Hi! Here is the way I'm going to introduce Hule to my players. Actually, they are actively seeking every bit of information about this land since the Master's armies have invaded their dominion during the WotI while they were abroad. Now that they are looking for allies in there struggle vs Hule, I felt the need to give some background information about this country's neighbours. James Mishler's earlier work, and the discussions I had with him and Jennifer Favia Guerra inspire much of the basic framework of this work. This Hule & Neighbours timeline isn't probably fully compatible with "canon" Mystara, but I want it to be the more "in line" with other products as possible. So, if you see something that doesn't fit in other Mystaran stuff just tell me, I will see if it doesn't affect the general direction of my work. Any other comments will be strongly appreciated.

Some clarifications are needed before proceeding. First, this discussion takes place between Zoran Dragovic, scholar of the Slagovich college of Humanities, and his former fellow student of the Glantri University Lucien Chassebois, teacher of Western Lands' History at the Glantri University. Second, passages in the timeline that are quoted are clarifications made by Z. Dragovic that my players are allowed to read. The bracketed parts are "for DM's eyes only".

Hope you will enjoy!

Christian "Krieg!" Constantin

Slagovich, Vatermont 16, AC 1010

Dear old friend,

Hi! It's been a terribly long time since we've last met. I sincerely hope that you and your family are all fine. I've heard terrible stories about what happened in poor Glantri during those years of madness. Here in Slagovich we have been fortunate enough to be spared of the worst part of those hard days. Of course, the city's life has been disrupted during the periods without magic, but, beside trade, nothing in our city is totally dependent on magic.

But, well, I'm not writing to lament on the past years but to send you two interesting books. They were brought to my attention by one of my students. His brother is some kind of wandering rogue, he and his party stumbled across the road of a pack of orcs while travelling in the Black Mountains. These creatures had just killed three monks and were robbing their corpse of anything of value. Among their belongings were two old books written in an indecipherable language. So he gave his brother the two books to see if they were of any value. I bought them on the spot, they consist of a complete timeline of the Hulean Region! But, since there are a lot of Holy Men in Slagovich, I definitely prefer to put this treasure somewhere really safe as some parts of it would definitely be labelled as "wrong thoughts".

I have translated and annotated them to help you through, I also have added the Thyatian equivalent of the Hulean time track. Unfortunately, it has been a long time since I've last written in Thyatian. I hope that you will forgive my poor use of this language.

I am planning to go in the region to see by myself all those countries, which were only legends two weeks ago! I'll try to keep you informed of the evolution of my journey around the Hulean "beast".

Your old friend,

Zoran Dragovic

PS: If you are reading this letter, then you have received my little gift. This small box is one of my creations. A spell I made is embedded in it, it will permit me to send you letters and other small things instantaneously.

THE FORGOTTEN CENTURY 2400-2312 BC

0 "2400BC": Foundation of the Temple of Chaos (ToC)

28-62 "2372-2338BC": Period of religious persecution against the followers of loyal immortals. Some of them seek shelter in the Black Mountains (BM) " Kavkaz in Hulean dialect".

50 "2350BC": The elves of Ilsundal pass through the Great Valley (GV) and the BM. Some of them settle in the forest of the Ozungan Coast

65 "2335BC": Iraklit I is chosen as the first leader of the Kingdom of the Just, later known as Iraklita

66-88 "2334-2312BC": War of religion between the new kingdom and the kingdoms of the GV. The Iraklitan army is defeated at the Battle of the Sunless Day, it is driven back to the BM.

THE NINE KINGDOMS PERIOD 2312-1700BC

203 "2197BC": Missionaries of the ToC are sent to convert the Northern Barbarians of the Yalu Coast. None of them will ever return

300 "2100BC": Foundation of the Loyal Brotherhood (LB). It is Ixion's answer to the domination of the ToC in the GV. Some LB missionaries are sent in the neighbouring societies.

337 "2063BC": Conversion of the Sardjik Clans of the Northern Hills to the Way of the Law (WotL)

343 "2057BC": First LB missionaries in Iraklita

365-388 "2035-2012BC": The War of Purification. Followers of the WotL and of the Old believes fight each others in Iraklita.

389 "2011BC": Treaty of the Two Faiths. Division of Iraklita into the western Dvinzina for the followers of the WotL and Grouzhina for those of the pre-ToC Hulean believes.

390 "2010BC": Karsile attacks Dvinzina.

417 "1983BC": Conversion of the Khaghaz tribe to the ToC

418-437 "1982-1963BC": War between the Sardjiks and the Khaghaz. The Khaghaz are decimated, their survivors flee to the GV. The Sardjiks abandon their nomadic way of life.

449 "1951BC": Foundation of the Sublime Octagon Order in Dvinzina

473-479 "1927-1921BC": Construction of the Blue Temple on the shore of the Yalu Sea. The city of Kiteng will develop around it.

