Chronological History

1 According to popular legend, this year began with the chill winter which followed the destruction. Smoke and debris hung in the atmosphere for several years, blotting out the light of the sun and preventing the lands from becoming warm. It appears that the free races survived, although it is unknown if any other free people or races existed before the Disaster. What became of the underdark races is still unclear, although dwarves have reported the existence of deep-dwarves and dark elves. Even the fell creatures survived in the loftiest mountains; the recovery of these races is not recorded anywhere.

c200 The Kathron Delve was founded by the dwarves; their desire for order seems to have helped them regroup faster than other races. It was around year 250 when Kathron opened for habitation.

c300 The Riviga Kiziph Delve was founded in a previously unused set of natural caverns. The mountains proved to be rich in natural minerals, but the rock was particularly hard to work, making expansion of the delve a slow process.

c310 The Bemiris Khinat Delve was founded when two new delves were brought together. Unusually, the dwarves that lived here supplemented their food supplies by fishing the enormous lake to the north of the mountains in which the delve was situated.

Kathron coins were minted for the first time, establishing the standard for coins still in use across Arthea.

c320 The tunnels that became the Gora delve were discovered. The tunnels were not dwarfish, they appeared to have been made by one of the giant races, but there were no signs of dead creatures inside. The tunnels were partially destroyed, and were not a huge complex at the time, but proved to be a good starting point.

c400 The very oldest of human records relate to about this time. These records show that society had redeveloped in the south of the lands, but the nations were very fragmented. There was little unity and little trade between regions. The majority of these realms were situated around the southern and south-western coastlines, where (it has been suggested) that the weather would have been warmest.

500-700 With the production of food still a hardship, even in the warm south, fighting over the poor resources became common. Some of these wars were long, drawn out by poor equipment and poor resources on all sides. This period had two major effects. Firstly, it caused many of the realms to be brought together, forming larger nations. Secondly, frightened peasants and uprooted landowners migrated north in search of places to live. The Northwest was colonised first by people hoping to escape the worst of the wars in the south, but these lands were wild, and were filled with many fell beasts, including trolls and giants. It took mankind a while to domesticate these lands.

By the end of the sixth century, human colonists had established realms in the northwest. This brought its own problems, however. As the colonies grew in size, it soon became clear that the lands were poor for farming. Feeding the population here became a struggle, and despite the rapid growth of the population, it was becoming more and more difficult to maintain the food supply. Many learned scholars believe this was due to lingering effects of the Disaster which were still evident in this area. Towards the end of this period in the south, improved farming techniques and improvements in farming tools had meant that food supplies were now better than they had ever been post-Disaster.

522 Orcs and ogres had regrouped and attacked the Gora delve once again. This time, they also made an assault on the Riviga delve at the same time. They had made a serious miscalculation of the strength of the dwarves at that time, however. The dwarves had been working on their weapons technology, and had been exporting weapons to the human settlements to the south for some time. The attacks lasted less than a week, and this time the dwarves left nothing to chance; they sent an expedition out into both sets of mountains to mop up any stragglers.

607 The Gora delve opened out unexpectedly into a stretch of the Underdark. With troops from both the Riviga and Kathron delves, the Underdark caverns were invaded and captured. The routes further into the Underdark were completely sealed.

700-800 While farming was poor in the northwest, the south’s farmers were becoming rich. Despite problems with food supply, the newly established colonies of the north found they were blessed with mineral-rich mountains and hill country. The southern kingdoms were now firmly established, and their desire for iron and oil matched the north’s need for food. Trade grew in this period the north appears to have stayed relatively poor by comparison to the southern kingdoms, but both populations grew quickly, with abundant food supply and healthy trade. The other important development here is record keeping, which (particularly in the south) seems to have become popular. Dates are hard to discern, however, as there was no standard calendar at this time.

817 William Corgart rose to prominence in this year. With help from the religious cults of Pendaroch and Anbartae, he became king in three kingdoms. He was born in the north, but previous to his crowning, he had spent some time in the southern kingdoms, working mostly as a trader but also as a counsellor and legal expert. His business empire had left him as a wealthy man. He seized power in two kingdoms during this year successfully challenging his predecessors both in their own court and on the battlefield. His third conquest came in 818 where he used most of his personal fortune to expand his kingdom by purchasing an adjacent realm. The kingdom was short of food and money, and was suffering from uprisings and revolt. Corgart took over, imposed law and order and turned the place into a kingdom that was profitable through both taxation and through trade.

Corgart’s diaries still exist. These show that he was both a political idealist and an advocate of free trade. He believed that a large, strong country was far valuable to the long term peace of the people than a series of competing minor nations, each with different goals, traditions and rules.

823 William Corgart established his calendar, and with it, the first serious record-keeping system. He set year 1 as the date he assumed power in his newly formed kingdom; this was year 6 of Corgart’s kingdom. The popularity of the calendar was assured by Corgart himself, who used its date system in formal contracts with all his neighbours and with trade agreements and other alliances with those in the south. The widespread business dealings of the king meant that this calendar was soon used in some very far flung places in both the northwest and in the south. Corgart’s reign lasted until 831, where he succumbed to a fever in his old age. He was succeeded by his son, who continued the successes of his father until 841, when the kingdom was invaded by an army from the south and conquered.

825-840 The last major inter-kingdom fighting in the northwest was seen during this time. By the end of 840 there were thirteen kingdoms of the northwest, none were big enough to challenge any of the southern nations, but the political map was now settled. This brought a period of prosperity to the northwest, but they still had huge problems in providing food for their people.

848 The northwest was attacked in late summer by an army of orcs and bugbears which came down from the mountains to the eastern fringes of these lands. The human and halfling settlements had been extending up into the mountains, with an increase in mining activity to meet the demand of the southern kingdoms. The orc army seems to have been controlled by a bugbear leader, and they seemed to have a wide range of aims, from capturing mining facilities and driving the people out of the mountains to stealing food supplies and causing as much destruction as possible. At first, the invaders met little resistance; there were no guards to the mines against this kind of attack. All the northern kingdoms had mining operations of some kind, however, and this was seen as a collective problem. Appeals for help by the kingdom that bore the brunt of the attack meant that the thirteen nations pulled together a collective army and used it to drive the invaders away. They went further than that too, pushing this army far into the mountains, clearing orcs and bugbears from far around the kingdoms. This invasion galvanised the thirteen kingdoms into a single political force too. From this point forward, the kings of these nations were much happier working together, and with the orc problem solved, they could see clearly how much they needed their trading partners in the south.

