All events are listed in years after the fall (AF) of the Seleucarian Empire.

16th of Aeguary, 172 AF:

Modern Age of Achaea begins.

Other notable events in 172 AF:

Erebus becomes first mortal to enter Achaea.
Modern guilds are founded:

Gawain becomes the first player to kill another, dealing out righteous justice to the chaotic Harlequin.

174 AF:

Rurin, the Crafter, opens the first of his many shops in Ashtan.
The philosopher Epicurus begins taking students.

175 AF:

Haidion, the Wanderer, discovers the plainspeople village of Tomacula.

176 AF:

Servelan de Vermiis opens her infamous Loving Heart's Orphanage, at which lost children may be enrolled.
Some start to suspect that the orphanage has a more nefarious purpose than formally stated.
The Buckawns and Dryads clash, leading to deadly animosity between them.

177 AF:

The druids Portis and Buckthorn open their Crystal Leaf Inn.
Servelan de Vermiis becomes Secretary of the Occultists guild.

178 AF:

The modern Priest guild is founded by Father Odysseus.
Thoth, the Deathgod, reveals himself to mortal eyes.

182 AF:

Sarapis, the Logos, reveals to all that the Loving Heart's Orphanage is, as many suspected, guilty of murdering the orphans it claimed to protect.

184 AF:

The Kharon Empire is formed. The Overlords of the Empire are Servelan de Vermiis, Grandmaster Laergon, Uldrais the Masked Assailant. The Sentaari, led by Aeschylus, form a temporary alliance with the Church to fight it.

185 AF:

Servelan de Vermiis becomes the first person of the modern age to attain the rank of guildmaster, known in the Occultists as The Demiurge.

186 AF:

Tarkun, a rogue Kharon, and Isildur and Mausolus, two Occultists, begin to sow the seeds of dissent in the Empire with continual in-fighting.

Cactus weed is discovered to be a euphoria-inducing substance, and becomes popular among some of the Druids and Serpentlords.

187 AF:

Morpheus, of the Endless, is thrown out of the Occultists by Servelan de Vermiis after he attacked her. The Kharon guild defends him and lets him into their ranks. These are the final nails in the coffin of the Kharon Empire, and it dissolves due to internal strife.

189 AF:

The de Vermiis art gallery opens in Ashtan. Public opinion is positive, though it has some art which depicts the Church in a rather unfair light.

190 AF:

Journals written by Servelan de Vermiis, detailing experiments involving the organs from the brains of children are discovered.

The Arboretum of Enlightenment is opened by Servelan.

Servelan completes an intricate, magical experiment involving the Loving Hearts Orphanage, the de Vermiis gallery, and the Arboretum of Enlightenment. She summons and merges with the Unnamable Horror and is reborn into Eris, Goddess of Chaos.

Azhrarn, a young Serpentlord, discovers the ancient, underground library of the Lorewardens, now overrun by goblins and the minions of Lachesis, the Spider Queen, in the Dakhota hills.

Galadriel, a Druid, gives her life to re-awaken Gaia, the Earthmother, in order to defend the realm from the chaos released by the Ascension of Eris.

Sir Gawain opens his Halfway house in Ashtan, in order to provide an alternative to the murderous de Vermiis orphanage.

191 AF:

During an attempt to repeat Eris' experiment, Mordyval, an Occultist, unleashes the Spawn of the Unnamable Horror.

Haidion, the Wanderer, finds passage through the western Vashnar mountains, and discovers the redwood Aalen forest, in which lies the long-forgotten racial homeland of the Tsol'aa race.

193 AF:

The Gods grant the gift of Divine Grace to mortal-kind.

The Celani Hermes wins a bet with Raclawice, Goddess of Rogues and Gamblers, and gains her power to become the god Hermes, the Messenger.

The God of Justice, Dunamis, is able to escape his imprisonment on another plane through the sacrifice of Tassad Barsalan. He is renamed Deucalion, God of Justice.

The Mahtsuhama Arena opens on the Isle of Delos.

196 AF:

Sarapis throws a now-legendary party in the Crystal Leaf Inn. Drakhen drinks himself to death, and in a strangely romantic gesture, Zandramas and Lufton intentionally drink to death in each others arms.

Cobra, formerly a Serpentlord, leads a group of former Serpentlords to Ashtan and founds the Shadowsnake guild in the newly-rediscovered, magically-preserved, sunken ship of Callisto and Sinope.

The first wedding in Achaea's modern age takes place. Changcoix and Morlana are married in the Wedding Chamber of Maya, in the Chrysalis Basilica.

198 AF:

Sarapis, the Logos creates Aeyr, God of Magic.

Twilight, God of Darkness, emerges from the shadows to once again participate in the intrigues He so loves.

200 AF:

The Kharon monks, led by Morpheus, declare the Kharon Empire, and claim dominion over Sapience.

The skill of magical tattooing is discovered. Isildur is the first to master it.

The Sentaari, led by Laergon, foment rebellion against the Kharon.

A tournament of games and contests of skills is held in memory of the Fall of the Selucarian Empire, 200 years before. Isildur triumphs, and wins the Staff of Nicator.

The Kharon are forced to dissolve their Empire, due mainly to an inability to be taken seriously.

201 AF:

Sarapis, the Logos, holds a poetry competition, and Tancred Lasalle emerges as the shining star of the Sapience literary scene with his epic, "Final Resting for Travian Shea."

