The Imperial Era

When the ancient empires collapsed they left power vacuums in their wake, but as nature abhors a vacuum, over time other kingdoms came and went, seeking to attain the pinnacles established by Satar, Khemsa, and the rest. The Third Age of Man was marked by a new set of powers that dominated Ryh’ardha, culminating in the Marasinian Empire, which sought not to simply match the power of the sorcerer-kings but to surpass it. The Third Age was marked by a rediscovery of lost magic as well as progress in mundane arts, including the transition from tools and weapons made of bronze to ones crafted from iron. The Third Age lasted about 500 years.

Start of Ambian Calendar
0 AR

Establishment of the Ambian Republic’s calendar marked the beginning of the Third Age. Other calendars have come and gone but Ambia’s is the one most commonly used today (even though the Republic no longer exists).

Founding of Spÿre
152 AR

Since the fall of the ancient empires, the practice of magic had greatly diminished in the realms outside of Syrhaat (and the isolationist enchantresses weren’t sharing their knowledge). Hedgewizardry remained, but notable magic was non-existent. In 152 AR, however, a group of Aeryandrite priests from Stalis (in Atalîsmyr, later Talîsmarr) found a cache of magical books and scrolls in the ruins of an ancient Xolta-Morassan city. From this they taught themselves how to use magic and established the Obsidian Tower, a magical university. The city of Spÿre rose around the tower, and became a center for all things magical.

Ulthian Completes Eastern Conquests
268 AR

The kingdom of Ulthia was originally just an archipelago of islands off the northeastern coast of Ryh’ardha. Over the years it expanded onto the mainland, gradually increasing its power. In 268 AR, with the defeat of the northern kingdom of Zarev, Ulthia completed the conquest of all the territory east of the Crystalpeak Mountains.

Khazrani Wars
300 AR

In central Ryh’ardha, the kingdom of Khazrantia had been growing until it came into direct conflict with the barbarian tribes of the Khazrani Plains. They fought with the tribes for years in what was later called the “Khazrani Wars”. Eventually Khazrantia declared victory, laying claim to all the territory between the Skull River and the Grey Mountains as various tribes either sued for peace, paid tribute, or were so beaten that they were no longer a threat. Part of this victory was due to an alliance with the Ghassan tribe, which remains hated by the rest of the barbarians for such treachery.

Marasinia Conquest of Known World
402 AR

In the early years of the Third Age, Marasinia was a relatively small power in comparison to the other empires of the time. Most strategists gave it little notice, assuming that it would be assimilated by one or more of its neighbors. However, those who discounted Marasinia had little understanding of its rulers’ beliefs and their ambitions, or the lengths they would go to realize them.

Marasinia was ruled by a great council of sorcerers who called themselves Mystarchs. The Mystarchs believed themselves to be of “pure” magical heritage, the “Blood of Aan” directly descended from the Ninth Tribe of humanity, and superior to all other beings. This prejudiced world-view was used to justify virtually every action the Marasinian Empire would later take and helped bring the world to the edge of madness and destruction.

For the better part of the century, the Mystarchs extended their empire throughout Ryh’ardha. Kingdoms like Ambia and Khazrantia, already weakened by internal schisms and border conflicts, quickly fell to the Marasinians. Mystarch control also extended into the Northern Kingdoms and the Barbarian Plains, though Marasinian rule was more tenuous in those areas than in the south. Eventually, the whole of the civilized world was under Marasinian control except for Ulthia, Spÿre, and Syrhaat.

Marasinians Attempt Sylvari Genocide
450 AR

The Sylvari, from their homes in the Aelarion Forest, the Avrin Forest, and what is now the Forest of the Forlorn, were a constant source of aggravation for the Mystarchs. The Sylvari had engaged in a campaign of raids, sneak attacks, and other assaults for years, ever since Marasinia began conquering Ambian territory.

In 444 AR, while the Mystarchs were engaged in their wars with the northern barbarian tribes, the Sylvari decided to intensify their campaigns against the empire to full-scale warfare. With backing from Spÿre and Ulthia, elven hosts from the great forests invaded Marasinia on three different fronts, while smaller enclaves in other woodlands assumed the tasks of raiding and marauding. The Sylvari had no delusions about defeating Marasinia, but they hoped to at least throw the Mystarches into disarray long enough for the Spÿrrans and Ulthians to shatter the empire’s power.