498 "1918BC": Union of the Sardjik clans and cities. Foundation of the Shazirate (holy kingdom) of Sardjikjian.

486-491 "1914-1909BC": Civil war in the Yazak colonies of Bylot "Bileot in Thyatian" Hills. The colony is destroyed, one faction settles in the forested valleys north of the Darkwood, the other joins the Yazak cities of the steppes.

491 "1909BC": Kajoshaj I is crowned king of the new Kingdom of Antasyn NW of the Darkwood.

516 "1884BC" Kajoshaj II adopt the ToC

517-528 "1883-1872BC": First War of the Nine Kingdom (9K) in the GV.

547 "1853BC": Houriani is the first Grouzhinian colony on the upper Borean River.

553 "1847BC": The nomadic Balits are converted to the WotL

564-577 "1836-1823": Second 9K war.

566 "1834BC": Grouzhinian explorers meet the beastmen of Urzud down the Borean Valley.

575 "1825BC": Dvinzina, Sardjikjian and the Balitan tribes unite in the Bright Alliance (BA).

577 "1823BC": The BA invades Karsile and wages war against Eivanjan and Karsun.

588 "1812BC": The BA is defeated by a coalition of Huyule, Karsun and Boludir.

590 "1810BC": Grouzhina attacks Dvinzina. Help from the BA is asked but not granted. The BA is dissolved.

593-610 "1807-1790BC": Third 9K War

600 "1800BC" Steel Wars in Urzud

604 "1796BC": The Douzbak tribe of the Bazdayan Hills is converted to the WotL.

613 "1787BC": Kiteng becomes a major learning centre for physics and mathematics

616 "1784BC": Mingrel, capital of Grouzhina, is burned down by the Dvinzinian army. A peace agreement is accepted by the two countries.

626 "1724BC": Grouzhina and Dvinzina are ravaged by the passage of Urzud beastmen migrating to the BM. They manage to keep their freedom through fierce fighting.

650 "1750BC": A new wave of beastmen from Urzud arrives in the Yalu Sea southern coast, they are expelled of the Ozungan Forest by the elves and settle in the western part of Sardjikjian.

651 "1749BC": The Shah of Sardjikjian declares a holy war against the beastmen.

631 "1729BC": A new wave of beastmen put an end to the holy war as the Sardjiks are outnumbered. The Blue Temple is destroyed.

683-685 "1717-1715BC": New migrants from Urzud put pressure on the Sardjikjian beastmen. The GV is invaded by the beastmen, the realms are conquered one after the other as each try to keep its own independence regardless of the fate of the others.

691 "1709BC": The army of Antasyn is defeated by the beastmen, the way to the Yazak Steppes (YS) is open to the hordes of beastmen.

693 "1707BC": The rakastan city of Plaktur is destroyed and occupied by the beastmen.

697 "1703BC": The Yazak cities are invaded.

700 "1700BC": Explosion of a Blackmoorian device in the eastern lands (Broken Lands). A great earthquake strikes the GV region which will destroy the Yazak cities. The River Gree no longer empties in the Gulf of Hule (GoH) but rather in Lake Tros. The Yalu Sea accelerates its shrinking.

THE TROUBLED TIMES 1700BC-1300BC

702 "1698BC": The majority of the survivors of the Yazak cities settle near the newly formed Rockwater marsh. They call this land Bulzan. A smaller group find shelter in the caves of the Great Escarpment (GE)

705 "1695BC": Fleeing the destruction brought by the beastmen in the GV people from Birgidir, Karsile and Eivanjan seek shelter in the BM. Facing extremely hostile Dvinzinians and Grou-zhinians they will have to carve a new realm out of the territories of the Kavkazian countries.

707 "1693BC": The Dvinzinian city of Stepanazor is taken by the newcomers and renamed Azkoran.

711 "1689BC": Foundation of Azardjian with Azkoran as its capital and Tevrat as its first King.

725 "1675BC": End of the assimilation process of the beastmen in the GV. They now form the main military forces. Humans are back at the head of the political and religious power.

736 "1664BC": Askar Selimbayev, leader of the Kazmens, receives an omen from the Sun: he must liberate Kiteng from the beastmen for his people to receive the gift of large plains to herd their cattle.

737-738 "1663-1662BC": Union of the nomads under the leadership of Askar. Helped by the new union, the Sardjiks revolt against the beastmen's tyranny. Kiteng is liberated, the routed beastmen flee to the 9K.

740-753 "1660-1647BC": Reconstruction of the Blue Temple of Kiteng.

741-744 "1659-1656BC": The Dry Years. A sudden drought affects the entire region. The 9K are struck by famine. The beastmen are hunted down because the population associates them with the immortal angst. The Yalu Sea recedes to its actual size and gives way to the Yalu marsh which will rapidly be transformed into the modern Midlands Grasslands. The Kazmens are converted to the WotL.

