Rough timeline

Some of this is only estimated, since records stretching back this far are often nonexistent, legendary, or mostly based on rumors and oral histories, but this is the (more or less) commonly-accepted timeline of Azgaarnoth since mortals began keeping records. All yearly dates are suffixed as "BF" (Before Fall) or "AF" (After Fall); in common usage, when no suffix is presented, it is assumed the date is "AF".

  • ~6000 BF - ~5000BF: Some five or six thousand years before the Fall, records describe conflict with the Hordes in eastern Yithia. It is not known where, how, or why these beings came into the world, but their massive numbers--lending them their name--create no end of problems for the Eldar, who viewed these creatures as invaders of their paradise. The Eldar begin to herd the Hordish creatures--nomadic by nature--back towards what is believed to be their origin point (somewhere in modern Yithia).

Conquerors,.. or Refugees?

When the Hordes arrived, as the legends say, they came in mass numbers and swords bared. Amongst many scholars, however, this view is challenged as "simplistic" and at least partly incorrect. That the Hordes came from someplace outside of Azgaarnoth is generally not open to debate--aside from orcs, Hordish races are generally incompatible genetically with the other races of Azgaarnoth, leading one to conclude that they evolved along a very different principles. From where they came, and why they came, is long since lost to history, but that lack of knowledge underpins a great deal of the debate. When the Hordes emerged in Yithia, it is not known if the Eldar attempted some form of peaceful coexistence, truce, or even parley with the Hordes--Firstborn scholars take it on faith that any such attempt would have likely failed, given the general tendencies of the various races that made up the Hordes. Hordish scholars, however, contend that the Hordes came as refugees from a larger conflict--possibly with the fiends that were barred entry to Azgaarnoth by the Compact--and would've welcomed peace had it been offered. Regardless of the history, it was not long before the Hordes turned their vast experience in combat against the Eldar, and the world has labored under that conflict ever since.

  • ~4000 BF: The Eldar discover a significant flaw in their plan: Despite their best efforts, the Hordes are winning. While individual Eldar and their elvish and dwarvish assistants can handle the small numbers of Hordes clans when they are scattered, a containment strategy brings them all together into one place and threatens to overwhelm the Eldar forces. Realizing that they are at a disadvantage due to numbers, the Eldar choose to create a second genetic line, humans, to offset the numerical advantages of the Hordes. Humans are given shorter lifespans, a more aggressive reproductive biology, and an insatiable curiosity and adaptive mindset, all as counters to the limitless numbers and extraordinary cunning of the Hordes. Elves and dwarves welcome humans into their homes, and instruct humans in their respective areas of interest. They find that humans, while adequate in any climate and equally adept in magic or might, find no particular advantage in any. Within a century of their birth, humans steadily grow in number, and begin to offset the Hordish advantage of aggressiveness and numbers.

  • ~3000 BF: By this time the Hordes adapt, learning how to adjust to the added presence of the humans, and begin to press westward again. Any time the Firstborn and humans seek to re-establish the containment, the Hordes break the circle and the Eldar's forces are forced to withdraw, but when the Hordes flow west, their attacks break down and they are forced back again.

  • ~2500 BF: The first of the Created appear in the world. Dragonborn and aasimari take to the field against the Hordes. Tieflings also appear, but do not take to combat on any side for quite a few centuries. Origins of the aasimari and tiefling races are not clear, but the dragonborn are presented by several of their "parent" dragons with love and affection. The Hordish races, meanwhile, begin to make a stronger push to escape the northwestern continent, and much of the battle begins to spill over into the waters and Undersea. First records of those Undersea races also emerge, though scholars are entirely unclear as to the origin of the tortles--neither Eldar nor Hordish history speaks of them at all.

  • For the next 2500 years, the Eldar-Hordish War settles into something of a stalemate as the Hordes push west, meet resistance, fall back, regroup, resist the Eldar advance to the east, and push west again. As the Firstborn, Created, and humans deepen their lines and military forces, the Eldar slowly start to fade from the world, choosing to work through their mortal agents more frequently rather than directly interact. It is not until much later (in the First Millennium) that the Eldar's Children realize the depth of the Elar's withdrawal--thanks to the growing population of the Firstborn, humans, and Created, it's quite common for one to live an entire lifetime and never spot an Eldar in person.

  • ~2000 BF: Given the greater numbers of population and a need to take over some of the responsibility previously reserved to the Eldar, humans propose a system of government ("the Courts") and administration. The Firstborn and Created are a little amused at the humans' audacity to take over as the Eldar did but bear no desire to bear that burden themselves, so they agree to the plan. Duchies are drawn, Ducal Seats are assigned, and the Courts are formed. Although offered Seats, Firstborn and Created generally stick to the belief that the Eldar will resume their administrative roles, and most politely refuse (though some do). The first of the Great Houses are formed.