202 AF:

Treant leads some of the more aggressive Druids to form a new guild, the Sentinels, in Shallam.
They master new metamorphosis forms, including Icewyrm, Gorilla, and Bear.

Ashtan and Shallam both convert to limited democracies, and free elections take place for the positions of Archon and Vizier.

203 AF:

Sarapis, seeing a growing trend towards excessive violence, creates Oneiros, God of Peace.

206 AF:

Oneiros opens his temple in the village of Shastaan, near the ocean.

208 AF:

The Coming of the Morning Star. A massive pit in space called Abaddon collides with a gigantic star. Abaddon cannot contain the star, and the two explode. All life on Sapience, save for some Mhun living in the bottom levels of Moghedu, and one mortal human named Clark, perishes in an instant. Two new Gods are created: Aurora, Goddess of Light, and Apollyon, the Malefactor. Vastar, God of the Skies, who has been long absent from mortal affairs returns and cleans the lingering radiation from the skies.

The Flame of Yggdrasil is rediscovered.

209 AF:

Gaia, gone half-mad, infected by a demon of chaos, slays Twilight, God of Darkness, breaking an aeons-old oath not to directly harm another God. Twilight, with the assistance of Eris, Aurora, and Oneiros, bind Gaia, and imprison her in the Gaian Tree as punishment.

The Kharon start yet another Empire which dissolves as quickly as it began.

211 AF:

Achaea's first polygamous wedding. Gijan, Snow, and Anniara marry each other.

Gijan, guildmaster of the Kharon, is cast out of Ashtan and begins a personal war on Ashtan. Although he initially has some triumphs, he is soon overwhelmed by Ashtan's superior numbers and draws in some of his inner circle in the Kharon to help him. Ashtan declares war on the the Kharon.

212 AF:

Eris gives Her support to Twilight, who brings darkness to the forests of Achaea. His revenge over Gaia, now called Oathbreaker, is complete.

Aurora, discovering that Gaia had been corrupted by a seed of insanity, informs the mortals that she, Hermes, and Oneiros will assist them in releasing Gaia. After much work by Gaia's loyal followers, she is freed. The energy that is released upon this event causes the lower depths of the dungeon of Azdun to be once more accessible. The Vampire Lord Zsarachnor makes himself known as the ruler of the lower depths.

The Kharon, recognizing the futility of their position, return to Ashtan and pledge their support to it.

213 AF:

The Vampire Lord Zsarachnor demands the removal of all shrines from Azdun.

Ashtan tears down the benevolent Halfway House for orphans, preferring that its orphans be taken to the de Vermiis orphanage to be killed.

214 AF:

Zsarachnor posts vampire guards in the Chrysalis Basilica to slay members of the Church. Some various Shallamese citizens, led by Rezzo, a priest, slay them. Zsarachnor warns that there will be reprisals.

Sarapis unveils the game of freeze tag, played in the Matsuhama Arena.

216 AF:

Elsdragon, leader of the Sentaari, wins a series of six competitions held by the Gods. His prize is a tower, built with divine assistance.

217 AF:

Ashtan declares war on the Church, claiming that the shrines the Church erects are weapons of mass destruction. Ashtan demands the removal of all shrines outside of a limited area around Shallam.

In order to provide a safe place for orphans subsequent to the tearing down of the Halfway House by Ashtan, Aurora, Goddess of Light, organizes a choir in the Chrysalis Basilica, where orphans may lead safe, happy lives.

Banks open in Shallam and Ashtan.

218 AF:

The war widens as Shallam declares that an attack on members of the Church is an attack on Shallam. Darthus, the powerful leader of the unaligned Serpentlords, declares his support for Shallam.

Ashtan and Shallam, being in states of war, employ archers to assist in the slaying of invading city enemies.

219 AF:

Shin, Maran, and Dalamar, speaking for the Church in place of the absent Archprelate, Isildur, negotiate with Nimos and Gijan, representatives of Ashtan, in order to gain peace. They are successful, though the Church is forced to accept limitations on where it may place its shrines.

221 AF:

Hashan begins to grow, as it begins accepting new citizens.

222 AF:

Sartan, Lord of Evil announces His existence to mortalkind. Previously known as Shaitan, he had attacked and absorbed the new God, Apollyon.

223 AF:

Sartan Releases the Seven Truths of Evil, which champion strength and might as right.

224 AF:

Gambling parlours open in both Ashtan and Shallam, and for a time, roulette is all the rage in the monied set.

227 AF:

Gaia, Goddess of nature forms The Council of Oakstone to combat the city of Hashan. She calls for all citizens of Hashan to quit Hashan, claiming that they are being duped by Twilight, God of Darkness. Plans for the expansion of Hashan into a city on par with Ashtan and Shallam begin.

228 AF:

The War of Achaea ends, with Ashtan conquering much of the land, and marching its troops into Shallam. Sarapis commands that all hostilities must cease, and orders all troops to stand down.

229 AF:

Shallam begins taxation of shops inside of its walls. It causes commotion, but little else.

230 AF:

Sartan opens the Infernals, whose first Guildmaster is Sinistar.

Workmen of Hashan begin to cut trees down in the Ithmia to make room for its expansion.

Gaia, outraged at the betrayal of the forests by Firefox and other Druid or Sentinel members of Hashan's government, declares Firefox an enemy of the forests. She calls on Lupus, wild God of the Beasts for aid, and he unleashes a plague of werewolves to terrorize Hashan. Twilight and Hashan quickly pacify Lupus and the expansion goes on as planned.

