History (Shard Ne'Vaal Supplement)

World History

The world as it was known was made a long time ago by the act of many deities and supernatural forces. As life flourished, it seems there was always some sort of dark force at the edge of the mosaic that threatened to tear everything apart. When all was lost was when Shard N'Vaal was born.

Notes

BG = "Before Gorge" AG = "After Gorge" X = Indefinite (present)

Eden Period (13,000-10,000BG)

The world was formed originally as a sort of garden by a god known simply as the Unity, called the Whole by others. It is believed this overdeity sacrificed their very being to become multiple, smaller aspects that created the world and all life around it. This includes the creation of the gods who would come to be revered throughout the land, as well as the monsters who inhabited it, and the normal beings in between. This period of time spans the world's creation and the tumult after which eventually leads to some form of stability.

Astral Period (10,000-3,000BG)

When the world seemed to have reached some semblance of stability, the outer planes influences began to seep in. This period marks a new restructuring of the land due to elemental forces from beyond the cosmos enacting their forces, as well as alien forms landing upon the planet surface. The Astral Sea's diversity brings new life and change to the world, and not all are received kindly. A good deal of strife emerges as new borders are drawn and more discoveries about the foreign planes come to light.

Age of Kings(3,000-2,500BG)

As the first kingdoms rose and fell in rapid succession, three stood out above the rest and established a reign of peace amid the turbulence following the slew of creation and alien visitors. They are the kingdoms of Camus, Tyrakia, and Sarateo. Back when the world was but one united landmass, these three kingdoms carved out the majority of fronts. For a time, under their rule, there was peace as the different races were able to coexist.

Age of Pawns (2,500-2,250BG)

The decline of the three kingdoms began when the groups within began to grow vocal and distinct. A single governing body no longer pleased them, and they resorted to a myriad of smaller uprisings over the course of this age. They would prove incredibly debilitating as the gods themselves now saw the pawns as a threat to their orders.

Age of Flies (2,250-2,100BG)

The prior dissonance from the pawns eventually boils over and full out cataclysmic wars are held. It is at this time that the gods saw fit to partake in battle. Sides were chosen and it is believed that this was when the four Meditations and Deeds Alliances came to be. Whilst the mortals ravaged the land in many splinter factions, the gods took up fronts and their clashes were so great that the oceans churned and the earth split. No more was the world united as whole, but now the continents remain. It is said that the air was thick with flies at the time due to the massive amount of death and destruction that came as a result.

The Lost Era (2,100-1,000BG)

Called the Dark Era by others, the Lost Era was a period of reconstruction and reconciliation after the horrible bloodshed of the prior age. This era is marked by starvation, unprecedented poverty, misery, and the madness which comes with it. People clung to faith almost in despair, and heinous things came of it. There is notably nothing of the arts produced at this time, and it is often regarded as the worst of the world's history.

False Dawn Era (1,000-1BG)

Following the Dark Era came some light. People were able to regrow their trust in one another, and adapted to their new world, now divided. Over the course of this expansive era, people were largely content with the new divisions, and they created their new nations, which are the most recent of the Old World. But seaward exploration established new connections and colonies, giving rise to new nations and territories. Most of the Old World's most productive times are known from this era as opposed to even the Age of Kings.
The name of this time period is given retrospectively from scholars who lamented it as a calm before the final tempest.

Paradise Lost (1BG-0AG)

This one year changed everything. At first, parts of the world seemed to be disappeared into nothing. Then, this erosion spread, devouring the land into nil. People do not know why or what god caused this, but prayers seemed to fall on deaf ears as the gods themselves were scrambling to mitigate this damage. Even the divine was murdered. As the Gorge ravaged the world with savage abandon, space itself seemed to break, and the pathways formerly in and out of the plane were suddenly closed, as though collapsed. By the end of the year, the world was in shambles, held together solely by the grace of the newly grown World Tree.

Tumultuous Period (0-106AG)

As was before, the new partitions and hardships caused by the Gorge forced people back into survival mode and they became hostile once more. The world as they knew it was gone. The population would never truly recover. Doom and nil awaited in the looming Void that was momentarily halted in its progress for satiation. Smaller, incessant battles resumed and many a race was wiped out as a result. Gods fell from power like flies as faith waned, further darkening the world's future.

Age of Glass (106-200AG)

Eventually, a fragile and uneasy peace settled. People grew tired of fighting. They became cynical and depressed. Views of the future were as dim as darkness. Those who attempted to retain order formed nations still, clinging to their old ideas and values. Others adhered to one another in despair, creating new cults centered around hedonism, fatalistic tendencies, and sometimes even savagery to survive. This age marks the slow realization of the world's vulnerability, and the dampening of war tendency, as people no longer saw reason to be antagonistic nations any longer. They lived on separate shards of glass, hewn together by uncertain lead.

Era of Shards (200AG-X)

This era marks the present and future of the setting, when it is recommended that players begin, though they can start in the Old World if needed. The Era of Shards has relative stability across the world, though it is a tenuous relationship. Warbands ravage across territories, hunting and stealing to survive. Cults plot and scheme to bring the world to its decisive end. Ad hoc nations attempt to placate their masses and assert their dominance. Many people are scared, many are in denial. The presence of the Void looms ever more as the World Tree weakens. Heroes are nowhere to be seen when they are needed most.

---

---

Back to Main Page → 4e Homebrew → Campaign Settings → Shard Ne'Vaal