Timeline[]
- 600 B.R. Vandus Declares Humans Free of Dragons – With Vandus as their undisputed leader, Humans declared themselves free from their servitude to Dragons. The announcement was met with little resistance by Dragons, who themselves were occupied wth the larger questions about how to deal with a growing and belligerent population.
- 597 B.R. Battle of Baden Hill (Humans vs. Malganival Lunus) – The only real battle between Dragons and Humans during the so-called “Human Uprising”, this battle was fought on a hill southwest of Dalimond and involved few deaths on either side.
- 575 B.R. Closing of The Gate of Embers (Dragon) – With a growing rift between Dragons and the growing influence of the “lesser” races, the majority of the ancients, including the Council of Elders, chooses exile through the Gate of Embers into unknown realms. They close and bury the Gate of Embers behind them.
- 573 B.R. Ashlander Vandus, King of the Humans and founder of Dalimond and the Kingdom of Vandus, dies.
- 571 B.R. The Great Schism (Dragon)
- 469 B.R. Founding of the Rachival Research Institute.
- 451 B.R. Founding of Chiconis (Helian Dragon) – Led by the great leader, Helian, a large part of Dragon society chooses self-imposed exile from their homeland of Dralk in order to found a new city in the south, Chiconis.
- 450 B.R. Founding of Sslanis (Sslik)
- 344 B.R. The founder of Chiconis and one of the greatest scholars of Dragonkind, Helian, dies and is buried deep beneath Dalimond Ridge.
- 323 B.R. Founding of Tazoon (Human) – The greatest city of Istaria is planned and built as a model of human ingenuity. It is intended to be a showcase of human skills, a gathering place for all races, and marks the beginning of a Human Golden-Age. Tazoon is constructed atop the ruins of the ancient city of Barasavus.
With the end of the Age of the Dragons we are brought to a time In Istarian history known as the Age of the Warrior-Kings. This nomenclature is used to refer to a period in our history that dates back 600 years. This is the age in which the Humans are united under a single banner and their subservience to Dragons is outright ended. The man credited for this is Ashlander Vandus, also known as the forefather of modern Human civilization. He united the often warring factions of Humans together with the common goal of standing on their own to defeat the Dragons. Although no offical coronation took place, he did go on to rule the Humans as King after unification of the different tribes. Only after his death was the practice of coronation instituted for the "Kingdom of Vandus." Vandus was also very instrumental in the establishment of the city of Tazoon, or as he referred to it, "the capital of Istaria." During the time of Vandus's rule Tazoon was a place of immeasurable importance, not only due to its strategic position along the Barasavus Plain, but also due to its economic power, which is greatly credited to the charismatic rule that Vandus had. Although Tazoon is no longer a part of the Vandus confederation, it is still a prospering city today.
Vandus's rule showed little strife during his lifetime. He was an extremely charismatic man who could easily make opposite sides seek a middle ground. When dealing with other races, most notable the Dragons, he would use his knowledge of their customs to waver things to his advantage. His understanding for Dragon culture was uncanny, so much so, that he was able to keep open conflict between the two cultures to a minium. He brilliantly played both sides of Dragon faction against each other until the Humans were strong enough to stand by themselves and fend off any Dragon aggression. Many radical changes resulted from the conflict of Humans and Dragons. The most notable change of this time was Vandus' sparing use of war to reslove conflict.
Although the use of war was scarce, it did exist. There were a number of military engagements in Human society both internally and externally. On the whole, Humans ascension into one of Istaria's major races was largely peaceful. This was due to Vandus's stance on war and due to his desire for Human civilization to be based on self-determination but not at the expense of other races, and to be open to the presence and cooperation of those other races.
The Age of the Warrior-Kings could not be defined by just one man though. Although Vandus is often referred to as "The Good King", kings that preceded him were also very strong and idealistic, one of whom was his son. His son though must also fall into his father's shadow and be judged against his father's persona of a paragon of virtue.
Although the Humans had a moderately peaceful time during the Age of the Warrior-Kings, the life of a Sslik was a much harder one during this time. With their alien physiology in comparison with the other living races they were hunted down and murdered. Even to this day some consider them to be barbarians and savages. They fled their persecution and went deep into the jungle of Lesser Aradoth during this age. It was there, in this jungle, that they created their home seat of Sslanis. They created this city to be a fortress, a place to hold out against sieges by the other races. The city was an eminent fortress within the jungle, with high stone walls that emphasized the Sslik's preference for stone over other resources. Though the city was built to withstand immense sieges, they never came. This was due in part to their idealistic Saris neighbors and the buffer the neutral humans created at the Aradoth entrace to the Sable Straits. Without war glooming overhead, Sslanis began to become a center of trade between the Saris, Humans and the Sslik.
Next: Age of the Sorceror
Source: community.istaria.com