Age of the Dragon

This article is a work of fiction related to Istaria. It is part of the background Istarian story.

Timeline

• 5000 B.R. Gemenoth, The Eldest, is the first to learn the secrets of the Gate of Embers and travel to the Realm of Fire to meet Drulkar. His quest grants him the Gift of Ancienthood and an honored place among Dragons.
• 4542 B.R. First teleport gate in Istaria is built in Dralk; Colony of Draak is founded
• 4404 B.R. The number of retired scholars and philosophers living in Draak prompts some parents to offer to pay for their hatchlings to be tutored there. The caretakers may be retired, but they are still dragons. The prestige of being tutored in Draak creates a swell of interest among affluent dragons, who wished their hatchlings to have the same advantages. A new academy is proposed by 4350 BR.
• 4337 B.R. The Academy of Draak is finished and opened to its first classes.
• 4121 B.R. The Academy of Draak expands and begins accepting all dragon hatchlings, regardless of wealth and social standing. The educators begin to quietly promote the idea that making donations to the Academy was a form of noblesse oblige and a sign of culture and refinement. The Academy quickly becomes very prosperous.
• 3102 B.R. The Elves leave the Dryad forests in the East and begin exploring south and west looking for a new home. They bring the Taniqel Tree and their knowledge of stone masonry with them. The reason for their departure is one of the most closely guarded secrets by both Elves, Dryads and Satyrs.
• 3077 B.R. The Elves discover the Selen Forest, a forest that was much larger in ancient times. There, along the southern shores of Western Aradoth near the Spiritous Swamp, they plant their trees and begin construction of a new home.
• 3038 B.R. The construction of the new Elven home is complete. The Taniqel Trees have been nurtured by the Elves using the magics of nature and have grown large and dense. The Elves call their new home Feladan and the new forest, the Feladan Forest.
• 2252 B.R. Nelthorr disovers the Dwarves and Gnomes.
• 2285 B.R. A brilliant but somewhat anti-social Saris named Galt forsakes his people and walks into the wilds south of Kion, looking for a place to experiment with new methods of building design and masonry. He is joined by a few other misfits in what is now Nuthala.
• 2252 B.R. Galt and his associates return to Kion and commence construction on a radically new project: a massive building of cut and fitted stone, towering over the adobe shacks and pavilions that made up Kion proper. It takes two years to complete and establishes the standard for Saris architecture and style. The building is still standing and today is home to the Kion Vault.
• 2249 B.R. Galt passes away and is buried in an unmarked grave, per his final request.
• 2123 B.R. The Dwarven city of Aughundell is founded on the slopes of Mt.Grenaden; The first king of the Dwarves, Grathmar I, is crowned.
• 2094 B.R. Gnomian city of Rachival is built with the assistance of their neighbors and friends to the south, the Dwarves.
• 1611 B.R. The Academy of Tinkerers is founded in Rachival by Gellis Fizzleton.
• 1255 B.R. The Dragon, Mellohndar, begins tutoring Nazderon in the ways of enlightenment
• 1225 B.R. Grand City of Mellohndar is founded by Nazderon the Mage in the western desert; Nazderon hires a number of Saris architects and construction engineers to design and oversee the construction of Mellohndar. Saris art and design elements become very trendy among the new aristocracy.
• 1152 B.R. Villagers of Kaiyar are turned to stone
• 1150 B.R. Nazderon goes to sleep and awaits the awakening of his bride. As part of their efforts to wipe clean the slate of Mellohndar's failure, a large army of Dragons destroys much of the city of Mellohndar and scatters its people.
• 1051 B.R. Half-Giants from Trandalar begin raiding Kion and the human settlements along Dalimond Bay. Their massive longships are ideal for exploration as well as plunder, enabling the Trandalarans to send expeditions around the Dalimond Peninsula and even as far as the island of Dikaina. Trandalaran expeditions east from Trandalar encounter heavier ice floes, but are still able to map out most of the northern coast of both Western Aradoth and Eastern Aradoth.
• 1019 B.R. The grand city of Feladan is sacked and burned by Trandalaran raiders from the north. The Trandalarans attempt to use the Taniqel Tree to repair their ships, but its wood is naturally warped and resistant to their tools. In retaliation they burn much of the FeladanForest and scatter the remaining Elves.
• 1010 B.R. Feladan is rebuilt and the forest begins to grow back.