  • ~1750 BF: First recorded incident of chromatic dragons taking to the field against the Eldar. Also, first record of a meeting with a dracolich. It is not clear if these two events are at all related.

The First Millennium (0 - 1000BF): The Fall

  • 0 AF: An arbitrary point in time when the Eldar were considered to have "fallen". Most historians believe that this is the year the Eldar were viewed by a mortal for the last time, when (legend says) they went to a (since lost) city near Dorenoress to discuss their plans and strategy. Firstborn, Created, and humans all worry that the loss of the Eldar will tip the scales in the Hordish favor, but extensive reconnaissance suggests that the Hordes are grappling with their own internal conflicts that rob them of the unity of purpose they held when they first reached Azgaarnothian shores five millennia prior. Seeking to keep the Eldar foremost in their thoughts, they rename the lands they claim "Liria", which is said to be the name of one of the last Eldar, and thus are the Lirian Courts given the name they will hold for the next eight millennia. It is widely agreed that the Lirian Courts govern only above ground and on land, leaving the Underdark and Undersea to continue to govern as they wish.

  • 323 AF: Founding of the Kaevarian Church. A charismatic and intellectural figure, Mar Tolweth, emerges in Migleme claiming a religious doctrine in which all beings of higher divine power (meaning the Eldar, the Pantheonic gods, and even the dragons) are servants of a single, omniscient and omnipotent being. Calling it "Kaevar" ("The One" in Eldar), Tolweth fashions a theology around this notion of a single deity/force/power, and his anointed priests begin to receive divine spellcasting ability, providing at least some solid evidence to his assertions. For many, Kaevarian doctrine provides comfort in the principles of Law and Order, and given that Tolweth's priests are often assisting openly in fighting the chaos of the immediate post-Fall world, many flock to his Church and its message. By 1500 AF, Kaevarian temples are commonplace in the West, the South, and the North. Many Church-backed militant orders are formed to support the fighting, as are several pacifist orders focused exclusively on healing.

  • 417 AF: Founding of the Draconic Orders. Finding that they require a dedication to martial, arcane, and divine might that currently is lacking in their military structure, seven mortals (two dragonborn, two humans, an elf, a dwarf, and an aasamari) agree to found an Order that is dedicated to the principles of the metallic dragons. With the full support of the Lirian Courts, the Draconic Orders begin to assemble some of the best, brightest, boldest, and gifted into rigourous training. By 450AF, these Draconic Knights begin to move out all across non-Hordish lands, aiding in keeping order, righting injustices, and protecting the people against the Hordes at first, but soon settle in to battling the chromatic dragons and their growing collection of cultist followers.

  • 762 AF: Founding of the Dwarven Courts. The dwarves grudgingly admit that the humans might have had a good idea in the creation of the Lirian Courts, and form the Dwarven Courts for their holdings below ground. By agreement, the Lirian Courts and the Dwarven Courts engage in deep cultural cross-fostering of families, trade, and general exchange, for fear that not doing so will lead to isolation. As a result, many dwarves live their entire lives on the surface, and many humans are often found in the Underdark.

Second Millennium: The Exodus

The second millennium after the Fall is characterized primarily by one world-shaking event (over a span of several hundred years): The Dwarven Exodus. Tribes of Hordes pour into the Underdark in the Daw Mountains, and steadily push the dwarven nation out of their cities. Dwarves become refugees as they flee for safety either above ground, deeper underground, or further west, until they reach the shores of the Mighalian Narrows. It is a stunning setback and deep embarrassment to dwarven pride, and continues to echo through dwarven society eight thousand years later.

  • ~1100 AF: Hordes tribes, apparently stymied by their stalemate in western Yithia and still unable to cross the waters to their south in any meaningful numbers, begin to explore the Daws mountains, specifically the cavern systems that seem to run throughout the range. Where before the Hordes assumed the mountains to be sheer rock, they find that they can move for quite some distance underground before needing to come to the surface again. Over the next century, more and more Hordes tribes discover that they can survive quite well in the Underdark, and many begin to move in earnest against the various Dwarven cities carved into the stone there.

  • 1115 AF: The White Winds mage school, first of the Mage Schools, is founded.

