EverQuest - History of Norrath & Timelines

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In the beginning, all that existed was void. Empty of all, whether it be time or space. A vast and endless nothingness cloaked in a deep and all consuming silence. Within this void existed “The Nameless”, a power so incredible that in the entire universe, it knew only itself to exist. It had no idea why it was there, just that that it was. In the quiet expanse of the void, it sent itself out and searched the void to find something different. And there it was, a pocket of space and therein lay the flow of time. When The Nameless stepped into the space, something terrible but wonderful, something terrifying but exciting happened. It detected the elements of space and time. The Nameless, knowing nothing of these things, freed what was in there so it could spread out in all directions, filling the space that had been empty for so long with a force that had no boundaries. Forces touched each other and the emptiness filled with swirling energies, light and heat touched emptiness. Energies collided and crashed, were born and died and became new and different… none of those having been seen ever before started to form planets that differed in size and structure. Also created were stars to watch over this new creation. But the whole chaos needed order, shaping and fine touch. And so the Nameless created The Gods of Power.

In ages past the planet of Norrath was lifeless when the goddess of the dragons, Veeshan, descended upon this world and made her mark on the planet – depositing her brood in the icy lands of Velious. For years the dragons ruled over the skies and land until the other Gods of the Pantheon became aware of the planet. Brell Serillis, God of the Underfoot seeded the belly of norrath with all manner of strange and wondrous creatures and then approached the other gods to create a pact. Tunare the God of Nature, Prexus the Oceanlord and Rallos Zek the God of War were all there and all agreed save Rallos. The planet would be divided up between these beings of power for the purpose of keeping the Dragon Wurmqueen in check. Each would create a race of beings to watch over Norrath and keep a vigilant eye on the schemes of Dragonkind. Brell claimed the bowels of the planet and created the Dwarves, stout and strong, deep beneath the mountains of Norrath. In the abysmal depths of the oceans Prexus left his children, the Kedge, hearty aquatic beings of great mental power and stamina. And on the surface of Norrath did Tunare create the Elves, creatures of limitless grace and beauty, and Rallos Zek the Giants, fierce and formidable beings, intent upon the defense of their lands.

It was inevitable that such energies involved in seeding planets with life would attract even more of the gods. An ancient race did spring forth from the will of an unknown god. They were a cunning and powerful race of beings, able to survive in a harsh world ruled by the scaled children of Veeshan. The Xulous did build upon the lands that would become Tunaria a great necropolis to house their dead kings. The crypts of the necropolis were fashioned from preserved remains of slain dragons and it was called Lxanvon, which means in the tongue of The Xulous, ‘Kings Rest’. Centuries past and the other gods by now had deposited their proto creatures among the world. Some kept to themselves and others engaged directly against the dragons. It was in this time that the Goddess Anashti’Sul, ruler of the Plane of Health and enemy of Xul’Varien the God of disease, in her wisdom decided to cure the ailments of death forever and granted the gift of eternal unlife to the creatures of norrath. Creating the Ewer of Sul’Dae a magical device that could grant this gift – it was a total disaster – and for the first time undead roamed the world of norrath. Despite her good intentions the other gods seized Anashti’Sul and banished her to the Void for her crimes.

Sometime later, the Elves, deposited on norrath by Tunare the goddess of nature, had built a glorious empire spanning the landmass to legendary places such as High Elven city of Fayspire and the Wood Elf city of Telethin. They named the land Tunaria in her honour. From their seat of power in Takish’Hiz in the Elddar forest the elves enjoyed good relations with most other races and their strength in battle, power over magic both arcane and divine was legendary. It was not until the Elves would discover the lost shrine of Anashti’Sul, the ancient Fountain of Life and home of the fabled Ewer of Sul’Dae would the first real threat to the elves come about. Some had abandoned Tunare and began to follow this ancient god of health and created a grand city they named Ahket Aken where the worshipers lived in hopes Anashti’Sul would grant them eternal immortality.

However, deep in the shadows, the dark lord Innoruuk, God of Hate watched over this splintered race of Elves – and in his seething hatred for Tunares Creation used the power of the Ewer of Sul’Dae to create his own race of evil he named the Ydal, he took them to the Plane of Hate were they lived for an age until a fatal flaw in his creations was made evident. Though his creatures were immortal, they were cursed by their lust for blood, a side effect of the mixing of Innoruuk’s blood with the Ewer of Sul’Dae. One of these Ydal was known as Mayong Mistmoore.