234 AF:

Irontounge and the occultists declare war on the Church. Shortly there after, the government of Ashtan declares that it will not honour the old treaty, and declares war.

After a period of intense hostilities, both sides agree to re-open treaty negotiations. They meet in the temple of Peace.

235 AF:

Cronono becomes a Celani and Chronicler of Achaea.

A cease-fire is called in the great Ashtan-Shallam war.

Disputes over the subsequent treaty quickly arise.

Tylin betrays Shallam, and the Order of Light, and joins Ashtan, significantly altering the balance of power for a time. He suffers greatly under the wrath of Aurora, patron of Shallam.

236 AF:

In what surely be one of the most epochal events to take place since the Day of Creation, Sarapis decides that the long-imprisoned Lorielan has truly reformed, and releases the Jade Empress from her prison on the Crystal Plane of the Kx'khrah. Nearly at the same time, Aegis, who had long journyed the most remote plains spreading war to the further corners of Creation, returns His attention to Sapience.

Lotash brings news that Bearnath and the cultists are trying to summon the Beastlord to this plane of existence.

237 AF:

Cynne Ravenwind organizes a Festival of Thanksgiving to the Logos.

238 AF:

Cynne organizes another festival, this time in honour of Lupus.

Hashan formally withdraws from the treaty, citing blatant disregard for it by other signatories as the reason.

239 AF :

Ashtan formally withdraws from the treaty, essentially ending it. Oakstone offers to mediate a new treaty.

240 AF :

Hashan formally posts a complete Canon of its laws for all to see, composed mainly be Elentari, the Seneschal of Hashan. Ashtan and Shallam rush to copy her work.

Through the offering of the Spawn of the Unnamable Horror, Eris is awakened into the land after a twenty year slumber.

In return for Gaia's slaying of the Spawn, Eris removes the Unicorn's horn. Mandrake Diamante, Druidess Esther and Ithan, with aid from Nita Le'Murzen, are able to scavenge the proper ingredients for creating the metacure elixir, which they use to restore the horn to the Unicorn.

Dead sparrows and robins are found littering the land, their hearts burst from their bodies. An insane old man is found roaming the land, raving about 'Death's Heart' and a prophecy that begins with the death of the children of air.

Dead geese and swans are found, their hearts similarly burst from their chests.

All orphans in the land disappear. The old man claims that the disappearance of the lost children is the second part of the Death's Heart prophecy.

Meetings are called among the various factions of the land, and it is decided that the threat the old man speaks of is the return of the Tsol'teth. They are wrong.

Strange chantings are heard, carried on the wind, from the Shamtota hills, and a bright white light, and an image of a temple projected onto the clouds, is seen far to the north.

Pryla'ka, a Tsol'dasi priestess of Life appears in a Temple to the north. She is the first Tsol'dasi to reveal itself since the dawn of mankind. She claims that someone called the Quisalar is gathering death energy for an unknown purpose, and that in order to stop him, the corpses of the dead sparrows, robins, swans, and geese must be brought, so that she may utilize the latent death energies in them to combat the Quisalar and his Quisalis cultists. The Quisalar makes similar demands, and when Maran, Sultan of Shallam tells him they will not assist the Quisalar in his plan to bring back Thoth, the Quisalar attacks, saying that either all will join him, or they will serve him in their deaths.

Unable to discover the location of the Temple, the Great Mhunna, leader of Moghedu, and a famous campaigner as a young Mhun, volunteers to assist, and an expedition consisting of the Mhunna, Warmaster, Cooper, Aringar, Fuu, Perseon, Thorgon, Armelia, Thalen, and Jem set out to discover it, and succeed.

People supporting Pryla'ka or the Quisalar begin working hard to collect the dead birds, laden with lingering death magic, and bring them to the Priestess of Life or the Quisalar.

241 AF :

Achaea is largely polarized over Death's Heart. On one side is Shallam and some of the more nature-loving Druids and Sentinels. The other side is led by Twilight and His Order, with support made up of various citizens of Ashtan and Hashan.

Though the Shallamese and the others opposing the Quisalar make a strong effort, those backing the Quisalar manage to bring him enough death energy to complete the construction of Death's Heart. Twilight and His Order have manipulated most into believing that the purpose of Death's Heart is to awaken Thoth from His slumber, though this is not the case. Immediately upon the construction of the Heart, a battle of epic proportions takes place, with Maran, Sultan of Shallam, leading the attack against Twilight's Order. Death abounds on both sides.

Soon after near-total war breaks out over the Heart, another issue nearly disrupts the alliances formed over the Heart. A rogue Serpentlord, Nuitari, gets very heavy pressure from Twilight and the Serpentlords to come back to the fold, as they wish to ensure that the two serpent guilds can effectively control the distribution of the so-called "illegal" venoms. Nuitari balks and is persecuted, greatly upsetting his patron, Aegis, God of War.

In order to strike back at Twilight's order, Aegis allies his with the Order of Light, but soon Twilight makes a deal with Aegis. Under the terms of the deal, Dalamar, Nuitari, and Cooper have to make restitution to the Infernals, whose influence Twilight was courting, for robbing their store, and Dalamar has to make resitution to Elentari's Hashan. Partially due to Twilight's influence, Sinistar, guildmaster of the Infernals, soon chooses Aegis, God of War, as Patron, displacing the apparently uncaring Sartan, Lord of Evil.

