The Dawn World

The history of the Dawn World is vast and spans across more than a thousand years and has traces of events even dating even further back than the recorded ages.

Age of Eldor
Little is known about the age during which the world is said to have been created. Although many scholars and priests claim to know the truth about the origins of the Dawn World, none can truly say for sure which version is objectively the one that shall be proven right.

According to all of the most widely spread religions, however, the belief that an ancient entity known as Eldor created the foundation upon which the rest of the world was created, remains the same.

Age of Titans
The creatures referred to as Titans were the Giant warlords in the North and the ancient Dragons in the Far South. These being were considered mighty and dangerous by the humans and elves that lived mostly in the South. As human population began to grow, they realized that they would need more land to live upon. Rather than waging war against their elven comrades with whom they shared kingdoms, they sought their way up north, deciding that the giants were the easiest target among the two types of Titans.

The war between giants and humans was atypical among wars. Rather than two great armies clashing with one another, the war on giants consisted of one army against a number of Titan warlords. Although the lands in which the giants lived were vast, their population was very small, especially in relation to the area of their kingdoms.

For centuries, the battle continued, the humans slowly making their way up through the North. The great turning point, however, occurred when the forces of the South began to crush their opponents, were when the Giants decided to launch a campaign against Aequoria in hopes of recovering the many magical artifacts in their possession. As some of the greatest warlords of the Giant kin were performing an assault on the island nation off the western shores of the North, Jilysis Solesthra, hailed by many as a prophet, sank the island below the surface of the Vortex sea, drowning the warlords in the process.

With some of its greatest warriors gone, the giants were forced to retreat past the Icebound Mountains. With their minds dead set on crushing their enemies, both the human armies along with Solesthra’s forces pursued their foes beyond the mountains, killing the storm giant emperor, Fureon, and nearly causing the giants to go extinct.

Realizing their defeat, giants ambushed the human forces in an act of desperation as they made their way back to their newly conquered lands, and managed to slay their leader, the famous Solesthra. Although the armies of the South could now prosper in the result of their victory, the losses had been great and would take them centuries to recover from.

During the war, the Far South saw significant changes in their political system. News of a mysterious new ruler reached the north, along with the disappearance of the Elders, ancient dragons and leaders of the Great Families. Although the attempted explanations for the vanishing of these dragons varied, they all ceased to have contact with their clans. Over the coming years, the ten dragon clans would unite under one banner, forming the empire of Draxonia, led by the Iridescent Emperor.

Age of Magic
As the greatest threat to humans and elves, the Titans, disappeared from the face of the Dawn World, mages began to realize that they were now the most powerful known beings. A small circle of these arcanists was formed, calling themselves the Arcanum, and slowly expanded, offering fellow magic users great benefits if they were to join.

Many mages let themselves be tempted by the many promises of the newly founded organization, and helped them grow in power and allowed them to gain control over important arcane resources. As the Arcanum expanded, mages outside the guild began to worry, as it was a well known fact that those who opposed the mighty organization would rarely live long. More mages joined out of fear, and none dared leave. Within only a few years of its creation, the Arcanum had weaved a network of magic users that included almost all significant magicians that were known to them.

Using, or according to some, abusing their powers, the Arcanum made the masses dependent on their services. Political figures who required mages in their service had a hard time staying away from the Arcanum, and often had the pressure of their neighbours on them. Even kings and queens of the great North and South feared the might of the Arcanum, and payed them great sums of coin for their services, further expanding their influence.

Within a decade of its founding, the Arcanum was no longer just a network of mages working together in their research, but had become a political machine, driven by greed and now controlling the larger part of the Dawn World. Entire kingdoms lay under their control, afraid that they would be crushed if they opposed the Arcanum's rule. Some nations attempted revolts, but the mages in their service would immediately turn against them as the leadership of the Arcanum would order surrounding nations to launch full campaigns of war against them, aided by as many arcanists as it required.

Over the centuries, the discontent grew among the people of the Dawn World. The Arcanum’s clear hatred against the gods, and the way important religious figures would disappear at the slightest sign of opposition or questioning had turned the public against their masters. Soon, plots were formed by escaped members of the Arcanum itself, and an army was trained to become Null-Magi, using an art of anti-magic techniques to counter the mages of the unofficial empire they would be facing.

At the turn of the millenium, as the thousandth year of the Arcanum’s reign was approaching, the members of the High Table had arranged a great celebration in the Turris Arcanum in Magaecia. During the great party, where mages from all the Dawn World’s corners had been gathered, hundreds upon hundreds of Null-Magi prepared themselves for a strike. With less than an hour left until midnight, as Arch-Mage Julian Arcsworth was beginning his speech, the doors to the great hall of the tower burst open and the Null-Magi swarmed through. A slaughter ensued, only dozens of the many hundreds of Null-Magi falling as the Arcanum’s fall had been initiated. Where thousands of mages had stood just moments before, only blood, guts and tattered, formerly elegant, robes remained.

As the leader of the Null-Magi, Brutus, stepped up to the podium and announced the Arcanum formally ended and called for the purge on all arcanists, midnight was upon them, and the Age of Magic behind them.

Age of Man
The time had finally come for humankind to be its own masters, devoid of any supernatural entities to rule over them, or otherwise restrict their freedom. As the Arcanum’s fall had begun, a purge on any surviving arcanists had been issued by the, now, free nations of the North and South.

For seven years, Null-Magi hunted the surviving members of the Arcanum like cats would chase mice. Most surviving mages would make attempts to escape to the descendants of the giants in the Far North, or to the draconic people of the Far South, but many fell as they tried to cross borders or restore supplies for the journey.

It didn’t take long before the general population of the Dawn World made their slow return to their old customs from before the Age of Magic. Worship of the divine started to make its way back into the public as temples and churches were restored across the lands.

Many of the rulers of the many nations of both the North and South seized the opportunity revealed by the ensuing chaos and turned on their neighbors, attempting to secure more power in the quickly changing world. Most noticeably among the changes is the creation of Belaeron, formerly Lower Thromera, as they won a difficult war for their independence.

Eventually, after seven years of mage killings, a treaty was signed by all nations of the Dawn World, agreeing to stop the slaughter. Instead, the kings and queens now sent out word to any surviving mages that their service would be greatly rewarded at their courts. The few mages that were still alive suddenly became very valuable assets, as arcane abilities in a world nearly entirely drained of magic users is vital to maintain control over a kingdom.

Despite the people’s antagonistic view of mages and many nobles feeling threatened by their existence, the arcane soon became an important part in society once more, only this time it had become something exclusive. Peasants could only dream of having access to magic, nobles would fight over scraps of magical artifacts and even kings would struggle to recruit a proper wizard or sorcerer. Now the world stands alone, almost completely devoid of the arcane; struggling to survive the harsh conditions. Challenges that would be no match for a powerful mage of the Arcanum now lay waste to the lands, threatening to destroy the world.

Calendar
The Dawn World's calendar is made up of 14 months, each consisting of 28 days, starting with spring in Burgeon's Dawn, and ending with winter in Desolation's Dusk. A year in the Dawn World is 392 days