Timeline, from Pre-Settlement to the Beginning of the Age of Uncertainty
[WIP]

~7500 years BD: Unity's Original Inhabitants experiment with the Aetherstream, eventually creating numerous facilities around their world in an effort to create an infinite source of energy to fuel their society. Unforeseen and therefore unaccounted for issues cause the facilities to suffer catastrophic failures and expose the world to a sterilizing blast of Raw Aether thereby wiping out all life and destabilizing the fabrics of reality and magic alike. The world is left a sterile rock covered in dead biomass without any other life to decompose it.
A scant few of the world's inhabitants manage to escape Armageddon by retreating into the world's depths, many kilometers away from the surface.


~2500 years BD: The Great Vaults re-open and the few hundred survivors find themselves trapped in a world with no light, surrounded by millions of tons of rock. These survivors begin rebuilding their civilization from scratch, hidden away from the sterile surface. Progress is agonizingly slow as technologies must be rediscovered and new ones found to survive in a sunless underworld.


~200 years BD: Some Spacial Rifts open up all over the world, linking Unity with Toril, reintroducing life to the grave-world's surface.


0 BD (523 BC Terran Calendar): The first Torillian Explorers find Unity, dubbing it Mortuos Mundi (The Dead World), and begin to probe it's mostly lifeless ruins. News of this strange world gets back to the various peoples of Toril, more Rifts are discovered around Toril, and a small Gold-Rush begins

Subterranean Civilization has stabilized, massive tunnel networks miles beneath the surface reach down to the edge of the mantle, siphoning energy to power the steadily recovering technologies of a people who are steadily forgetting what it was like to live without something above their head, adapting to a world with little natural light.  They take to calling themselves Tenebrites.


5 AD, 0 AoI: Various individuals and groups with little to lose and much to gain move to colonize the new lands. The Rifts are expanded into massive Gates and the Age of Immigration begins.


15 AD, 10 AoI: The lands surrounding the Gates are self-sufficient and have begun exporting as well as sending proper expeditions further out into the new lands.


37 AD, 32 AoI, 0 AoD: The Gates become unstable and, two seasons later, collapse. The Colonies are cut off from Toril and are forever claimed by Mortuos Mundi. The lack of extensive repositories of knowledge in the Colonies led to a Dark Age as knowledge was lost with those who held it without getting the chance to record it. The Age of Darkness begins


~117 AD, ~80 AoD: The Elves, Dwarves, and (strangely enough) Reptillian Races manage to recover from the Age of Darkness and start to expand their civilizations beyond the original colonies. The Orcs and Goblinoids have changed radically beyond the influence of Grumsh and the Goblinoids' Pantheon, uniting and creating a stable, tho still primitive, society. The colony created by the Humans and Gnomes scatters as the people panic and order collapses.


183 AD, 146 AoD: Dave the Orc becomes the first mortal to ascend to divinity, becoming the Orcish God of Chivalry and Honour


601 AD, 564 AoD: The First recorded account of Arcanus' antics, an elven university is visited by an individual in indeterminate race and stumped by the riddles and arcane theorems they presented. The individual left after a fortnight, simply identified themselves as "Arcanus" and refused to provide any further personal information.


1173 AD, 1138 AoD, 0 AoP: The Elves and Dwarves create the DweMer Confederacy and become the largest power on Mortuos, the Dwarves also master the art of Arcane mechanization and use their new steamships to become the most prominent traders. Aarin, the mastermind behind Dwarven technology, dies in a workplace accident and becomes the goddess of Ingenuity and The Sea. The Age of Darkness ends and the Age of Prosperity begins.

Tenebrites begin experimenting with technologies intended to allow exploration of the world's mantle and eventually core. They dig deeper than ever before, drawing more energy from the depths.


1208 AD, 35 AoP: The Humans and Gnomes manage to establish a few stable settlements despite the numerous warlords and raiders present since the original colony's collapse. The town of Niraun is built on the southwestern coast and trade with the rest of the world begins.


1397 AD, 224 AoP: Zarus is born in Niraun to the city's lord, the youth grows up on the barrier between civilization and chaos.


1402 AD, 239 AoP: Hjallin, the world's greatest biomancer and scientist, dies of old age and ascends to Godhood. Scientists are baffled and struggle to explain exactly how it happened.


1408 AD, 245 AoP, 0 ZC: Zarus' father is assassinated by the agents of a rival lord. The new (and young) Lord of Niraun begins a war of retribution with the Lord of Bastion, he uses strict discipline and foreign trainers to build a superior fighting force. The Zaran Crusade begins.