757 "1643BC": New immortals rise in popularity among the followers of the ToC.

760-810 "1640-1587BC ": Religious troubles inside the ToC trigger a first wave of political conflict between the 9K.

776 "1624BC": The Antasynians revolt against their beastmen masters which are expelled into Bulzan

778 "1622BC": The Bulzans win over the beastmen and declare war on the new Kingdom of Antasyn

781 "1619BC": The Antasynian army is defeated by Bulzan. Antasyn is annexed. Vasile Serbanescu is crowned King of the Bulzans and Antasynians in Miriestiu.

807-813 "1593-1587BC": Religious revolution in Huyule. Bozdogan "Loki" replaces Kraliche "Hel" as the head of the local pantheon. Huyule's heretics are crushed by a coalition of their neighbours.

842 "1558BC": The Night of the Red Clouds. Pogroms of Sevigunesh's "Valerias" followers in most of the GV's cities.

855-902 "1545-1498BC": The Bozdogan Crusade. Kingdoms of the GV are once again pitted one against the other in a religious frenzy.

863 "1537BC": Secret alliance of Dvinzina and Grouzhina against Azardjian.

874 "1526BC": Followers of Yangunesh "Rathanos" in a madman rage set fire to the Great Library of the ToC in Khuur. They rejoice as the flames spread and they plunder the adjacent temples for more books to burn

879 "1521BC": The unfolding of an Azard plot to assassinate King Kitavili III of Grouzhina provides the long-awaited Casus Belli.

898 "1502BC": Taking advantage of the 9K internal struggle. The Bulzans' army invades Kuliye.

911 "1489BC": Battle of the Two Efreeties. On the brink to lose its war against Dvinzina and Grouzhina, the Azards mages unite their forces to summon creatures from other planes. The enemy is routed. After more than 30 years of war, the status quo ante is re-established.

978-986 "1422-1414BC": War between Sardjikjian and Azardjian. Azardjian is able to bring is northern border to the current location.

1005-1009 "1395-1391BC": Humanoids from the YS attack the Bulzano-Antasynian Kingdom. They are defeated and the kingdom is able to extend its border to the edge of the GE. The ensuing century is referred to as the Golden Age of Bulzan.

1022 "1378BC": The WotL is introduced in Karsile by LB missionaries while the Holy Men are occupied by religious struggles everywhere in the GV.

1040- 1150 "1360-1250BC": Religious revolution in Huyule triggers a new wave of religious war in the GV at the end of which Bozdogan take the head of the ToC.

1061 "1339BC": Invasion of Karsile by the armies of Sardjikjian and Dvinzina.

1087 "1313BC": The Wogar's Tribes invade the Douzbaks' lands.

1090 "1310BC": The Sardjiks' army is forced to retreat in the national territory to protect the northern border from the humanoids.

1092-1095 "1308-1305BC": Siege of Tashgoun by Wogar's Tribes

1095 "1305BC": King Wogar's shaman's prophecy. The Wogar's Tribes move south along the Yalu River leaving destruction in the Douzbak lands and in northern Sardjikjian.

1100 "1300BC": King Wogar's Tribes are marching in the YS. Forcing the native humanoids to invade the southern Bulzano-Antasinian Kingdom.

1103 "1297BC": Miriestiu falls at the hands of the Wogar's Tribes. Antasyn and Kuliye recover independence.

1104-1137 "1296-1263BC": Conquest and domination of the GV by Wogar.

FIRST IMPERIAL ERA 1200-700BC

1137 "1263BC": Death of Wogar.

1139 "1261BC": Dream of the Blue Knife. The humanoid tribes begin migrating east. Hosad "Hosadus in Thyatian" is meteorically climbing the stairs to power.

1150-1157 "1250-1243BC": Council of Jandak. Celebration of the unity of the ToC under the patronage of Bozdogan. The 9K are united into the Great Hule. Hosad proclaims the king of Huyule to be the Overking of Hule. Consolidation of the power of the Hagiarchy.

1155 "1245BC": Revolt of the Bulzans, The humanoids are forced out of the region, Anton Lupescu, chief of the rebels is sacred king.

1159 "1241BC": Battle of the Gree River. Forces of the LB are forced to withdraw from the GV.

1161-1230 "1239-1170BC": The Dark Ages of Kavkaz. Internal conflict in the region. Azardjian expands.

1165 "1235BC": The Holy Men kill Hosad. Their bureaucracy take the real power in Hule.

1173 "1227BC": Humanoids from the YS quit the region to join the Wogar's Tribes. The people of the GE caves gradually comes out and settle the upper Kizil Arzat "Rio Copos" valley.

1188 "1212BC": War is declared between Bulzan and Antasyn.

1195 "1205BC": The city of Korgüt is founded at the mouth of the Throat River by Hulean settlers. It rapidly becomes a major trade centre between Hule, the Urduk tribes of the Great Waste (GW) steppes and the peoples of the Serpent Peninsula.