850-880 The southern kingdoms were becoming settled and secure. Warring in the south had ceased around 850 with the last of the major military conquests. There were now six large kingdoms in the south, each well equipped with manpower and a strong armed force. This kept a steady peace, and co-operation had become the normal approach exports of food to the north were still strong, and growing demand in the north meant that new, lucrative markets opened to the traders of the south. Other goods were now becoming popular exports from the south fine goods, wines, silks, and other luxury items; all purchased with minerals and oils from the north.

880-890 The kings of the south were becoming agitated at the rise in popularity once more of wizards. While they understood the usefulness and importance of wizards to society, they were not prepared for the unrest their presence causes to the peasantry. And now, a large number of wizard guilds were springing up in the high streets of southern towns and cities. The population were becoming fearful and angry. It was clear that some kind of action would have to be taken.

892-907 The southern kings began a campaign of persecution against mages. Most of the southern rulers threw their weight behind the attacks as a peasant backlash against the wizards began. What started out as simple rioting and wizard guild burning by peasants was escalated by the powers into full scale witch-hunts and public burnings. Only one of the southern kingdoms refrained from this kind of activity. Very publicly they took a stance alongside the wizards, and used their own troops to keep their peasants in line. This was the kingdom of Tholain; they not only refused to fight against the mages, but they gave sanctuary to all wizards who were suffering persecution. Secretly they also aided magic sects by providing money and research facilities. Eventually Tholain managed to convince her neighbours that persecuting wizards was not only wrong morally, but it made enemies for those kingdoms of some very powerful people. Secretly, Tholain was planning a campaign against the worst offenders of the wizard persecution.

918 Tholain waged war on its neighbours. It had spent eleven year researching magic and training its wizards for this conflict. For many mages, this was a revenge assault, repaying the hardship they had suffered and the friends they had lost. For the king of Tholain, it established an empire. There was no way the southern kingdoms could withstand the assault of so many wizards. Most fell quickly, only one held out for several months. At first they attacked with surprise, two of Tholain’s neighbours fell within the first week, the tactic was to use a light infantry army to join battle in the field or to surround towns and cities, then augment that with powerful elemental spells against any mustered enemy army. Progress was swift; leaders of the invaded nations were exiled or killed, and the peasants were conscripted to continue the campaign. The wizards in the Tholain army were vicious in the battles; they had nearly twenty years of hatred and anger to unleash. For the first time since the Great Disaster, magic was used on the battlefield, and it brought swift victory.

The campaign did nothing to improve the standing of wizards among the population; however. The opposite happened; peasants became more scared and more upset by the terrible power they saw unleashed in combat.

The military campaign had wide political implications for the south and for the whole realms. The southern kingdoms were now made subject to a new empire; the Tholain king took the crowns of his six countries and set himself up above them all. While not a cruel leader by the standards of the day, he made life uncomfortable for many of his citizens as he strove to improve his lands. He increased food output, the fledgling kingdoms of the northwest were now utterly dependent on food supplies from the south, and he used this position to exert control of the north too.

Alienating many of his people, he started a migration of people away from the south. Population growth far outstripped this over the next 50 years, but people were now moving further north than they had before, and into the northeast, where new colonies of humans, halflings and gnomes were being established. It is probable that colonies had existed in that region for many years, possibly as far back as the time when the northwest was colonised, but with poor soil and poor farming techniques, the lands would not have progressed far, or even been noticed by the political engines of the south kingdoms.

971 The calendar was changed this year scribes calculated the date of the disaster, and adjusted all the dates by adding 871 years. It is unknown what formula they used to determine the date the Disaster happened, but it is understood to be accurate. Historical documents from before this time may suffer from incorrect dates.

973 The northwest was ravaged by food blight; the realms were hit by unusual weather patters which left the fields bare at harvest time. Extremely heavy rain followed by three months of hot sun mean that the northwest’s harvests failed. All regions were hit by this, the exports of food form the south dried up, and people died in their thousands. Some of the religious cults were charged with restoring the balance of nature, but the task proved too difficult. The poor nutrition for the peasantry lead to outbreaks of diseases, and epidemics came and went over the following three to four years. Recruitment at temples went through the roof and eventually (by mid 974) there were enough clerics to keep the food that existed wholesome enough to eat.

979 The northwest was once again invaded by roaming bands of Bugbears and Gnolls. The depleted population, barely recovering from the famine, did not have enough warriors to hold off the attackers. By now the southern empire had become rich from their trade with the north, and they offered to help but at a price. They sent north an army of warriors and wizard which easily dealt with the invasion, but which remained afterwards to ensure that the population were “properly defended” against further such attacks. The north-western realms were both deeply indebted to the south and badly weakened so could not stand against the empire’s wishes. The empire remained in the northwest for many years.

c1000 It is about this time that the first records show trade between the northeast colonies and the north. Without proper trade routes, direct trading with the southern empire was nearly impossible, but it seems that the empire was not slow in recognising these new markets.

1026 The grip of the empire over the kingdoms of the northwest was becoming out of hand. There was not enough unity to co-ordinate their resistance efforts, and the succession of a new emperor in 1017 had made matters much worse. This new ruler had begun to insist that it was his empires right to govern the north. He had use both military and economic pressure to keep the region as weak as he could he controlled the majority of the food supply and used high taxation to maintain his control.

By this point, four of the north-western kingdoms were close to economic collapse. The situation was dire, but somehow in secret, the thirteen nations of the north managed to muster an army. They kept the units in small groups and out of sight of the empire, and then in one series of assaults they attacked several of the empire’s strategic strongholds throughout the northwest. Taken completely by surprise the empire’s troops were beaten back a considerable way before any help could arrive. The regions of the northwest rallied quickly behind their liberating army, and managed to form an effective defence. The empires troops had not been tested in battle for 45 years, and their training did not seem enough to cope with the freedom fighters of the north. By using a combination of guerilla tactics to cut off supplies to the troops and surprise attacks on the empires installations, the liberators managed to push the occupiers out of the region entirely over a period of two months. After this, a prolonged and bitter campaign of assault began by the south.