Over in the Kingdoms of the Xulous in the center of Darrow’s Hollow a great black obelisk structure appeared as if from nowhere, it spindled higher into the sky than any of the surrounding buildings. King Adan summoned all of the wise men of magical learning. They came from far and near but not one of these could explain what it was or how it came to be. Frightening creatures would lurk near the stalls at night. Being described as creatures straight out of nightmares, the good King feared for his people and began sending adventurers to do combat with these horrors. This would continue until the day that Ultor Szanvon would appear before the court, proclaiming he knew the secrets of the obelisk. Chancellor Ultor advised King Adan that his forefathers, kings of times gone by, would know about the truth of the obelisk. Knowing the answers were close at hand, the King ordered his squires to bring him the oaken box from within his sleeping chambers. Inside held the key to the burial crypts of the noble line of the Adan Kings – King’s Rest. Preparing for a long journey to the mausoleum of the ancient kings, the Chancellor advised that it should be only the King and himself who went. Claiming that the spirits of the fallen regents would be offended at being disturbed by anyone other than nobility, Ultor and King Adan were the only ones to enter the Crypts of King’s Rest. There Ultor slayed King Adan and performed a dark ritual to the gods. Out of the remains of the Xulous Kings that lay before him Bertoxxulous, the God of Disease and Pestilence, was born. He conquered the Xulous and spread his armies across Norrath. In his satisfaction for his new creations he transcended The Ruins of Lxanvon to the Plane of Disease where it would forever be known as the Crypt of Decay.

Meanwhile the world was to be graced by a new God – this being, known to some as The Amyg, was Cazic Thule, Lord of Fear. After unleashing his force of frightful Amygadalans and Lizardmen, constructing a grand Temple of Cazic Thule and setting forth his creatures on the world led by the creatures Fear, Fright, Horror and Dread. He began to consider a home for a new race and it was on the other side of the world far to the east that Cazic-Thule would deposit his Shissar race, gigantic snake like creatures which were unparalleled in combat and the dark arts. Settled deep within the swamps and jungles of Kunark the race thrived from their capital of Chelsith building a mighty empire maintained by it’s slave race The Iksar. It was not long before this race overstepped it’s boundaries and began even to dabble in planar travel, entering the homes of the gods themselves stealing godly artifacts and slaying all manner of holy creatures. For their crimes against the pantheon Cazic Thule would never forgive them and unleashed the Greenmist upon them. Despite their efforts the greenmist covered all in a deathly fog that destroyed all but some of the cities of the Shissar. In a desperate attempt to escape some Shissar used their knowledge of the arts of translocation and escaped in the only place the Greenmist could not find them – Luclin, one of the two moons of norrath and others deep into the bowels of the under of Norrath known. Emperor Ssraeshza in his paranoia following the destruction of his race demanded the land their new temple was built upon on the moon of luclin be drained of all oxygen, so – in the event the greenmist ever did arrive – it would never be able to reach their new fortress they had named Ssraeshza Temple. Other Shissar banded together to escape to a Shissar fortress in the underfoot known as Empotith – they would be led by a Shissar named Zhisza who would soon seek to become Emperor himself.

Far away from the lands of the Shissar and among the other races, two new Gods did arrive upon the land of Norrath. Created by their father, Tarew Marr, they were named Erollisi Marr, God of Love and Mithaniel Marr, God of Valor. They first came upon the lands of Norrath and did not draw any attention from the other Gods. Naively in their youth these new twin gods believed they could act like the elder gods and create their own mortals. Mithaniel created the Minotaurs intended to personify honour and courage a decision he would later regret. For the gods did notice these actions and Innoruuk, from his dark plane of hate would come down upon Norrath and attempt to corrupt Erollisi. Fleeing in terror she escaped to Takish’Hiz, city of the Elves where she took refuge while her brother is led deep into thje swamplands of Innothule far to the south of Takish’Hiz. Little did Mithaniel know that he was being led into a trap by Cazic-Thule – on his arrival he became assaulted by Lizardmen and trolls and despite his efforts, captured by the God of Fear. In his capture Cazic-Thule’s daughter, Terris-Thule, The God of Nightmares drew out from Mithaniel Marr the Gift of Life. However, despite her success in overcoming Mithaniel with her terrifying nightmares; her brother, Morrel-Thule – The God of Dreams, stole the Gift of Life from Terris and broke it in two splitting half across the swamps of Southern Tunaria. From this gift the waterbourne Frogloks did arise. A valorous race who would be the saviours of their Lord Mithaniel in times ahead.