  • 1137 AF - 1861 AF: Dwarven Exodus. The first of the Seventeen Dwarven Cities, Khun Ladur, deep underground near the city of Dukomi, falls as the Hordes begin to bring the full weight of their numbers to bear against the dwarves. The dwarvish refugees of Khun Ladur flee to Bhem Buldar. As subsequent cities fall, the steady migration/retreat/exile of the dwarves from their cities in the Underdark become collectively known as the Exodus, and will continue for the next eight hundred years. After Khun Bernkuldir's Fall, no dwarven city in the Underdark remains east of the Mighalian Narrows (in either Yithi or Tragekia). Rumors persist that there are passages through the Underdark under the Narrows (particularly poignant given the Narrows' relative shallow drafts), but no dwarven undercity under Lirian soil is ever assaulted.

Third Milennium (2000 - 3000AF): Recovery; Returns; Reorganization

While the dwarves stabilize their lines in the Underdark against the Hordes, so that there would never be an Eighteenth City (a common dwarven curse), the Lirian Courts began to shore up their military forces. The Draconic Order, now a militant order with tends of thousands of members, takes deep root in Lirian society, mustering several small armies to fight several battles successfully and establishing their presence as both a military and police force throughout Liria.

  • 2114 AF: Dail publishes "The Service of the Divine", and the Dailan Heresy is born

  • 2242 - 2276 AF: First Dwarven Return. The Dwarven Courts-in-Exile declare their intent to Return to their lost cities and take them back by force. This declaration, known as the Return (and later, the First Return), is hailed by dwarf and non-dwarf alike as a great moment, and all of non-Hordish Azgaarnoth celebrates the declaration.

    • 2242 AF: The Return begins; a large force of dwarves and their kin races (gnomes, halflings) descend into the Daw Mountains near Nytherion to besiege Khun Bernkuldir. Initial successes are fast, as the tribes of the Hordes are clearly not prepared for such a large mass of troops. Within a few years, the Return has made significant strides in clearing out Underdark caverns, roads, and pathways, and dwarvish settlements are founded in anticipation of future success.
    • 2251 AF: The Return stalemates against larger-than-expected numbers of Hordes at the gates of Khun Bernkuldir; they settle in to siege.
    • 2270 AF: The Return's siege of Khun Bernkuldir is broken; the Return begins a retreat.
    • 2276 AF: The Return is declared over, and dwarvish pride is severely tested.

    By the end of the Return, dwarvish settlements are being attacked by tribes of Hordes. Those dwarves in settlements grimly cling to their gains as best they can, but it is clear that the dwarves vastly underestimated the effort required, and by 2300AF all contact has been lost.

  • 2247 AF: Mercenary Guild is founded, the Code written, and the Bond Council elected, with significant support from the Dwarven Courts-in-Exile. The first seven mercenary companies are formed and march with the First Return, and by 2300 several hundred mercenary companies are in active use across all of Liria and the Underdark.

  • 2255 AF: Founding of the Crimson Sunrise mage school, the first of those dedicated to combat and battle. Several mercenary companies are rumored to be silent backers in the school's founding.

  • 2323 AF: Founding of the Trinitarian Church.

  • 2749 - 2802 AF: Second Dwarven Return. Claiming to have learned from the First Return, the Second Return is formed out of a force twice the size of the First Return, and while the dwarves are more successful this time, reclaming three of the Seventeen Cities (Khun Bernkuldir, ..., and ...), in the end the logistics and long supply chain doom the effort and eventually the three are lost.

Fourth Millennium (3000 - 4000AF)

  • 3000AF: Hordes begin to move south into Tragekia in much larger numbers via means not clearly understood. Liria remains unaware of the size of the migration.

  • 3102 - 3112 AF: Third Dwarven Return. Even as the dwarves begin the formation of their merchant guilds as a way to provide clan and home to those who have none, the dwarves fund and amass a Third Return, this time organized as more of a migration than an invasion force. Three Cities are reclaimed (Khun Bernkuldir, ..., and ...) and held for almost a hundred years before eventually falling back to Hordes control.

  • 3232AF: First reported contact with the Cult of the Wyrm as a juvenile green dragon attempts a naked overthrow of Shakewden in partnership with three dozen cultists; the Draconic Order moves quickly, defeats the dragon and the cultists, and begins its milennia-long hunt to exterminate the Cult.

  • 3332 - 3346 AF: Fourth Dwarven Return. One of the smallest Returns formed, it meets with almost immediate disaster when several of the Dwarven Courts refuse to support the Exiles' chosen leader. Refusing to back down, the Exiles march and meet with defeat and disaster. Meanwhile, even before the Exiles' army has begun the march, the Dwarven Courts begin the muster for a Fifth Return, this time under their own leader. It is the first time a serious break within the dwarven ranks has been visible and obvious.

