Lore of Agon

Timeline

• -2 000 000 years

The goddess arrives on Agon. Casting word-stones upon the surface, she awakes fires within the icebound planet. Oceans and dry land to emerge for the first time in millions of years.

• -1 500 000

The goddess plants the word-stones of life in the oceans of Agon. In the following centuries, life spreads like wildfire, taking innumerable strange and varied forms.

• -400 000

The goddess plants the spark of intelligence in the most suitable of Agon's hominids. With astounding, God-driven speed, they evolve into the intelligent races that dominate Agon today.

• -150 000

A group of mortals assembles the sixteen word-stones cast forth by the goddess. Twisting the power of creation to their own ends, they use them to gain access to the Halls of the Goddess. Desiring the goddess's divine power, they kill her and cast her into the void.

• -140 000

Jealousy and greed tear the alliance of the Usurper Gods apart, and war breaks out among them. Millennia pass as they struggle for overlordship until life has been pushed to the brink of extinction, and many Usurper Gods lie slain.

• -120 000

While the Usurper Gods are busy fighting each other, a multitude of gods arises from among Agon's mortals, some of them seizing much power. Realizing their perilous position, the surviving Usurper Gods make a truce in order to defend the divinity they have left. In the course of the Usurper Wars, many word-stones have been scattered and lost.

• -32 000, Mirendil

The legendary elven heroes Myrthai and Lorathai perish on a quest to find the home dimension of the demons who wreak occasional havoc on Agon. It is claimed that they successfully located the dimension, but were slain by some terrible gate guardian.

Slowly abandoning the worship of three older Usurper Gods, who had a tendency to bicker and fight among themselves, the mirdain turn to Myrthai and Lorathai, who reawake as gods. In time, the hero-couple becomes completely dominant, and the older gods are forgotten by all but a few.

• -20 000, Dvergheim

The god Ymir arrives among the dwarves of Dvergheim. He teaches them many things, such as the secrets of magesmithing and runecasting, and he shows them how to find and extract metals of power. Ymir hints at further secrets and encourages the dwarves to explore the depths and seek new inventions.

Ymir promises to return to Dvergheim when all the great secrets of stone and metal have been unveiled and to give the dwarves one final task. When this task is completed, he promises to lead the dwarves into a golden age.

• -14 000, Mirendil

A son is born to the mirdain gods Myrthai and Lorathai. They name him Melechai and he is the apple of their eye. The mirdain adore and venerate the newborn god, seeing his great beauty and the potential for good within him.

• -10 000, Dvergheim

The dwarven capital of Ymir's Tear is founded. A vast rock formation is hollowed out in order to house the city, and the cavern surrounding it is decorated with a magnificent piece of art: the heavenly constellations recreated in lapis lazuli, kvitjarn and raudstaal.

• -9 800, Mirendil

Melechai steals an immensely powerful artifact called the Silver Circlet from his sleeping mother's brow, and thus begins his rebellion. He tricks Myrthai and Lorathai into believing that a Celestial Dragon stole the Circlet, and descends to Mirendil in order to start the second phase of his plan. Shedding his given name, he takes a new one, Melek.

Under the cover of a series of wildfires, Melek and his henchmen kidnap entire clans of temporarily displaced mirdain. They lead their victims deep underground, where no mirdain treads, and where the power of the mirdain gods is weak. He encloses them within a dank, spacious cavern, and goes to work on them.

Using the Circlet's awesome powers of influence, Melek pounds and twists the minds of the captive mirdain, turning them into a vicious race of killers who worship him unquestioningly. He then launches an intense, God-driven breeding program, physically shaping them into a race suited to his plans, and to live in their new subterranean homeland.

• -8 200, Nagast

His work complete, Melek leads his race of followers now called the Alfar out from the Cave of Birth. They found the capital of Shoal in the cavern of Dun Mardukar, and Melek takes up residence in the Towers of Silence, a stalactite-fortress in the ceiling above the new city.

Realizing the awful extent of their son's treachery, Myrthai and Lorathai incite a mirdain invasion of Nagast. Pressing its way to the Dun Mardukar, the mirdain army is defeated in a cataclysmic battle outside the gates of Shoal.

• -8 000, Chaldea

Modern agriculture is perfected by the Chaldeans, a people living in the Eannic delta of present-day Mercia. Soon, these early farmers build the first human cities on Agon.