1412 AD, 4 ZC: The Fall of Bastion, the Zarans' victory was absolute. Nearby warlords and raiders attacked but were repelled after the Zarans dug into the ruins of Bastion.


1413 AD, 5 ZC: Zaran forces move to neutralize the Warlord Kahss who had gathered most of the other warlords underneath him at Novobirsk. The siege of Novobirsk lasted for 2 years until Kahss was assassinated by his underlings and they surrendered to Zarus. The assassins were executed to send a message: "Traitors will be punished, regardless of what side they're on". The Zaran Crusade is brought to a close two years later when the last raider forces are pacified.

Tenebral explorers discover massive upwellings of material coming from the core, efforts to colonize and capitalize on these Hotspots begin in earnest.


1415 AD, 7 ZC, 0 SAoP: The Empire is officially founded with Zarus at it's head, it quickly moves to centralize it's resources and rebuild the cities of Bastion and Novobirsk.
Elsewhere, Elven fashion turns towards the textiles of the Dragonborn and a small boom in international trade occured. The Goblins also break into the international market with their innovative banking methods (bringing in loans and interest whilst eliminating the usual fees).
The First Halfling bands also appear in the lands of the Lizardfolk, these diminutive traders are dismissed as both harmless and helpful.
The Second Age of Prosperity begins


1447 AD, 34 SAoP: The Zaran Empire has risen up to become a major industrial power and is almost completely self-sufficient, and the populace fervently supports their Founder. Friction between the Zarans and the Orcs and Goblinoids (generally refered to as the Davish) grows as the Zarans look for more space to grow their hungry Empire.
The Halflings are now found nearly everywhere, peddling their wares and offering minor services.


1455 AD, 42 SAoP: The Second recorded instance of Arcanus' antics: Numerous Dragonborn officials report seeing psychadelic illusions everywhere, all in the same day, but are found to be clean of any sort of hallucinogen. Two days later, The same officials all report being visited by an individual clothed in glowing robes and wreathed in floating runes; every official's report detailed different races but left everything else the same, and each official also reported being given a riddle before the visitor left.


1469 AD, 56 SAoP: Zarus dies at 93. The Founder gave a final statement to his successor: "Take care of this country's people or I'll come and haunt your ass." and promptly died. Zaran Clerics across the empire are startled as they collectively feel a divine blast of incredulity as the newest god realizes his Divinity.


1657 AD, 244 SAoP, 0 AoW: The Zaran Empire and Davish Clans finally go to war.
The Dragonborn nation also splinters into a series of City-states as political machinations erupt into full on Civil War. The Age of War begins.


1719 AD, 62 AoW: The Zarans develop gunpowder weaponry and manage to get a foothold in Davish territory, the Davish appeal to the DweMer for assistance and the DweMer provide economic support but nothing else. The Dragonborn are still spit into City-States, but military conflict is much reduced.
A few Halflings are arrested on suspicion of espionage in the Elven City of Correlon, but are released when no evidence was found.


1725 AD, 68 AoW: Carl Jamesson, Grand General of the United Davish Armies, Surrenders at Dave's Port (capital of the Davish Clans) after two continuous days of bombardment from Imperial Artillery.


1727 AD, 70 AoW, 0 TAoP: The last pockets of armed resistance within former Davish territory are eliminated, the Davish leadership is removed and the Zaran Empire officially welcomes the Orcs and Goblinoids into Imperial society. Reconstruction efforts begin, as well as the reeducation of the former Davish. The Third Age of Prosperity begins.


1742 AD, 15 TAoP: Imperial Artificers manage to reverse-engineer and then modify Dwarven steamship technology for use in factories, mines, and the newly developed trains, thus beginning the Imperial Industrial Revolution.
The DweMer are both surprised and worried by this development.


1769 AD, 42 TAoP: Imperial researchers accidentally discover the Revenant Process whilst trying to find a means for preserving particularly valuable individuals within Construct Bodies. All attempts at transference of the Original failed, but a means for creating truly sentient machines was discovered. Production of Revenants is not started, but the information is set aside for further review.


1851 AD, 124 TAoP: The Dragonborn Feudal States and numerous Lizardfolk Tribes form the Republic of the Scale and begin to take a greater part in global commerce.
More Halflings are arrested, this time in the Zaran Empire, after being caught in a military training facility without clearance.

Tenebral excavators finish construction of megacities around the hotspots that had been discovered centuries before. Unity's lower crust has been thoroughly honeycombed with countless tunnels and artificial caverns filled with hundreds of millions of souls. The megacities drink in geothermal energy at constantly increasing rates, free to grow due to the seemingly infinite available power.