It was following the destruction that the Iksar, the slaves of the Shissar, now found themselves freed from their shackles of bondage on the lands of Kunzar. Spared by the greenmist and Cazic Thule they built their own empires. The first mighty tribes to grow in power were the Kunzar, Jarsath, Kylong, Nathsar and Obulus. It was one of these tribes that would first make contact with Zebuxorok, the God of Knowledge – handed to Kotiz, a fabled necromancer of the Iksar was the Unholy Writ of War – a book of godly power filled with strategies to defeat enemies and dark forgotten magic which, sadly for Kotiz, a young Iksar named Venril Sathir would kill him and use it to claim dominance for his Kunzar clan and annihilated the other 4 tribes. Venril was shortly after crowned emperor over this new kingdom and he quickly enslaved the Giants, creatures of the God of War, Rallos Zek and Froglok of Kunark and constructed the grand capital of Sebilis from which he ruled over the Sebilisian Empire. A golden age began for the Iksar and new orders began such as the Swiftail Caste, the legendary iksar monks. Venril’s empire expanded rapidly and as he grew older he began to be weary of his own death, he made a pact with Innoruuk for immortality. All would go well until Venril’s beloved, Drusella Sathir died suddenly. Soon after Venril Sathir locked her and her servants in Charassis to perform a dark ritual which was suddenly interupted by his son Rile Sathir who foiled the ritual and trapped him in an evil amulet.

It is during this time that the childre of Rallos Zek, the Ogres, led by Warlord Murdunk and his close aid the Sphinx Zayenaekk, began to build an army to conquer all of norrath – a massive army of Giants, Minotaurs, Goblins, Ogres and Orcs spread across Tunaria and destroy all they cross. With the success of the campaign Murdunk set his sights on the planes of the gods themselves. All across Norrath his armies translocated deep into the Plane of Earth but despite his best efforts his armies are defeated and he escaped, barely surviving to Norrath. Proud of what his creations had achieved, Rallos Zek, the God of War came down to Norrath and led a second invasion himself with his demi god children Tallon and Vallon Zek. Their army successfully stormed the Plane of Earth which forever angered the Gods. His campaign was successful that they even and brought back the Gods of Earth – The Rathe Council and successfully slayed some of them on the site that would become Lake Rathetear. But after this long war continued, Rallos Zek’s armies were eventually defeated and pushed back to the Realm of Norrath. Angry at what had been done the Elemental Gods constructed Great Barrier, denying entry to lesser gods and mortals as well but the warlords punishment did not end there, for all of his creatures became cursed including Mithaniel Marr’s Minotaurs who had been taken under the wing of Rallos. Thousands of Ogres were slain and their empire collapsed around them. The Giants were spread from one end of the earth to the other, forced to flee their homes as the gods brought snow and ice to their previously lush lands. The Goblins were also cursed but no writing remains of their punishment as they no longer keep records of their history which some argue could be some indication to the severity of their curse. Attempting to escape the effects of the curse some Giants escape far to the south and cross the frigid barrier to Velious where they settled deep in the mountains of the dragon lands.

The Kromzek went to war with the Dragons and they would see a constant struggle until one day a blasphemous event occured – two dragons of different colour would mate and give bith to a prismatic offspring named Kerafyrm. This mating was against the laws of veeshan and Kildrukaun, Arch Priest of Veeshan ordered the parents be put to death and appointed himself custodian of the powerful prismatic dragon. A splinter group of dragons in this time saught to oversee and control these new races being deposited by the other gods and they formed The Ring of Scale and left for the other lands. Kildrukaun, furios over the division, insisted it was the Eternal Mother’s will for the dragon factions to reunite. He prophesied that Kerafyrm would lead The Claws of Veeshan in a great civil war against the Ring of Scale forcing the reunification, and thus fulfilling Veeshan’s will. Thus Kerafyrm sharpened his teeth, along with his tactical mind, upon the frozen battlefields of Velious. He ascended quickly within the Claws of Veeshan, obtaining the rank of general, and proving he was as shrewd as he was merciless. But no battle satiated this monstrous creature’s unrivaled lust for destruction and chaos. Eventually, the Council of Elders was forced to order Kerafyrm’s imprisonment.