• -7 200, Mirendil

On an island within the ever-calm Lake of Dreams, the mirdain capital of Charybdis is founded. It is perfectly placed in the heart of the Mirendil forest and connected to the outside world by the Sirith River, which is navigable all the way from the northern border to the ocean.

• -6 500, Chaldea

Ashur-Sin unites all the city-states of the Eannic delta and is crowned the first king of all Chaldea. Ashur-Sin then founds the city of Ashur, which quickly grows into Agon's first true metropolis. Throughout the empire's long history, Ashur remains its capital.

• -6 100, Chaldea - Morak

Provoked by countless raids, the Chaldeans invade the orkish land of Morak. After nearly ten years of campaigning, they subjugate the last of the major tribes.

• -6 050, Chaldea - Yssam - Dvergheim

Graceful ships from Yssam arrive in Ashur. Peaceful relations are established between the Ithwen and the Chaldeans, and a rich vein of trade is opened. At approximately the same time, the Chaldeans begin trading extensively with the dwarves of Dvergheim and the mirdain of Mirendil.

• -5 800, Chaldea - Nagast

After establishing outposts on the Nagast surface, the Chaldeans encounter the aggressive alfar, who dwells in a system of caverns underneath the newly colonized land. Defeating the alfar at Moldar, the Chaldeans then establish fortresses near major entrances to the caverns. However, attempts at following and vanquishing the alfar armies underground fail.

• -5 600, Rubaiyat

The Chaldeans establish trading colonies on the spice-rich but relatively backward continent of Rubaiyat. They also establish a city called Kasdim on the continent of Cairn, in order to trade with the peace-loving natives of that barren land.

• -5 400, Niflheim

The primitive Northmen of Niflheim begin trading with the Chaldeans, exchanging fur and wood for weapons and luxury goods.

• -5 200, Chaldea

After suffering decades of raiding, the Chaldeans launch a campaign against the mahirim. They defeat the largest clans one by one and establish a large city near the Moontower.

This marks the beginning of the so-called Chaldean Peace. For nearly a thousand years, the armies of the Benevolent Empire ensure peace throughout Agon. Eventually, even the alfar raids decrease in ferocity and frequency. In time, the Chaldeans grow complacent, and their culture no longer progresses at its old pace.

• -4 810, Chaldea - Lyonesse

Chaldean explorers discover the island of Lyonesse, befriending its primitive human inhabitants. In the following years, the Chaldeans work among the people of Lyonesse, bringing them such gifts as the arts of writing and mathematics.

• -4 220, Chaldea - Nagast

The worst flood in history ravages the Eannic delta, destroying many cities of the Chaldean heartland. At the same time, a large alfar army strikes against the outposts of the Nagast plains, breaking through all defenses. The alfar then march on the Chaldean heartlands, laying waste to those cities which the flood had spared. A hastily assembled defensive army is swiftly crushed.

Aided by dwarves, mirdain, and ithwen, a provincial army eventually drives the alfar back to Nagast. But no heir of the last Chaldean king has survived, and the days of the empire are at an end.

• -4 220, Chaldea - Cairn

As Ashur falls, a group of leading citizens escapes through teleport gates to the remote city of Kasdim, which lies on the wasteland continent of Cairn. They destroy the gates upon arrival and establish themselves as the last custodians of Chaldean knowledge and culture.

• -3 159, Mirendil

Eight mirdain archmages experiment with an exceptionally powerful, artifact-fuelled spell, which is supposed to reveal the location of the lost word-stones. As the spell is cast, however, a magical chain reaction is sparked, and the tower of each mage is engulfed by a field of wildly morphing magic. To this day, the areas surrounding the eight towers are haunted by wild and often destructive magical effects.

• -2 050, Cairn

Due to climate changes, the lakes near Kasdim, the last Chaldean city, dry out. As their city-state dies, the citizens hide the books, items, and artifacts they were guarding in a deep, magically sealed dungeon.

• -1120, Mirendil

Spurred by escalating trouble with aggressive non-elven loggers, an isolationist movement rises among the mirdain. In 1110, isolationist tribes launch a full-scale rebellion, seeking to replace the king with one sympathetic to their views. The uprising fails, but the schism is final: many extremists distance themselves from mainstream mirdain society, moving to new settlements in the Denwode forest and in sparsely populated parts of the Mirendil. Today, these elves have grown extremely xenophobic and culturally conservative, and they are known as the Ciel Fey. Many Ciel Fey regard the mirdain as outright enemies.