• 1007 B.R. Dwarves discover the Feladan Forest and begin using the wood of the Taniqel Tree for its highly resistant properties. It makes excellent crossbows and bolts as well as other wooden tools and implements. The Elves take great exception to this and fiercely defend their forest. The resulting battle, while small compared to the great battles of later centuries, is bloody and results in a Dwarven withdrawl from the forest.
• 1001 B.R. Emboldened by their previous success, a Trandalaran expedition returns to Feladan and sacks it again, once again burning it to the ground along with many of the newly grown trees.
• 992 B.R. Feladan is rebuilt, but the Elves built high walls to surround the city this time. The Spearman school is founded as the Elves observed first-hand the greater reach of the Trandalaran raiders. The wood of their spears is taken from the nearby SelenForest.
• 977 B.R. Kingdom of Barasavus founded in the eastern desert
• 960 B.R. Trandalaran raiders attack Feladan, but are driven off by the high walls, Elven spears, and an organized and well trained resistance.
• 953 B.R. After learning of the unsuccessful attempt to raid Feladan, an entrepreneurial Trandalaran captain decides to try trading with the elves. This turns out to be a much better plan. The item that fetches the highest price is a kidnapped female Saris. The nobleman who buys her soon learns that Saris do not make good concubines, but the facial scars only add to his already infamous reputation. Other nobles begin to desire the prestige of owning an exotic Saris maiden of their own; the Trandalarans are happy to oblige.
• 931 B.R. A Saris healer and priestess of Merrasat begins applying her knowledge of anatomy to her people’s existing unarmed combat system, which resembles boxing with extended claws. She develops a new system of holds, joint locks, and critical strike points, forming the basis of an entirely new, and highly effective, fighting style.
• 918 B.R. A novice priest of Merrasat begins doing his daily prayers while slowly performing the kata he is learning. The meditative state fills him with energy and allows him to perform wonders at his daily practice. His masters try his method, and soon develop the Ki abilities familiar to modern monks.
• 752 B.R. The Kingdom of Barasavus is destroyed in a great battle between humans and Dragons.
• 700 B.R. Raiding Kion has become a difficult and dangerous undertaking, but Saris scholars and educators fetch such a high price from the Elves that the Half-Giants refuse to give it up. The leader of a successful expedition often returns to Trandalar with enough wealth to last a lifetime. More and more, the Trandalarans begin to abandon their traditional veneration of the Mountain *** (who’s name is never spoken outside of the most sacred of rites) in favor of Daggarth, *** of Strength and the Ocean. The Mountain *** is not pleased.
• 699 B.R. The Volcano of Katja on the continent of Trandalar erupts. Eruptions and related earthquakes continue for several years. The Half-Giants believe that the Mountain *** rained destruction down on them in the form of fire and ash and then later ice and snow as punishment for forsaking him. They believe they cannot return until they can step from their new home to their old without touching the water or sailing upon it.
• 693 B.R. The Volcano of Katja ceases to rumble and the shaking of Trandalar quiets. But the eruptions have darkened the skies above Trandalar with dust and soot and the sun has been lost.
• 690 B.R. The Long Winter begins on Trandalar. The sun has not been seen in over two years and the climate on has turned from cold to inhospitable. With no sunlight the vegetation has died and continual rains and snows have begun freezing the lakes and rivers.
• 687 B.R. After struggling futilely for three more years to survive, the Half-Giants of Trandalar begin to move south. With the seas frozen they must carry their belongings. The longboats that had been frozen on the shores are dismantled and carried along with the rest.
• 674 B.R. Founding of Mahagra (Half-Giants) – Founded by refugees from the continent of Trandalar during the The Long Winter. Its structures are built from the wood of the Longships that the Half-Giants used long ago to raid and pillage, and then to flee the devastation of their homeland in the north.
• 630 B.R. Saris emissaries arrive in Feladan with an unusual offer: Saris educators would still come to Feladan, but they would do so as hired experts, not prisoners. They would be permitted, in turn, to study the elves and send regular accounts back to Kion. The elves agree.
• 623 B.R. Ashlander Vandus Rises to Power (Humans) – A charismatic and pragmatic leader by he name of Ashlander Vandus rises to power among the Humans. He is outspoken about Human Freedom from Dragons. He is also able to negotiate the ever-changing political climate between the two prominent factions of Dragon society.
• 612 B.R. Founding of Dalimond (Humans) – Dalimond was founded as an agrian town and later grew into a thriving city.