  • 3351 - 3401 AF: Fifth Dwarven Return. As the tattered remains of the Fourth Return makes its way back to the surface, the Fifth Return assembles near Dukomi and begins its way into the Underdark.

  • 3773AF: Travenian Breakaway; this is considered the official start of the Wars of Western Independence

  • 3771 - 3781 AF: Sixth Dwarven Return.

  • 3912 - 3975 AF: Hordish Plague sweeps through the Underdark cities beneath Tragekia, causing massive suffering and death. Hordish medicine has no answers; sadly, Western medicine could and would have saved many, but few Western healers are known to the Hordes or available to help. For many of the hordechiefs, this is a sign from their gods that they must abandon their old ways and take up a newer, more pacifist way of life, if they are to survive in this world.

Fifth Millennium (4000 - 5000AF): Prophecy and Finality

The Fifth Millennium came to be dominated by several major events: the emergence of the Prophet, his Disciple, and their schism; the start of the Hordish Soulwar; and the last Return.

  • 4075 AF: Travesemian Breakway

  • ~4100 AF: Tragekian Hordes begin their slow rebellion against the "uncivilized" Hordish tribes.

  • 4103 - 4252 AF: Seventh Dwarven Return. The longest and most successful Return in dwarvish history, started almost accidentally when a dwarvish hero and his comrades journey to Nytharion to scout out Khun Bernkuldir, and find it nearly deserted. (Tragekia's imminent breakaway, coupled with the Hordish Plague, has led many Hordes to abandon their Underdark homes.) Quickly sending word back to the Dwarven Courts and Courts-in-Exile, the group settles in to defend the city. When no counterattacks come, the group leads several scouting forays and columns and discovers several other of the Lost Cities are similarly vacant, and again move to fill in the vacuum. Within fifty years, a third of the Lost Cities (Khun Bernkuldir, ..., ..., ..., ..., and ...) have been liberated, and dwarves and their kin pour into the Cities to make their homes anew.

  • 4237 AF: Alalihat emerges from the desert.

  • 4239 AF: Zalabasa breaks from Alalihat to focus on fighting the Hordes.

  • 4455 AF: Zalabasan Caliphate declares independence from Alalihat.

  • 4517 AF: Tragekian Hordes announce the foundation of Tragekia, and expel all Hordish who will not swear loyalty to the Tragekian Courts. Western nations welcome the relief, but grow wary when the Tragekian Hordes demand ownership of all of western Tragekia as a peace price. War erupts between Liria and Tragekia shortly thereafter, although at a much more limited scale than prior conflicts. Most conflict centers around control of the Bumundunar River, since it almost neatly bisects Tragekia, and many new mercenary companies are formed out of Tragekian ex-patriate Hordish tribes that welcome opportunities to attack their former comrades.

  • 4417 - 4449 AF: Eighth Dwarven Return. Today known as "the Last Return", the Dwarven Courts and Courts-in-Exile pool an awe-inspiring amount of resources to form the largest army the Returns have ever fielded. It splits into eight separate forces, attacking simultaneously across all Seventeen Cities, on the theory that the reasons for failure of previous Returns was that any small number of Lost Cities was able to be reinforced by those not under attack--by attacking all of them simultaneously, that reinforcement is impossible. It appears to work for several decades, and the Return looks like it will finally achieve success. However, in 4448 the dwarves suffer a significant series of setbacks, and rather than try to dig in and fight to the death, the Return commanders elect to return to the surface intending to reinforce, rearm, and resupply; instead, when they reach the surface, they find the Dwarven Courts and Courts-in-Exile embroiled in a massive schism, with no fresh troops, supplies, or funds at hand. The Return dissolves, many dwarves swearing oaths to leave the Cities to their fate, and no further Return is ever forged.

  • 4581 AF: Founding of the open city of Merevets and the nation of Almalz around it.

Sixth Millennium (5000 - 6000AF)

  • 5000 AF: Ulmhorde begins its descent upon Dradehalia, laying the foundation for the massive invasion that will begin a half-century from now

  • 5387 AF: Bagonbian Breakaway

  • 5566 - 5984AF: Dradehalian Descent and Rise. The landing of the Ulmhorde on eastern Dradehalia took those populations by surprise, and the humans and elves living there found themselves dreadfully outnumbered. Over the next hundred years, as the more vicious and bloodthirsty of the Hordes moved west steadily, city after city fell to Horde forces. Swagab, the Hordes' principal landing point, was rebuilt, but their Tragekian neighbors to the north, determined to not allow Ulm uncontested control of the southern continent, begin to infiltrate the Ulmhorde. As the Hordes begin to learn and adapt to human and firstborn ways, those not directly involved in the battles to the west begin to call Swagab their "capital", and start to adopt Tragekian ways. Meanwhile, as city after city falls to the vicious Hordish assault, Dradehalians grow increasingly desperate. Cries for Lirian rescue go either unheard or ignored, and Dradehalian society begins to break down just as steadily as the Hordish march west.