1202 "1198BC": As Antasyn is slowly loosing the war, King Zymer III of Antasyn asks Hule for help.

1208 "1192BC": The Bulzans are defeated at the Battle of the Marsh. The Holy Men are progressively taking roots in the Antasynian politics and society.

1227 "1173BC": First Diplomatic contact between Hule and the Nithian Empire.

1247 "1153BC": First conversions to the ToC amongst the rank of the Urduk tribes. Korgüt is thriving as trade with the Nithian Empire is booming.

1259 "1141BC": Miriestiu falls. Hule establishes a protectorate over Bulzan.

1262-1285 "1138-1115BC": Invasion of the Midlands by the Borean and Hyborean tribes led by Dorfin, leader of the Dormiak.

1277 "1123BC": A military coup sponsored by the Holy Men overthrow the young King Zymer V of Antasyn. General Sakir Frasheri is sacred king. His power will remain tributary to the Hulean military support.

1293 "1107BC": Dorfin is elected as the Leader of all the tribes. Tashgoun is to be the capital of the Yalu River Empire (YRE).

1302 "1198BC": Dorfin adopts the WotL.

1316 "1084BC": The Hulean military outpost of Edeçul is founded at the junction of Kizil Arzat "Rio Copos" and Kizil Alaçan "Rio Guadiana" . It will become a trading centre with the Ksars people of the upper K. Arzat valley.

1324 "1076BC": Dorfin [Now on his dynast path to immortality] declares a holy war against Hule.

1327 "1073BC": Alliance between Dvinzina and the YRE.

1334 "1066BC": Azardjian's armies are crushed by the alliance. The WotL is enforced upon its reticent population.

1335-1366 "1065-1034BC": The War of the Two Temples. Hule and the YRE alliance are engaged in a merciless war that will be waged at the border of the two empires.

1348 "1052BC": Karsan, head of the Amarzazat ksars begins to unite the GE people under his rule.

1353 "1047BC": Foundation of the Karsanites Kingdom.

1366 "1034BC": The Hulean armies are defeated by the YRE alliance. But Dorfin mysteriously disappears. His grandson is unable to keep the tribes united and the YRE is fragmented. The peoples of the Midlands (Balits, Kazmens, Douzbaks and Sardjiks) remain loyal to the Dorfin dynasty.

1379 "1021BC": Missionaries of the ToC build a religious outpost at the mouth of Kizil Emetrya "Hope River" to bring the ToC to the region's natives.

1416 "984BC": Internal conflict among the Urduks of the Throat River valley. Hulean troops are sent to quell the unrest. The Hulean laws are imposed in the region.

1422-1449 "978-951BC": Conquest of Grouzhina by the Dvinzinian forces, the Iraklitan Kingdom is revived.

1455 "945BC": Worried by the Dvinzinian rising power. Hule sow the seeds of rebellion in Azardjian.

1458 "942BC": Contact is lost with a plenipotentiary expedition sent by King Dorfin IV to the Nithian Empire. [It was destroyed by a green dragon near modern day Selenica. Their diplomatic belongings only to be recovered a little less than 2000 years later by a group of adventurers. They will sell this treasure to an imaginative gnome of Threshold who will bring back the knowledge of the mythical kingdom (see Dragon 153)]

1467 "933BC": First victories of the Azards rebels in their war against Dvinzina. This ushers in a 200 years period of unrest throughout which the Dvinzinians will toil to keep the new Iraklit Kingdom in one piece.

1479 "921BCC": First extension of the Hulean Empire in the western GoH coast. The Kizil Alaçan "R. Guadiana" valley is incorporated into the empire. The militaries are growing stronger in power in the Hulean society as the Hagiarchy is plagued by bureaucratic sclerosis.

1488 "912BC": The Dorfin dynasty is split between the northern and the southern branches of the family. A new kingdom of Sardjikjian is created and all the Douzbak cities recover their own independence. Balits and Kazmens loosen their ties with the new dynasties.

1510 "890BC": Unrest in Bulzan is crushed by the Hulean army.

1527 "873BC": On their drive south along the western coast of the GoH. The Hulean armies clash with armed bands from the Karsanites Kingdom.

1532 "868BC": Rebellion of the Antasynian barons. Hulean military is sent by the Hagiarchy. Tensions between the two poles of power are growing.

1539-1666 "861-734BC": Regular skirmishes between the Hulean and Karsanites armies.

1594 "806BC": The Nithian colony of Senta-ni-Tep is founded on the southern coast of the GW. The valley of the Nuvia river "modern day Silt River" is rapidly incorporated in the colony's territory. Some Urduk tribes adopt the Nithian customs. A fair proportion of the settlers consists of Nithians, discontent with their motherland religious evolution, trying to start a new life in the region.