Meanwhile in Takish’Hiz, Erollisi was found to be bearing child and traveled far to the Northlands with the elves of Tunaria to give birth to the Barbarian race among the snowy tundra and wastes of the giants now fallen empires. During these days, the Frogloks of the swamps rose up in an effort to save Mithaniel Marr from the clutches of Cazic Thule. Many fell and their efforts were futile but they never gave up hope and kept continuously launching their attacks. Some years on from then the Barbarians, driven by their love for the Marr twins reinforced the Frogloks and finally saved Mithaniel Marr, vanquishing the Avatar of Fear from Norrath.

Far across the oceans to the east on Kunark, Rile Sathir was fit to take the throne his father, Venril, had built. He became emperor over the Sathirian Empire and was served by legendary figures such as Chosooth the Vampire and Warlords Kurn Machta and Karatukus who he quickly dispersed to spread terror to the creatures and people of Kunark as well as forming an elite army, the Crusaders of the Greenmist. All would go well until nearly all of Kunark belonged to Sebilis save for a few pockets of cursed giants and dragons.

As the Iksar empire rapidly expanded, the Ring of Scale began to monitor this increasing threat. Trakanon, the large blue dragon advocated swift intervention against all the iksar. However the Ring voted him down and agreed to not intervene directly. But despite this, Trakanon and an army of younger dragons decided to intervene anyway and descended upon the fleet of Rile Sathir was he was at see. This triggered a spectacular war among the dragons that lasted for almost half a century. It was Atrebe Sathir who would take the throne of the Sebilisian empire and continue on with the war started by Trakanon. In his time as ruler he would create the Sarnak, a mixtured of iksar and dragon as well as Sokokar from the merging of dragon and froglok which the iksar used to take their fight to the dragons in the sky. For the next half a century the dragonkind would struggle against the airborne iksar army, Atrebe was succeeded by his son, Ganak Sathir and the war would meet it’s final conclusion over the Field of Bone with an aerial duel that would see the end of both Ganak and Jaled-Dar, the Leader of the Ring of Scale. Both were incinerated by magic and fire and the dragons retreated but not before destroying the imperial palace and all of ganak’s hatch-lings in a daring final blaze of revenge. Following the destruction of the Iksar empire, the remaining few began to reform old tribes under a council they named the Emerald Circle. Despite their efforts the Iksar were never able to return to the grandier of the Sathirian Empire and once again took to war amongst each other.

Back on Tunaria, Following his failure creating a race of Ydal, Innoruuk began a second attempt at creating a new race of elves. This time instead of working in the shadows he decide on a full scale assault on the Elven city of Takish’Hiz and he plucked the King and Queen directly from their throne and brought them to the Plane of Hate were he tortured them for centuries twisting their light goodly form into that of a new creature he named the Teir’Dal or Dark Elf as it is known today. Despite the Elves of Takish’Hiz’s attempts to recover their beloved King and Queen all attempts had failed. They were lost forever. It seems Innoruuk had been success in his plan and began his next stages by depositing the dark elves deep underground in the lands of Tunaria. It was in this time that some speak of violent clashes between the Elves and Dark Elves but it would not be this that would end the fall of the Elves of Takish’Hiz.

From the land of Faydwer, the Draves, a hearty band of short but strong folk would emerge from their city of Kaladim and venture out in the world. As they spread across Tunaria and beyond, a dwarven party sent to scout for resources, led by Colin Dain. Initially they had intended to setup a Quartz mine on the lands far west of Tunaria, known as Odus but are caught in a storm whilst sailing which ended up leaving them on Velious among the recently arrived curse-free Kromzek Giants and dragons of the Claws of Veeshan. Soon after this Colin Dain’s child is born Dain Frostreaver and create the outpost of Froststone but are soon found and attacked by the Kromzek. Colin Dain ordered his people to evacuate to the Great Wastes on Velious, sacrificing himself to protect his people. From this point onwards the velious dwarves would refer to themselves as the Coldain and their leaders as Dain in his honour. Soon after – the Crystal Caverns, a subterraining crystal filled cavern far below the wastes, are home to the dwarves for some time until they are once again attacked by the Kromzek. The Coldain are pushed even further back into the Great Divide led by Dain Frostreaver the II. It is here they found New Froststone, that they would later name Thurgadin. It was not the dwarves that suffered alone however, the Kromzek also marches on the dragon kind and the Claws of Veeshan struck back with force as well.