1029 The fighting in the north was having an impact on both the regions of the northeast and northwest. The food supplies of the south had been cut off, and the realities of economic hardship had landed on the kingdoms of the northwest. The northeast had also been using the food supplies of the south, and they had suffered threats from the south for years that they would be turned into another arm of the empire. They began sending troops to aid the defence of the northwest, and helped with some food supplies of their own, although these were limited.

1032 The war had dragged on; the empire seemed to be getting the upper hand. There were now just eleven kingdoms of the northwest, two had succumbed to economic hardship, one was the southernmost of the kingdoms, and its territory had been the battleground for much of the fighting which had taken place over the previous five years. At this point, the remaining kings of the north came together and signed a treaty forming a council of the monarchs. Their aim was to work as closely as possible to defend against attacks of the empire, but the end product was to form a single nation from the eleven kingdoms. The traders of the south were unknowingly assisting the war effort in the north too. Food was once again being exported to the northeast, despite the decrees of the emperor, and much of this was finding its way to the north-western kingdoms, this strengthened the north, and made a much tougher opponent for the empire.

1040 It soon became known that precious gems had been found in the mountains of the northwest, and that mining had begun. The warring between the north and the south had become less, and while occasionally flaring up, much of the fighting had been replaced with military posturing. With no quick success, the empire did not seem to have the desire to commit the troops needed to conquer the north, and with missing mineral imports such as metal ores and oil, they were struggling to equip fresh recruits to their army.

1041 The emperor’s position became almost untenable, and he began to lose control of his own empire. He had given strict instructions that no trade whatsoever was to take place with the northwest kingdoms an edict that was intended to support the war effort, but which caused resentment among the traders and nobles with large trading interests. The loss of profits resulting from the embargo had been bearable for many long years, and the traders were willing to bear that in the hope that a victory in war with the north would open new and exciting markets. And it was possible to survive in business using the higher priced and lower quality raw materials from the empires own mines. But that changed once the precious gem markets were denied to them by their own ruler. Now the empires traders went directly against their emperor’s proclamations; giving up a small profit to aid the war effort was bearable, but giving up huge profits was just never on the agenda for the rich businessmen. The authorities in the empire tried to enforce the trade ban, but the effort was futile. The emperor was forced to back-track over his war plans and over his trade embargo. The real power-base in the empire had moved from the emperors shoulders to the free-trade world.

1050 Ten years of diamond mining by the north had turned them from a down trodden colony of the south to a rich and powerful land. The ruling council in the northwest nation signed a final set of treaties, and declared its lands as a single nation. They were to continue to be ruled in the same manner they had for twenty years; by a council made up of the kings of the eleven realms that were coming together. The name they chose from legend: Ticetia, which was reputedly a mighty nation, and a powerful empire before the disaster. The choice of name was intended to be of concern to the empire of the south it was selected to show grand ideas about the size and reach of this new nation

1052 The north had grown considerably in power; the gem trade had made them wealthier than at any point in their history, and with wealth came power. The north suggested first a formal ceasefire in the long running war (in which there had been no fighting for over ten years) and then a formal peace. In the empire, the war had been largely forgotten. The empire was ruled now by a puppet now, his court filled with the rich who controlled the real power of the crown. It was in the interests of business for the war to be ended, so that was what happened, the opinion of the once-mighty emperor counted for nothing.

1059 The empire entered a period of upheaval. The old emperor died early in the year he had been suffering with an illness and succumbed over the winter. His place was taken by his wealthiest son, who was both a noble and the ruler of a business dynasty which made him wealthy. He was unsuccessful in seizing control of the empire from the rich, despite his attempts to use military force. He finally fell victim to the power-mad court circles, and died from the effects of a poison dose in 1060. He had no heir, and the empire’s rich traders began to squabble about the succession.

1063 The empire finally settled on a new leader. Having had eight new emperors over three years, each dying in different shady circumstances, the military finally seized control in a coup. Taking the imperial court by surprise, the royal guard surrounded the court and killed all the nobles inside. The emperor’s chief-of-staff assumed command of the empire, and imposed martial law. Eventually, the imperial monarch’s line was restored in 1065; one of the old emperor’s cousins was found and offered the imperial crown. Some persuading by the chief-of-staff was needed, but a promise of military protection was enough to get the position filled.

1078-1122 This period saw one of the greatest upheavals since the Great Disaster. A plague started somewhere in Ticetia and slowly spread throughout the north. It killed all indiscriminately, and could not be cured by clerical powers. The most the clerics could do was lessen the effects, and provide a little comfort for the sufferers. It claimed the lives of tens of thousands before it spread into the southern empire, around 1100. Its effect in the south was greater, as it caught hold in the emperors own household in 1119, killing the emperor and most of his family. The only surviving heir to the crown was a two year old baby girl, the previous emperor’s niece. Power was assumed in the Emperors absence by his closest advisor, who somehow managed to avoid the plagues effects.

1098 An army of orcs and bugbears attacked from the mountains of northern Ticetia, the area they attacked was ravaged by the plague, and there were too few men to defend the towns. As a result, the invaders captured many towns, and despoiled much in the southern marches of North Ticetia. They held the area for nearly a year before they were finally beaten back by a compliment of troops from South Ticetia.

1127 In this year a successful assassination on the infant empress and her steward headed a takeover of power in the empire by a rich merchant. He took the throne by force, and used his funds to buy any further support he needed from established nobles. The succession into power by this man effectively brought an end to the empire. He squandered the empires money on more and more outlandish ideas. He ensured, for instance, that every room in his huge castle was lit by magical light, and that all windows were framed with gold, silver or platinum depending on which wing they looked out from. Some of the mage sects became very wealthy from this, as did the dealers in precious metals, but the empire was bled dry.

1135 The now well established north-eastern kingdoms followed the successful principle of the northwest. The kings of the land had no real power in their international community the empires weakening caused little impact here, it was Ticetia that was the big power in the lands, and everything these small kingdoms did took them into account. The assumed that, to become a power in the lands, they would have to band together, yet they did not have the natural resources that Ticetia enjoyed, but they were still willing to try. The four kings signed a treaty of co-operation, and declared themselves as a single nation, ruling jointly using their four royal houses in council. Just as Ticetia had done, they selected a memorable nation name from before the Disaster, calling themselves Caldonacia.