• -590, Rubaiyat

Having grown rich and powerful through trade with the main continent, the city-state of Akkad grows predominant on the desert continent of Rubaiyat.

• -510, Lyonesse

Spurred by ancient writings, explorers from the island state of Lyonesse set out in search of an advanced race, which is said to inhabit a large western land. Making landfall in Mercia, they find that the advanced Chaldean civilization has been replaced by the scattered tribes of their descendants, the Imric people. Disappointed, the islanders return home.

• -498, Dvergheim

The northern svartdverg tribe falls under the influence of a sinister god called Heimar. War breaks out between the svartdvergir and their allies and Dvergheim's majority of Ymir loyalists. Despite some early successes, the followers of Heimar are ultimately defeated. Instead of renouncing their faith, most svartdvergir choose exile, fleeing to the peripheries of the dwarven realm, or to the sparsely populated northern regions of Morak.

• -480, Rubaiyat

Rubaiyat and the nearby island of Arash are united under the rule of Akkad. A period of prosperity follows on the desert continent, with trade connecting its old cities, and new cities emerging along caravanserais and near oases.

The Akkadians found the mainland city of Socora, using it as a base for swiftly conquering the nearby regions of Khali and Ochre. They then march on into the human lands inhabited by the horse-tribes of the Imric people. Following a series of ruthlessly efficient military campaigns, they establish themselves as the masters of the present-day of Mercia.

• -450, Rubaiyat - Main continent

Realizing that the Akkadians pose a threat to them all, the mirdain, ithwen and dwarves form an unlikely alliance with the Northmen of Niflheim and several mahirim tribes. The Akkadian fleet is crushed by an alliance fleet, and Akkad and Socora are placed under blockade.

Though they fight bravely, the Akkadian campaign army is eventually slaughtered by the numerically superior alliance forces. Following this defeat, Akkadian culture falls into a long decline, from which it is still to emerge.

• -413, Niflheim

The Ice Anvil clan unites the continent of Niflheim under their rule. Their heroic leader, Skjalg Torsson, is crowned the first king of all Northmen.

• -400, The Tribelands

The shaman-warrior Amurran conquers the central Tribelands and founds the city of Red Moon. Initially, this first permanent settlement in the Tribelands is little more than a fortress surrounding the Moontower, which is sacred to the mahirim. In the following decades, however, Red Moon grows into a city.

Soon after, Amurran founds the Order of the Crescent. He charges its knights with the task of protecting the Moontower against all non-mahirim intruders.

• -381, Niflheim

Skjalg Torsson dies of a sudden illness, leaving his four lieutenants in the Ice Anvil clan to fight for the Niflheim throne. The Northman kingdom succumbs to a long civil war, and to this day Skjalg Torsson remains the only man to have ruled a united Northman realm.

• -300, Morak

A massive eruption of the Flaming Skull volcano is perceived as a divine signal by the orks of Morak's Gutlands region. Seeing themselves as the chosen of Azhi Dahaka, a previously obscure god of fire, they launch a particularly determined campaign of conquest, eventually uniting all the tribes of Morak under their rule.

Azhi Dahaka immediately begins influencing the orks through his priests, manipulating them into becoming more organized and civilized.

• -290, Cairn

Outside the currents of history and trade, the native aernar of Cairn has grown to be a deeply religious person. They are accomplished astronomers, who regard the night sky as an open book, from which they read the nature of their god and his works.

In 290, however, a horde of minotaurs invades Cairn, sweeping the feeble armies of the aernar before them. Slaughtering and devouring civilians, the minotaurs, who originated in the mainland wastes of Ochre, settle as conquerors in the villages of the aernar. Some speculate that pockets of aernar refugees still survive in Cairn's subterranean lands and in peripheral wildernesses.

• 280, Morak

The Gutlands orks establish a new, stone-built capital in the shadow of the Flaming Skull volcano.

• -250, Morak

Azhi Dahaka's eternal enemy, Draupnir, begins his counter-work in the swamps of Morak. He manifests among a race of lizardmen called the sadayel, and begins teaching them magic and the ways of civilization.

