GENERAL WORLD HISTORY

 

Brief Historical Narrative

​

Arállyn is a world rebuilt after a cataclysm. Four thousand years ago, Arállyn was a world of light, in which the races of the Fae,  including Elves, Dwarves, Branchfolk, Beastfolk, Flightfolk, Seafolk, Dragons and others had never fallen from the grace of the Gods, in which Vryn or magic was abundant, and the living coexisted in full communion and joy with the Gods, the departed and the yet-unborn.

​

But in the northern continent of Vorryn, an Elven sorcerer name Lydrys sought preeminence and power among his people through forbidden necromancy, and denied this, he turned against his people, studying the fell magic of death and death-cheating in secret. Through dark arts he twisted a small group of Elves into a new race of minions that could not die, even if slain in battle. He returned to the Elven kingdom of Varmellyn to wreak death and destruction upon his own people. All the races of Vorryn united against the foe, and all were nearly destroyed.

​

The wise young elven sorcerer-king named Darys realized that the only way to defeat the armies of Lydrys was to sever the unity between the living and beings of spirit, and so he fashioned by his art a weapon to do just that. And thus befell the Sundering, the breaking of the link between planes of being. Lydrys and his fell servants were indeed defeated, but at what cost? Vryn began to fade from the world and direct contact with the Gods, departed ones and other beings of spirit was no longer possible.

​

Almost three thousand years later, the continent of Vorryn had been renewed and rebuilt after the war with Lydrys almost destroyed all its sentient races. The Elves had retreated from the ruins of Varmellyn, some to the forests in the east, others to the river country in the west where they rebuilt civilizations. The Beastfolk, Branchfolk, Seafolk, Dragons and other Fae throve again in wild areas of forest, plains, desert, deep caverns, and ocean, some retaining memory and civility, others turning feral and fierce. The Dwarves had built mighty kingdoms in the mountains and already seen one great kingdom of theirs fall to corruption and ruin, followed by repentance and renewal. They had learned from history and grown in wisdom and virtue. But what became of the ruined Elven land between these realms?

​

In their mercy, the Gods, foreseeing the day that magic would begin to fade and the magical races of the world would decline, had long ago, created another sentient race from intelligent upright beasts living on one of the southern continents. Having no natural endowment of magic, they possessed instead an indomitable will to survive and expand, and a capacity to adapt to any environment, in which they chose to dwell. Highly intelligent and mentally facile, they were exceedingly inventive and talented at solving problems. During the Morning Bliss of Arállyn, this race was contained and kept secret from the knowledge of other races. That containment was released when the Sundering came to pass and about a thousand years later, a group of these non-magical people, calling themselves the Huma, arrived by boat on the south coast of the northern continent, quickly spread up the rivers, and obtained the goodwill of the Elves to inhabit the now-renewed yet un-populated lands of the Elves' ancient kingdom. The newcomers were very creative and enterprising and in only centuries rose to a high level of civilization and material prosperity, seeking and opening trade with elves, dwarves and the other races.

​

But the Huma, the youngest and least mature of the races, were also prone to lies, mercurial deceit, and unabashed self-interest, and they attempted to steal a precious talisman, The Darkflame Stone, from the dwarves. The elves did nothing to intervene, considering it beneath their concern. so the offended dwarves shut and locked their gates against elves and the Huma for a thousand years.

​

it is now the Vorryn year 2700 since the sundering a time of great prosperity and frienship among the races of Southern Vorryn. Thus is the setting for Arallyn roileplay on Second Life.

​

​

 

Timeline

​

Years are counted forward and backward from The Sundering. Pre-sundering years are labeled BS,  "Before Sundering" and years since the event are labeled AS, "After Sundering".

​

• ~300 million BS - creation of Arállyn by the Gods

• ~200 mlllion BS - Creation of Dragons during the Age of Fire.

• ~50 million BS - Arállyn cools enough for plant and animal life - Begins the Age of Life. Consciousness of life is continually reborn upon death.

• ~130 thousand BS - Creation of the initially-immortal Fae Race - Begins The Morning Bliss of Arállyn.

• ~100 thousand BS - Immortal fae are directed by the Gods to choose mortal form - The fae races come to be and choose their stewardships over the natural world.

