As promised, here is my timeline of events over the 500 years in Darokin. Please note that, where possible, I have tried to incorporate known events from Aaron's work (e.g., founding of the various guilds, etc), as well as other works (you'll find a reference to Carl Quaif's work there, too). There are gaps, of course, but I think it's high time to share it, and together we can iron something out.
History of Darokin Part III
by Geoff GanderAC 523: Corunglain falls to an orcish invasion.
AC 628: The Duchy of Corunglain is proclaimed in the north by Duke X.
AC 647: The Duchy of Ardelphia is declared by Duke X.
AC 662: The Duchy of Favaro is proclaimed by Duke Ansaril Elstar.
AC 669: The Kingdom of Daelbar is proclaimed by Duke Haralan Arvigil.
AC 672: Duke Huramman Taidar, declaring himself to be a true son of Inlashar, declares the independence of his dominion, Callair.
AC 678: Duke Iolan of Dirnath proclaims himself prince, and declares his dominion’s sovereignty.
AC 682: The independent Barony of Sashenta is proclaimed by its ruler, Baron Oroban Sashell.
AC 683: Duke Iolan of Dirnath declares himself a prince, and elevates his state to the status of principality. He immediately attacks the Duchy of Favaro, ostensibly to force the latter to acknowledge Dirnath’s supremacy. Once his army conquers a handful of strategic villages Iolan offers Favaro a peace treaty, which the latter grudgingly accepts.
AC 685: Duke Rindall of Crowlerd declares himself the sovereign ruler of the Duchy of Rondeth.
AC 686: The Principality of Dirnath collapses into chaos after Prince Iolan is murdered by his daughter, Lowetha, who coveted the throne for herself. Widely thought by to be a sorceress, Lowetha is forced by an angry mob to flee the town of Dirnath. Unable to find the princess, the revolt degenerates into a civil war as various factions try to seize power.
AC 687: Favaroan soldiers rampage across what was once Dirnath, ostensibly to put down Diranthian soldiers who have become brigands. The villages that were lost four years previously are reclaimed, and much of the countryside is looted.
AC 690: The Duchy of Favaro collapses into anarchy following the mysterious death of Duke Karlan II, as his opponents raise armies to stake their claims to the ducal throne. Hundreds of people flee the countryside for the relative safety of the town of Favaro, which survives as a city-state. Many Favaroan soldiers turn to banditry.
The town of Dirnath is in ruins, and much of the countryside is rife with bandits.
To the southwest, the Duchy of Irum is proclaimed by Duke Kareth Elstar.
AC 692: Al-Azrad House is founded in the Thyatian colonies in what is now Ylaruam, with some operations in Selenica.
AC 693: Baron Indol Nethlinn declares himself a sovereign ruler, and proclaims his barony’s independence.
AC 699: Korlim Strellard, a minor noble and indirect descendant of Ansel Darokin, declares his dominion sovereign, naming it Almarand and himself as its king.
AC 700: By this time the territory that once comprised the nations of Dirnath and Favaro has become a no man’s land, filled with bandits and warring petty lords, and a handful of fortified settlements, such as the town of Favaro, in which order is maintained. Monsters and humanoids also begin to make inroads into the region, making it even more dangerous. People begin to call this frontier region the Streel Marches.
To the south, Baron Haranel Onarrin declares himself to be the legitimate heir to the ancient line of Eraedan lords. He renames his barony Eraeda, and declares it independent from the Duchy of Darokin.
AC 702: The Duchy of Callair is attacked by a large army of humanoids from the Orclands, a region that had previously not been considered a threat. By the time the bulk of Callair’s soldiers are withdrawn from their posts along the frontier with the Broken Lands, much of the duchy has been laid to waste, with the capital, Tolann, under siege.
AC 703: The Callairan army is unable to break the siege of Tolann, which falls to the humanoids. Eager to avenge the fallen, the Callairans descend on their enemies, inflicting considerable casualties at great cost to themselves. A handful of ragged survivors flee to Corunglain to inform the duke, who then musters his own army to turn back this latest humanoid incursion.
AC 704: After defeating the remnants of the humanoid army that invaded Callair, the armies of Corunglain seek to secure as much of the fallen duchy’s territory as possible. A defensible frontier is established, but much of Callair falls into anarchy, and is soon considered part of the Streel Marches. Much of Callair’s remaining population migrates to Corunglain, but a handful remain in the hill country.
AC 714: Mauntea House is established.
AC 715: Linton House is founded.
AC 719: An unnamed sculptor visits the court of King Korlim II of Almarand, and offers to carve a statue of unsurpassed beauty for him, which will protect the realm. The king agrees, and the Maiden of Ansimont is unveiled months later, but the sculptor is captured before he can collect his payment, and dies after cursing the realm to fall should the statue ever be taken from Ansimont.
