World History

Aserra's intelligent species have a history of approximately 30 thousand years, from the appearance of the human races (human, Iengi, and Kiar) and shortly following, the elemental races. Over the course of the first 14 thousand years, societies developed and expanded across Ageond, Thiskel, and Kalesten.

This initial period of growth was interrupted by War of the Gods and the ensuing Cataclysm. The war raged for over a thousand years on both divine and mortal fronts with armies serving the Dark Gods conquering all of Ageond before moving their conquest to Thiskel (with some scouting into Kalesten). Societies fell, united, rose, and fell again throughout this period of constant conflict.

The aftermath of the War of the Gods left physical scars on Thiskel (such as Maris' Chasm and Ispa's Sepulcher), sank most of the continent of Ageond, and caused catastrophic rises in sea level, tectonic instability, and climate change due to volcanic activity and changes in ocean currents. This period, known as the Cataclysm, lasted for another thousand years, approximately, before Aserra began to stabilize again through natural processes and divine intervention.

After the Cataclysm, Aserra's societies gradually rebuilt. The Idayn sent groups of colonists out into the world that established themselves as new races, independent of their forebearers. Another 13 thousand years brings us to Aserra's current era (~600 KCY for Kalesten based stories).

Prehistory

Aserra's mythology credits the Mother-Goddess Nydoini with sowing the world with life. Humans, and their two cousin races, the Iengi and Kiar were the first intelligence races to emerge, followed by the elemental races.

The mythology of Maredi and Marebi arose in this era. The two were supposedly the first humans created by Nydoini and received her guidance. This pair brought forth a myriad of children who spread throughout the world and established human kind. As a reward for their labors, Nydoini made them into the two small moons that are believed to rule male and female genders. The myth is said to have arisen from a society in South Thiskel and was gradually adopted by the rest of human society, making Maredi and Marebi the names for the male and female moons, respectively.

Ertians, who still worship the Mother-Goddess, maintain the belief that different ethnic groups of humans were set into different parts of the world and spread from those origin points. Other human cultures maintain different variations of the origin myth, often placing their own progenitors as the first humans.

The Iengi established a civilization early on, preceding most human civilizations. Their society was centered in North Thiskel and spread to the southern continent while their human cousins were still hunter-gatherers. There are myths in several Thiskelian cultures about wise giants who shared their knowledge with humans.

Much of the Kiar history has been lost following their exodus from Ageond, but it seems likely that they had established an isolated agrarian state in the mountains of west Ageond.

After the elemental races were established, many were encouraged to spread across the world. The Zaedyn, Mariel, Brech'mar, Asath, and Nafod gradually spread from their original origin points (Zaedyn, Brech'mar, and Nafod in North Thiskel, Asath in South Thiskel, and Mariel in the south Riath Sea. The Idayn and Danaij would not spread significantly until the War of the Gods.

First Golden Age

Several thousand years after human societies established themselves, much of Aserra entered a "golden age" of social stability and growth. Many human nations had entered a period rich with magical knowledge, art, and invention. Iengi ruled much of North Thiskel. Zaedyn, Mariel, Brech'mar, and Asath had established colonies across the world that had diversified and adapted to new environments. The Idayn had hegemony over the forests of North Thiskel. Danaij had powerful nations in south Ageond.

War of the Gods

The War of the Gods was a war fought on divine and mortal fronts. For the mortal realm, this began as the Danaij expanding through Ageond to conquer the entire continent and subjugate the inhabitants to Ispa and their new gods. This initial period of warfare saw the creation of the Danaij'vai, vampires, and kuzo from the Kiar. Surviving Kiar fled by sea to the west to land in Kalesten.

Once Ageond was conquered, the servants of Ispa turned their attention to Thiskel. The war between Ageond and Thiskel raged for around a thousand years and reshaped Thiskel's societies. The Iengi civilization crumbled under the pressure of warfare. Human nations rose and fell and rose again. Idayn and the other elemental races united with their human neighbors against their common enemy. This era saw the creation of the Eain'Idayn and the spread of Idayn troops across Thiskel that would later establish the Ery'Idayn and Shaolaon.

The War of the Gods finally came to a close with divine warfare carrying over into the mortal world. A final battle between Ispa and her siblings tore a massive rift through North Thiskel and drove up a new mountain range at the end. Most of the continent of Ageond was sank to annihilate the hordes loyal to the dark gods, with only the southern tip remaining. These final blows carried repercussions on for another millennia.

The Cataclysm

The Cataclysm is the thousand years following the end of the War of the Gods. The sinking of Ageond had drastic effects on the climate and geography of Aserra, and perhaps, only by the grace of the gods, did the peoples of Aserra survive this period. For humans, many returned to their roots as hunter-gatherers as the climate was too unstable for farming. Populations were devastated, but eventually rebounded--except for the Iengi who have been declining ever since.

Restoration

When Aserra's climate and tectonic activity stabilized, societies were able to begin again. Human nations rose again and populations grew exponentially. For the Idayn, specifically, their new post-war generations strained the resources of their forests, and so they spread. Several colonies of Idayn, along with Eain'Idayn established themselves in Kalesten, the Idayn eventually becoming Fayl'Idayn, Oir'Idayn, and Ur'Idayn. Another colony established itself on the southern peninsula of the polar continent of Athok to become the Aeul'Idayn.

In this period, the new gods, the Third Generation Gods, appeared on Aserra in mortal form to help the humans recover and rebuild their societies. In much of Thiskel and Kalesten, this established the pantheon of Saeven, Acoassa, Erada, Essan, and the Seasonal Goddesses.

Modern Era

The last millennia to present day is considered the modern era. Most societies are stable. For the most part, the elemental races live apart from humans. Humans have gradually relearned knowledge they lost in the aftermath of the War of the Gods and continue to seek out new knowledge. Trade and exchange between Thiskel and Kalesten is easy and frequent, but the Forsaken Land, what is left of Ageond, is highly isolated.