1140-1142 Thirteen years of mismanagement had brought the Southern Empire to a state of virtual collapse. The effects were felt far and wide across the realms. Ticetia was suffering badly; it was still relying on food imports from the Empire to be certain that there was enough food for their entire population. By 1140, it had decided that a change of Emperor was needed, and was planning its campaign when it was contacted in secret by the legions of the Empire. The military generals were usually wholly loyal to their Emperor, but matters had gone too far. Riots were breaking out across the Empire, and it was these legions that were relied upon to quell the disturbances, often brutally. The generals were now planning to overthrow their own monarch, but they needed help, they couldn’t guarantee the loyalty of all their own troops, and formed a pact with the Ticetians. When the war started in late 1141, it was very short lived. The Emperor was killed by his own legions when he entered the battlefield. The ruler of the Empire fell to the legions, and in spring 1142 the generals of this vast army neatly divided the Empire amongst themselves, to rule as kings, supported by their own military units. It took seven more years to restore the food export levels that matched the old Empire at its peak.

1152 Corruption at the highest levels in Caldonacia brought down this young nation. The popularity of the council had been tested two years previously when the popular hero Grenville D’Achier was jailed. Grenville gained fame and fortune, it was claimed, by defeating a whole mountainside of giants, and prevented a giant-kind invasion of the outlying areas of Caldonacia. He was accused of starting a bar-room brawl where four people had died, the chief prosecution evidence being the account of the bar owner. The council wanted to hang him at first, but they feared a backlash and rioting from the peasants, and so imprisoned him, they seemed unwilling to make difficult decisions.

One of Caldonacias less scrupulous merchants, Bruan Havers, saw an opportunity and rallied a support for Grenville; he quickly became an outspoken critic of the council. He rode from town to town and city to city drumming up the peasant; he even hired a small team of Bards to help him pass on his message. He managed to falsify enough stories of the council’s activites that the peasants soon fell into line behind him. He was well supported politically when in Siphus (the fourth month) of this year; he took fifty armed men and burst into the council chambers. He killed all the councillors in cold blood, and spread more stories of council corruption and of a just end to their regime. There was no political opposition when Havers declared himself King Bruan of Caldonacia that same afternoon. The change in Caldonacia was immediate; the first step was the use of the military to quell any uprisings and opposition before it got out of hand, this Bruan did well. From their his ability as a leader meant he soon became a powerful dictator. Over the next thirty years, he proved himself to be a very capable and competent ruler. He used his ruthless soldiers to enforce order, and turned his lands into smallholding and forcing farmers and peasants to work the land. The effects of the Great Disaster seemed to have been falling away from the land, and a fresh approach to farming had meant that food production was now more than adequate for the population of the new country. Bruan's Caldonacia could now rival the south with in exports of cheap food to Ticetia.

1159 The price of grain had plummeted in Ticetia, following Caldonacias export policy. The Southern Kingdoms called for a meeting with the King of Caldonacia, but Bruan refused. In response, he demanded that the south get their exports out of HIS market. His hand had been played he clearly wanted the trade with Ticetia for himself, and the way his farming policy was handled meant he could keep up supplies of very cheap grain for a long, long time.

1161 Within two years of the demands made by Bruan, the south had lost all ability to compete with him for Ticetias food market. In fact, the change was so whole that the south had just stopped producing huge quantities of food, the people had moved out of food and into new markets. The growth of wizards became popular in the south once again, all out of sight of the peasantry, of course, and the kingdoms explored new ways of generating revenue. Because of this fundamental change in the south, the price of grain in Ticetias markets rocketed. Only Caldonacia was now capable of supplying the food that the Ticetians had become used to enjoying, and they manipulated the price. Even Ticetia’s home-produced grain became very expensive. They had still not managed to produce enough food for their own people, and the situation was about to become critical.

1163 Famine started to take its toll in Ticetia, there was not enough money to buy Caldonacias food at the prices they were demanding, and Ticetians were beginning to starve. King Bruans response to Ticetia was to lay the blame his own traders, yet he defended them by saying they were only trying to make an honest living. At the same time he stepped in with gifts of food directly to the Ticetian ruling council to distribute as they wished. He now had what he was after all along control of both Caldonacia and Ticetia.

1173 This year saw a serious attempt on King Bruans life. His ruthless style of leadership, whilst proving difficult but popular with the peasants in his own country, did not keep his neighbours happy. He had a stranglehold over Ticetia; his military might was far greater, and he held control of their food supply. The Southern Kingdoms were too disunited to form any effective opponent, either in commerce or open war, and so they took the only other remaining course of action that they could see. They hired the services of Ticetias assassins, who had picked up a reputation in the underworld for being efficient and successful. The attempt on Bruans life was well planned and well executed, but it failed at the last hurdle. The King was to be murdered in his bed while asleep, but on the night in question, there was a fire at the palace in a completely unconnected incident, and the murderer was interrupted as he moved across Bruans bedchamber. He was involved in a fight with Bruans personal bodyguard, who had come to rouse the King and move him to safety. There was a short fight, and the assassin was killed without completing his task.

1174 In his wrath, King Bruan began an offensive against Ticetia. He had traced his assassin, and following a short series of diplomatic messages, which eventually ended with Ticetia being forced to accept responsibility for the assassination attempt. Caldonacia halved their free grain support to Ticetia to try and squeeze the nation and keep them weak. The Southern Kingdoms tried to intervene with grain from their own fields, but they struggled to increase their production, and Caldonacia successfully used its military might to close down trade routes between the south and the north. The next twenty years saw the worst of conditions in Ticetia for 150 years as the population slowly starved.

1191 King Bruan died, and his throne was assumed by his son Bruan II. Bruan II had a slightly different outlook on ruler-ship to his father; he was not an accomplished economist or a merchant, but he was an expert tactician, and delighted in military accomplishment. He overhauled the countries military structures, and left the economies of his country in the hands of the men his father had trained.