AC 728: Prince Lorennal of Almarand discovers the ruins of Comaelle, and, after encountering many perils, returns to Ansimont with a great gem, later named the Star of Comaelle. Lorennal assumes the throne later that year, heralding a period of great strength and prosperity for the kingdom.
AC 738: Baron Haranel Onarrin dies of old age, but the rulership of Eraeda is contested between his three sons. Before long, battle lines are drawn and the barony dissolves into three warring dominions. Darokin props up one of the successor dominions as a client state, which then begins to assert dominance over the others.
AC 743: Jaenelle Lynnwith is born in the Daelbaran town of Rennalen.
AC 746: Almarand begins sending aid to one of the beleaguered fragments of Eraeda as a counterweight to Darokin’s puppet state. A vicious proxy war ensues, producing a stream of refugees.
AC 754: The former Barony of Eraeda has collapsed into anarchy, as the warring puppet states wear each other down and prove unable to ward off bandits and their ilk. Both Almarand and Darokin seek to absorb the region, but pressure from Irum soon turns their attention westwards.
AC 756: Duke Rudgard of Irum declares his support for the Duke of Malpheggi in his bid to secure the vacant throne of Darokin. The Malpheggi Wars, which were winding down, are reignited as a result.
This year also marks the conquest of Sashenta by the Duchy of Amsorak; although the territory remains restive for many years.
AC 763: Sensing a power vacuum, long-dormant orcish hordes embark upon a campaign of looting and conquest west of the Streel River. Both the Kingdom of Daelbar and the Duchy of Rondeth bear the brunt of the rampage.
AC 764: The Elstrich Wars end with both the duchies of Malpheggi and Darokin quitting the field out of exhaustion.
AC 765: The Duchy of Rondeth is overrun by the armies of Irum. Organised resistance coalesces against the occupiers, provoking Duke Rudgard to react violently.
AC 766: King Lorennal of Almarand dies; he is succeeded by his son, Lorennal II, who tries to maintain his realm’s strength, but is faced by a resurgent Darokin.
AC 768: Jaenelle Lynnwith founds the Order of Sword Singers, an order of fighting bards unique to Darokin.
AC 769: The armies of Almarand and Daelbar commence a campaign to liberate Rondeth, in the hopes of re-establishing it as a buffer state against Irum. Bloody battles rage throughout the fallen duchy.
AC 772: King Lorrenal II of Almarand dies during a skirmish with Irum forces. Both his son, Orrendol, and his brother, Maragil, battle for the crown. Orrendol triumphs, but inherits a divided realm. Maragil goes into exile in Daelbar.
AC 779: With the attention of many realms directed towards Irum, several humanoid tribes on the Streel Plains seize the opportunity and band together. The assembled horde marches on Favaro, the only major holdout of civilisation in the region, in a bid to conquer it. The beleaguered town appeals for aid, and a volunteer army arises from the surrounding nations to drive back the menace at the Battle of Favaro (in reality the Xth to have happened here). Jaenelle Lynnwith, by now a bard of renown, dies during the battle.
AC 780: Rondeth is liberated, but is now an empty, desolate land.
AC 783: With stability declining in the north, Jaenelle Lynnwyth's surviving disciples relocate to Darokin City, where they found the Conservatory of Sword Singers.
AC 789: The armies of Irum invade the Barony of Nethlinn beginning a war of unprecedented savagery.
AC 791: Nethlinn is utterly destroyed by Irum, and is an empty land thereafter. This event is later known as the Despoiling of Nethlinn. The armies of the surrounding realms mobilise in earnest.
AC 793: At the Battle of Callenaal, Duke Arundel of Darokin seeks to eradicate the menace posed by Irum once and for all. The Darokinians are defeated, and are forced to retreat to Darokin City, destroying the Streel River bridges behind them. The armies of Irum conquer and loot the western half of Darokin City, but are unable to pierce Arundel’s defences east of the river. The siege of Darokin City begins.
AC 794: The Grand Alliance is formed between Darokin, Almarand, and Akorros. Irum is attacked on its northern and western frontiers by Darokin’s new allies, forcing Duke Rudgard to abandon his siege and return home.
AC 795: The Grand Alliance pushes Duke Rudgard back to his stronghold in Greenlee. During the ensuing siege, the fortress is pounded into rubble. Rudgard is never found, but his realm is no more, becoming an empty land like Nethlinn and much of Rondeth.
AC 810: Tohm Galadin of Ansimont composes the Lay of Almarand.
AC 818: A period of intermittent border skirmishes between Almarand and Darokin begins, ostensibly over competing claims in the former lands of Eraeda. Almarand proposes a treaty of mutual defence with Akorros, which has its own border disputes with Darokin in lands formerly controlled by Irum and Rondeth.
AC 821: The sporadic fighting between Darokin and Almarand escalates into open war. Darokin makes gains in the old Eraedan territories and in southwestern Almarand. Almarand calls on Akorros for aid, invoking their mutual defence treaty. Within weeks, Akorran troops pour into western Darokin.
