275 A.E. - The newly established trade-city of Valthiem is declared the capital of the New Kingdom. The Venerable Emperor Marcus relocates his base operations to Valthiem, leaving the former capital of Aloren to his eldest, and only son, Lorandus.
283 A.E. - Emperor Marcus dies of an unknown ailment in his study of the keep. In attempts to stave off an uprising, Lorandus is called upon to act as Emperor in his father's stead. Lorandus refuses the offer, and instead passes the writ of inheritance to his sister, Aurelia. She reluctantly assumes the throne under the title of Empress by the year's end.
284 - 287 A.E. - Governor Lorandus is discovered dead, killed in his sleep by an assassin. Word is quickly sent to Aurelia, who is hidden away, in fear that she will be next. No word is heard from within the keep, and nobody is seen entering or leaving for three silent years. Other governor's are found dead across the New Kingdom, and the royal protectorate is baffled at the eerie efficiency and silence of the murders. (Deemed as "The Noble Silence" period by the common folk)
288 A.E. - Shortly after the first of the year, the Empress' Protectorate Marshall emerges from the keep in Valthiem, and he declares that he will do whatever it takes to eradicate the source of the murders. He speaks with zeal, as if he is unafraid to die. Questionable suspects are rounded up and interrogated throughout Valthiem and the other major trade-cities.
289 A.E. - After a long year and a half of investigation and searching, the Protectorate Marshall and his charges discovered the true cause behind the murders: one of the former noble houses that had been well-known in Aloren stayed behind when the Emperor relocated. They quickly grew resentful of their own decision, as they watched Valthiem spiral towards victory, while Aloren rotted around them. This house wished to claim the throne for themselves, and the introduction of a woman to the royal throne was the perfect chance to save themselves the trouble of political loop-holes.
289 - 294 A.E. - The Protectorate Marshall and his charges declared the trade-city of Aloren a traitor, and moved to eliminate the royal family presiding there. They attacked in the winter of 289 A.E. A vicious, four-year battle ensued, as the former capital city was well defended, due to it's ideal location in the cliffs bordering the sea.
295 A.E. - The noble family of Aloren surrenders. They are led to a public execution in Valthiem for the capital crimes of treason and treachery towards the Empress. Despite the victory throes that followed after, the common folk of both Valthiem and Aloren struggled with understanding the motives behind the war in the first place. Their depiction of the royal government begins to wane.
295 - 310 A.E. - Over the next fifteen years, the rift between Aloren and Valthiem slowly subsides, and soon after, the writ of ruler-ship is passed to a noble family in the pocket of the Royal Protectorate. Aloren is rebuilt and refurbished: the Northern sect of the city varies greatly from the older buildings that cling to the coastline.
310 - 345 A.E. - The years in the New Kingdom pass in political silence. In the North-Eastern forests, however, a vicious war is beginning. Starting in 328 A.E., increasingly large numbers of giants and goblins are found trespassing near the foot of the mountains, and the tribal network of humans and various fey creatures are sent into a period of cold war. The goblins and giants typically stay to the rocky hills and mountains, so the tribes fear for the worst, assuming that someone - or something - is driving the goblins and giants out of the mountains, and that the terror will soon be upon them.
345 A.E. - The fear of the North-Eastern tribes was not misguided. As predicted, an onslaught of dark creatures unknown to the mortal world descended upon the forests, wracking the trees with dark magic, and slaying anything, goblin or fey, that crossed their path. In less than three months time, the creatures had carved out a large portion of the forest for themselves, and they turned their sights to the forested plains to the south. The tribes desperately fought back, both trying to protect their land and their neighbors to the south, but they were unable to prevail. Any surviving tribes fled to the cold evergreen forests in the north, that were strangely unaffected by the shadow taint.
346 A.E. - Word of the struggle in the east reaches the ears of Valthiem. Empress Liliana, the eldest daughter of the deceased Aurelia, wishes to help, but fears that aiding the Easterners will only provoke this new threat, and cause them to attack the New Kingdom as well. The news was kept secret, but secrets can only last so long. Word of the shadow creatures sifted through the streets, and fell upon the ears of the Temple of Elohim, the patron deity of clerics and healers, revered by most common folk as the goddess of healing, and good fortune. The temple clerics and followers of Elohim spoke openly of the threat that loomed in the East. They urged the citizens to do whatever they could to aid the Easterners. Most of these cries fell on deaf - or terrified - ears, and few stood to aid the Eastern Provinces.
347 - 348 A.E. - Scores of clerics and healers were sent across the Chador Mountains to both offer front-line aid to the besieged North-Eastern tribes, and to bolster the already low moral of the Eastern cities. Scholars and sorcerers from the famed city of Brel noticed the resistance building up, and began to train their brightest students for an elite group of battle-sorcerers known as the Blitani. The group was named for the renowned scholar who founded the immense Brellian University, the center-piece of knowledge east of the Chador mountains, whose vast libraries surpassed those of the colleges in Valthiem.
348 - 350 A.E. - The Blitani and the Elohim clerics waited in stifling silence as the dark creatures contemplated their next moves. Various eyewitness accounts tell of north-eastern men meeting face-to-face with these creatures. Instead of attacking, the creatures would simply stare, as if waiting for some internal command to give them their orders. If the creatures were attacked, they fought back viciously, but they never intentionally attacked. The entirety of the Eastern regions stood at a stand-still.
350 A.E. - A pair of skilled Blitani sorcerers meet with a seasoned cleric of Elohim, and they begin to devise a plan to drive the creatures back. In the great hall of the Brellian University, they prepared the ritual. Many thought them mad, and fled the university to seek shelter, fearing that their blind bravado would endanger the entire city. The heroes were not deterred. Using the cleric's divining magic, they traveled to the Shadow Realm, where they launched a surprise attack on the demon's own lands. Back in the Mortal Realm, the creatures began to disappear, and the north-western tribes slowly moved westward.
351 A.E. - The heroes returned, but not without sacrifice. Upon sealing the rift between the Shadow and Mortal Realms, the sorcerer's were both claimed by the dark powers residing in the Shadow Realm. They were given a proper burial by their cleric companion, to ensure that their souls would pass on to the afterlife.
351 - 352 A.E. - The North-Eastern tribes fully recovered their lands, and the trees begin to heal. Signs of the shadow creatures occupation are still readily apparent, but the taint is slowly fading away.
351 - 374 A.E. - Valthiem is ridiculed for not offering to aid the Easterners. Valthiem equates the ridicule back towards the Easterners, claiming that they were not without help, and that the only thing keeping them alive is the Valthiem trade market. Relations between Valthiem and the Eastern Provinces remains tense at best, with the former thinking of the Easterners as dependent and insufficient, and the Easterners regarding Valthiem as haughty and downright egotistical. The main character is born (362 A.E.) in the wake of the political backwash of the Shadow War.
375 A.E. - The story begins . . .
