Okay, here is the first draft of the history of Tyrlon -- Comments welcome
The abbreviation BF stands for Before Founding and AF stands for After Founding. The Founding that both abbreviations refer to is the founding of the colony and start of construction for the city of Atras.
TIMELINE
350 BF
An extremely large group of the demonic race known as the Aracknal are pulled through a portal from the Infernal Realms to the island of Cuirys. They soon find that they are unable to leave the island due to some unusual totems planted around the perimeter of the island, all facing inwards.
The Aracknal retreat to a secluded and defensible portion of the island. They do so to get away from the constant warfare between the other demons, devils and undead creatures that are pulled to Cuirys through other portals that randomly seem to open.
342 BF
A small, damaged ship sails out of the Shroud that surrounds Tyrlon and lands on Cuirys. The humans populating the ship explore the island a little bit, and are seen by Aracknal guards. After several fights and other close scrapes, these humans are able to get their ship back into the water, and are able to sail to the main island.
This is noted by the Aracknal guards who were watching the Humans. They realize that there is something different about the people on that boat that allows them to leave the island, but they do not know what.
342-335 BF
The Humans make multiple attempts to return home, but are forced back to Tyrlon, unable to penetrate the Shroud.
327 BF
The last of the Humans from the trapped ship dies.
298 BF
Another ship, carrying a mix of Humans and Elves, comes through the Shroud and lands on Cuirys. The Aracknal capture as many of these castaways as possible, and begin experimenting on them in an attempt to determine why they can leave Cuirys and the Aracknal cannot.
273 BF
The Aracknal finally determine that it is their own Infernal nature that prevents them from leaving the island. They begin experimenting and exploring ways to suppress their own Infernal taint so that they can escape the island.
226 BF
The Aracknal, having devised a ritual that appears to have worked on the individuals that it has been tried on, decide to try it on the remaining Aracknal all at once, with suitable adjustments for the numbers to be affected. The Aracknal also begin building enough boats to carry their people from Cuirys to Tyrlon as soon as the ritual is complete.
221 BF
The Aracknal perform the ritual, not realizing that it is a lot stronger than it needed to be. They are able to escape the island and reach Tyrlon, but shortly after doing so, they realize that the ritual is continuing to change them, and the entire group of Aracknal end up forming a massive protective cocoon around themselves. While cocooned, their bodies continue to change.
211 BF
After 10 years, the cocoon breaks open and starts dissolving, leaving behind, not the Aracknal, but a new race, who end up calling themselves the Rachni.
207 BF
After wandering for a few years, the Rachni decide to make their homes in the boughs of the giant Azuralee trees in the southern half of the peninsula. They make their homes in the trees on either side of what they call the Veconu River. It is ideally suited to their new physiology.
It is about this time that the Rachni begin to realize the full extent of the changes to their bodies as their oldest members begin to die off. They are no longer creatures from the Infernal Realms, but are now mortals.
Most Rachni are unable to even handle contact with creatures from the Infernal Realms, becoming violently ill at even attempting magics tainted by infernal energies.
167 BF
The Rachni witness a bright glow coming from not too far to their north in the middle of the night. They send scouts to check it out the next day. Upon arrival, the scouts discover large group of small beings, Halflings, who call themselves the Taniq.
Apparently the Taniq were attending a gathering of many tribes, called the Festmeet, when a wild magic storm descended upon them. This storm dropped almost the entire population of Taniq here on Tyrlon.
After meeting and talking with the Rachni, the Taniq decided to settle upon the northern tip of the peninsula where there was more open land to allow for the quasi-nomadic tribes of Taniq to continue living as they liked.
The Rachni also helped the Taniq to build a bridge over the river that the Taniq decided to call the Taich. The Rachni also set up agreements for trading with the newly arrived Taniq.
109 BF
Fleeing a natural catastrophe on their home world, a village of Gnomes who call themselves the Ethori, opened a portal to Tyrlon, not realizing that it was going to be a one way trip. The Ethori are soon discovered by the Taniq, who are not pleased to have another race living in their lands.