This age is marked by the Humans being faithful servants of the Dragons, and Dragon society reaching its height. While the Humans that were subservient to them were unwavering in their loyalty, the Human society was divided on their views of Dragons as a whole. One can easily find historical records of Dragons being revered as deities, or on how to bring the beast down.

Dragons however paid little attention to human affairs of the time as they felt it in no way affected the course of their lives. This however was flawed thinking on their part and was one of the underlying reasons for the Great Schism.

The Great Schism is a pivotal time in Dragon society. For centuries Dragon culture has been divided into two camps, the Lunus and the Helian. The more territorial, warlike Lunus faction believes that the other races should either serve to edify Dragon civilization or move out of the way. This heavyhanded approach was theorized by the military leader of the Dragons Malganival Lunus. Typically members of the Lunus faction are Warriors in dragon society, and more territorial in nature. This can be seen in the fact that the home seat of the Lunus faction is actually the ancestral home of the Dragons, Dralk.

In the second camp we have the Helian, named after their leader the Dragon scholar Helian. Their views on how to handle the rise of the other races of Istaria are quite different from the Lunus, but Dragon arrogance can still be seen in their view as well. Their ideals stem from the belief that if Dragons are the most enlightened and advanced race in Istaria, they should seize the reigns of power and lead all others into the future. In doing so, they will return the reverence the other Living Races once had for them and do so in a civilized manner, through example.

Although these two factions were never violent towards one another, the years of debate slowly took their toll. What was once a simple debate became a twisted power struggle in which greed and possessiveness were the only winners. A war was brewing in Dragon society, something had to be done, and it was the Helian who acted first. Their approach to the matter was a civil one however. They chose to relocate and form a new city, Chiconis, where they could pursue their agenda in peace. The Lunus felt as if their society was being torn apart, yet they did nothing to stop the move by the Helian. The Lunus essentially had enough foresight to know better than to stop the move, knowing it could throw Dragon society into a civil war.

The Helian camp moved deep within the Black Mountains where they founded the city of Chiconis. The city is located between the Humans and the Dwarves with which the Helian faction share a common understand and peace. The close proximity to other living races does not mean that the Helian do not value their solitude however; in fact travel by foot to the city is a diffucult journey. Upon reaching Chiconis invited visitors of any race are still looked upon apprehensively by the Helian who wish to pursue their agenda alone and in peace.

While the height of the Great Schism is reached during this time period it is not the only event of presidence that should be noted. It is also widely known that the Half-Giant city of Mahagra was founded near the end of the Age of the Dragon. While legend tells us that during the Age of the Gods Humans who settled the mountainous regions of Northern Aradoth began to slowly develop into what we know as Half-Giants, we do not actually see the creation of the City of Mahagra until the end of the Age of the Dragon. This lapse of time could be accounted for in the fact that Half-Giants often attempt to trace their lineage to a legendary race of Giants, not to their Human brethren. While that is feasible it could also be noted that a solitary environment of the harsh mountain regions without a large settlement for an extended period of time could make a group of Humans more physically robust to adapt to the weather.

Source: community.istaria.com

Next: Age of the Warrior-Kings

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