1992 AD, 265 TAoP: The Empire creates the first Siege Crawler, a massive Octopodal Golem armed with Naval Cannons, and triggers the beginning of a new arms race in Mechanized warfare as the other two powers try to maintain a balance of power.


2050 AD, 323 TAoP: Corbin Mercantile, a multinational company, Develops the Digital Computer and is thrust into the spotlight as all three powers rush to get their hands on the technology. The company sells the machines but not the schematics, maintaining a monopoly whilst it sought to develop more advanced models before the major powers reverse engineered the older ones.
Computing technology advances quickly, bringing new ways to optimize operations and greatly reducing the impact of mortal error.


2131 AD, 404 TAoP, 0 SAoW:  The Megacities are turned into catacombs as the hotspots are destabilized by excessive exploitation, the sparkling halls and caverns of the world with no sky are flooded with the white-hot blood of the world. All those who lived near the once benevolent Thermal taps are incinerated and those who lived farther barely manage to escape the same fate as they seal off the megacities and retreat to the older, shallower, settlements.
The world is in the middle of an economic upswing as Volcanic activity across the globe increases dramatically, Earthquakes increase in frequency and severity, and massive networks of tunnels and caverns are exposed to the surface. Two worlds collide, the one of forests and stars, and the one of tunnels and magma.


2155 AD, 24 SAoW: The Dwarven Kingdoms are overrun by Tenebral forces as the latter desperately moves to claim the newly discovered territory. The Dwarven armies are crushed mercilessly by the Tenebrites' highly advanced weaponry, energy lances and liquid projectors that spray liquid stone at their unfortunate victims. The Zarans are also assaulted by the Tenebrites but are better able to hold them off due to the fact that unlike the Dwarves, the Zarans exist primarily on the surface, and so the Tenebral forces are forced to fight in a completely alien environment... and under constant bombardment from Imperial artillery.


2161 AD, 30 SAoW: The Elven Sapiocracy is conquered by Tenebral Forces, the former DweMer Confederacy is quickly converted into a puppet state controlled by the masters below the earth. Confederacy territory is used to acclimate Tenebral soldiers to surface conditions.
The Zaran Empire rediscovers the Revenant Process after the archives are raided for any potentially useful technologies, the Steel Men are produced as quickly as possible to supplement the army's casualties.
The Republic of the Scale is left relatively unmolested, no passages were revealed when the world cracked, and so they focused on fortification and increasing trade with the only relatively friendly military power, the Zarans.
Global Temperatures drop noticably, the light of the sun partially blocked by all the ash being spat out by Unity's volcanoes.

2165 AD, 34 SAoW: Tenebral forces in Confederacy territory are harassed by guerrilla forces taking advantage of familiar territory, The technologically superior Tenebrites are kept perpetually off balance within the jungles of the Elven Sapiocracy.
Zaran Artificers create hovering vehicles to ferry soldiers across difficult terrain, these are quickly converted into flying weapons platforms. The technology is shared with the Republic of the Scale which repurposes and improves them for cargo hauling. Corbin Mercantile re-emerges as a leading producer of domestic flyers after nearly a century of obscurity.


2166 AD, 35 SAoW: The Third Recorded instance of Arcanus' activities. During a heated battle between Zaran and Tenebral forces, a lone hooded figure is seen walking in the middle of the battlefield with a picnic basket. The commanders on both sides were then invited to "Talks things out over tea and biscuits"
After the "tea and biscuits" both armies retreated from the battlefield, neither commander remembered the details of the conversation but distinctly remembered agreeing to call off the battle. The Imperial Commander was relieved of duty, nothing was ever heard from the Tenebrite Commander again.


2171 AD, 40 SAoW, 0 AoHD: The High Altitude Impactor Lance weapon is developed by Zaran Artificers, massive vessels held aloft by primitive gravity engines Carried the H.A.I.L. projectiles up to the edge of the atmosphere where they'd be shot at targets on the ground. The Age of Heavenly Destruction begins.


2176 AD, 5 AoHD: Zaran forces use the H.A.I.L. system to drive the Tenebrites back into the Underdark, and the final conflict of the Second Age of War is reduced to just the occasional skirmish. Imperial Strategists then turn their eyes to the conquered lands of the DweMer Confederacy. Ultimatums are delivered, and ignored. Imperial H.A.I.L. fire pulverizes Tenebral forces as they scurry back underground taking everything they can. Countless Dwarves and Elves are dragged down into the dark depths of Unity's subterranean world and absorbed by the Tenebrite society whilst it retreated.