Throughout the rich history of norrath so far, the Burning Prince, Solusek Ro and child of Fennin Ro the God of Fire, had watched over all that had transpired on Norrath. Known for his hot temper, he looked down on Tunaria, the land of the elves and decided to make his mark on Norrath. Raising the land around the elven Elddar Forest and arched the great spine of the serpent mountains bringing heat and sun to the ancient forest. This event would forever doom the elves of tunaria and the lands that surrounded it despite the efforts of the elven King and Queen Tak’Yaliz.

Once again far to the East the broken Iksar empire of the Emerald Circle struggled to maintain order. As clans were fighting amongst each other the Froglok and Giant slaves of Sebilis began to revolt. All over Kunark, giants would attack forts and cities and it was at this moment that Trakanon would use this moment to finally return to begin what he started when he attacked Rile Sathir in ages past. To make matters worse, goblins lords fleeing the curse of the Gods from Faydwer would land on Kunark and begin their own attacks taking Karnors Castle. It would seem that the great story of the freed slaves of the shissar would finally come to an end.

Back on Tunaria, after the effects of Solusek Ro, the rivers ran dry and it rained less each year. During this time the prophetic Queen Elizerain came to power. However, despite the efforts of the elven druids they could not combat the change and they were only delaying the inevitable. Slowly the forest gave way to desert and eventually even the fair elven city of Takish’Hiz crumbled to the ground. The elves were forced to retreat Tunaria, leaving much of their greatness behind. It was during this time that a young Barbarian named Bayle Shiverfist would head south from the northlands were the barbarians had been created by erollisi so many ages ago. They traveled south, past the evacuated dwarven mines of Blackburrow and settle in the Karanas and a place they named Oceangreen. During this great movement of people the Gnolls of the Jaggedpine forest, north of the what would become Qeynos Hills, would also find a new home in the remains of Blackburrow. The barbarians would expand and prosper and newer and newer settlements would popup here and there. During this time Bayle Shiverfist would stumble upon an ancient artifact deep underwater in the remains of a goblin city that became known as the Staff of Theer. On returning it to the elders of his clan unleashed great chaos upon the barbarians and mysterious void storms began to occur all over the Plains of Karana. For the trouble he had caused he began a great quest with Twiddy Bobick on legendary airship Cloudskipper. The Trolls of Innothule would also find great pains from the void storms in this era – far south of the now waning Elddar Forest – a legion of shadowedmen struck their town of Grobb. One of it’s residents, Kruzz Skullcleaver, would meet with Bayle and his adventuring party and eventually join them on grand journey where they would meet with the Ring of Scale and eventually Queen Elizerain who was leading the last of the elves from Tunaria across the waters their new home on the land of Faydwer where they settled a new city named Felwithe but it would not be far into the future until their story would come to an end.

In this period on Kunark, the Crusaders of Rok Nilok, a band of Iksar, retake Karnors Castle from the Goblins but become cursed. On Tunaria, The barbarians civilisation advanced far more than it had done so far. They became cultured and civilised and their settlements became towns and cities. Legendary towns were formed such as Highpass Hold, Highbourne and Freeport and trade would flourish among the tribes. The barbarians became known as humans and they ventured all over Tunaria and even across the sea creating placessuch as Tanaan, a legendary temple and home to those that had been forsaken from their gods. The use of magic increased and eventually Geomancy was studied by the humans for the first time. It was in this time that Zan Fi created the Whistling Fist clan and traveled the world teaching the ideals of it’s order. As towns and settlements grew they began to join together and eventually a new Combine Empire was formed led by Tsaph Katta.

As the Empire grew it would naturally come into contact with most races of the world, even the darker Teir’Dal. Some teir’dal came and studied with the humans including a mage named Valdoartus Varsoon who became the first to solve the Ember Conundrums in the Archesian Order on his first attempt, including even displaying an eight Conundrum. For his efforts he is granted access to Planar Thaumaturgy and he began to open a portal to the planes bringing back all manner of artifacts such as the ivory teacup and the whisper of marr an egg that burns anything to a crisp.

A golden age for many races on norrath occured during this time; an enterprising group of humans led by captain Han Jensen discover Faydwer and Zan Fi’s order of peace and devotion to their control of the martial arts gained much followers on Tunaria and Kunark. New orders formed including the Ashen Order, Silent Fist Clan and Swifttail Caste on Kunark. Eventually Zan Fi, perhaps a gift from the gods for his efforts, would be granted a vision of a serene island where he was to build a grand tower. He followed no map, but rather listened to a mysterious song that seemed to guide his journey. This would eventually lead him to the island where the city of forsaken souls, Tanaan, had been built. On his arrival he formed the Lost Circle and created the tower he had dreamed of.

