fire
0 to 600,000,000 years
- In the swirling dusts of the nebula, small spirits from the Æther passed into the mortal realm, settled on comets, and began creating their first bodies from the miniscule elements that began to melt on the comet as it grew in size and bumped into other cosmic debris.
- Tirhanon was an inhospitable lump of rock circling a young star newly emerged from the Æther through a nebula, regularly bombarded by passing comets and asteroids, until it collected enough space debris and assailants it became dense enough it's innards shifted violently under the growing gravity field's pressure to cause the first spark from friction and begin to melt its core. Tirhanon's first heart beat and the beginning of its consciousness. Over time, the increasing weight caused more friction and more rock to melt, and Tirhanon become permeated with molten rock: it's lifeblood. The dust from further collisions began to gather and form a crust atop this swirling mass of stone and elements.
- Kleu set foot on Tirhanon.
- Tirhanon's gravity well and orbit became strong enough for it to be joined by it's first moon.
Eon of Water
600,000,000 to 2,000,000,000 years
- Travelling bacteria disembarked on impact from comets that could not escape Tirhanon's gravity well, and began to colonize the planet. Some bacteria exhaled oxygen as a waste product, which reacted to the methane released by the geothermal reactions, and mixed to create vapors that cooled into bodies of water, which in turn soothed the volcanic activity.
- The bacteria began to evolve in the environment they created, swimming away in their growing oceans and growing atmosphere.
- Tirhanon's tectonic plates began to stabilize.
Eon of Earth
2,000,000,000 to 4,000,000,000 years
- Multi-cellular organisms began to grow with the ebb and flow of the first continents and land masses.
- The roiling terrain lead to unstable temperatures, making terrestrial life impossible, and at times, only a possibility for aquatic life deep in the oceans near thermal vents.
Eon of Air
4,000,000,000 years to 7,000,000,000 years
- Complex life formed in the sea, escaped to land, and launched into the air to finish the colonization of the planet with it's shifting land masses, fluctuating temperatures, and moody volcanoes always ready to cause trouble.
- 4,000,000,000: Kleu banned from the incorporeal realms and restricted to a corporeal body, the Mortal Realm, and the Other World.
- 4,080,800,000: Age of Fishes: Fish become the first dominant vertebrates as coral reefs grew, and the first apex predator appears as a heavily-armoured fish.
- 4,100,000,000: Age of Insects: Large ferns grew on land and insects were the first animals to explore outside of the water.
- 4,112,050,000: Age of Amphibians: Legged-fish began to leave the ocean as amphibians and became the dominant land vertebrates.
- 4,117,690,000: The first trees grew, which transformed dirt into soil and caused the first algae bloom, which in turn suffocated the majority of marine life. The massive drop in carbon dioxide from the expansion of plants cooled the planet and many invertebrates went extinct.
- 4,248,000,000: Age of Reptiles: Reptiles, birds, and mammals develop so as to have more excuses to stay out of the water. Reptiles quickly out-compete the other land creatures and become the dominant vertebrates.
- 4,434,000,000: Age of Birds: Tirhanon violently shuffled its tectonic plates into a new arrangement, resulting in a series of massive volcanic eruptions that ended the Age of Reptiles (and sent many plant and animal species into oblivion), and the birds who survived took their place as the dominant vertebrates but never reached the same greatest sizes as the reptiles who came before them.
- 4,434,000,000: Age of Mammals: With volcanoes quiet for a long time, Tirhanon grew quite warm and steamy, and jungles covered the planet. The poles melted, which confused the oceans and calmed the jetstreams. Heavy clouds gathered, Tirhanon cooled again, and the first grasses and grasslands took off to create a home for mega-mammals.
Age of Intelligence
- 4,499,598,000: With the start of another major ice age, several species started transitioning from travelling in herds to becoming coordinated tribes to better survive the harsh climate, the first primitive humans, elves, dwarves, and other intelligent species appeared, and some wolves became domesticated to avoid starvation. Some nomads followed migrating herds out of Tuskland and through L'aernth to Bangadar.
- Kleu creates kurach.
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- 4,499,928,000: Nomadic hunters in Tuskland develop archery.
- 4,499,929,000: Nomadic hunters begin to use pestles and grinding stones for nuts, seeds, flour, and medicines.
- 4,499,944,000: Nomadic hunters in Bangadar develop archery.
- 4,499,948,000: Nomadic hunters began to paint cave murals, create intricate tools, and crafted the first flutes and drums. Elves began to work with hemp and develop basic weaving.
- 4,499,968,000: Elves began to work with flax, created linen cloth, and developed their weaving skills.
- 4,499,968,000: Elves began to use the spindle and distaff with their weaving.
- 4,499,986,800: Nomadic hunters in Bhadarukia develop arrow-shaft straighteners.
- 4,499,988,000: Nomadic hunters transitioned to a hunter/gatherer lifestyle.