1193 The mining operations in Ticetia uncovered a buried castle and part of an old settlement. The ruins were pre-disaster, and were unusual because of the size of the surviving structures. Many similar finds had been made, but this was larger than any to date. When the miners investigated the site, it became clear that the spirits of the former occupants were still hanging around, and several miners were killed. As the Ticetians were in the grip of famine, they were unable to investigate it at the time. The place was sealed up, and the dead left alone.

1200 Caldonacia tested their military might by invading the Northern Isle. This outpost of the north had been first colonised at the same time as Caldonacia, but poor farming conditions had kept the population there low. It was not until the effects of the Great Disaster had receded enough for the farms to produce enough food that their population had begun to grow. Between the years 1130 and 1200, the number of people living on the isle had risen dramatically, and it was now very populous.

1206 The first prominent contact between the elves of the western forest and the Ticetians is recorded against this year. The elves began helping the human population overcome their farming difficulties by helping improve farming methods and helping improve tools. The elves also provided a safe trade route between Ticetia and the Southern Kingdoms through this difficult time. The Southern Kings did not trust the elves, however, and relations were never good between them.

Caldonacia focussed more of its attention on the south now, thinking that they held power over Ticetia by controlling their food supply and kept in a continual state of weakness. They were also preoccupied by talks between the southern Kings, who were already preparing for a war from the north.

1207 A squad of Imperial troops were training in the mountains of the northern stretches of the Empire, when they stumbled over a part of the ancient realm now buried by the mountains. The remains included a small part of a town or city and the frontage to an ancient castle, the whole thing looked like it had recently been uncovered by an earthquake. The castle front was sealed with stonework and with warding magic, so the troops thought it best to investigate. The soldiers soon discovered who the owner was from the artefacts they found inside; it was the legenary Lich-King Petorus. His legend dates to before the disaster, and numerous versions of his chilling story exist. He was known to have enslaved his people with magic, and did deals with mighty dragons to satisfy his craving for more power, before he was finally confronted and dealt with by a brave group of Knights. No one knew the final end of the story, until now, when his castle was found, still sealed off. Having broken the seal on the castle and dug their way inside, the troops struggled to get out alive. It seems a presence still lurked in the (now) underground castle, and it had made short work of highly trained Imperial troops. The few survivors returned and warned the authorities of the problem, and dwarves were hired to seal off the underground area once more.

1211 Ten years of arguing, posturing and negotiation ended this year with a preparation for war from the southern Kingdoms. Caldonacia were clearly happy to continue intimidating the south by amassing forces in the wilderness between the two nations, and along their borders. The threat of invasion was much greater this year, as Caldonacia slowly advanced its front line southwards. The southern Kings were in a real fix. They had no choice; without a mutual defence they were doomed, so they took a huge step, and re-formed the Empire that had been dissolved some seventy years earlier. They appointed an Emperor who was little more than a puppet of the national Kings, who still held the real power, but at least now they were working towards a single goal, and now they had an Emperor who acted as an arbiter in their (many) disputes. They named their Empire the Carrodian Empire, after this first Emperor, Lucian Carrod.

1213 The Empire had spent two years mustering and training its forces, and started using them in fast raids against Caldonacias front line positions. Caldonacia were reluctant to respond immediately; King Bruan II had spent a long time bringing his army together, and had decided to wait until Ticetia was at its weakest before making his strike against the south. Unfortunately the conditions for his attack never arose; Ticetia, with the help of the elves, was beginning to recover from the stranglehold which Caldonacia held over them. Bruan had begun to fret, war was looking inevitable, that he could not immobilise his troops as the south would invade, and he realised that he had delayed too long to keep the war short. He still had military superiority over the south, however, and finally decided the attack should begin while he still had the capacity to win. The war began in midsummer.

1214 and the war Mustering his army in eastern Caldonacia, Bruan intended to move southwards down the coast and into the territory controlled by the Empire. The Imperial troops, however, always knew they were going to be outnumbered, and tried to avoid big pitched battles with the advancing troops. Their tactic was to use small light units to attack the supply convoys of the invader, and this policy proved successful. The majority of the Imperial army was camped around Arbenfort, and patrolled a wide expanse of countryside north of the Arben Mountains. Unlike the Caldonacians, the Empire supplied its troops partly by sea; there was no Caldonacian navy to speak of, and the Empire used small sea trading vessels to run food supplies and reinforcements along the coast. There was no way the northern army could compete with this. After the first year of the war, the Empire had started to produce some larger ships, and began using them to transport mounted troop units north of the main Caldonacian army, up the coastline to harass the supplies lines. This really hampered the progress of the invasion. The southern marches of Caldonacia were one hundred and thirty miles north of Arbenfort at this time. The Empire had once stretched north over much of this distance, but the troubles it had experienced over the previous two hundred years had left part of these lands abandoned and falling into to ruin.

1217 The war had dragged on and on, Caldonacias mighty army had pushed a long way into the Empires territory, but had slowed to a crawl in the last couple of years. It still suffered supply problems and was still suffering from the Empire using ships to move around. Caldonacia had started building ships of her own in an attempt to challenge this might, but had no experienced boat builders or sailors. For the first time in over 1200 years magic was used on the battlefield, as Lucian Carrod fought to defend his homelands. This magic used by his army was mostly defensive, and little of it was used in a blatant or visible manner. It had taken five years for Ticetia, working with the elves, to muster support for the Empire, but they marched troops to the conflict in the south late on in this year. Caldonacia had paid very little attention to events in Ticetia during this war, and the reinforcements took them by surprise. Half of Ticetias force was made up of elf warriors, most of whom wielded at least a little magic, and it was this power which tore through Caldonacias forces. On Escuada 19th 1217 the Ticetian force entered the war at the Battle of Shamrock Hill. The battle raged on for three days, the elf magic cutting off Caldonacias support for its front line. The conflict ended on 22nd Escuada with Caldonacia suing for peace. The elf magic had turned the war, and the front lines of both sides had surrendered to their power. It was when the elves turned and threatened to take the whole of Caldonacia that the surrender was made. The elves, who were now feared by all sides in the war, laid down guidelines for the takeover of Caldonacia by its enemies. They allowed Ticetia and the Empire to come to some arrangement over ruler-ship of the country, but they insisted that it remain an independent nation; they did not want Ticetia and the Empire starting a new war over who was to rule which part of the country. A new King was selected for Caldonacia, someone who was acceptable to both parties, and who was loyal to both. From this point the elves had gained a reputation in the south of being warlike and dangerous, while in the north they were feared for the power they wielded, but were seen as just and fair. Contact between Ticetia and the elves fell off again after this small event, the elves quickly became bored of humans and their grim lifestyles.