The Gnomish people of Ak’Anon also enjoyed a boom in their inventions during this period, creating a magical clockwork King to rule over their people – delivering them from an ancient conflict that had been occuring between their people for an age. It seemed that war was finally at an end for the whole world of Norrath and wishing to formalise the relationships of the Combine Empire with other races, Tsaph Katta hosted a grand banquet to invite the darker races to join the Combine Empire formerly. However, not all shared the inclusive and open stance Tsaph had towards other races – Seru, leader of the Combine Army poisoned Tsaph during this banquet and blamed the dark elves – beginning a great inquisition against the practices of dark magic and the evil races. It would be the darkest time for the combine empire and also it’s final destruction. The Empire split in two, the loyalists of Tsaph fleeing all corners norrath escaping Seru’s wrath and attempting to distract him while Tsaph Katta’s body was led away to a secret location by the Elves.

Eventually, having no where else to run, the Loyalists stumbled upon an ancient shissar city in the dreadlands of Kunark. After some study by their geomancers, made use of the ancient structure (that the Shissar had escaped to Luclin with centuries ago) and fled also to Luclin. Seru, furious of their escape followed soon after leaving the combine empire to finally fall without a leader and the humans to return to their separated states. Vallius Bayle and Sir William Taros were born, and a many great adventures were undertaken across norrath and into the depths of Tunaria where Vallius Bayle would discover the fabled weapon Soulfire in the Teir’Dal Duchy of the Dead.

The Qeynos Claymore was also located by Vallius Bayle who presented it to the human clans of the plains of karana. Great tournaments would take place known as The Gauntlett and this weapon would be granted to the victor who would lead their people for the years ahead. Sometime following this Sir William Taros would also form the Order of Marr, an order of religious knights for which Vallius Bayle would join. Vallius would eventually have a son he named Antonius Bayle who would later win the Gauntlett and unite the clans of the plains forming the City of Qeynos, events that would result in him being named The Great Unifier.

Meanwhile across the world many events took place. The Town of Shadowhaven was formed on Luclin by the remnants of the combine empire. A subterranian city that spanned the dark corridors of the nexus far beneath the surface on Luclin. Lcea Katta would also form Katta Castellum far away from Seru in the Tenebrous Mountains and Twilight Sea. Sanctus Seru would be formed by Seru’s Forces and he would eventually place himself in statis until the time Tsaph Katta was found. On Kuanrk the Amulet of Venril Sathir would be located and returned to it’s place in Charassis and a new iksar empire would be formed in Cabilis by an iksar known as Emperor Vekin. The elves also attempted to land on Kunark and create a settlement but were eventually thwarted by an iksar froglok army. Torsis would also fall during this period.

On Tunaria, In Freeport, the first shadow knight is created due to a pact with Innoruuk. The Freeport settlers would struggle against the Deathfist and Dark Elves attacks who would campaign against the walls in a battle known as the Long Night. Led by an elf named Aataltaal the many orders of Freeport they would overcome the Orcs but the people looked too close to Aataltaal for aid and he abandoned Freeport to leave them to find their own ruler.

In Qeynos they would also experience trouble caused by the ancient dark elf Valdoartus Varsoon – culminating in the qeynos guard burning of the Keep of Immortality. Gynok Moltor was also born who’s parents were eventually killed by gnolls of Blackburrow. Antonius Bayle the II was also crowned and petitioned to rename the land of Tunaria to Antonia among all the human races.

In other places such as the south of Tunaria, mysterious creatures called the Jal’Raeth would study the ancient ruins of the Xulous Empire. Being creatures of immortality they became obsessed with the plagued remains of this long dead race. They flocked to Castle Envar where pestilence filled the grounds of the ancient keep and became overwhelmed by the disease. Perhaps it was at this point that the Jal’Raeth became aware of the ancient obelisk that had once appeared in the center of the Xulous town for they have not been seen since save for one that would be known as Rodcet Nife. Rodcet was a renegade of his kind and and a pacifist, he sought to heal and enhance all manner of races throughout the realms of the universe. It is said for his actions he was ascended to godhood to become new God of Health, replacing Anashti’Sul. With his endless battle against the pestilent Xulous disease he descended on Qeynos in his strange circular craft and met with the people helping heal their plagues and disease. For this the Celestial Watch would be formed in Qeynos and the many orders that would worship Rodcet Nife, the Prime Healer.