- 4,499,990,000: Hunter/gatherers began their first agricultural settlements, built the first pottery ovens, developed small rolling-pin mortar and pestles for home use, created the first spindle whorls for spinning thread, constructed the first canoes, and began to use the long bow and fletched arrows for hunting, defense, and war. The first sheep were domesticated in Bangadar for milk, meat, and skins, and the first cattle were domesticated in Tuskland for the same. Wildcat ancestors of tabby cats domesticate themselves to take advantage of the abundance of mice on farms.
Copper Age
- 4,499,991,500: Dwarves and humans collaborate together in mining colonies as metal working develops in Tuskland and Bangadar. Elven colonies develop irrigation. Skilled trade jobs begin.
- 4,499,992,000: Alpacas and llamas domesticated from the vicuñas and guanacos in western Bangadar. Cavias domesticated for food. First braided-cord sling weapons are used.
- 4,499,993,000: Terraced farming, basic looms made of wood and bone, and first surgical procedures are developed in Tuskland's eastern islands.
- 4,499,993,500: First temples built as the hominids transition from animism to pantheons as local fae and spirits become more involved with intelligent societies.
- 4,499,993,900: Wild centaur herds become a problem after elves build the first wineries. Horses domesticated soon afterwards by elves and humans to better defend their vineyards and wineries.
- 4,499,993,950: Saar'Kessians drive out their smaller kurach cousins from the Heatherlands and began to harass the hominid settlements in Kinsber. Kurach migrate north to L'aernth.
- 4,499,994,000: The humans of Kinsber make an alliance with dragons and drive back the Saar'Kessians of Gardonia, who then descended on Saryria as they plotted revenge and planned to retake their homeland.
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- 4,499,994,100: First sailing ships constructed in Bangadar.
Bronze Age
- 4,499,995,000: Humans brew the first beers in Saryria and Tuskland. First vertical loom is invented in Tuskland.
- 4,499,995,300: The first silk cloth is woven in Tuskland's eastern islands.
- 4,499,995,350: Dwarves develop bronze tools and weapons.
- 4,499,995,500: The pirate Ruethik pillaged a sacred temple and was cursed by the High God Rothraneus to swim the seas as the first Dread Serpent. His descendant, Ruethik VII, began gathering artifacts for the goddess Ersuul who wished to free her lover, Karnog, from his prison below the sea, and had promised to end the curse on the Ruethik line if they aided her.
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- 4,499,995,750: Kurach received their goblin and hominid forms, and began to disperse throughout Centra.
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- 4,499,995,900: First composite bows appear in Saryria.
- 4,499,996,000: First chariots appear in Tuskland, soon followed by chariot archers and crossbows.
Age of Magic (M.E.)
- 0 ME: Magical understanding and skills developed in earnest, leading to the rise of powerful arcane users across the globe and magical devices replacing mundane progress for the next 800 years.
- 100 ME: Crossbows invented in Saryria. Composite bows used in Bhadarukia.
- 200 ME: Dwarves develop iron tools and weapons.
- 700 ME: Series of conquests in Tuskland between warring empires.
- 1700 ME: Dwarves develop steel and chainmail armour in Saryria.
- 2450 ME: Arnthian mages invent the mechanical clocks synchronized with the heavens.
- 2600 ME: Arnthian mages invent the hovertrain, a magically powered string of boxes that transport cargo over land and sea.
- 2700 ME: Wars progressed past their local continents and skirmishes begin against foreign invading colonies.
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- 3200 ME: Arnthian mages, Bhadarukian sorcerors, Tuskland magicians, and Éshurnan wizards fought for dominiance of the world, which resulted in a cataclysm that drained the world of nearly all magic. Only the weaker magical species survived, while those who held great quantities of magic perished. Powerfully imbued magical objects such as the hovertrains and most forges exploded, decimating anything and anyone nearby. Tired of their overlords, the intelligent low-magical and non-magical species revolted and destroyed all traces of the mages and their works that they could find, and started the calendar over to celebrate the end of their old masters as they began new lives. Many alliances and contacts were lost as most technology relied on magic, and many peoples had to virtually start over on technological innovation, including agricultural advancements. Global hominid populations plummeted.
After Cataclysm (A.C.)
- 2000 AC: Trading ships begin to navigate the waters again, mostly keeping to their local areas. Sling staves developed in response to hostilities with giants.
- 3500 AC: Migrating humans arrived again in L'aernth from Aruné, most having been previously eradicated in L'aernth after the Mage Cataclysm. The plow is reinvented in Tuskland's eastern islands.
- 4098 AC: A war was waged between the Sylvan kurach and the humans. The Prairie kurach helped to bring peace between the two at a great cost to themselves. The Feral Sylvans completely reclused, while the Imperial Sylvans eventually took to raiding surrounding creatures for resources. Due to the impressions left on Arnthian humans, men began to kill any kurach they saw, including the Prairie kurach.