However, after several months of meetings, the Taniq and Ethori come to an agreement, and the Ethori are allowed to search Taniq lands for suitable sites to build their underground villages.
103 BF
The Ethori settle in a small valley near the headwaters of the Taich River. They carve their homes into the ground itself, leaving little evidence that they are actually living there.
87 BF
The Ethori request and get permission from the Taniq to set up another settlement, this time at the headwaters of the Achani River.
49 BF
Several ships come sailing through the Shroud. On board is a young Prince Celagiredd, youngest son of King Raisil, ruler of the largest Elven nation upon his home world. Prince Celagiredd was traveling with his entourage and guards, as he accompanied a trade envoy to another nation when they were caught in what his people refer to as a WereStorm, a rare magical storm that can crop up spontaneously.
Prince Celagiredd lands upon a tiny island just off the coast. He builds a tiny village to use as a base for safety and exploration, while some of the more magically-inclined retainers among his entourage work and study in an attempt to find a way for them to return home.
41 BF
Myrrihc, the chief mage among the retainers of Prince Celagiredd finally discovers a combination of crystals that can be used to scry through the Storm Barrier to see the world that they originally came from. From this, he extrapolates that he should be able to craft a few spells that would allow for a single caster to transport one or more ships back through the Storm Barrier and to their home world. Prince Celagiredd commands Myrrihc to continue trying until he also has spells that will allow them to travel back to Tyrlon as well.
37 BF
Prince Celagiredd makes contact with the Rachni to the south of his landing. They tell him what little that they know of their home, explaining that they "arrived" only a century or two before. The Rachni explain that they only explored the peninsula as far as the Stonewall Peaks, the mountains that separates the tip of the peninsula from the rest of Tyrlon.
28 BF
Prince Celagiredd, in the company of a delegation of Rachni, travels north to meet with the Taniq. The Prince and his men set up some standard rules for trading with both the Rachni and Taniq while they are stranded on Tyrlon. The prince explains his plans to get home and then to return to found a colony to better explore the island and take advantage of its resources.
The prince, the Rachni and the Tariq lay the foundations of a treaty that is to be fully settled upon should the prince be able to return to his homeland and make it back to Tyrlon.
23 BF
Myrrihc finally discovers the right spell to get an entire ship through the Shroud safely, and to get it back again. Prince Celagiredd then decides that before they leave, that they must collect enough samples of exotic materials to show his father, to convince him that it would be worthwhile coming back.
17 BF
Prince Celagiredd finally sets sail for home, his ships overflowing with the treasures that he has accumulated over the years.
16 BF
Prince Celagiredd finally returns home, to find that everybody had thought him dead for many years. After many extensive talks with his father, King Raisil, Prince Celagiredd secures permission to mount a colony expedition back to Tyrlon for the purpose of setting up a permanent base of operations to explore and exploit Tyrlon.
15 BF
Prince Celagiredd tasks Myrrihc with the task of creating s new guild, the Storm Guild, whose sole purpose is to safely escort ships to and from Tyrlon. Myrrihc takes his first group of a dozen recruits back to Tyrlon so that they can experiment and hone their skills and abilities. After mining more crystals, enough for each member of the Storm Guild, they set out to learn as much as possible about the Shroud and how to better control both it and the storms within to allow ships passage.
Each member of the Storm Guild swears personal allegiance to Prince Celagiredd, forswearing all others. The Storm Guild also begins research into a number of spells, including one that will return them to Tyrlon in case of emergency. During their research, the Storm Guild also discover that they can visit worlds other than their own as well.
10 BF
Prince Celagiredd visits Dwarfholme and tells them about his upcoming venture, and petitions them to join him on his expedition. They agree but only if they can have a say in the government. Prince Celagiredd and the Dwarves begin working out details of the government of Atras.
5 BF
Prince Celagiredd starts recruiting from the Human lands. The Trade Guilds are particularly interested since this is fantastic opportunity for them. They also work to recruit other Humans to join the colony.
Myrrihc is killed by a wild creature while exploring one of the new worlds that have been discovered. The leadership of the Storm Guild passes to Myrrihc's eldest apprentice, Helus.