• -213, Lyonesse

The nobles of Lyonesse rebel against the rule of the island-state's clerics, who insist on strict adherence to the tenets of the Morganic faith. Tapping into a thirst for personal freedom, the rebels swiftly gain support among broad layers of the populace.

After a series of bitter defeats, the last of the traditionalist forces are pressed into the southwestern corner of the island. At this critical moment, the goddess Morgaine visits the leader of the remaining loyalists, Duke John of Malregard, commanding him to lead his followers to new lands, where they are to build a new kingdom bathed in her light. Hastily constructing a fleet of ships, the Morganic loyalists set sail for the main continent. Glad to be rid of the fierce duke, the victorious rebels do not follow.

Duke John and his war-hardened knights land on Imric soil, on the eastern coast of Agon 's main continent. Swiftly defeating the local heirs to once-proud Chaldea, they establish the city of Sanguine.

• -210, Mercia

After a series of impressive victories against the Imric, John of Malregard crowns himself the first king of Mercia - a new kingdom under Morgaine.

The remaining tribes of free Imric finally unite under a High King, called Aur the Bold. Aur inflicts several bloody defeats on overstretched Mercian forces, before being decisively defeated at the Battle of Dalriada. With the last High King dead, the final vestiges of Imric resistance fade, and the kingdom of Mercia now controls the old Chaldean heartland.

• -200, Morak

In their first major campaign under the banner of the fire-dragon, the orks crush and enslave the svartdvergir tribes of northern Morak. For an orkish endeavor, the campaign is remarkably well-planned, and unlike all previous orkish invasions, it has direction and a defined goal.

• -190, Lyonesse

The island-state of Lyonesse is pulverized by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption, which occurs with little or no advance warning. Few escape the destruction as one of Agon's greatest nations is wiped from the face of the planet.

• -180, Mercia

While interrogating a number of cultists, the White Order learns that Malaut, the Demon Prince of greed, has followed the Mercians to their new homeland, establishing a stronghold in a mysterious place called the Shadelands. The cultists claim that Malaut's feared lieutenants, the Below, have grown numerous on the main continent.

• -150, The Tribelands

Inspired by civilizing impulses from the priesthood at Red Moon, the first mahirim clans build permanent all-year settlements. Instead of following their seasonal migrations, these mahirim begin to keep prey in spacious enclosures.

• -120, Morak

In a series of campaigns lasting more than five years, the orkish armies utterly crush the largest goblin tribes of Morak. Countless goblins are enslaved as a result, and the remaining semi-free tribes are forced to pay regular tributes of fresh slaves to Flaming Skull.

Fuelled by the ambitious priesthood and a near-inexhaustible pool of expendable slaves, the orks of Morak embark on an ambitious program of construction. The towering city walls, royal castle, and ziggurat at Flaming Skull are built, and in the following decades, similar buildings appear in large settlements throughout Morak.

• -100, The Tribelands

Reacting against the civilizing work of the priesthood at Red Moon, a growing number of mahirim clans turn away from the worship of Leen and Neith, the divinities that represent the moons of Agon. Instead, they turn to the worship of an ancient, wild, and cruel god called the Moon-Beast, and renounce all the trappings of civilization.

• -90, Mercia

A long-simmering conflict between state and church escalates into full-blown civil war. Both sides enjoy periods of success, but the end result is a stalemate, with Mercia split into two parts, one controlled by the church leadership at Dalriada, the other by the king at Sanguine.

• -85, Morak - Mercia

Led by Yrrak the Vile, a king of legendary strength and initiative, the orks of Morak invade Mercia. Laying waste to the northern regions of the human kingdom, they plunder and burn their way south towards Dalriada.

Realizing the grave threat to their nation's future, the Mercian factions the Church and the Crown finally manage to negotiate a truce. United at last, the Lightbringer and the King lead their troops toward the fire-snake banners of the orkish army. After a series of fierce battles, the orkish campaign army is decisively defeated at the Battle of the Still Waters.

• -78, Yssam

Appearing on the jungle continent of Yssam without warning, a Celestial Dragon called Far-Loradain lays waste to the cities of the Ithwen elves. Within days, and before help from Dvergheim and Mercia can arrive, the ancient cities of the Ithwen have been torn to the ground. Desperate survivors flee towards the main continent on cramped ships.

