Antiquity

In a time now lost to recorded history, the Thunyr Empire forms. It expands rapidly by combining magic and technology to create artifacts both wondrous and terrible. Some theorize that the Empire expanded their reach to the Astral Sea and beyond, though this has yet to be confirmed.

The Empire lasts for centuries, and eventually learns how to manipulate the leyline network itself. They can perform a ritual to tie lines together and form a leyline nexus. Imperial mages can use nexi to channel massive amounts of magical energy. These methods are used to create the Empire’s greatest invention: Arkeograms, a source of magic that anyone can wield without training. With the advent of Arkeomic technology, the empire flourishes.

As Arkeogram production increases, the leyline network becomes increasingly disturbed. Strange and often extreme weather patterns occur throughout the world, and in some places, magic no longer functions properly. In preparation for what seers see as a great danger, the Thunyr Empire creates five massive towers that they can use as shelters. These towers still stand, and are now referred to as the Eldspires.

0 AC: The Calamity

Soon after the towers are completed, a terrible storm sweeps across the Empire. This storm, far larger than any the Empire has ever seen, reshapes the face of Adratha. The oceans rise, spilling over the land and into the Great Valley, seat of the empire. In the imperial center, magic is twisted and causes violent backlash. All but the simplest of spells become potentially lethal to the caster and anyone near them.

Millions die. This event, known as the Calamity, is the end of the Thunyr Empire. It is also the last time that Arkeomic technology is used for a millennium.

Far fewer people than expected are able to enter the Eldspires safely, and those that are able lack critical knowledge in the towers’ operation. The ten archmages designated as the towers’ guides and leaders were supposed to teleport to the towers when the danger arrived, but when they do, their magic backfires. The magic that is supposed to carry them through the leylines fractures their bodies and dissipates them across the leyline network, killing them instantly.

Most mages that know how to operate and command the towers are unable to reach them in time. As a result, many more thousands of people die of starvation and exposure before enough knowledge is pooled between the towers to ensure that people can get the food and water they need.

Beyond the Empire’s borders, the Calamity alters the world for the worse. While the areas outside the imperial center suffer less immediate damage, the leyline network is destabilized everywhere. In some areas, magic does not function reliably, and in others, it does not function at all. The leyline damage also creates extreme weather that ravages entire nations and displaces people around the world. Creatures exposed to these “ley-storms” mutate and become horrific monsters.

While the people of Adratha weather the Calamity and survive, the scars of this event are still present in the modern day. Centuries of magical knowledge are lost in the Calamity’s wake, and great cities around the world fall to ruin. Methods of casting rituals and spells beyond the 3rd circle are lost forever or rendered useless by the shifting leyline network.

1 AC - 300 AC: The Fractured Age

In the wake of the Calamity, nations rapidly form and dissolve. Lands change hands frequently, through war or diplomacy. Most towns are small and disconnected from their neighbors. Many mages who witnessed the calamity firsthand take their magical knowledge to the grave, unwilling to give anyone even a semblance of the powers that caused this horrible event to occur.

Historical records from this age are incredibly difficult to find. Many of them were kept on impermanent materials like clay or paper. To make things worse, the majority of these records were destroyed in the frequent conflicts of this age. As a result, it’s paradoxically easier to find information on the time before the Calamity than it is to find information on the years just after it.

The giants are the first people of Adratha to recover from the calamity. After years of small conflicts and territory disputes, their kingdoms unite under Emperor Ixi and form the Eternal Empire of the Giants. The Eternal Empire expands rapidly, conquering the smallfolk of Adratha and taking huge swaths of land. Their expansion is only halted by an alliance of dragons that hold the Empire at their mountain homes. Of the kingdoms formed in this era, the Eternal Empire is the only one to last.

301 AC - 600 AC: The Healing Years

Nations form from the disjointed remains of the past three centuries. After the losses of the previous age, magical knowledge is recovered and relearned. The greatest advancements are the rediscovery of long-distance scrying and messaging spells. Spells greater than the fifth circle remain undiscovered in this time. The Kingdoms of Thrasis and Galra form, as well as the Republic of Tresta.

Rather than traverse the dragon-owned mountains to their east, the armies of the Eternal Empire instead travel across the sea and find new lands to pillage. For a time, it seems that they will falter under the strain of rapid overseas expansion. However, their nation is able to hold together with the wealth of conquest and the assisted reach of magic. The empire leads the way on arcane research, though much of it is kept hidden from non-giant scholars.

While war is still present in these years, it is less common than in the immediate aftermath of the Calamity. The leyline network, which has slowly been recovering over the centuries, reaches a point where the worst of the leystorms relent. This shift finally allows agriculture to flourish without the risks of upheaval every season. As a result, there is less pressure on fledgling nations to fight over limited farmland and resources.