The fight over Death's Heart waxes and wanes, but hostility is high. Many are unsure of the motives of the Quisalar, and those of Pryla'ka. Initially out-numbered, the Shallamese organize under the leadership of Maran, Echo, and the Archprelate of the Church, Isildur. They gain the upper hand initially but soon the discipline and power of those in the Order of Darkness such as Napoloen, the Grand Shadow, Overseer of Ashtan, overwhelm them and the Heart grows.

242 AF :

However, soon, Sinistar converses with the Quisalar, and, discovering that he opposes undeath, the powers of which the Infernals use, decides to withdraw his support, and this, along with increased intervention by Druids and Sentinels like Galdrion Longshanks, tips the balance in favour of Shallam and its allies. Despite a massive last-ditch attack led by Napoloen, the Shallamese manage to nearly destroy the Heart.

Deucalion announces that it is over, that the impending doom that would have been caused by the Quisalar's victory has been averted. It is revealed that the Quisalar was working for Twilight the full time. Their plan was to dupe people who wouldn't normally support Twilight into unwittingly supporting him. The Heart would be caused to grow, and finally explode, releasing massive quantities of death. This would cause a chain reaction, as each dying being added to the total quantity of energy. Using the remains of the Heart, Twilight hoped to focus this astronomical amount of energy at the slumbering Thoth, slay him, and add Thoth's essence to His own, greatly increasing His power. In the process though, all life on Sapience would have perished.

Sensing victory, Pryla'ka travelled to the Heart, and challenged the Quisalar. The Quisalar, no longer powerful enough to have a hope of defeating a Tsol'dasi Priestess of Life, made a last desperate rush at Pryla'ka, but failed. She banished him to eternal sleep.

Pryla'ka begins attempting to safely dismantle what is left of Death's Heart, essentially a powerful bomb of death energy now. She fails, becoming overloaded with energy, and screaming that she cannot hold it. Some mortals, among them Khaseem and Cynne, refuse to leave the scene, and die upon the explosion of the Heart. So powerful is the explosion that life for a hundred miles around looks likely to perish in a flash, until, with unexpected, total sacrifice, Deucalion, God of Righteousness, attempts to contain the blast. So powerful is it, even in its much-weakened state, that he cannot contain the energy, and his essence is dispersed across Creation. In a final gesture of compassion, he manages to grant all mortalkind the ability to reincarnate and wipe clean their moral slate. Sarapis permits their souls to choose from five new races: Grook, Xoran, Rajamala, Horkval, and Atavian. Choruses of cheers erupt from around the land, as total disaster is averted. Shallam and its Druidic and Sentinel allies receive formal congratulations from representatives of many of the leaders of the land, such as the Great Mhunna and the mayor of Thera.

In a gesture of peace, Shallam and the Church offer formal pardons for any crimes committed during Death's Heart. Darkness and its allies brood, but begin hatching new plans immediately. Peace will not last long.

On a somewhat less serious note, Kona Diamante and Lemon Ni'Choya spent much of the year battling it out in an undeclared war of poetry.

243 AF:

Gijan undergoes a conversion, betrays the Order of Twilight, leaves the Kharon and styles himself “Healer of Shallam.” He becomes one of the staunchest defenders of his former nemesis, although many suspect that treachery still lurks within his heart and that he merely bides his time before betraying the Jewel of the East.

The Sentinels Guild, citing philosophical differences with the Divine Patron of Hashan, sue for permission to leave the city and are granted such leave, although many of the guild’s members remain citizens.

244 AF:

The perennial battles of swords and words between the Church and its sworn enemies continue to rage. Citizens of the city-states become more concerned with the defenses of their respective domains as the hostilities become more heated and war breaks out between the Church of Shallam and the Infernals of Ashtan.

Entering the fray on a philosophical and theological level are those, including the Druids, who debate whether the ecclesiastical practice of sanctifying shrines through the blood of sacrificed creatures, and the use of demonic entities are much different from certain practices of the Infernals.

In a stunning act of betrayal, Borknagar, Treasurer of Shallam, empties the city’s treasury and flees to Ashtan, having funneled tens of thousands of gold pieces to Ashtan’s coffers and leaving Shallam penniliess and ridiculed by her ancient foe. Borknagar reveals that he has been an agent of Ashtan, on a secret mission for Mistral, Guildmistress of the Shadowsnakes, all along. Although most of the Divinities of Achaea are publicly silent on the matter, Miramar and Lorielan express their rage at his treachery in no uncertain terms.

245 AF:

Mical Selvaetiim becomes the first mortal in the history of Sapience to reach the eightieth Circle of Enlightenment and is honoured by Sarapis with the title of Logosian.

Dingo ignites a fierce debate on the shape of Achaea. Many claim to know that it takes the shape of a sphere. Others insist that it is flat. Eventually Sarapis, the Logos, deigns to answer the question concerning His creation but mortal minds prove incapable of comprehending this boon. Many are driven mad in their attempts to unravel His answer, their subsequent words unintelligible rantings. Some are shocked into catatonic silence, but the debate continues.

In an attempt to protect what they perceive as a sacred birthright, the Serpent guilds of Sapience move to declare certain venoms “illegal” for non-Serpents to possess. The Infernals of Ashtan offer to become the enforcement arm of this new policy.