3 BF
Helus returns to the homeland and reports their discoveries to Prince Celagiredd, who swears the Storm Guild to keep secret that they have discovered other worlds, at least until they have firmly established their colony on Tyrlon.
0 AF
The first of the colony ships, guided by members of the Storm Guild, arrive in Tyrlon, and they start building the city of Atras. These are the first of many annual arrivals that will last for the next 25 years.
The first settlements are built on Camp Island, where Prince Celagiredd and his people made their initial camps. Surveys and calculations are started regarding how big the city should be, and its initial stages are laid out.
Prince Celagiredd declares that the city of Atras will be the capital of the newly formed Kingdom of Aethor.
3 AF
Prince Celagiredd meets with the leaders of both the Rachni and Tariq and over the course of a year formalize a treaty that separates the peninsula into 3 separate lands, settling trade rights, and settling rights for the Rachni and Tariq to travel through newly formed Kingdom. The Tariq lands to the north are named Sredall. The Rachni lands to the south are named Ulris.
The three nations then form a council which will oversee issues that involve all of the nations of Tyrlon. This Council of Tyrlon has the primary duty of overseeing the exploration of Tyrlon and any other matters that concern all members of the Council. The Council includes members of all of the races known to Prince Celagiredd; Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Rachni, and Tariq.
5 AF
The first regular trade expeditions are mounted to both the Rachni lands to the south, and the Taniq lands to the north. The Bruma Rangers are formed for the purpose of clearing monsters and other dangerous creatures from the Kingdom. They begin making regular patrols along the routes taken by the traders, and then start expanding their patrols up into the Bruma Valley.
8 AF
Prince Celagiredd is killed in an unfortunate accident during an inspection of the city walls. Both the Parliament of Lords and the Conclave of Guilders jointly vote to raise the late Prince Celagiredd's Prime Minister, Lady Cyrala, who also happens to be a distant cousin of the late Prince, to the throne of Aethor as its new Queen.
9 AF
Queen Cyrala has the first of the Watch Towers built around Atras, they are built to provide protection against any monsters that get past the Bruma Rangers. These Towers are garrisoned as quick reaction forces to protect those who grow the food for Atras.
15 AF
The walls of Atras are completed, and the interior of the city is about one third complete. Dwarven contingents spread out from Atras into the Bruma Valley, with the intent of locating all of the passes through the Stonewall Peaks, with the eventual goal of closing most of them, making it more difficult for dangerous things to reach Aethor. A secondary purpose of these contingents is to also find the right spot for the Dwarves to settle and create their own city within the mountains. The Dwarven contingents do not travel into Rachni or Taniq lands.
20 AF
During their surveys, the Dwarves find a couple of spots that they like and want to use for themselves. They also find one pass through the mountains that would be too hard to close, so they send a small delegation back to Atras to speak with Queen Cyrala about possible solutions.
Queen Cyrala commissions the building of Celag's Wall, named in honor of her late cousin. She also decides that since exploration of Tyrlon was always to be part of Aethor's future, there needs to be created a new guild, an Explorer's Guild. She requests that the Council of Tyrlon aid in the creation of this new guild.
The newly formed Explorer's Guild begins working with the Council's representatives to work out what its rights and duties and obligations are. Unauthorized exploration of Tyrlon is also outlawed by all Council members.
21 AF
A small wooden palisade, fronted by many spikes is laid out along the course that Celag's Wall is supposed to take, and work begins on building a sturdier, more lasting wall.
25 AF
The interior of Atras is complete, though some areas seem to have been built in a more organic manner than originally intended. The city is already full, and some of the colonists branch out to build small villages along the coast in either direction. Others head inland looking for good spots to create their homes.
The town of Forwen grows up where the Lenga and Edall Rivers meet. It quickly grows into an important way station between Atras and Celag's Wall.
The last of the scheduled ships of colonists arrive in Atras. While there are no more trips to be made solely for acquiring colonists, many outbound ships often return with a few passengers interested in coming to Tyrlon.