In Faydwer, the first Ayr’Dal (Half Elf) would be born to Amber and Fendel – in Highpass, HighKeep would be founded by the Sean McCabe, the father of Carson McCabe who would eventually dominate trade on most of norrath. Erud would also be born and lead the scholars of Highbourne across the ocean to found Arcadin far to the west on the land of Odus.

It was after this period that most would refer to it as the beginning of the age of enlightenment. Antonius Bayle III would be crowned. Arcadin would be renamed Erudin in honour of Erud and the Erudites would eventually split into two factions and begin to study necromancy in their city they named Paineel – these events eventually resulted in a massive magical war between the Erudites and Heretics. The results would blow a hole in the land of odus so big and so high that it flew all the way to Luclin (unfortunately taking the native Kerran Vah’Shir with it) and creating a vast chasm in the earth people refer to as simply ‘The Hole’.

During this era Miragul would master the three schools and eventually begin to dabble with the dark arts. Using his unrivaled skills of illusions he was able to slip in and out of erudin and paineel with ease and eventually double cross Erudin stealing all manner of artifacts for which the erudites of Erudin will never forget. It has been said he has visited the lands of Lesser Faydark and spoken with the ancient vampire Mayong Mistmoore and engaged with The Dead of Neriak. Miragul travelled all over Tunaria and eventually settled in the lands of the north where he plagued the barbarians during his time there building his menagerie we he searched for an answer to his mortality and eventually became trapped within a phylactery of his own making.

Qeynos would see Ebon Strongbear and Eaaron Huntlan lead a successful victory against the Sabertooths of Blackburrow, Antonius Bayle the III would become known as the Great Diplomat for increasing relations with the rival city of erudin on Odus and aiding with tensions against the erudites and heretics. He would also father several sons of the bayle lineage known as Kyle Bayle (who would be charged with extending the borders of Qeynos far to the south), Antonius Bayle the IV (who would eventually take the crown) and Kane Bayle.

Mithaniel Marr would also descend on Norrath calling on the people of norrath to lead a war against the undead rising in Faydwer that became known as The Crusade of Tears. This resulted in Lucan D’lere, a Knight of Truth being left in charge of Freeport while the armies were away. The House of Everling, a family renowned for their trade of rare artifacts and trinklets would also see it’s personal mausoleum removed from Freeport by Lucan. Lucan would also become corrupt and murder Sentry Dilius in his reign over freeport as well as refusing to hand power back to to the Knights of Truth when they returned from the Crusade of Tears, causing an eternal fight between the knights and his lucan’s new militia.

Antonius Bayle IV would travel often to the jaggedpine forest and become good friends with Frenway Marthank. He trained with Ebon Strongbear and Kane Bayle in the Hall of Steel where became good friends with Milea Clothspinner – resulting in a great quest decreed by Antonius Bayle III for Milea, Frenway, Vhalen Nostrolo and Antonius IV to take the Qeynos Claymore to distant lands where he met with Lady Shae and Mayor Grubbin and eventually arrived in Lesser Faydark where Mayor Gubbin found his fortune enough to become mayor of the Halfling town of Rivervale. From this quest Antonius Bayle IV became romantically involved with Lady Shae but it was eventually broken off by the Circle of Ten (an advisory council in Qeynos) and the elves of Felwithe. Shortly after these events Antonius Bayle the III, known now as the Great Diplomat would eventually pass away and Antonius Bayle would be crowned king and usher in the Age of Turmoil.

Shortly after his crowning Kane Bayle, brother of Antonius, was made Captain of the Guard where he became lulled into involvement with the Bloodsabers, a dark clan of Bertoxxulous worshippers far under the city of Qeynos. He plotted endlessly with them for the control of Qeynos while Antonius was blissfully unaware. During this period Valdoartus Varsoon, the dark elf of the combine empire began to influence the bloodsabers into a dark alliance. In the Temple of Life, the area of Qeynos dedicated to paladins and healers and their gods, the troll Xicotl attempts to steal the legendary weapon Soulfire but only makes away with the hilt.