1607 "793BC": Revolt of the Hulean military administrators. A compromise giving the military near independence in their own stronghold is struck between them and the Holy men. The Overking is the last bastion of centralised power in Hule. The Hagiarchy drifts in decadence and internal division.

1621 "779BC" The last member of the southern branch of the Dorfin Dynasty dies of old age. A period of struggle for power in Sardjikjian begins.

1625 "775BC" Growing Nithian influence in Korgüt leads to tension between the two empires.

1654 "746BC": Urduk tribes allied with Hule, believing that the Nithians are responsible for the weather change happening in the region, attack the Nithian settlements along the coast.

1654-1672 "746-728BC" First Huleo-Nithian War. In response to the Urduks aggression, Nithian armies invade the Throat Valley and lay siege around Korgüt. In one of their last united action, the Hulean warlords will overcome their rivalries and answer the Overking's plea for a counter-attack. However, the Hulean forces will be defeated in 1672 "728BC". The eastern border of Hule is brought back to the BM foothills.

1666 "734BC": The quarrel over the demarcation of the Huleo-Karsanites border develops into a full-fledged war.

1668 "732BC": Growing rivalries between the Hulean warlords weakens the central power. Multiplication of the Sendarian tribes' raids also take a heavy toll on the Hulean military might and disrupt the line of command between the GV and the western territories (Bulzan/Antasyn)

1674 "726BC": Foundation of the Black Dagger Society (BDS) dedicated to the independence of the Nithian western territories.

1675-1694 "725-706BC": Answering the Karsanites Kingdom demands for help in their conflict with Hule, Nithia invades the Hulean territories of the western GoH coast. They find a strong resistance from the natives and the Hulean colonists, but little or no reaction from the Empire's centre. The remnants of the Hulean armies retreat on the GE.

1696 "704BC" Forced to Abdicate, Haluk VI, Overking of Hule seeks shelter among the Azards rebels

1698 "702BC": Declaration of independence by the Bulzan and Antasynian military administration. They soon will copied by the other warlords of the GV. Fragmentation of the first Hulean Empire.

THE AGE OF CHAOS (FIRST INTERREGNUM) 700-300BC

1700-2050 "700-350 BC": The Dark Age of Hule. Small political units led by the former military administrators and their heirs vie to become more powerful. These conflicts are characterised by treachery, multiple reversal of alliance, assassination, etc. The ToC is divided by internal religious conflicts.

Bulzan and Antasyn remain neutral. Their Hulean rulers quickly assimilate in the native society.

Changing weather conditions in the GW gradually transform the steppes into the Sind desert.

1714 "686BC": The Azards rebels, led by the former Hulean Overking, are able to break the grip of the Sublime Octagon Order of Dvinzina. Segmentation of the new Iraklit Kingdom into its three historical components.

1736 "664BC": Rakhman Nabilev of the Nabila clan reunites Sardjikjian under his rule. As he clearly favours mercantile interests over religious preoccupations, his reign will be marked by prosperity and peace. A bustling trade will develop as the Sardjiks became the intermediaries between the Dvinzinian iron mines and the Hulean warlords.

1745-1767 "655-633BC": Fleeing the droughts happening in their steppes, several Urduk tribes settle in the southern Grouzhinian valleys. Tensions erupt sporadically as the inflow of nomadic population pressurises the farmers' lands.

1747 "653BC": Nithian armies take control of the upper Kizil Alaçan "R. Guadiana". By this time the Karsanites Kingdom is fully integrated culturally and economically in the Nithian Empire even if it remains nominally independent.

1779 "621BC": First wave of unrest in the Nithian colonies of the GoH eastern coast. The uprising is met with violent repression on behalf of the Nithian army. The BDS is forced to go underground.

1789-1795 "619-605BC": The mountains' Urduk (Ky-Urduks) slowly loose contact with their cousins of the desert as the latter expands. Nithian colonists and Urduks from the Throat and Silt River Valleys are forced to regroup along the GoH coast and in the City of Korgüt. Senta-ni-Tep is deserted.

1803 "597BC": A plague epidemic breaks out of the overpopulated Korgüt. In the 50 years to come, the entire region will lose approximately two fifths of its total population.

1815 "585BC": The plague hits Grouzhina. The native Grouzhinian population is decimated while the Ky-Urduks are strangely unaffected. The land of the Ky-Urduks (Kyurdukstan) gets de facto independence.

1821 "579BC": A more structured BDS emerges of its underground period. The BDS is ready to take advantage of the fact that the relations with the rest of the empire have been halted to prevent the spread of the plague.

1822-1836 "578-564": War of Liberation. The BDS and its adherents start a resistance movement that will evolve in an armed rebellion. It is finally crushed by the empire.

1836-1849 "564-551BC": The Long Journey Toward Freedom. Survivors of the independence movement flee in the BM. It will take them 15 years to fight their way through the humanoids lands of the southwestern BM. During these years, the BDS will impose itself as the sole centre of military and political power.