29 AF
Celag's Wall is complete, and the small village that grows up around the initial garrison is given the unimaginative name of Gateway by the first garrison commander. The Explorer's Guild sets up its own Guildhall in Gateway, to better track the coming and goings of adventurers.
The first of several groups of explorers set out from Gateway later in the same year. None of the first dozen groups that leave in this year ever return.
With the major construction projects finished, the Dwarves begin construction on their own city, near the headwaters of one of the smaller, unnamed rivers that join to form the Lenga River. They decide to name this city Graldan, after one of their ancient heroes.
30AF
Zelnik's Explorers are the first group to return to Gateway, and they do so after only a few weeks. They had followed the river than ran past Gateway on down to the coast, without ever crossing it. They tell tales of many strange creatures that could be sighted on both sides of the river. Caution is advised for all future exploration teams. This river is named the Oswig River.
Zelnik proposes building a permanent bridge across the Oswig to better facilitate crossing it to continue future explorations
35 AF
Planning begins for a town to be built where the two smaller rivers join to form the Lenga River. This town will be named Sebbet, and serve as the initial trade town where goods from Graldan are delivered.
36 AF
Construction begins on Sebbet, starting with an outpost for the Bruma Rangers, and then expanding from there.
40 AF
Queen Cyrala addresses both the Parliament of Lords and the Conclave of Guilders, revealing that the Storm Guild has discovered many new worlds which are reachable from Tyrlon. She proposes that they send trade missions to port cities on a number of these worlds, and to keep the exact location of Tyrlon a secret from all of them, just as Prince Celagiredd kept its location secret from his father, while still allowing newcomers to visit and even settle upon Tyrlon. She also proposes that Aethor declares its independence from the homeland. Both proposals are met with enthusiastic support, and plans are set in motion to make them reality.
42 AF
Queen Cyrala sends a special envoy, with the unanimous consent of both the Parliament and the Conclave, to the homeland, declaring their independence. The envoy points out that there is no way for King Raisil to actually send troops to Tyrlon. And that should he object to Aethor declaring its independence that they would simply stop trading with them, thus stopping the flow of rare and exotic goods that had made the homeland prosperous over the last few decades.
After many consultations with his advisors, King Raisil grudgingly signs a decree officially granting Aethor its independence from the homeland.
47 AF
One of the exploration teams return with news of a race of people who inhabit a large valley just off the peninsula, on Tyrlon proper. This is a race of Orcs, but unlike any that the explorers had ever heard about, they are willing to talk to and even trade with those from Aethor, so long as nobody enters their homeland, the Granyx Valley.
Shortly after the explorers return to Gateway, a delegation of the Granyx Orcs arrives to negotiate a formal treaty with the Council of Tyrlon. This treaty is quickly negotiated and settled, and Orcs soon become a common site in Gateway. The treaty recognizes the Granyx Valley as the home of the Orcs, and codifies that anybody from Aethor or its neighboring kingdoms that enters the Granyx Valley do so at the forfeit of their very lives, and the Orcs agree to abide by all of the laws of the land for any Council members. This treaty also formalizes the Granyx Orcs joining the Council of Tyrlon.
51 AF
The Ethori make themselves known to the other races of Tyrlon when some Ethori traders wish to expand their customer base into the Aethorian lands. After some debate amongst themselves, the Ethori are granted a seat on the Council of Tyrlon.
55AF
The Dwarves begin construction on their second city in the mountains near the headwaters of the Edall River.
62 AF
The Rachni are witness to the arrival of another group of peoples to Tyrlon, this time within their own borders. On a nice spring day, with very clouds in the sky, the Rachni witness an unusual storm form in the foothills of the mountains near their main settlement.
This storm passed as quickly as it came, and upon investigation, the Rachni discover the ruins of several huge trees, similar in size to their own Azuralee trees, but of an unusual golden hue. Even more remarkable, the Rachni discover that these trees were also inhabited by a race of people who called themselves the Vrosi. The Rachni welcome them into their villages and homes.
69 AF
The Dwarves finish primary construction of Edallholme, as they call their second city, and move into it.
The Rachni petition for the Vrosi to be given a seat on the Council of Tyrlon, and it is granted.
70 AF
The present...