The few long-lived elves that survived the Calamity pass on to the Overplanes. With their deaths, the last remnants of lore about the Thunyr Empire fade away. Most call it the Forgotten Empire, if they know of its existence at all.

601 AC - 900 AC: The Thaumic Age

The study of Thaumics is formalized in Thrasis, and a new era begins founded on arcane magic. The Academy system is formed to study and teach arcane spellcasting, replacing the system of apprenticeship. Long-range teleportation magic is rediscovered. Crystal synthesis is only in its infancy at this time, but still provides new opportunities for magical craftspeople and researchers alike. The Kingdom of Turicai forms, as well as the city of Ishtan and several of the smaller nations across Adratha.

The Eternal Emperor Ixi celebrates his 750th birthday, reaping the benefits of life-extending rituals his magisters uncovered in the Fractured Age. However, in a ritual performed in 868 AC, something seems to go wrong. The Emperor rapidly ages and dies. Some believe his death to be from deliberate sabotage. Others theorize that recasting the ritual over and over again strained the ley lines too greatly, causing lethal feedback. The Eternal Empire of the Giants is left in disorder after the death of their leader. The Emperor, fearing a coup, had no children. There is no known successor, nor any procedure to determine one.

In Thrasis, the summoning of planar outsiders becomes more frequent as nobles vie for power over each other’s holdings. Some fear that the king’s soul is in a devil’s grip now. Seers and prophets of the Score say that his reign will end in blood, and that Thrasis will crumble in steel. For now, their grim portents are ignored.

In Galra, the reign of Adyr the Iron-Fisted begins, and to the east of the Empire’s borders, the Holy Lands of Perfection are formed by a group of extremist clerics of Nul that were exiled from Tresta. In the north, the first firearms are developed by the people of a mountain town named Gloran’s Spire. The people of the town hope to wield them against their ancient dragon overlord, Gloranistrathast.

901 AC - 1020 AC: Age of Upheaval

The Giantish Empire collapses from a violent revolution. The revolutionaries are backed by the now-reformed dragon alliance. Some of its ancient members still hold the grudges from their first conflicts hundreds of years ago. Others plot to control the revolution and shape it to their favor.

In the aftermath, all that remains of the so-called Eternal Empire are fragmented former colonies, which are now more akin to city-states. The kingdom of Drahl forms in the former heart of the Empire. Across the sea, the westernmost holdings of the empire are swept under the control of the “mortal god” Garanu. These lands become known as the Law of Garanu, named for the unbreakable code that the mortal god demands all his subjects follow.

In the north, the people of Gloran’s Spire slay their dragon ruler and form the free city of Gloranith, placing their artificers as the leaders of the town. Inspired by the rebellions of Gloranith and Drahl, the people of Galra rebel against Adyr the Iron-Fisted and become the Collective. In 951 AC, the Nunralan Empire forms as the upstart Duchy of Nunral uses newly-developed firearms to conquer its larger neighbors.

To the west, Thrasis splinters into New Thrasis and Old Thrasis after a bloody war of succession ends with no clear victor. Old Thrasis faces further conflict soon after the war of succession ends, as the Nunralan empire attempts to annex the kingdom while it’s exposed. After a desperate and bloody three year-long war, the Nunralan empire’s advance is halted, but the old kingdom’s coffers are all but empty.

Across the sea in Turicai, the Old Queen dies in her sleep. After months of uncertainty, her four children agree to divide the nation as a truce. They plot against one another, but none want a united Turicai unless they lead it.

While some of the conflicts that define this age end decisively, many fade into uneasy ceasefires, threatening to reignite at any moment.

1021 AC - 1046 AC (Present): Arkeomic Renaissance

The Academy system splinters as more and more academies study subjects other than arcane magic, including spellcasting of other traditions and practices like alchemy. The wars of the past century have forced the nations of Adratha to wait and recover, but the hostility that sparked those conflicts still remains.

Arkeomic technology, long since forgotten, is rediscovered by the Reclaimer Foundation. Many view the technology with skepticism or fear, knowing of its connection to the Forgotten Empire. Gloranith and New Thrasis lead research on how to replicate these wondrous devices.

In the depths of the Loxlan archives, Drahlin scholars discover a horrible secret: the Eternal Emperor is not dead, as was thought. He has carved a new plane out from the eternal, formless space of reality. It is called the Shadow Plane, and it is a realm where he rules eternally. For now, the Shadow Plane is closely observed, but those that learn of the new-formed plane fear that the Emperor will invade Adratha to reclaim his lost empire.

In these uncertain times, adventurers are needed everywhere. Threats to Adratha come from within and without, and factions seek out hidden knowledge to gain an advantage over their competitors. Some even say that a new Calamity is coming: one so dire that it could destroy Adratha itself.