- 4500 AC: The crossbow is reinvented in Tuskland's eastern islands.
- 5000 AC: Dwarves invent the blast furnace, bellows, and watermill.
- 6027 AC: The Sylvan kurach fought for dominance of the Nyre through a series of war games.
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- 6010 AC: Webcomic (2009-2016)
- 6010 AC: Book One: The Early Years
- 6028 AC: Book Two: The Sylvan of the Nyre
- 6028 AC: Book Three: Betwixt
- 6050 AC: Dwarves redevelop steel tools and weapons. Elves invent the treadle loom.
- 6080 AC: The kite and fishing reel is invented in Tuskland's eastern islands.
- 7000 AC: Dwarves redevelop cast iron cookware and brine mining for salt.
- 7100 AC: Elves invent drawloom. Humans invent the horse collar.
- 7400 AC: Trilobate (three-bladed) arrowheads invented in Bhadarukia. Paper invented in Tuskland's eastern islands.
- 7460 AC: Leaden bullets with snarky messages developed for slings in Éshurna ("take this!").
- 7640 AC: A cohabitating village of gnomes and kirshani invent gunpowder, and have entirely too much fun with fireworks. Humans invent the wheelbarrow.
- 8100 AC: Humans reinvent chainmail armour.
- 8120 AC: Humans invent block printing, porcelain, and playing cards in Tuskland's eastern islands.
- 8450 AC: Humans invent windmills to grind grain for their bread, transitioning away from donkeys and mules turning the millstones in areas without strongly flowing waterways. Menus invented at restaurants.
- 8540 AC: Humans invent the compass in Tuskland's eastern islands. Dwarven and human soldiers begin wearing heavy metal armour. Bhadarukian elves invent the spinning wheel.
- 8770 AC: Trolls invent gunpowder bombs from kirshani fireworks.
Age of Colonization
- 9000 AC: As populations grew faster than war and disease could maintain, intelligent species began to leave their homelands in search of more resources, which resulted in clashes on foreign and domestic soils. Humans develop the first gunpowder cannons.
- 9050 AC: Saryrians invent the printing press, the treadle for the spinning wheel, and improve shuttle designs for weaving on drawlooms. Bristle toothbrush invented in Tuskland's eastern islands.
- 9300 AC: Dwarves develop crucible steel and more powerful blast furnaces. Éshurnan humans invent the sewing machine.
Age of Machines
- 10,000 AC: Simple machines such as clocks, spinning wheels, weaving looms, water mills, and wind mills had existed for thousands of years, and various steam-powered devices had existed for about five hundred years so dwarves could better drain flooded mines, but complex mechanics powered by coal and gas were invented as humans and dwarves began to compete with each other more directly for resources and power. The industrial revolution soon followed, much to the chagrin of the more nature-based species such as elves, kirshani, centaurs, gryphons, and kurach.
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- 10,220 AC: Silver Rock Bar & Grille
Space, the Final Frontier
- With the continued advancement of nuclear, plasma, and mathematical physics, rockets and spaceships are launched, and the exploration of space begins.
- Peace eventually comes to Tirhanon and wars cease to happen as its intelligent inhabitants learn to balance technology with the natural world. Spiritual development and peaceful coexistance begins in earnest.
Eon of Spirit
7,000,000,000 years to 8,000,000,000 years
- As life continued to evolve and become more complex, aware, and the connection to the Æther grew again, the creatures of Tirhanon began to outgrow the need for physical bodies, becoming more disconnected and ethereal until they ceased having corporeal forms.
- The star aged, cooled, and became erratic, and Tirhanon was bombarded with solar winds until its atmosphere was stripped away and it became lifeless as the remaining inhabitants of Tirhanon finished returning to the Æther.
- The star went supernova, erupting in an explosion that destroyed the planets that had formed in its solar system, and returned to a nebula.
- Over time, the clouds of the nebula and passing debris began to condense, and a new star prepared to be born as those in the Æther watched with adoration and anticipation of this newest 20,000,000,000 year cycle, preparing to begin again with their first bacterial bodies.
And so the star lived, died, and was reborn, along with a countless myriad of lifeforms who shared their story with the star, until the time came that the universe itself began to condense. Slowly at first, and then faster, as all that had expanded with it raced at unfathomable speeds to its epicenter until it was a contracted point finite beyond understanding — held for the span of the very faintest of breaths — until the pressure and desire to live and grow caused it to explode into existence. Thus, the never-ending cycle of life and death, from incorporeal to corporeal and back again, a steady heartbeat in this little corner of the multiverses.
Note: For those scratching their heads on a math discrepancy, it was intentional because the star existed for a while before Tirhanon formed.
Is is unknown how the scientific worldview of our own planet's history will change as technology advances, but for now, the current timelines makes for a solid framework to build Tirhanon on.
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