246 AF:

A long-simmering feud between Twilight and Miramar erupts into open hostiliy as their respective Divine Orders go to war with one another. Eventually the heavens erupt in fire and fury, and mortals cower in utter dread as the two deities declare open warfare on one another, and their priests and supernatural agents meet to do battle upon the mortal plane. The divine battle ends in a rather anti-climactic stalemate, and the two sides agree to withdraw from conflict for the nonce, although hostilities continue.

During the battle between the two deities and their minions, several notice a blazing object fall from the heavens landing, it is discovered, at the site of an old altar to Deucalion. Concurrently, a vision of a fading spectral image appears in the skies over Sapience. Thakren is beset by visions about the object, which proves to be a statuette, and the Druids and Sentinels hear ominous whisperings of ill portent in the forests, filled with references to the Morningstar. Sapience fairly hums with gossip and speculation about the significance of these omens, ranging from the dark machinations of Twilight, to the reappearance of Deucalion or Thoth. Many wonder if the very Gods themselves have abandoned mortalkind.

247 AF:

Ashtan and Hashan move to declare war upon Shallam as a result of acts of provocation, in the form of shrines, placed within their walls. As preparations for war, and numerous deaths as the result of preliminary skirmishes, reach a fever pitch Twilight offers Miramar a cessation of hostilities. Miramar accepts. Subsequently, both Hashan and Ashtan stand down from the war effort against the Jewel of the East.

Ashtan, the Bastion of the North, erupts in chaos as conflict between Sinistar and devotees of Twilight within the Infernals jockey for power within the guild. Sinistar is enemied and cast out of the city, for alleged use of “illegal” venoms. Many believe that Sinistar has been framed as a result of plots hatched by the Order of Darkness. Others avow that arrogance and self-preservation have motivated Sinistar’s actions.

Elentari of Hashan and the Council of Regents vote to reiterate their support of the venom ban, and pass legislation requiring that offenders be outlawed from the city.

248 AF:

Sinistar regains control of the Infernals, but dies, only to enter a state he terms “unlife,” neither truly corporeal nor truly discarnate. Debate ensues over this is the result of necromantic adepthood, as Sinistar lays claim, or merely smoke and mirror illusions, yet to be revealed.

249 AF:

Lady Elentari Lokelinde-Danial, Seneschal of Hashan and Guildmistress of the Serpentlords, becomes the second mortal in the history of Achaea to ascend to the Garden of the Gods and become immortal, transformed into Ourania, Goddess of the Moon.

Sartan, God of Evil, angered by the claims of the Church that its shrines represent all of the Gods, rejects any connection of the shrines with Himself, and brings into manifestation a shrine of His own creation within the one of the most sacred enclosures of the Chrysalis Basilica itself. The reactions of the Church and Shallam, and the subsequent arguments arising therefrom, once again place the Church on the defensive as it is peppered with taunts of hypocrisy. Rumours of the imminent formation of a “splinter” or “dark” Church fly about the land. In retaliation, Aurora, Goddess of Light, places an altar in the Infernals guildhall. The altar placed in the Wedding Chamber of Maya by Sartan opens a rift toa demonic plane whence stream deadly demons, wreaking havoc on the populace of Shallam.

Throughout the year, the followers of Oneiros, God of Peace, find themselves assailed publicly as to the true nature of peace and whether or not they invite accusations of hypocrisy by certain of their actions.

251 AF:

Sinistar resigns as Guildmaster of the Infernals.

252 AF:

Shallam follows in the footsteps of Hashan, binding its resident guilds to the city by making them signatory to the Guild Charter of Shallam.

254 AF:
While searching for irid moss, Taranis discovers a mysterious crystal. He receives arcane knowledge of elemental forces and becomes the first of the Magi. He forms a guild in Shallam and dedicates it to the battle against the forces of evil, darkness and chaos.

Drazik attains knowledge of the elemental powers and forms the Sorcerers Guild in Hashan. Eschewing the dogmatic bent of the Magi, the guild chooses to align itself neutrally.

257 AF:

Aegis, God of War, chooses to once more walk the grim battlefields of Sapience.

Napoloen forms the Warlocks Guild in Ashtan. Although he champions no politically based direction, as have the Magi and the Sorcerers, it is widely believed that the new guild will follow the philosophical bent of Ashtan.

258 AF:

Prince Tu’eras of the Tsol’aa frantically informs the public that vile criminals of unknown origin have attacked the Tsol’aa people in their ancestral village in the dead of night and that although he has escaped, he knows not the whereabouts or condition of his parents. He tells of fires being set and the Forest of Aalen in flames.

Many Druids and Magi mobilize to quench the flames. When the smoke clears and investigations begin, it is discovered that the King of the Tsol’aa has been cruelly murdered by one calling himself Kroul, and that Queen Celaabi has been raped. Although Celaabi, who refuses to leave the home of her ancestors, is safe and has been granted sanctuary by the Druidess Cynne, Tu’eras and the surviving Tsol’aa cannot be found.

Vexlore rants publicly of his belief that Tu’eras is a coward and weakling for remaining in hiding with his people. He vows that he shall slay the Prince himself, and mocks the misery and suffering of the gentle Tsol’aa people.

The Great Mhunna, while expressing sympathy for the plight of the people of the Aalen, cites appearances of Orcs skulking about the land to support his decision to seal the great gate of Moghedu until he deems it safe for his people to do otherwise.

Orcs, claiming to be simply “touring” the land are sighted roaming the land. However, they are soon seen setting forest fires and speaking loudly of their “Lord,” Kroul. Many of them begin to enter the cities, expressing desires to see the fabled Master Crystals of the magi guilds.