Soon after the alliance between the Bloodsabers and Valdoartus Varsoon their plans were successful and a great plague spread across the Karana killing countless people. Some say even Bertoxxulous walked the land in these dark times but Varsoon was successfully defeated by adventurers and escaped. A body was discovered for Varsoon and was promptly burned and the ashes laid in a crypt within the Qeynos Hills. The Elves of Faywder attempted their second landing on the continent of Kunark and establish a city named Firiona Vie, named after one of the High Elven kings daughters. The Dark Elves also found themselves a home on the opposite side of Kunark and established a city in the remains of an old iksar city. Firiona Vie was captured by Danak but eventually rescued by the great erudite wizard Al’Kabor and others. Firiona Vie would later have her memories wiped by the Ring of Scale and would return to front them with Al’Kabor.

Gnomish Pirates discover a passage through the frigid barrier with a grand ship they named The Icebreaker and soon many races begin to travel to Velious where relations are built between the Coldain of Thurgadin and the Kromzek of Kael Drakkal. As the races explored the lands and adventurers saught treasures in ancient dragon homes and temples a great threat was unleashed as Kerafyrm, The Sleeper was awoken who subsequently left his tomb and attacked the dragon city of Skyshrine, believing to have killed it’s leader Lord Yelinak.

Al’Kabor on his journey to Kunark with Firiona Vie began to study the gigantic Quadroliths used by the Shissar and Combine to escape from Norrath to Luclin. From this knowledge he opened the first portal since the combine era to the land of Luclin where a relationships was built once again with the lost people of Shadow Haven and the world of norrath. The Vah Shir were also discovered on Luclin and many new races including the hostile Akheva, Vampires and Grimlings.

Soon after these events strange books began to appear around the world of norrath that appeared to be direct links to the Plane of Knowledge. There in the city of New Tanaan as it was called, perhaps related to the ancient city of Tanaan built years past, requested aid from adventurers to help recover the lost god Zebuxorok from the Plane of Time. Many mortals invaded all manner of the planes of gods, slaughtering god after god on their quest to save Zebxurok. In the final battle on the Plane of Time against a mighty beast known as Quarm, Zebuxorok was finally released. However, Druzill Ro appeared before the mortals and reversed time for their actions. The Gods convened and began to make the decision to leave norrath. Some Gods made plans for a final parting gift to norrath, some chose mortal avatars to represent them on norrath and others decided simply to leave norrath behind.

As the Gods began to depart the curse that had long lasted over the giants, ogres and other races began to fade and a new Age of War dawned on Norrath. Soon after a mighty war between the Teir’Dal and Elves of Faydwer took places resulting in the defeat of the Dark Elves. An attack also took place on Neriak itself, forcing the Teir’Dal to seal the entrance to their city until some time in the future. Solusek and Rallos Zek’s Daiku Warriors launched an attack on the Nexus, bringing a gigantic crystal that had been siphoning the power of the plane of fire into the center of the nexus. Many were slaughtered and then all travel between norrath and luclin simply ended – it is unsure what with Luclin’s settlers after that.

Rallos Zek’s avatar appears before the ogres with Soulfire in hand and With the might of the ogres now growing from the end of the curse, a rallosian army was once again built and spread across Norrath led by General Urduuk. Gukta was the first to fall to the Ogres and Freeport was to be next. But the forces of men rallied and The Battle of Defiance began. But foolishly for the ogres who were also marching through Feerott, they also attacked the Temple of Cazic Thule – breaking an ancient promise unleashing the Greenmist on the forces of the New Rallosian Empire – the armies were annihilated much like the Shissar of old – in the ensuing end, Lucan D’Lere takes the Soulfire from the Avatar of War and returns victorious to the people of Freeport.

Shortly after the departure of the Gods and the battle of defiance the lands of Norrath begin to twist and writhe with massive earthquakes all over the land. Antonica is forever split into several islands seperating most of the landmass and sinking others. To make matters worse, Lucin appeared bright in the sky for a moment and then shattered across the sky raining debris all over the lands killing countless people.

And so we look back on the good and bad times that norrath has experienced. Great empires have grown and fallen to ashes. The people have prospered and suffered. Great wars of magic and steel have peppered the years of old and although those times are now long past we wonder about the future. For some say the greatest challenges lay yet ahead.. as tales are whispered in taverns of Kerafyrm and the pantheon returning – of stories of ancient prophecies, banished gods and shadowy figures approaching rapidly on the horizon in this, The Age of Destiny.