    • 5617 - 5623 AF: Siege of Shavew: When the Shavew, the largest settlement on Dradehalia, is threatened by Hordish bands, Dradehalia finds itself on the cusp of becoming a Horde territory. Much of the continent's food is grown along the shores of the Sunterses River, so if Shavew falls to the Horde, it is reasonable to assume that much of that food would not reach the cities to the west that depend on it. Thus, should Shavew fall, so would fall human mastery of the southern continent. Relocation further west was discussed and explored, but for most of the leaders of the southron humans, it was clear that their last stand was likely at Shavew.

      Cursing the Lirians who had abandoned them and forced them into such measures, Dradehalians begin to explore any and all measures (military, arcane, divine, or otherwise) that would enable them any measure of success against the Hordes. Thus begins the Dradehalians' slow descent into collective madness. Agents are dispatched all over the continent to pursue any and all sort of options, even including several quests to obtain fiendish assistance, if it could be found.

    • 5620 AF: Emergence of the Dread Emperor: It was during the Siege of Shavew a figure emerges of notorious brutality, naming himself only "the Dread Emperor". Before long the Hordes came to fear his presence as his cruelty was eclipsed only by his military successes, and through repeated pitched battles the Hordes came to understand they had met someone who could perhaps be their match. A decade after the siege of Shavew started, the Dread Emperor broke the siege, forced the Hordes back to Eagmeaybar and Snaven, and paused.

      Over the next two hundred years, all of Dradehelia would come to understand the nature of the bargain they had made for their freedom, for once the Hordes were entrenched, the Dread Emperor took the bulk of his army and marched north and west, brutally subjugating the remainder of Dradehalia by conquest, diplomacy, or treachery. Periodically, the Hordes to the east would challenge, and the Dread Emperor would race his armies to meet the incursion and beat them back, then the reclamation of Dradehalia would resume. For some, the conquest was met with reluctant enthusiasm at the idea of a leader who could face down the Hordes; for others, resigned acceptance of their fate; still others continued to curse Liria for her indifference, and eagerly embraced the new order if it meant turning their attentions northward.

      Once Dradehalia was secure, the Dread Emperor turned his attention eastward again, but by this time two new factors had emerged: the three-way battles for the Chidian continent were in full swing, threatening (he believed) his western flank, and the Ulmhorde had not been quiescent, learning from his actions and themselves embracing a deeper level of brutality than before. The Dread Emperor found that his Empire was stretched thin, particularly if he wished to have the level of control over the populace that his governance style required, and he chose that control over expansion. After pushing the Hordes east of the Golpoint River, he declared the Hordes "beaten" and began his long campaign of subversion and treachery in all directions.

  • 5572 AF: Yithi emerges; Pact of the Five Nations signed.

  • 5608 AF: Yithi dies, Five Nations become the Principality of Yithi. Alalihat and Zabalasa both send emissaries, but are still distrustful of the Hordes and resume skirmishing and raiding. Yithi tribes return the favor for several hundred years.

  • 5699 AF: Whavesimian Breakaway

  • 5712 AF: Tragekia announces incorporation of many of the Ulmhorde tribes into the Tragekian United Hordes. Ulmhorde reaction is swift and brutal, but met head-on. The Tragekians settle in simply to hold the lines; the Ulmhorde prepares to annihiliate their former brethren. Hordes battle for a hundred years in the harsh forests of Chox, Driord and Gigdilk with little to show for the effort. Hordes residing in Paxi routinely switch sides for profit. Several tribes in Chox betray the Ulmhorde and move east into Tragekia, founding a new city in a defensible valley and call it Eastern Chox.

  • 5744 AF: Council of Seers declares the nation of Zhi; immediately recognized by Yithi. Tragekia sends emissaries.

  • 5987 AF: Bedian Breakaway

5900AF: Beginning of the Modern World

  • 5906 AF: First two Dueling Colleges founded in Mighalia; by the end of the century dueling colleges can be found in almost every city of more than 50,000 citizens.

  • 6902 AF: Mighalia declares independence.

  • 7397 AF: Modern day.