1850-1863 "550-537BC": Arrival of the rebels in the Sen-Goush (High Valleys, the Southern Azardjian). A new country is violently forged out of the Azards ' lands. The wave of Azard refugees disrupt the balance of power in the lower valleys triggering a new period of conflict between Dvinzina, Azardjian and Grouzhina.

1874 "526BC": People of the inner circle of the BDS become member of the LB. The BDS will spread the WotL in all the layers of the Sen-Goush society. As the new faith becomes another unifying factor among Sen-Goush people, the BDS will go back to its underground status.

"END OF THE FIRST BOOK"

[1900 "500BC": The Nithian culture and empire are annihilated by the immortals. The Nithian colonies of the GoH share the same faith as do their Hulean and Urduk subjects. The Karsanites Kingdom is erased altogether. The few survivors loose all their memories of the empire and plunge back in the stone age. Some Karsanites that were still living in the caves are spared, but, for them, it is like if they never came out of their troglodytes dwellings. An immortal spell is cast so that they will forever fear the outside world. However, the Sen-Goush people is spared because it has evolved in a unique culture. The Immortals make them think of themselves as the survivors of a kingdom destroyed by a horde of humanoids. From this time on, they will be known as the Chengoush.]

"Strangely, all the parts of the first book that were talking about the so-called Nithian Empire were removed in the second book. I have preferred to keep the original text because it seems clearer than the later text."

1918 "482BC": LB missionaries from Sardjikjian and Dvinzina arrive in the GoH region.

1956 "444BC": The Peace of the Five Peoples. After years of armed conflict in Kavkaz, the five countries accept to send emissaries to Kiteng in a will to negotiate an acceptable peace agreement. The borders are roughly set to their modern emplacement. As Hule is still convulsed by recurrent conflicts, refugees coming in Sardjikjian and Douzbakjian are taught the WotL. Tashgoun become a major trading centre along the Yalu River. The Borean and Hyborean tribes remain peaceful but divided.

1982 "418BC": In northern Dvinzina, the Great Abbey of the Mount Nedarat is completed. It will become the religious centre of the Sublime Octagon Order.

2029 "371BC": Inspired by the Peace of the Five People, Çem Ipekçi, ruler of Azurun, convokes a Hulean council. All the major warlords are invited to discuss a peace agreement. However, instead of negotiating, Çem manage to lock all the warlords in a room and to throw in a powerful Poisonous Cloud Spell. This wasn't enough for him to be automatically designed as the new Overking, but, with the major military power disorganised, the task of uniting Hule's territory is easier.

2031-2076 "369-324BC": The Great Unifying Campaign. Çem Ipekçi gradually conquers the GV. The main resistance come from the Holy Men, which believe that he is not religious enough. Indeed, Çem strongly favours the development of magic in Hule and he is quite critic about the way the Hagiarchy has ruled the country throughout the centuries. His military campaign evolves in an overt revolution against the religious bureaucracy. The climax is reached with the destruction of the main ToC in Jandir and the elimination of the upper ranks of the Holy Men hierarchy.

2077 "323BC": Çem is crowned Overking of Hule.

2098 "302BC": Çem disappears mysteriously. It is said that Bozdogan himself came to exert his vengeance. His closest lieutenant, Galip Ertoglü, is selected by the Hagiarchy to be the next Overking.

SECOND IMPERIAL ERA 300BC-300AC

2100-2120 "300-280BC": Unrest in Northeastern Hule is crushed by the forces of the Overking

2120-2150 "280-250BC": Years of Reconstruction. Hulean unity is slowly rebuilt over the past antagonisms. A new generation of Holy Men is actively involved in the process. The cult of Bozdogan begin to eclipse the other cults of the ToC. The Great Temple of Chaos in Jandak is rebuilt.

2187 "213BC": Alliance of Hule and the humanoids of the YS.

2201-2214 "199-186BC": Joint Hulean and Yazak operations lead to the conquest of Bulzan

2217 "183BC": Under threat of seeing his kingdom annexed by Hule, Kulaj II of Antasyn accepts to become a vassal of Hule.

2240-2700 "160BC-300AC": Numerous attempts to impose the Hulean law over the western coast of the GoH are met with the fierce resistance of the native elves, dwarves and humans. The LB missionaries influence in the region is growing as they are a key component of the resistance.

2257 "143BC": The Dark Alliance. Azardjian and Hule sign an alliance against their religious enemies of the Kavkaz.

2262-2274 "138-126BC": First Kavkazian War. Hule and their Azard allies invade Dvinzina. Intervention of Grouzhina and Chengoush hinder the chaotic forces to occupy the entire country. Most of the southern regions of Dvinzina are at the hands of the Dark Alliance.

2301-2347 "99-53BC": Colonisation of the Bylot Hills forces the Hulean army to intervene against the raiding Sendaryan Tribes.