1224-1226 The Northern Isle rebelled against the rule of its new King, and began a civil war for its independence. After two years of fighting they eventually threw their unwelcome rulers from the Isle.

1236 The help of the elves finally paid off in this year. Ticetia made its first export of farm produce, they were now fully self sufficient.

1242-1255 The second great plague began, this time in the Carrodian Empire. Again it was incurable, and it wiped out many healthy people in the Empire. From there it spread northwards into Caldonacia, where it also wreaked havoc on the population. By the time it arrived in Ticetia, they had partially prepared and were able to contain the disease better than their neighbours, although they were still badly hit. The effects of this plague were worse than the one before it, as even more people were killed.

1261 The lost tomb of Charles Derren was discovered in this year, in the Caldonacian Mountains. Before the tomb was found, Derren was a pre-disaster folk tale character, although his reputation as a powerful wizard seemed to have survived. The tale recounted how he searched for the secret of immortal life, but found it in a way he did not expect. He arose as a vampire, so the tale tells, and in his homeland he terrorised the community. The folk tale also tells of how he was killed by a brave band of adventurers, who dealt with all his deceptions and his magic, before finally dealing with him. His tomb was reputed to have been sealed, still containing huge treasures. But legend tells of how ill luck would befall the one who found the tomb and removed any of the treasure. The spirit of the evil wizard was supposedly released when the tomb was opened; the lowest levels took digging to reach, but had survived the Great Disaster and the long years since.

1272 Gold was found by men in the eastern stretch of the mountains between Ticetia and the Carrodian Empire. A gold rush started, but was quickly stopped by the intervention of Ticetias council and the Emperor. They both decreed that the gold was not to be mined until the rights had been established, and the miners stuck to this pretty well.

1275 The discussions over mining rights came to the brink of all out war between the Empire and Ticetia. The Empire accused Ticetia of secretly mining gold during the talks when they had agreed to wait. These claims were exaggerated, and later proved to be largely groundless, but relations between the north and the south deteriorated. Neither side could really afford to go to war again; their numbers were still low following the recent plague. In a last attempt to cool things off, Caldonacia managed to talk with both sides and kept the threat of immediate hostilities low.

1277 The King of Caldonacia was forced to act against the tomb of Charles Derren, the wizard had been attacking an area of his southern Kingdom. A group of adventurers were hired to go and deal with the problem, but they did not return.

1278 A second band of adventurers was sent to Derren’s tomb, partly to rescue the first party that had been sent, and partly to deal with the problem. They succeeded in handling the vampire problem, but did not rescue any of the first party who had been sent in a few months before.

1280 Ticetia and the Empire were no closer to solving their arguments over gold, but their gold mines were penetrated by a group of mining dwarves. They encountered the guards that both sides had put in place. They got on well with both sides. Strangely they were accepted as mediators by both human parties, even though they had a claim to the gold themselves.

1282 The mining agreement between Ticetia, the Carrodian Empire, and the dwarves was signed in this year. It created territorial ownership of different parts of the mines, and allowed each party to mine from their own territory.

1285 The dwarfish miners announced that they had discovered what was believed to be the northernmost part of the might dwarf realm from before the Great Disaster. The digging they had been doing around the gold mines had uncovered a damaged entrance tunnel to an underground dwelling. When they went inside they were amazed to find that it was the mighty dwarf realm of Kimid-Izila. This section did not stretch very far, and it was filled with the remains of thousand-year-dead dwarves they will have died as the disaster struck. This stretch of tunnels did not reach as far as the fabled throne room, due to the collapsed tunnels.. The dwarves did not want to investigate further, this is a tomb now of their forefathers, but they were keen to find the fabled throne room, where they may find the throne and trappings of the mightiest dwarf kings ever.

1296-1320 Caldonacia and the Empire suffered raids along their east coast during this time. The marauders had come overseas by ship. At first there were only a few, but soon, as news of the wealth of the realms spread, the raids became more and more frequent. The main objective was theft, but violence seemed to have played a large role. The raids seemed to cease overnight.

1307-1320 In Ticetia, a bid for power was made by one of the large merchants. Hugo Kennedy plotted to take control by using the nation’s political structures against itself. He recruited the eldest sons of four of the eleven Royal Council members to his cause, offering them glory and wealth. He bought his way directly into two other seats, capitalising on the debts of two of the council members (debts he was largely responsible for encouraging). This took time, as he took over the debts from their original debtors and it took several years of effort to make the councillors financial situation as tough as possible. In 1320, he arranged for an “unfortunate accident”, where four of the councillors were killed when the building they were holding a social gathering in mysteriously caught fire, and burned to the ground. The four heirs Hugo controlled assumed the places of their parents on the council. He now had six votes on the council and enough influence to hold the strings of power.

1311 The dwarves found another northern section of the Kimid-Izila this year. It had become an abode of goblins, and the dwarves took great pleasure in removing them from their ancestral home. They also found here a sealed-off entrance into the underdark, but this showed little sign of recent use, and it had been sealed off from the other side. The tunnels beyond had clearly been abandoned for over a hundred years, and digging would be required to find where they once lead. The dwarves were not willing to undertake that task at this time.

1321 Ticetias council decided it was time to appoint a single King to the land, someone who was fair and just, who could respond faster to the needs of his people than the council ever could, and who could act as a figurehead and guide to their depressed nation. There were fifteen or so possible nobles or members of the gentry who could fulfil this new role they were creating, and the council summoned them all to be interviewed. After careful deliberation, they decided that Hugo Kennedy was the most capable applicant and appointed him. King Hugo was crowned late in the year, with a crown was made especially for him.

1324 The King of Caldonacia was mysteriously kidnapped in this year, and was held hostage for two months before being freed. The group which held him were working for the King of Ticetia, although this was not discovered at the time. The purpose of holding Caldonacias King is unclear, but they used the time to asses Caldonacia’s military might, and to measure how important the King was to the population at large. King Hugo discovered much before allowing the King of Caldonacia to be ‘rescued’. The identities of the kidnappers were never discovered, and they were never brought to justice.

