Lizardmen in Thunder Rift
by phoneixmclLizard Men in Thunder Rift are strange for Mystara outside of the Hollow World (Malpheggi). This maybe another reason to show Thunder Rift as a civilisation cut off from the rest of Mystara. But we should be careful to assume that it doesn't have contact with other lands. (Will post about this later.) This would put their migration some where before 500 BC. This means lizard men arrive before humans. This also explains why in "Dragon Quest" the city of Torlynn has no history of the Dragon sealed in the mountain. Lizard men being prevalent to Thunder Rift, also means the Nithians never entered the valley. (Lizard men were largely relegated to hidden swamps, secluded valleys... HW DM sourcebook p9)
Strangely though, the history of the geography suggest it maybe a glacier valley. Assuming it is placed properly by Håvard, the cataclysmic change brought about by the Blackmoor Device did a number on Thunder Rift. The ice might even have still been present when the Hutaakans arrived. If it is true that the areas are dormant volcanoes as noted in "Dragon Quest" then we can also assume that land shifting may be manipulative to some of the valley area. So all that said a summary of possible events can be added to Håvard's time line (Håvard check dates after the war I think 670 and 680 should be switched.)
3,000 BC- Blackmoor device explodes.
1,500 BC- Hutaakans enter the valley finding it a soggy wet yet fertile land. A discovery of the Eisenmond and its ability to intensify magic leads to tapping the natural power of the ore all ready rooted in the heart of the mountains. With the connection between Eisenmond and the monolith the Hutaakans are able to seal off the valley from outsides.
1,000 BC- The invasion of the Gnolls force the Hutaakans to leave the valley. As the Hutaakans leave the valley their protective spell weakens. From this point on Thunder Rift is given it's "thunder" sound from the weakening of the magic stored in the Eisenmond ore that is found in the mountains. This also creates large electrical storms around the peaks of the mountains. The valley is no longer invisible but erratic electrical-storms prevent airship or explorers to cross over the peaks.
689 BC- Lizard men arrive and find the swamps a refuge. With the war over no one notices the lizard men's actions. They bring a red dragon hatchling and raise it in a lair in the base of the mountains near modern day Torlynn. The hatchling is worshiped by the lizard men as the incarnation of Ka.
670 BC- While the Dwarves are searching for Aristicles they stumble across a vein of Eisenmond. They begin mining it.
675 BC- Lizard men begin spying on the Dwarven shipping routes from their mine near modern day Torlynn.
677 BC- Lizard men make their first assault on the Dwarf mine. Dwarves fight back the invaders.
678 BC- Estorax Rex begins raiding the land for treasure.
680 BC- With the assistance of Estorax Rex (the Red Dragon) the lizard men tunnel from the lair at the base of the mountain to the connecting mines. The surprise attack takes the dwarven miners off guard...many dwarves are lost. With limited reinforcements from Hearth Home the decision is to use the Eisenmond within the mountain to seal the dragon and his followers in the mountain. The Eisenkern is enchanted with similar magic the Hutaakan used to seal of Thunder Rift.
600 BC- Lizard men have breed out any generation of knowledge of the Temple of Ka or its master trapped inside the mountain.