2366-2393 "34-7BC": Second Kavkazian War. Helped by Grouzhina and Chengoush, Dvinzina tries to get back its southern territories. The lawful forces are defeated at the Battle of the Hammer Pass. Sardjikjian break its neutrality to avoid the total conquest of Kavkaz by Hule. Only Dvinzina and the Borderlands are incorporated in Hule's territory.

2425 "25AC": Unrest in Bulzan weakens Hule's control over its western territories. Baron Kulaj VI of Antasyn take advantage of the situation to proclaim independence from Hule.

2433-2438 "33-38AC" Rebellions in Bulzan and Antasyn are violently crushed by Hule and its Yazak allies. Many natives are deported to the GV and the Yazak steppes to serve as slaves.

2444-2462 "44-62AC": Hule's attempts to subjugate the people of the GE caves fail one after the other.

2483-2514 "83-114AC": Conquest of the eastern GoH coast. The dwarven fortress of Slago falls in 2485 "85AC". The LB organises an underground resistance.

2520-2535 "120-135AC": Hule's southward expansion is stopped by Urduk nomads.

2550-2558 "150-158AC": Unrest in the Southeastern Hulean territories and increasing Urduk raids force Hule to retreat north of the BM.

2584-2607 "184-207AC": Third Kavkazian War. The armies of the WotL countries are defeated at the siege of Duzhar (Southeastern Sardjikjian) Sardjikjian and western Grouzhina are occupied by Hule and Azardjian. The situation is getting desperate for the WotL as Hule is looking further north for new conquests.

2611-2616 "211-216AC" The Northward Offensive. Kazmen and Balit armies are routed by the marching Hulean army. Siege is laid around Tashgoun. Queen Tursanay II of the Dorfin Dynasty is ready to surrender. Help come from the most unexpected side. Cymorakk, an elven prince of the Ozungan Plateau has succeeded the fantastic task of uniting the Ozungan families, to convince them to break their traditional isolationism and to forge an alliance with the northern Borean and Hyborean tribes. Just as Queen Tursanay's peace emissaries were set to negotiate the surrender of Tashgoun, thousands of horse riders and elven archers pour on the battlefield. The Hulean forces are defeated in what will become the legendary Battle of the Lost Hope. [Cymorakk is the reincarnation of Dorfin I on his path of the Dynast.]

2617-2631 "217-231AC": Period of military build-up on both sides.

2626 "226AC": The Crystal Dagger is smelted in the lava of the revered Mount Tcharski. It is the symbol of the unity among the Midlands and Kavkaz nations.

2631-2695 "231-295AC": The Sixty Years War. Following the leadership of Cymorakk, the armies of the Crystal Pact will gradually erode the military power of Hule and its allies. Kavkaz and Sardjikjian are liberated and Azardjian occupy between 2631 and 2663 "231-263AC". The Sendarian tribes join the Pact in 2674 "274AC". Hule's territory is invaded. In 2691 "291AC" the Great Temple of Chaos in Jandak is burned down. The second Hulean Empire crumbles.

2691-2695 "291-295AC": Uprising in Bulzan and Antasyn brings up new national dynasties at the head of the two countries.

2697 "297AC": The humanoids of the YS are defeated by Bulzan. They split up, never to be reunited.

THE YEARS OF DIVISION (SECOND INTERREGNUM) 300AC-600AC

2691-2707 "291-307AC": Division grows between the members of the Crystal Pact. The major bone of contention is the future status of Azardjian: Dvinzina, Grouzhina and Chengoush can't settle on an agreement.

2708 "308AC": In a heated discussion, the emissary of Dvinzina declares war on Grouzhina. An enraged Cymorakk breaks the Crystal Dagger and leave. The Pact is dismantled. The Ozungan Elves go back to their traditional isolationism more deceived than ever by humans. Most of the Northern Barbarians stay in Hule and carve their own dominions out of the Hulean territory. Nevertheless, the blow to the Hagiarchy is so hard that the Holy Men won't be able to re-establish themselves as an important political force before the beginning of the Fourth Millennium "Sixth Century AC".

2708-2727 "308-327AC": Fourth Kavkazian War. Dvinzina and Grouzhina are at war over the Azardjian territory. They weaken themselves to the point that an Azard uprising is able to drive them out of the Azards' territory.

2728 "328AC": Treaty of Erdnidze. Recognition of the status quo ante bellum as the new territorial division of Kavkaz.

2730-2833 "330-433AC": The Peaceful Century. Hule is divided in a multitude of small domains. Small scale conflicts occurs, but no major conflicts are to be noticed. A cold peace stands in Kavkaz. Sardjik caravan trade blossoms between Sardjikjian, the GV, Sind, Glantri and the distant realms of the lower Yalu River and of the Hyborean reach.

2829-2845 "429-445AC": Minrothad's merchants, Sardjik traders and Traldar immigrants introduce lycanthropy in the region.