Corran House is also founded in this year.
AC 823: Faced with enemies on two fronts, Darokin sues for peace. The Treaty of Wrasseldown grants the southern third of Eraeda to Darokin, with the remainder going to Almarand. In the west, much of the disputed territory in the former lands of Rondeth and Irum goes to Akorros.
AC 833: Toney House is established.
AC 846: Ardelphia is overrun by humanoids; nearly the entire population is slaughtered. The Duchy of Corunglain later tries to establish new frontiers in the former duchy, and succeeds to some degree.
AC 847: The capital of Daelbar, Mintarm, is besieged by humanoids who had been driven from Ardelphia. King Ceolfed leads a brave defence, but his army is too small, and is overwhelmed. Mintarm is looted and burned, and most of its inhabitants are slaughtered.
AC 853: Kalafi Al-Azrad, head of his House, arrives in Selenica, ostensibly to scout the city in preparation for an invasion by Ylari forces. Upon his arrival, he contacts Hallonica House, and works as a double agent.
AC 857: After defeating an Ylari invasion in AC 856, Selenican forces defeat their enemies at the Battle of Parsa, conquering the town in the process.
AC 891: The Duchy of Corunglain lays claim to the lands of Daelbar, but only manages to assert control over a small portion of them. Much of the fallen kingdom remains sparsely populated, and is generally viewed as part of the Streel Marches.
AC 894: The village of Andelham, in Malpheggi, is abandoned after suffering three years of unseasonable, localised drought; it is burned to the ground by a freak storm during the winter. No nearby communities are similarly affected, but locals attribute the occurrence to the “Witch of the Fens”.
AC 910: The fabled Maiden of Ansimont disappears from the city, and reappears in Darokin City. No one knows how the statue was stolen.
AC 912: After a period of relative calm, Darokinian forces surge across the Almarandian border. They are repulsed in a number of key battles, but numbers are on their side, and the front slowly grinds northwards to Ansimont.
AC 914: Ansimont, the capital city of Almarand, is conquered by the armies of Darokin. King Arandel flees his palace with his family and the crown jewels. At the same time, much of the treasury of Almarand, including the Star of Comaelle, is carried away by the king’s most loyal servants. The royal house of Almarand and its remaining advisors are given safe haven in Thyatis City, establishing a government in exile. The Star never makes it to Thyatis, however.
AC 918: The last holdouts of formal Almarandian resistance are crushed; some soldiers become brigands and begin a raiding campaign that lasts for another few years.
AC 927: The Great Merger.
AC 930: Pennydown House is founded.
AC 931: A party of adventurers, after clearing a lair of orcs in the north, discovers treasures later identified as having belonged to the royal house of Daelbar. Other treasure hunters head north in search of other caches.
AC 933-934: Sporadic rebellions in response to Lydia Mauntea’s seizure of power are crushed quickly, except in Athenos, where the city’s leadership is executed for its role.
AC 936: A band of former soldiers of Almarand, supported by the exiled royal house, seek to resurrect their former homeland, occupying a number of villages and preying on merchant traffic through the region.
AC 938: The Almarand Rebellion is crushed, but not before inspiring other would-be lords to stage their own minor revolts. The garrisons of Fort Anselbury and Fort Nell work to suppress them – these other revolts are crushed within a few years.
AC 940: In the wake of the most recent string of rebellions, the Merchant Houses decree that the symbols of the fallen kingdoms – including Akorros, Almarand, Daelbar, Malpheggi, and Rondeth – may not be borne on the field of battle or flown from any public building. Descendants of the surviving royal houses of those former nations lodge protests, but do little more.
AC 943: In a bid to cement its hold on the Streel River basin, the Darokinian army mounts a formal campaign to pacify the region. Numerous battles are fought against organised bandits and humanoids. Although largely successful, the region formerly known as the Streel Marches remains a sparsely inhabited region where people keep to themselves.
AC 947: Franich House is founded.
AC 949: The Conservatory of Sword Singers is closed down by the ruling council. Most of the remaining Sword Singers begin to face increasing pressure to abandon their craft, or leave the republic.
AC 950: Parsa is ceded back to Ylaruam in exchange for an elimination of tariffs on Darokinian goods.
AC 968: Tybalt Bentilun, the last Darokinian Sword-Singer, dies.
AC 970: The Council passes the Internal Colonisation and Resettlement Act encouraging the settlement of heartland and borderland regions of the republic, so as to strengthen the government’s hold on its territory. Those who agree to settle the more remote regions are allotted a plot of land, (the size of which is determined by their profession, level of wealth, and whether or not they have completed military service), and granted tax immunity for two years. Those voluntarily settling in or around the Orclands receive tax immunity for five years, and free weapons and armour.