2181 AD, 10 AoHD, 0 AoR: The Tenebrites are finally driven back underground and the territory they left behind is assimilated by the Empire, the Zaran Economy labours to rebuild the DweMer.
Many Tenebrite civilians are found in the newly assimilated territory and end up being assimilated as well.
The Zarans offer a deal to the Republic of the Scale, near autonomy, protection, and generalized support in return for willingly joining the Empire as a protectorate. The offer was accepted, the RotS Diplomats highly aware of the Imperial H.A.I.L. stations lying in wait just beneath the stars. Mortuos Mundi is finally renamed to Unity.
Not much happens for a while, the Age of Reconstruction begins.


2258 AD, 76 AoR: Global temperatures have dropped drastically, equatorial regions are converted into massive agricultural complexes while researchers shift their focuses to either reverse or adapt to the changing climate.
The Imperial Aethernautics Initiative is enacted, it's first goal being the exploration and evaluation of the rest of The All Father's moons for potential habitation/exploration. Revenants, being immune to the dangers of vacuum, are at the forefront of space exploration, testing craft as they're made ready for organic crewing through extremely rigorous trial and error.
Architects begin collaborating with miners to expand settlements just beneath the surface in anticipation of the advancing ice.


2285 AD, 103 AoR: Numerous areas with higher then average temperatures are detected, local flora and fauna found to behave much more aggressively and grow faster and larger than their counterparts elsewhere. Magic is also found to be much less stable, more prone to dangerous volatility, in these areas. Efforts to tame these areas are successful at first, but attempts to cultivate the land lead to the crops and animals undergoing the same changes the native life had.
 

2300 AD, 118 AoR: Conflict with the Tenebrites flares up again as Tenebral forces move to sabotage Imperial efforts to expand downward, viewing it as an invasion. Imperial counterattacks utilize thermobaric weaponry with horrific effectiveness, and the Tenebrites' advantage in subterranean warfare is partially neutralized. Tenebrites resort to hit-and-run tactics, effectively beginning a long and arduous guerrilla war.
The Imperial Aethernautics Initiative bears fruit, the first crew of both Revenants and Organics sets foot on the verdant but hazardous plains of Brotherhood and find massive terraforming engines, most broken down after nearly 10000 years of exposure to the conditions they had generated with no maintenance.

Suspected Arcanus Sighting, an expedition into one of the Green Zones comes across a humanoid playing chess with a massive beast. Later that same expedition is saved from a purple wurm by that same humanoid, the exact methods the humanoid used were unknown.


2400 AD, 218 AoR, 0 AoS: Unity almost looks as it does today, nearly encased in ice, there lies a single strip along the equator that has yet to be engulfed by the glaciers. The zones of higher temperature scattered about the world have turned into sweltering jungles filled with dangerous life forms. Imperial cities lie burried in the ground just beneath the glaciers, emerging from the ground along the edges of the "Green Zones". The war with the Tenebrites still smolders slowly beneath the surface.
A colony has been set up on Brotherhood, the Colony being named Jericho, and it has begun sending materials back to the homeworld, food being among the most important. The Age of Stars begins.


2483 AD, 83 AoS: Empress Nadiira VI declares that Unity shall be considered holy ground, and that none shall be allowed to scar it's surface with Orbital Bombardment. Whilst not changing much of anything, this marks an increase in Imperial religiousness. Unity is seen as the literal birthplace of the gods (and actually is in a few gods' cases) and as such really frikin sacred.
Jericho has grown into a major city, and other settlements have begun popping up on Brotherhood, the colony is mostly self-sufficient.


2510 AD, 110 AoS: Nuclear Fusion is worked out, this new technology is used to thaw out small parts of Unity's frozen wastes, opening up more space on the surface for habitation and industry. The Icy world becomes crisscrossed with passages in the ice created by channeling the heat generated by the massive Fusion Plants for hundreds of miles.
The Jericho Colony also manages to repair a few of the ancient terraforming engines, making Brotherhood more habitable as a result.
The First Interstellar Probes are sent out at relativistic speeds. Simple machines, fueled my magnetic ramscoops and propelled by some of the most powerful gravity engines available. They were sent out to gather data on nearby systems and send it back for evaluation.


2546 AD, 146 AoS (2023 AD Terran Calendar): Planar interaction shuts down as the other realms become more disconnected from the Prime Material, Society restructures slightly as extra-planar beings are no-longer able to be summoned for tasks/consultation. A couple researchers are lost after becoming trapped in other planes, a small memorial plaque is installed in the Imperial Palace.