2833 "433AC": Major epidemics of lycanthropy in Kavkaz force the authorities to organise hunts throughout the region.

2834-2882 "434-482AC": Erroneously, the Kyurduks are made responsible of the epidemic. This will trigger a new round of war in Kavkaz.

2838-2854 "438-454AC": Traldar migrants arrive in the GoH. The dwarven stronghold of Slago is renamed Slagovich by the new population. Traldar establish new settlements on the western GoH coast, although they are assimilated in the native population. The Olgar clan moves north along the Kizil Alaçan (R. Guadiana) and west along the GE edge. They stop in southern Bulzan. Native Hulean and Bulzan gradually adopt the Olgar Clan's language, custom and faith. A new nation is formed out of this synthesis.

2843-2869 "443-469AC":Demographic pressures force the Borean tribes to migrate south. They ravage Midlands, the GV and the western lands, their journey will bring them to the lands of the Savage Coast "modern day Eusdria and Robrenn".

2858 "458AC": LB missionaries to the Sendaryan tribes convert the Monzags to the WotL.

2869-3000 "369-600AC": Growing tensions in the ToC. Followers of Orumjek "Korotiku" try to get the upper hand after centuries of Bozdogan domination. These tensions will degenerate in an open religious conflict that will pit the small Hulean realms one against the other.

2912 "512AC": Milko Levski steers an uprising of the Olgarian against a Bulzan Kingdom plagued by political divisions and corruption. He is proclaimed Levski I, King of Olgar.

2943 "543AC": Kelsonath Primerider, chief of the Guymir tribe unites the Borean and Hyborean tribes in a plan to invade the rich lands of the south.

2971 "571AC": Invasion of the Midlands by the Northern Barbarians. The tribes plunder the Douzbak and Sardjik cities. The Blue Temple of Kiteng is mysteriously spared.

2975 "575AC": The Sendaryans tribes unite with the Northern Barbarians to invade Hule.

2978-3000 "578-600AC": The tremendous army of the united barbarian tribes pours into the divided Hule. Realms after realms, cities after cities are falling. The Hulean civilisation itself is under threat. The Monzag Tribe founds a new country out of Antasynian and Hulean territories.

3000-3003 "600-603AC": Reincarnation of Hosad. Hosad's comeback is enough to bring back the Hulean's pride and sense of unity. The barbarian Hordes are defeated by Hosad's army at the Battle of the Black Lord. Most of them will be killed in the ensuing pogroms, the rest will either flee to Monzag or be assimilated in the Hulean society.

Since Orumjek's worshippers in Hule tried to use the barbarians in their religious conflict against Bozdogan's, Hosad declares their faith to be illegal. They will seek shelter mainly in Azardjian.

THE THIRD IMPERIAL ERA (THE MASTER'S REIGN) 600AC-OUR TIMES

3003-3029 "603-629AC": Construction of the ToC in Greatrealm deep in the Darkwood. Consolidation of Hosad's power. Restoration of the Hagiarchy. Unification of the GV, 9 new administrative divisions are instated, the names of the historical 9K will be given to them.

3051 "651AC": Greatrealm Declaration. Hosad proclaims that all Darkwood and Rockwater (mostly uninhabited lands) regions are part of Hule. The new region, called the Janizary Lands, is under military control and will be the new home for humanoids to come in the Hulean Empire.

3062 "662AC": Hulean agents assassinate King Migen's (of Antasyn) daughter and disguise the murder as the responsibility of Monzag. King Migen declares war to Monzag.

3069-3132 "669-732AC": Conquest of Bulzan and Olgar by the Hulean Armies

3145 "745AC": King Migen II ask Hule for help in his war against Monzag.

3146-3273 "746-873AC": The Long Conquest. Monzagians fight with their last energies to keep their freedom. Plea for help addressed to the other countries of the LB fail to bring reinforcements since the others are anxious about being the next targets of their reunited enemy, they prefer to strengthen their positions.

3289 "889AC": Borderlands Declaration. The Master claims the forested region stretching between Hule and Sardjikjian as part of Hule. Knowing the fate of the Western Kingdoms, Dvinzina and Sardjikjian ally to keep this region out of Hule's control.

3291 "891AC": Battle of the Screaming Vale. Hule is defeated, the Borderlands remain a no man's land.

3315 "915AC": A Hulean detachment is sent to invade Dvinzina. They are kept in check in the hills by the armies of Dvinzina and Sardjikjian.

3349 "949AC": A Hulean expeditionary corps is sent to Chengoush. All that will return from the mountains is a cart full of the soldiers' heads. The Master's army will never try again to go in there.

3368-3392 "968-992AC":The invasion of the Savage Coast is resisted by the people of the Savage Baronies. The Master's armies are regularly defeated by soldiers armed with Red Steel weapons.

3375 "975AC": The Hulean navy is decimated by the flotillas of the Savage Baronies and City-States of the GoH.