timeline

The following is rather obviously incomplete, but it is a start toward a proposal. Some of this is already on the end of the backstory, but perhaps it should be placed in its own article. (Timeline?) The idea is that we just start with major events and work our way down to the more trivial ones. I would have more done, but I spent all day dealing with my sick car.

The Modern World

this era begins the day after the gods are banished. dates can be applied later.

society is left in ruins

Survivors of the great conflict awaken to varying degrees of ruin, all around the world. Since most of the able adults died fighting or protecting others, a generational gap was left in much of the population. The small amount of information salvaged from before the disaster was difficult (in many cases, impossible..) to comprehend. To make matters more troublesome, the face of the world had changed since then, rendering old maps useless. Only a few towns survived the geographical turbulence, but most were so utterly displaced, that new homes would have to be built. The necessity of exploration became a way of life for many generations, until society finally began to reassert itself.

the revival of civilization

The Crystals would remain hidden in the twisted terrain of the new world, locking away their vast supplies of energy. People that once used magic, could no longer grasp its basic concepts. As younger generations were born and grew up, most people who claimed to have magical powers were believed to be suffering from some form of dementia.

political powers begin to emerge

A Sparron noble named Sabborus Keshlam organizes the largest unified kingdom, since the destruction of civilization. He expands the initial territory in his own namesake.

• Disorganized and without strong government, the rest of the world is virtually helpless against this takeover.

Sabborus reaches his peak of world domination, controlling nearly 85% of the population. When he attempts to stake a claim on the ocean, the Tritan Empire emerges to oppose the annexation of what they consider to be their territory. An agreement is reached, that Sabborus will keep his business out of the water, if the Tritan stay off of the land. Sabborus subsequently solidifies a hold on most of the world.

For a long time, taxation of basically everything goes unchecked, because it is moderately reasonable & life doesn't seem too bad under Keshlam's rule. After a good deal of time however, Sabborus Keshlam dies and leadership begins to falter. There is a brief argument over who should take control of the entire kingdom, until the former-ruler's family decides to split power evenly between themselves, briefly forming a government known as the dynasty of Keshlam.

From that point on, taxations increase at a maddening pace, inflating the wealth of the dynasty, at the direct expense of their populous. Countless resistance forces and militias form in light of these irritations, but most quickly disband or are destroyed, for a simple lack of power to offer a significant opposition. Eventually, Orchan Keshlam (one of the many family members in power) makes the mistake of demanding the seizure of a cargo-vessel, because it failed to pay proper taxes before leaving port. When the captain refuses to pay, the vessel is attacked, but manages to escape. A group of Tritan hunters helps the crew with injuries & repairs; the lead hunter & the ship captain, exchange information & become friends.

The nation of Ancea begins to take form, through a collaborative union between the Tritan empire & a growing number of independent organizations.

• a Tritan elder is selected as the lead the government & a former pirate captain is placed in charge of the military. The new government sends out a warning to everyone they can find, to stay out of the ocean until further notice, while they secure their borders. Despite their lack of interest in the ocean, the dynasty of Keshlam considers this as a threat, because of the land they now stand to lose, as a result of this new collaboration.

With the protection of their newly organized military, Ancea is successful in securing most of the strategically relevant coasts, ports, etc.. the exceptions focused mainly around the heart of Keshlam. In an act of desperation, the rather flustered dynasty of Keshlam sends most of its army to take control of Ancea's capital. Though Keshlam's army does reach the capital, it is met with fierce resistance & is unable to take full control of the city.

• the Crystal of Water shatters, smashing a great deal of the western world to the ocean floor.
  • Ancea sinks, taking most of Keshlam's invading army to a watery grave, bringing an abrupt end to a very short-lived war.

• the Crystal of Air shatters, sending a the land around it skyward.
  • The northern edge of Keshlam separates & floats from that point on. The city of Nidostahn survives the separation, partially intact & is eventually selected as the kingdom's new capital.

• the Crystal of Fire shatters, scorching the jungle around it.
  • Most of Tonori becomes a volcanic desert.

• the Crystal of Earth shatters, forming the longest & tallest mountain-range, in the world.
  • Gasaro becomes the most fertile stretch of land in the world, despite its rocky terrain.

tonori

I will revise this a bit, but it will work with the entire "witch casting a spell on Tulimshar.." (see below)

The land of Tonori was once covered in dense jungle, but now it is mostly a volcanic wasteland. When the Crystal of Fire shattered, the jungle's canopy burned in what appeared to be a sudden and explosive eruption. The fire quickly killed not only most of the vegetation, but many of the inhabitants, as well. People were scattered throughout an increasingly harsh environment and had to spend most of their time trying to survive, instead of looking for lost friends and relatives; many fled Tonori completely, others began to develop nomadic customs, not conducive to life in a permanent location. Gradually however, most of the remaining Tonorians reconnected and promptly agreed to reorganize as a kingdom, but when disagreements arose about where the capitol should be, the group became divided.

Before the fire, the old Tonorian tribes had become aggressive toward each other; they constantly battled over boundaries, resources & minor cultural differences. Also, many illnesses that were beginning to ravage the area, were destroyed by the fire, giving people a chance to recuperate. For these reasons, many people were able to perceive the great fire as some sort of a divine cleansing. This group (comprised mostly of Ifriton) wanted their new kingdom to be built around the volcanic mountain-range, where they believed a benevolent but judgmental god(dess?) resided.

The rest of the group disagreed with this newfound belief, instead seeing the volcano as a threat of nature, that required aggressive analysis. When these disbelievers began to raise questions about the alleged entity in the mountains, fights erupted. After a while of posturing, the two groups were only able to agree that they should live as far apart from each other, as possible. This is how the kingdoms of Gispaa and Tulimshar came to be.

Since then, most of the people who chose to remain in the newborn desert, somehow learned to flourish there, continuing their lineage in a place where no one expected it possible.

I highly recommend we break off from the typical English ending of "ian." With a slight twist, we could call them Tonorans, which adds a slightly foreign feel to them. After all, not all the cultures in our world use the ending of "ian," so why should it be so in this one? Other than that, I don't see much wrong with these ideas. Obviously there will be more than Tonorans in Gispaa, but I could easily see settlements around the north-east of the sub-continent. Along the south and west areas, we could have different races. So far so good. I mostly skimmed over the timeline, but I don't see anything wrong per se. I may not agree with all of it, but since I'm speaking for the entire team here, I'll keep my mouth shut. Besides, that would just be letting my biases ruin the game by speaking out anyways. So! We have a rough outline, the general history of Tonori, and I'll get back to work on the other areas sooner or later. Seems we're making slow but steady progress here.

---- Pauan 09:46, 30 March 2007 (CEST)

.. each of the crystal-shattering incidents could be the result of some sort of godly influence. Imagine that the crystals are such that mortals can't willfully bring themselves to touch them.. but when they are manipulated in to doing so, the crystals react explosively. Perhaps the unlucky people who were tricked by the gods, in to doing this.. were turned in to the first monsters, by the elemental blast. It could be something for a quest, or something.

Dabe 04:18, 30 March 2007 (CEST): more tomorrow. be gentle with your feedback about the timeline, I know it's a skeleton.