As the Ithwen flee, Far-Loradain returns to his slumber, in new lair at the center of the jungle continent. He has slumbered there ever since and is the only Celestial Dragon known to reside on Agon. To this day, nobody knows why he came, or why he laid waste to the Ithwen nation.

• -52, Mirendil

The brave and beautiful Ilynna, mirdain crown princess, is killed during a bold and some say foolhardy attempt to steal the Silver Circlet from Melek. Her intention is to return the Circlet to Myrthai, the elven god to whom it originally belonged. Today, Ilynna is a treasured culture hero of the mirdain, remembered in countless songs and stories.

• -45, Nagast

A terrible plague spreads through the lands of Agon, killing thousands of people. Unstoppable by known medicine or magic, the disease eradicates villages and decimates cities from Niflheim in the north to Akkad in the south. No cure is ever found, but in the course of the next eight years, the disease slowly fades away. Nagast is untouched by the disease, and mirdain officials claim that the disease was created by the Unseen Radiance, a group of Deathless Mages who serve Melek.

• -32, Yssam

Presumably, at the behest of Ashaka, an Erodach called Iyrtan the Destroyer begins establishing a kingdom of Fire Giants in the eastern regions of Yssam.

• -14, Morak

Led by a charismatic svartdvergir called Imrak, the slaves of Flaming Skull rise in revolt. The rebellion swiftly spreads through Morak's central regions, seriously threatening the orkish kingdom. Eventually, the elite Iron Orks subdue the slave-rebels within the capital and capture Imrak, who is swiftly executed. Parading Imrak's skull through the provinces, the Iron Orks eventually break the remaining vestiges of resistance.

• -10, Dvergheim

Barin inherits the throne of Dvergheim. The young king immediately instigates a program of economic expansion, while simultaneously giving engineers and magesmiths semi-unlimited resources for research and development.

• -8, The Tribelands

Members of the Cult of the Moon-Beast assassinate a high-ranking leader of the mahirim priesthood in his Red Moon home. It becomes obvious that mahirim society is headed towards a final, potentially cataclysmic confrontation between traditionalists and reformers.

• -6, Niflheim

The Ice Demon Illgarm arrives on Niflheim, and immediately begins forcing the monsters of the interior to join the growing ranks of his army. He then convinces the most powerful Northman leaders to join his cause and begins coordinating raids against southern lands.

• -4, The Moldar plains

In a single night, a black tower rises from a wall of rock in the heart of the plains, raised by a powerful Deathless Mage called the Watcher. Shortly thereafter, he invokes powerful magic, covering the surrounding lands in thick, yellowy shadow and slowly suffocating all-natural life. Fierce shadow creatures also called forth by the Watcher, begin to stalk the plains, killing all who haven't yet fled. Within months, the Moldar plains devoid of life becomes known as the Watcher Wastes.

In the time that has passed since, the Watcher has built a network of fortresses under the Wastes, while summoning steadily more powerful shadow creatures to stalk the surface. Many have tried to put an end to this growing threat, but all have failed. Now, many fear that entire armies of shadow creatures will soon be unleashed upon Agon, conquering all in the name of the Watcher.

• 0, Agon

10 Champions of near-godlike capabilities rise to power. The prophets predict a dark age in Agon where Oncylus, an ancient devil who wields powerful shadow magic, will rise to conquer Agon. Many people fear for their lives and turn to the twenty deities for help. Racial wars come to an end, uniting the six racial regions under one alliance. Many creatures in Agon adapt to the changes and relocate to many parts of the world. It is an age of war where people battle against the champions as well as among themselves to conquer land and prepare for events to come.

• 4, Mainland

Past tensions brew between the races and cause great conflict. Factions begin to form, uniting many warriors to band together to fight for their cause. The war with the champions continues, but now the races are preparing to fight among themselves again. Prophets fear for the future of Agon and try to relieve the tension but find no success. Oncylus observes from the Watcher Wastes with great joy as Agon prepares for all-out war. His plans are succeeding, and he waits for the perfect moment, the day he will show Agon what true power looks like.

• 5, The Tribelands

The moonbeast champion known as Fenris Alpha departs the Tribelands after years of slaughter. The marhirim are discouraged with their failure to eliminate Fenris. Across Agon whispers of other monstrous champions departing their domains surface. There is much speculation as to the reason behind this though sages near and far are without answers.