2600 AD, 200 AoS: Most major bodies in the Babel System Have been graced with atleast a small research or mining outpost. The Asteroid Belt is the center of Imperial mining and ship construction. Average Global temperatures on Unity are still dropping, almost reaching their modern values, and the Glaciers finally engulf the Equator.
Tenebral Insurgents Detonate multiple explosive devices on Brotherhood, Imperials begin a series of hunts for any and all traitors, numerous innocents end up linched alongside actual traitors. Law Enforcement is forced to step in and halt the witch hunts before the Empire rips itself apart.


2650 AD, 250 AoS: The First Emperor from Jericho, Emperor Ardyn IX, Ascends the throne, setting a precedent where one needs not be born on the homeworld to be selected as Emperor.
Another suspected Arcanus sighting, FTL researchers working on converting Grav-Engines into primitive Alcubierre-Drives find their labs plastered with sticky notes detailing countless theorems all proving that an Alcubierre Drive, while technically possible, is nonviable for a galactic power. Security cameras show a blurry entity at each site using unknown magics to go about their task.  Imperial FTL research is forced to start over.


2655 AD, 255 AoS: The Imperial Police is directed to track down Arcanus, take them into custody, administer judgement for their numerous crimes and hopefully conscript them into the Imperial R&D departments. Emperor Ardyn IX wakes to find a cake next to his head with the message "Don't fuck with me. sincerely, Arcanus. P.S. it's chocolate and peanutbutter, baked it myself". The hunt is called off.


2700 AD, 300 AoS: Terrorist activity is found and neutralized at numerous settlements throughout the Babel System. The Government begins providing mandatory self-defense courses in schools and encourages citizens to join local militias for improved security whilst increasing Secret Service activity in outlying settlements.


2800 AD, 400 AoS: The First Sub-Light Colony vessels are sent out to a few of the systems that had been surveyed by the probes sent nearly 300 years ago. Crewed by Revenants, and holding their organic passengers in stasis, the hulks crawled towards the systems that'd eventually become the core worlds of the Empire. These vessels maintain contact in real time using early and bulky forms of Quantum Entanglement Arrays developed specifically for the project.


3000 AD, 600 AoS: Unity's volcanic activity picks up again, the world is completely shrouded in ash, putting all but the highest elevations in a perpetual twilight as the stars are blocked and the lights of civilization and nature reflect off both the surface and sky. The Green Zones remain filled with life as the plants adapt to other, more exotic, energy sources, and the animals begin to develop more exotic adaptations to the darkness.


3100 AD, 700 AoS: Imperial attempts at FTL via alternate dimensions fail, but reveal the existence of what is known to the rest of the galaxy as Slipspace. Early attempts at entering this other dimension fail, a few disastrously resulting in numerous deaths.
The Generation ships have arrived at their destinations, the new colonies are given near autonomy similar to that enjoyed by the still existent Republic of the Scale.


3200 AD, 800 AoS: Tenebral forces on Unity reemerge, taking advantage of hundreds of years of preparation and the perpetual gloom to execute numerous strikes against important imperial targets. War breaks out again as The Empire Strikes Back...
Orbital Forces drop H.A.I.L. platforms under the ash clouds where they are engaged by Tenebral aircraft. The war ends in an Imperial victory and the Tenebrites being forced back into their labyrinthine territories, the Imperials practically guaranteed victory due to their superior numbers, logistics, and high-ground advantage, but not without losing numerous forces to the initial assaults. Unity is forced to rebuild whilst the rest of the Babel system continues, and the Imperial Capital is relocated to Unity's Orbit.


3300 AD, 900 AoS: Real progress is made with FTL research. Artificers manage to create a (barely) working Slipspace Drive and perform a couple short-range jumps.


3350 AD, 950 AoS, 0 AS: practical FTL is achieved, Government vessels reach the colonies in a matter of weeks rather than centuries and the colonies are properly integrated into the Empire. Civilians gain access to the technology a few years later after cheaper methods of production are conceived. The Age of Stars becomes the Age of Solitude.


3400 AD, 50 AS: Colony ships are sent to as many valuable worlds as possible as the Empire rushes to expand as much as possible. The Forges are discovered and settled, Husk as well. Imperial officials begin planning an Operation Voyager in a bid to further explore and hopefully discover other civilizations.


3480 AD, 130 AS: Operation Voyager is Launched, approximately 1000 Revenant Volunteers are sent out in their vessels equipped with QEAs improved over approximately 650 years and the empire's most powerful ftl drives. The Scouts are expected to suffer high casualties due to unknown dangers and stellar phenomena.


3500 AD, 150 AS, 0 AoU (2977 AD Terran Calendar): A Voyager Scout encounters an advanced interstellar civilization older than the Empire itself, it's technology and size beyond current measuring capabilities. The Age of Solitude is replaced with the Age of Uncertainty.