Maran of Shallam offers the Tsol’aa aid and succor. The other city-states, Oakstone, and the guilds and clans of Sapience eventually offer like assistance. In an amazing show of solidarity, ancient enemies join one another in common cause against the perceived threat on the horizon. Patrols are organized and guard set.

Queen Celaabi is found murdered along with her unborn children. A group of Orc knights, assassins and huntresses makes a raid upon the hiding place of Prince Tu’eras and his band in hiding. They are repelled, but not before one of the assassins manages to kill the Elder Druid, Thaa’lis.

Vexlore publicly boasts that he is a mercenary agent of Kroul, an Ogre High Priest. He reveals Kroul’s plans to seize the master crystals and open a portal into this world through which his legions shall pour, decimating all before them. Kroul, realizing that he must proceed openly now, and that the usefulness of his traitorous stooge is at an end, slays Vexlore cruelly, laughing at his gullibility.

The Orcs launch raids upon the city-states, kidnapping Hakhim, Liirup and Ratman. The citizens fear that their economies shall collapse without these prime sources of revenue. The whereabouts of the three are eventually discovered, but during the attempt to rescue them, the Orcs seize the Master Crystal of the Warlocks. Thus empowered, they find the cystals of the Sorcerers and the Magi to be easily obtained.

Sapience launches a massive assault on the stronghold of Kroul, in the recently rediscovered Dun Valley, defeating him, and discovering that Kroul is, himself, only the mercenary for Zh’risia, a Tsol’teth wishing to prove his prowess to his kin, who has been skulking within the Dun fortress the murder of his master by Baron Vukub Ysin’zhu.

Sapience rejoices at the victory, but with sorrow as Tu’eras takes the mantle of kingship while mourning his dead parents and kin.

261 AF:

In an attempt to resurrect the essence of the vanished Deucalion, Maran sacrifices his mortal coil. Although his sacrifice is in vain, the Pantheon honours him for his selflessness, and his soul ascends to the Garden of the Gods to be reborn as Pentharian, God of Righteousness.

Raajin Lucoster and various of his followers breaks with the Infernals over philosophical differences with Sartan, God of Evil and Infernal Patron. Although Khejian, his comrade-in-arms and close friend is to follow him, Khejian betrays Raajin’s Exodus Battallion at the last moment and chooses to remain with Ashtan and Sartan. The Exodus Battallion goes into exile, and take up residence as guests of Hashan. Although Raajin and his Battallion garner the support of many throughout Sapience, the Infernals and Ashtan persecute them continually. Eventually Raajin is abducted and is not heard from again. The Exodus Battallion eventually falls into obscurity.

262 AF:

The Goddess Tarah appears to bid farewell to Achaea and disappears.

264 AF:

Polyargos is discovered.

266 AF:

Mysterious new “landmarks” appear in the lands. The Landmarks and their changing aspects are immediately recognized as having metaphysical import, and the essence using guilds and their allies take opposing sides in their approaches to the maintenance of the Landmarks and the sites and structures, engendering fresh and bloody new conflicts in Sapience.

267 AF:

Noxalar, the notorious purveyor of venoms to one and all is slain and, being without heirs, his shop closed.
The Serpent guilds, seeing the futility of their former draconian desires to control the product, take a mercantile approach and declare all venoms legal to possess. Arguments break out over charges of price-fixing. Weapon forgers, purveyors of enchantments and dealers in herbs and other healing substances enter the fray.

271 AF:

A mysterious jade statuette with the ability to move from person to person of its own volition appears. Those who hold retain the object for any length of time are plagued by visions, dreams and nightmares. Madness, murder and suicide follow in the wake of these visions.

Researches into the icon reveal that it appears to missing a shard, leaving a break through which pours a "cold" energy of some sort. The missing shard is recovered, and with the aid of a cleric of a mysterious group known as the Obeah Ecstasia the icon is resealed, narrowly averting further mayhem. The cleric reveals that the icon is an ancient artifact of the forgotten Goddess Valnurana, Mistress of Sleep and Dreams, who long ago placed inside of it four horrific nightmare spirits in order to protect mortal kind from their somnolent ravagings. The Obeah Ecstasia are revealed to be an ancient line of dream scholars to whom the icon was originally entrusted by the Goddess. Emese, the cleric, returns to her home, the icon once more safely within the hands of the Obeah Ecstasia.

Vixen, guild tutor to the Sentinels, falls deathly ill. In a herculean effort to save her, some of the Sentinels perform a rite which intentionally decimates their groves. Although Vixen is saved, all Sentinels lose their Groves ability. The Sentinels are grief-stricken as the forest, so long both their charge and their sustainer, no longer communicates with them on any level. Eventually the Sentinels find the long lost village of Eleusis, where they make their new home and are granted the gift of the Woodlore skill.

275 AF:

Four years after the events surrounding the Jade Icon, the collective dreams of Sapience are once again disturbed. The resident tutors of the city states begin to be troubled by strange dreams. Much of the populace complains of a prevailing enervation and vivid dreams of ill import. Irritability assails some, brought on by fatigue and lack of restful sleep, while others sink into despondency and aimless wandering brought on by these conditions. More suddenly than they appeared, the dream disturbances cease.

Epicurus, Ashtan’s resident teacher, has resorted to a potion in order to sleep, but has fallen into a deep unnatural slumber, beset by violent nightmares, from which it appears he will never wake.