1325 Hugo Kennedy gained the mandate he needed this year. It was proposed before the council that the King of Ticetia be given the right to rule over the people in fullness of his position of monarch, ruling as he saw fit and to act as protector of his people. The council were not to be dissolved, though; they had an important role to play in governance, and were to act as the Kings advisors. The motion was carried by the council with a majority of six to five. By the end of this year, five of the councillors had been found guilty of crimes of treason, three more had disappeared in mysterious circumstances, and the remaining three had most of their power as advisors removed. Ticetia began preparation for its assault on the Kingdom of Caldonacia.

1329 Ticetia began its invasion of Caldonacia, attacking and overwhelming their unprepared strongholds. King Hugo had managed to keep his armies movements quiet for three years, even feigning friendship with his neighbours, until late 1328, when his plans of attack were finalised. Caldonacia heard of Hugo’s plans far too late to be able to form an effective defence. The raids from overseas had left his country in poor shape, and the morale of the peasants had still not picked up.

1330 Ticetian forces finally forced it way though to the capital of Caldonacia Carlow and stormed the city; even the help sent by the Empire could not aid the falling country. The King of Caldonacia was captured and killed in cold blood by Hugo’s guards. Hugo’s men stayed on the streets while all the fit and able young Caldonacians were drafted into Ticetias army to fight against the Empire.

1331 The Caldonacian Emperor, Junus, died peacefully in this year. He was succeeded by his son Thomas, who became Emperor Thomas II. Junus had been under no illusions about the military abilities of the Ticetians Kings; he had made sure his son was well trained in warfare and the tactics of the time.

1333 Ticetia moved its army south this year, confronting the Empire with greater numbers of troops. The Carrodian Empire had more warning of the imminent assault than Caldonacia had, and so their defences were better prepared. The war promised to be very long indeed.

1337 In four years of fighting Ticetia had made slow progress through the Empire’s lands. They had won a series of small battles during the beginning of this year, and threatened the Empires capital. Unfortunately for Ticetia, Hugo Kennedy fell ill and left the leadership of his army in the hands of his eldest son, William, who vowed never to end the assault until Hugo’s dream had been achieved.

1339 As the war still raged, King Hugo died of his illnesses, most of which were down to old age. He never saw his ambition of power come to pass, and William did not have the leadership ability to succeed. The war turned against his forces, they were bogged down, fighting many miles from home, and his supply lines to his front ranks in the northern Empire became a major target for the Empire’s forces. There were just not enough men to keep the campaign going. Unfortunately most of the front line was made up from Caldonacian conscripts with no will to fight and die for their oppressive rulers. William foolishly pushed these men forward, as he was happier seeing Caldonacians die instead of Ticetians. He did not take into account their fighting abilities, though. As the Empire captured many of the forces of Ticetia, they soon discovered the Caldonacians willingness to fight against their former commanders, and so they were put to good use.

1340 William was slain in the battles in Carrodia, he had no heir of his own. The Ticetian forces were left leaderless, and morale, already low, plummeted to new depths. The war quickly turned against Ticetia, as their generals had two wars to fight one with the Empire and one with each other. With no cohesion at the top, the Ticetian lines were overrun. The army was spent, and the Empire began a march on Ticetia, and liberated Caldonacia. The Emperor, Thomas II, was no fool. Caldonacia had no King, so while his forces were marching on Ticetia, he went to Caldonacia with his personal guard, and took the crown of Caldonacia early in 1341, and faced no resistance. When Ticetia finally fell, later that year, he was there to seize that crown too.

1342 Emperor Thomas II crowned himself King of all the lands. He called his new country Arthea, a name he took from his wife’s noble family house. The Caldonacians and those in the Empire were happy with the arrangements, unlike the nobles of Ticetia who disliked the way Artheas rule was imposed upon them.

1344 Dwarves, mining copper ore in the northern part of the Ticetia stumbled on an unusual pre-disaster find. They discovered the top of a tower, buried deep inside the earth, and partially crushed in some kind of land movement which probably took place during the Great Disaster. Deep beneath the site there are probably the remains of some city or town, but the dwarves could not get very deep into the tower because of all the damage to the lower levels. Only the top room of the structure survived intact, and this seemed to have been sealed magically a long time ago. While the dwarves were keen to discover what treasures awaited them inside, they did not want to risk opening the chambers, so they called in human mages who could properly unlock the magic which was binding the rooms shut, and properly examine the contents.

Time had taken its toll on the building, and even the magic sealing these rooms had mostly dissipated. The magic had helped to preserve the contents, though, as inside was a pre-Disaster treasure trove. There were no items of monetary value only a few pieces of jewellery which the dwarves took. The real value was in the magical artefacts that had clearly been sealed away. There were three pieces, a light helmet-like hat, a metal staff, and a dark metal ring. The items were stored in a cabinet which was clearly intended to show them off, but whatever magic they once held had long since dissipated, only a faint trace of their former power could now be discerned.

The items were only of historical value, as were much of the notes and the furniture found in the room too. The Ticetian authorities removed much of the contents of the room, and moved them out to Cellam where they were eventually placed on display for all people to view (for a small price).

The helmet appears to have been made from Mithral, inset with gold and silver designs. It is extremely well crafted, but the metal has been beaten very thin so could not have been used for protection, it would be far too weak to withstand any blows. The metal staff raised the most eyebrows. It is smooth and cold and it had been highly polished but was very light to carry. Set into the end is a piece of polished quarz not particularly valuable, but cut and polished with considerable skill. The ring is made of a dark metal, darker than iron, but very strong. Of the three, this held the most of its former magic, but no use could be made of it. The purpose of each of the items remains a mystery, and no one knows what their former powers were, or if they still have some sleeping power within them waiting for a trigger to bring them to life.

1346 King Thomas laid down constitutional terms for his new country. He was concerned about uprisings in some parts of his realms, wanted to remove doubts about the future, but, mainly in Ticetia, he seemed to make things worse. Many Ticetian nobles were unhappy with their restriction placed on their power. The biggest change for the peasantry was the removal of the right of nobles to kill peasants without reason or cause. In all these dealings, Thomas underestimated the financial backbone of Ticetias landowners, and the effectiveness of their assassins.