  • The Green Lady, Goddess of Nature, following directions from the Mother of Consciousness, directs her siblings, the elemental Gods, in the Creation of Elves, Dwarves and Seafolk to be the high stewards of nature: Elves of the surface world, Dwarves of the subterranean world and Seafolk of the waters. Creation of Elves begins with wood, air and light, that of Dwarves begins with stone, metal and fire, and that of Seafolk begins with shell/coral and water. Fae that are passionate about this stewardship volunteer to incarnate as these races. Begins the cycle of mortal death and rebirth for the Fae.

  • The steward races of Elves, Dwarves and Seafolk help the Green Lady in selecting forms of life to become the nature-kin fae races in their respective natural worlds. Among them are the trolls, made to protect the nonliving resources of the earth from too rapid exploitation.

  • Dragons are secretly given stewardship over all the fae steward-races, to watch and teach, and to cull and punish when corruption arises. Fire Dragons are appointed agents of destruction, Water Dragons as agents of preservation, and Storm Dragons as rebuilders and as teachers and mentors to the penitent.

  • ​The Gods foresee a time when magic and the fae races will fade, and in secret, they create humanity from Intelligent, emotionally advanced upright beasts, altering them to resemble elves and dwarves, and giving them capacity for complex thought and language and no natural endowment of magic or need for such. Humanity begins developing in Gallyn, which is hidden and guarded by a magical girdle.

• 3365 BS - Founding of Varmellyn

• 2751 BS - Founding of Haashaala

• 1576 BS - Founding of Kheled Tarmorashum

• 878 BS - Lydrys makes a bid for the throne of Varmellyn and seeks permission from the Vrynala (council of magic) to study necromancy. He is refused and enraged, vanishes into the north.

• 35 BS - Lydrys issues from Gulvrynnyn with an army of the deathless Elarel Surae or Dark Elves and falls upon Varmellyn. Varmellyn is destroyed and armies of allied races all but decimated.

• 1 AS - Darys ends the War of Black Magic by causing The Sundering and thus defeating Lydrys - Begins the Noonday of Arállyn - The containment of Humanity is released. Humanity begins exploring and developing civilization.

• 35 AS - Founding of the Woodelf realm in Callannyn by eastern refugees from Varmellyn.

• 76 AS - Founding of Syldarryn by western refugees from Varmellyn.

• 87 AS - Finding and setting of the Darkflame Stone by Morek of Kheled Tarmorashum. This talisman becomes a royal heirloom.

• ~350 AS - Kheled Tarmorashum begins to wax in greed and corruption. The wealthy and powerful mine precious minerals to excess and treat commoners as slaves. Fire Dragons begin to have subconscious hostile feelings toward the Dwarves because of their corruption.

• 458 AS - Fall of Kheled Tarmorashum - Diaspora of the Copper Dwarves - Colonization of northern Callannyn by refugees whose descendants will later call themselves Nomez and be known by the Huma as Noma, or Nomenfolk (Gnomes).

• 513 AS  - Founding of Kheled Mor by Dwarven refugees and establishment of the Code of Honor by the newly appointed High Priestess Khoshareth with inspiration from Marasheth through the Darkflame.

• ~985 AS - Landing of the Humenfolk of humanity, also called simply Huma, in Vorryn, Early internal conflict causes part of them to head north to build a realm in the hills and plains. Civil dispute divides them into the  kingdom of Beorwaith, the Hilgenhuma and the Fairdenhama.

• 1013 AS - Founding of Bythia

• 1021 AS - Founding of Hilgenveld

• 1278 AS - Bythian Civil War - Grunrig wins independence

• 1848 AS - Founding of Beorwäith

• 1872 AS - Uniting of the tribes of the Fairdhuma and establishment of Fairdhevin

• 1913 AS - Beorwaith opens trade with Syldarryn

• 2687 AS - Beorwaith makes first contact with Kheled Mor - trade opens - Forest Dwarves in Callannyn have diverged in form and appearance from the Copper Dwarves, becoming the Gnomes (Noma, Nomenfolk or their own word, Nomez)

• 3121 AS - The Great Insult - Beorwäith trade guild tries to steal the Darkflame talisman from the Dwarves of Kheled Mor and are caught. Rulers pf the human and the elves refuse to mediate the dispute. Kheled Mor shuts its gates to all folk west of their kingdom except the other colonies of copper Dwarves and allied Trolls. Continues trade with them and with eastern Iron Dwarves. Will not trust humans or elves for over 1000 years.

• 4185 AS - The events of The Dwarven Prince, first novel in The Darkflame Chronicles -  no spoilers :)

​