Hashan calls upon Sharbrena, high Cleric of its Patron Twilight and beseeches her to summon Eseme once more. The cleric arrives and enters the dreams of Epicurus in an attempt to discern the nature of his malady. She is shocked to discover that during the repair of the Jade Icon, four years earlier, one of the nightmare spirits had been inadvertently sealed outside it, and the spirit’s bond to the statuette broken. The Icon itself has disappeared from the keeping of the Obeah Ecstasia again.

The nightmare spirit, Erinyes by name, kidnaps Epicurus and plans to use him to complete her plans, begun with her quest for sufficient power by gorging upon mortal dreams and planned to culminate in the destruction of her ancient prisoner. Epicurus, still besotted with unnatural sleep, is unable to aid Erinyes. Instead, the Jade Icon is broken by Gelphend, a mortal who has fallen under her sway. The remaining three nightmare entities are freed and great harm is loosed upon the mortal planes as both sleeping and waking nightmares consume the populace, driving many into insanity and loosing mayhem throughout the continent.

Without warning the hellish visions cease. Valnurana, Goddess of Sleep and Dreams has found Her own divine slumber disturbed by the unnatural flux and disruption in the dream patterns of the mortal world. She wakens and with Her power calls the nightmare spirits to Her, binding them and thus ending their reign of terror and once more taking Her place among the manifest Pantheon.

276 AF:

Sartan, Lord of Evil, after wreaking fearful havoc upon the world, declares that He intends to extinguish the last bit of power left by Aurora, Goddess of Light, before She left this plane for unknown destinations and for an unspecified length of time. He extinguishes Her Flame of Light, destroying Her links to the mortal world. Thus denying Her future return. However, deep within the keep of the Vampire Queen, Belladona, Dawn, the Keeper of Light has long guarded one of Aurora’s most potent artifacts, the Prism of Light. The Prism yet provides the Lightbringer a portal into this plane.

Sartan discovers the existence of the Prism and shatters it as well. Breaking it into three pieces, He gives two into the safekeeping of dire dragons, and a third to one of his most trusted adherents.

Through the heroics of many of Her faithful, through pain and hardship, and culminating in a great show of power, the pieces are eventually united and Aurora, Goddess of Light, sheds Her glow upon mortal kind once more.

In a stunning turn of events Caerid, Guildmaster of the Paladins, chooses Sartan, God of Evil, as Patron and is excommunicated and cast out of the city. Caerid ingratiates himself with the Order of Sartan and, heady with power, turns on his former allies while unleashing a storm of murder and foul acts upon them. Eventually he is removed from the guild by force of arms. The reparation received by Caerid and his wife, Malia, for their service to the Lord of Evil was amazing. Believing that they were to be rewarded with the highest ranks within the spiritual hierarchy of the Order of Evil and granted temporal power over a new city-state, the pair stood proudly at the Shrine of Ascension before Sartan and much of Sapience. With the dark voice of the Evil One intoning their deeds, Caerid and Malia were stripped naked, beaten without mercy, humiliated and made to grovel. Sartan thanked them, then cast them from his Order and thrown to His pack of followers to be slain.

277 AF:

In the culmination of an old prophecy, first uttered by Choirmaster Handel of the Chrysalis Basilica, the essence of Aurora, Goddess of Light, is dispersed. Pentharian, God of Righteousness, takes Her mantle upon Himself and becomes God of Righteousness and Light.

278 AF:

Following new bridge construction on the Isle of Delos, and underwater city called Riparium is discovered. One of its inhabitants reveals that a specific herbal element will allow air breathers to visit there and many do.

For the first time in history, the government of a city wields power over a resident guild when Dresden, Sultaness of Shallam, replaces the leadership of the Dawnstriders after a long-running conflict between the guild leadership and the Shallamese Viziers.

279 AF:

The Forest and the dwellers therein rejoice at the reawakening of Gaia, Goddess of Nature. A number of Druids and other devotees of the ancient Goddess meet to perform a Rite of Prayer in honour of the nature Deity. Although they do so with scant hope, their hopes and prayers are answered as Gaia once more walks among the millenia old trees of Sapience.

Several individuals attempt a rite to restore the essence of the Goddess Tarah. They fail.

Sartan, God of Evil, performs an act of extermination within the sacred confines of the Temple of Gaia. In retaliation He is enemied to the Forest. His minions, The Order of Evil, begin to decimate and burn the forests of Sapience. The Sentinels and Druids react by banning the sale or gift of all herbs, ointments, and elixirs to all Sapience. The Sorcerers Guild bans all enchantments using kola in a gesture of support for the forest folk and their cause.

Orina, Guildmistress of the Druids, joins with Xandor Sheolan, Grand Shadow of the Order of Twilight, in the performance of a rite known as the Darkenwood Ritual. For the second time in history the forests of Sapience are shrouded in shadow. This time, however, the intent is ostensibly to merge the essences of Gaia and Twilight in a shield against the minions of Evil. Orina is roundly castigated by many for what is perceived as her treachery. Some, recalling the Death’s Heart episode, believe that in her desperation to save the forests, she has been duped by the machinations of the Order of Darkness.