1358 The troubles in Arthea continued. Ticetia has seen several popular uprisings over the previous ten years, and many of the kings most trusted and valuable councillors had been assassinated, leaving the job the King much harder to perform. In Dusemot 1358 (the height of summer) Thomas himself died, his health had worsened. Thomas’s son, Marcus, took over the Kingdom, but was left with an immense task. Marcus called for the assistance of the elves, but they were unwilling to help; they had assisted the humans to be able to handle their food supply problems, and were reluctant to get involved in political problems between human realms.

1362 The raids from the east began again in this year. Marcus was powerless to prevent the invaders terrorising his shores. Even the movement of troops into the eastern regions did little ho help the people. They did not know where the next raid would strike, and by the time the troops had arrived at the scene of an attack, they were usually too late.

1363 King Marcus’s response to the raids from the east was to begin a series of fortifications of the towns along the coastline from northern Caldonacia as far as the Empire. These were expensive public works, and involved the building of walls around many of the smaller towns which had not been defended this way before. The work was expensive, and to cover the cost he raised taxation from across the lands. This did not go down well in Ticetia where the nobles already mistrusted their King.

1375 Rebellion had increased alarmingly in Ticetia; they were verging on all-out civil war by now. Many nobles stood openly against the King, and many withheld their tax income in protest. The assassins of Ticetia had become very wealthy from this time. King Marcus had failed to stop, or even defend most of the raids from the east, and many in the Northwest believed he should step down in favour of a Ticetian of royal blood. The nobles of Ticetia had done a good job. They had changed their demand for a separate country into a demand for rule of the whole land. The people of the northeast and the south, though, had many bitter memories of the last kings of Ticetia.

1377 The first blows of civil war were struck in this year. Fighting in the streets of Ticetia and Western Caldonacia became common, as King Marcus’s grip on power slipped away from him. He could not afford the manpower to defend his eastern coastline as well as fight an internal uprising in the northwest. What made it worse was that some Caldonacian Lords were joining the war on the side of the Ticetians, and many others were unwilling to commit to either side, the chance to back the winning side later was too appealing. Marcus had also not realised that there was still a feeling in much of his realm that the Kings house was an Imperial house, and did not reflect the diversity of the nation. Some lords had begun to question Marcus’s claim to the crown of Caldonacia.

1384 An end to the war came in this year with success for the uprising. As the Ticetians had raised their army, they had also found that much of the lands were unhappy with Marcus, and had pulled together looking for some kind of alternative. Only in the former Empire in the south was there any real support for him, and even there it was possible to raise support for the uprising, with the promise of strong leadership and a powerful nation.

Marcus’s throne was taken by one of the powerful landowners from the Northwest, Reuben Lannenhart. He claimed to have royal blood, being connected with the royal council which held Ticetia together for many years, and also managed to trace his lineage (however obscurely) to the earlier Kings of Caldonacia. Reuben had been one of Ticetias most outspoken critics of the former King, and had spent more money than any of the others to secure his place. Marcus himself was executed for his crimes.

What Arthea needed now was firm leadership and direction. Reuben provided this. His personal guards wore red breastplates and carried longswords, but they were largely symbolic while he was fighting his part in the civil war; now he gave them a fuller role and he expanded their numbers to handle much of the policing of the realm. At first, they laid down the law strictly, but as the rule of order spread, the need for harsh policing became less. The training these guards received was a tough military training, and they proved good at their job. As a military force and a peacekeeping element they proved their value many times over. At first they also worked under strict orders to persecute those who had stood against the uprising as it happened. Most of Marcus’s supporters were stripped of their wealth and position before the end of 1386. The guards helped contain the problems of the east, where the invasions continued. They were partly successful, and it is here where their skills were finally polished. Some units had been equipped with fast horses, and used this mobility to hunt down the raiders. They also upgraded the docklands at certain ports in the southern empire, and started to produce fighting ships here too.

1392 Infighting amongst the powerful was demonstrated during this year, as in Abanacon (the 5th month) King Reuben was successfully overthrown by Siegfried Mallart, another of Ticetia’s Nobles. The coup entailed a storming of the Royal Palace in Cellam. Siegfried’s first action was to gain the support of the Guards by rewriting Arthea’s constitution giving them wide powers over the people. Life was made increasingly difficult in Arthea as Siegfried imposed his will on the people.

1398 Attacks along the east had increased again during the year, but improved ships now available in the south had managed to engage some of the raider’s vessels. Shipbuilding in Arthea was still not an advanced technology, but they did manage to assault and sink one of the raider’s ships in shallow waters near the coastline in the south. The vessel was salvaged and brought into the docks of the Carrodian Empire. Arthea did not have vessels that could move out of sight of land, and this represented a major coup.

1402 King Siegfried died quietly in his sleep this year, and was succeeded by his son James. The circumstances surrounding his death were very mysterious. Evidence supporting the claims that he was poisoned was thought to have been discovered at the time, but nothing decisive can now be found. The guards did not have the power to act against James legally, as he was now King, and Siegfried had wisely written this into the constitution. Many of the guards leaders were pleased to be rid of Siegfried, too, and this may also explain the lack of justice.

1403 King James increased the activity of his guards in the east. They fought valiantly and well, and over the next five years managed to discourage most of the raiders. This was their greatest achievement and was final proof of their power and ability. King James rewarded the Guard with a host of new powers.

1406 The newly acquired ship technology meant a new range of vessels were now becoming available to traders, explorers and the defence forces. The first ships produced were allocated to the military, and were used to help deter any further raids by patrolling the seas to the east of Arthea.

1408 Seafaring was becoming big business, as explorers discovered a small island range overseas to the west, rich with precious minerals, and most importantly for Arthean nobles, gold, silver and gemstones. The civilisation of this land are no less advanced than the Artheans, and are very happy to trade; they seemed to suffer many of the food production problems suffered by Ticetia two hundred and fifty years ago.

1411 The imposition of tighter controls over the lives of peasants in Arthea was introduced in this year. Nobles were virtually given a mandate to treat peasants as they pleased, and to receive the backup of the Guards in their actions. King James clearly was not willing to consider another uprising or civil war, and wanted to give complete security to his position of power.

1412 Campaign Starts.

Back to ["History"]. CategoryHistory