Despite their abundant resources, the Marasinians knew that a full-scale war against the Sylvari would be costly, and would open them up to attack from Spÿre and Ulthia. Unable to magically enslave them and not wanting to fight them directly, the Mystarchs engineered a vile alchemical disease, one which would only affect elves. In 447 AR, they unleashed this terror on the Sylvari throughout the empire. To the delight of the Mystarchs, their creation was an incredible success. By 450 AR, the rest of the world was astonished and horrified to realize the elven race was dead.

Mystarchs Construct Aetheric Collector
491 AR

The Sylvari genocide motivated Syrhaat to finally take action against Marasinia. Syrhaat entered into an alliance with Spÿre and Ulthia; together the three kingdoms vowed to destroy the Mystarchs and end the atrocities of the Marasinian Empire for good. With the Spÿre-Ulthia-Syrhaat alliance, the Marasinian Empire faced a real threat for the first time since its inception. To save their empire, in 491 AR the Mystarchs developed a “secret weapon” that would secure their power.

In the heart of Kyrantheum, the capital city of Marasinia, the sorcerers crafted a great, magical artifact they called the Aetheric Collector. The Collector was a large, spherical construct built from myriad gemstones, jewels, and precious metals. Its purpose was to draw in the magical energies that flowed throughout the world, containing them within itself as a reservoir accessible only by the Mystarchs. With the power of magic lost to Spÿre, Ulthia, and Syrhaat, they could easily be defeated by the sorcerers.

Unfortunately for the Mystarchs, the Collector worked – too well and too quickly. Mere moments after their activation ritual was complete, it sucked in the entirety of the magical energies flowing through Mythosa – cutting off magicians outside Marasinia, but also those inside. The Mystarchs suddenly found themselves without their sorcerous powers. That, however, was the least of their problems. Magical portals closed, floating buildings collapsed, and imprisoned demons and elementals ran amok.

The years that followed were known as the Age of Chaos. It was time of horror and madness, with demons, devils, and other outsiders running amok, evil creatures and races being spawned by the Shadrathu’s influence, and neither arcane nor divine magic available to combat them. With evil running unchecked throughout Ryh’ardha, humanity and its kin were pushed back into Spÿre, Ulthia, and Syrhaat, as well as pockets of resistance scattered across the continent.

Nethermagic Rediscovered
495 AR

Though conventional magic was no longer accessible, a new form of magic emerged during the Age of Chaos. Certain wizards, seeking any magic that might remain in the world, found that they could draw upon the dark powers of the Shadrathu to cast spells. This new discipline was dubbed nethermagic, but it functioned in essentially the same manner as conventional magic. However, it was rejected by most of those who formerly were wizards and sorcerers, as it brought with it a horrible price, since Shadrathu energies were not meant to be used by mortals.

Aetheric Collector Destroyed
508 AR

In 508 AR, a large force of warriors, priests, and others from Spÿre, Ulthia, and elsewhere was assembled to assault Kyrantheum, the old Marasinian capital, where the Aetheric Collector was found. The story of the group’s assault on the city is better told elsewhere. But the end result was a success: they made their way to the Collector and destroyed it. Unfortunately, all those involved perished, this immediately caused the magic energies within to burst forth, destroying virtually everything near the Collector and devastating the surrounding countryside since nothing alive could withstand the intense magical energies that had been released in such a short time. Kyrantheum became a blackened ruin now known as the Black City of Wizardry and the lands for hundreds of miles around it were turned into an ashen wasteland, today called the Grey Waste.

The destruction of the Collector was not the end of the war, but it was the greatest victory thus far. Armies began to rally behind clerics and paladins who were able to cast spells again, and those who had practiced wizardry and sorcery in the past and still lived hurried to re-learn what they had once known and to pass this knowledge onto others. Kingdoms began to push back against the darkness, and the possibility of a future kindled the fires of hope throughout Ryh’ardha.