Gaia refuses to intervene although many beseech Her for aid and succor. Many of the traditional allies of Nature refuse to be tainted by Darkness and refuse their aid as well. What is worse, for all Xandor’s words, it seems that the Children of Darkness have no true intent of helping the Forest. Orina changes her mind and seeks to undo that which she has done. The Children of Nature and their faithful perform a rite to rid the forests of Darkness, and the Darkenwood Rite is never completed. They succeed for the most part, but Gaia remains withdrawn and impatient and it is obvious that something abhorrent to Nature yet troubles the lands beneath the trees.

The Children of Nature resort to oracles for assistance, but do not see that an imbalance has been created that they must right, preferring to place blame outside themselves rather than heed the words of wisdom given to them.

Strange creatures appear in the forests, harmed by sunlight and the places inhabited by the known races and their works. Calling themselves Arachnoi, and appearing in the form of humanoid spiders, they claim that Xandor and Orina are their grandparents and that they have been sent by their mother to plead with their grandparents to complete the Darkenwood Ritual by which their mother had been created. They are creatures with no natural habitat within the existing mansions of Nature, and they are dying as a result.

The rite is completed but Istishia, mother of the Arachnoi, is killed by a Shallamese contingent.

The Arachnoi now reside in the newly created Darkenwood. Having little reason to trust the Children of Sarapis, they are rarely seen by mortals and prefer that that state of affairs remain. Balance has been returned to the forests for now, and all seems well.

281 AF:

The people of Sapience begin to erect shrines to their chosen deities, dedicated to individual Gods and Goddesses, breaking the ancient monopoly of the Church on these devotional structures.

282 AF:

The war between the Order of Evil and the Forests continues. Eventually Sartan presents His terms for “peace” to the Forest entities. Gaia and the Oakstone Council reject his offer. Subsequently, Gaia presents Her own terms and both sides declare victory, bringing an uneasy peace to the forest, which yet require great healing.

285 AF:

A clan of professional Assassins forms. Though feared and secretive, these contract killers have yet to make much of a mark on Achaean society.

Rejecting what they see as the soiling of honour and justice by their more mercenary brethren, some Assassins form a new clan, calling themselves Champions. They accept no fees for their work and claim to exist solely to mete out justice for its own sake.

A blazing star appears in the heavens and plummets to ground. Soon it is discovered that the object is no star but is the Hammer of Phaestus. Fern, the Sentinel who discovers it, is visited by strange visions involving the image of a unicorn and great stones.

An attempt is made to unravel the mystery by a group of Magi and Sorcerers, gathering at the monoliths in the Temple of Gaia and focusing upon the unicorn known to contain the essence of the ancient traitor-God Agatheis, but nothing is revealed.

A second attempt is made, but is aborted when an Ashtanite Occultist makes away with the Hammer, taking it to Ashtan. A third attempt is made, and yet another Ashtanite steals the Hammer. After The Magi and Sorcerers agree to allow the Ashtanite Warlocks to participate in the Hammer is returned and the exercise proceeds.

The gathered magic users focus their energies upon the unicorn, who touches his horn to the Hammer releasing Phaestus.

For his selflessness in aiding the return of Phaestus, Sarapis pardons Agatheis for his role in the traitorous Triumvirate of ages past and releases His soul from the unicorn, restoring Him to the Pantheon.

287-288 AF:

Syvelium, guild tutor of the Paladins goes missing. When questioned about the disappearance, Pentharian and the other Gods deny that such an entity has ever even existed. Mortals begin to whisper among themselves that the Gods seem to have gone mad, and tremble in fear of what this means to the world. Soon the fabric of sanity begins to unravel throughout the continent. Mortalkind remember events and personages the existence of which are denied by the Deities. The madness moves throughout the populace and soon none are sure of life, memory, family or position. Or, indeed, are sure of things that cannot possibly be or never were. Many regress into infantile states or claim ancestries, histories or associations that go beyond the outlandish. Firefox of Hashan loses his Serpentlord abilities and finds that in their place he has attained a mystical knowledge previously unknown in the world. He calls himself a “Shaman” and forms a guild in Hashan. Events continue to spiral out of control.

The Order of Valnurana is given a revelation of an entity that brings to mind the “Other,” spoken of by Phaestus at his release. Soon the Other reveals Himself to the world. He begins to use His powers slay Achaeans in a random and capricious manner. He changes the race of others to beings thereafter known as Satyrs and Sirens.

During a great meteorological cataclysm, a gilded chest plummets from the sky to land in the Aureliana Forest. Kaisar La’Seir discovers the chest and reads upon it dire words of prophecy, warning that to open it will lead to horror and mayhem.

It is discovered that the Great Mhunna, Lord of Moghedu holds what is likely the key to the chest. In his wisdom, and heeding the counsel of his ministers, he decides to keep the key where it may do no harm. Ashtan, Bastion of the North, eventually succeeds in murdering the Mhunna and gaining control of the key. Once the key is outside of Moghedu, it becomes apparent that it is of such nature that none may hold it for long. Eventually, Shakti Devi succeeds in opening the chest.

At the opening of the chest a massive arrow of flame strikes at the very heart of Shallam, utterly destroying the Chrysalis Basilica, leaving a massive crater in its wake. As this happens, a second and larger chest falls to ground in the Pash Valley. Even though this object is inscribed with even more clear and dire warnings than the first, Charlotte Voivre of Shallam manages to open it. As she does so, flames fly heavenward incinerating all in the vicinity. In the city of Hashan, many of the populace has gathered at Crossroads of the city, seeking safety from the flaming vortex that has moved to hover over the city. They are annihilated by the phenomenon.

Once Hashan has been destroyed the Other reveals His