Chronology of Atalanxia: Ent'Ara's First Eighty Years

3019 B.R.- Attin Ent'Ara is born to an unmarried human woman in an area of southwestern Futara today controlled by Toryth Vol. It is believed among the townsfolk that he is conceived immaculately. His mother is a sixteen year old deaf mute with an eight year old's mentality so this rumor cannot be confirmed. The more likely circumstance is that she was raped. When asked where she came up with it, she tells people the baby told her his name shortly after he was born. Little truth is known about Ent'Ara's life between this time and the start of his ruler ship. At the time of his birth a feudal system of ruler ship holds sway in the south. Seven kingdoms, Vairlain, Rafa Ben'Efre, Emberlynne, Shanericha, Fehring'Ram, Elsinhor and Ivilisse vie for control and war rages non-stop among them.

3000 B.R.- In a bloodless coup Attin Ent'Ara usurps the throne of the Kingdom of Vairlain, a kingdom large in countryside but lacking in governmental control. This kingdom largely rests in an area that is now western Toryth Vol bordering Kemmermere stretching northward into modern-day Arcadia and some of Westheath as well. At the age of 19 and with some 20 or so followers (the most famous of whom being his champion Ocara), Ent'Ara takes the capital city and declares himself Emperor of New Atalanxia.

2999 B.R.- Ent'Ara recalls troops formerly loyal to the King of Vairlain from strategic points across the realm. He risks losing border territory in the short term but plans to utilize the army for invasion of surrounding kingdoms if necessary. Allowing the troops to come home after many have been away for years serves to endear Ent'Ara to his new subjects.

2997 B.R.- For two years the Ent'Aran government attempts to negotiate the surrender of surrounding human kingdoms. The Emperor demands that all lords of men swear fealty to him and unite to form one government and end the constant warring that has scarred the landscape for nearly a thousand years. He calls this endeavor "The Peace". The other rulers do not take the 21 year old seriously.

2995 B.R.- Ent'Ara's army, having been centralized for three years and trained heavily under the watchful eye of the Emperor's champion, Ocara, begin to march eastward. Ent'Aran delegates head west to Kemmermere to negotiate terms of alliance. Within the year both nations agree to house ambassadors to speak for their governments. Delegates are sent north to Dweo'Morak, Kingdom of Dwarves and to the far northeast to Murgar, the home of Halflings.

2993 B.R.- After being essentially ignored by the lords of men for nearly four years the emperor launches his first strike. The Kingdom to the northeast, located entirely in what is now modern day Arcadia, called Rafa Ben'Efre, is overrun by the Emperor's forces in mere weeks. Using war-machines the likes of which the continent had never before seen, the Emperor's forces prove too much for the Ben'Efreans to hold back. The capital city is reduced to rubble, and an example is made of the Rafa Ben'Efrean King who is disemboweled and hung upon the castle walls by his entrails. His heirs, council and advisor are beheaded, their disembodied heads are sent to the monarchs of neighboring sovereign nations as a warning.

2992 B.R.- The elves reach an agreement with Atalanxia and join the alliance under the pretense that they will remain a sovereign nation. The Emperor agrees to do this with the stipulation that a marriage arrangement between himself and the eldest elven princess of The Citadel of Mist be honored once she comes of age. This is a secret arrangement known only to Ent'Ara, the Elven Regulus and his family. Four months after word of the elven alliance reaches Murgar, the Halflings join as well, figuring anything good enough for the elves... The dwarves however, hold out for a better deal. They are interested in a military alliance with Atalanxia but the ever-paranoid dwarves refuse to allow delegates to be permanently stationed within Temberdor.

2992-2990 B.R.- For two years a correspondence takes place between the monarchs of the five remaining kingdoms. They each express concern for their own dynasties citing the ease in which Vairlain and Rafa Ben'Efre, two of the most powerful and respected kingdoms among the seven nations, were taken by Ent'Ara. They assume an alliance with the elves and dwarves, both seeming a certainty at this point, would spell certain doom for the five remaining sovereignties. They meet in secret three times during the two years to try to solve the problem of Attin Ent'Ara and the Atalanxian Empire. Petty squabbles keep them from reaching any solid agreements. Alliance against Atalanxia is deemed suicide.

2990 B.R.- All remaining human nations within Atalanxian reach have now fallen under her control. Without another loosed arrow Emperor Ent'Ara now controls all of the southern third of the continent as the five remaining nations succumb. The lords of each kingdom exile themselves along with their families and closest advisors fearing retribution from Ent'Ara. Many are never heard from again. The elves remain sovereign, but Ent'Ara's influence over their ambassadors in New Atalanxia, his own ambassadors in Kemmermere and the arrangement of marriage give him almost complete indirect control over elven affairs. Believing the surrounding mountains rendering her lands too removed from society to be of help or hindrance, the Emperor chooses to ignore the Sultanate of Katja-Lor and it remains sovereign throughout his reign. Fearing no aggression from the Dweo'Morak dwarves Ent'Ara suffers their refusal to ally and does not invade, fearing a long drawn out affair that would result in an unknown outcome. He continues to discuss terms of alliance through delegates however.

2990-2988 B.R.- "The Regal Pilgrimage" begins as all five remaining monarchs and their families, advisors, bodyguards, and closest and most skilled servants are ferried north by a large combination of their separate military forces. Dozens are killed along the way as Ent'Aran assassins hunt them down. Many more die of natural causes.

2988 B.R.- The Regal Pilgrimage ends as "Nadalia" is colonized in central Futara. The "Swords of Sovereignty" are officially knighted and given title among all five kingdoms, making them officially men sworn to serve all kingdoms but subjected to no single one of them.

2989-2979 B.R.- Atalanxia solidifies as a (primarily) human nation. The assimilation of culture and the sharing of ideas and ideals begin a decade of prosperity. Resources once hoarded by greedy monarchs fortunate to find their treasures within their own borders are now shared and distributed. Ent'Ara removes old taxes and frees family heads from debtor prisons, forgiving old debts. Peace between the peoples of former rival nations reigns supreme. The Murgarian halflings are technically ruled by Atalanxia and therefore are Atalanxians but they are so geographically far-removed from New Atalanxia that most of them forget and continue to call their homeland Murgar.

2986 B.R.- Nadalia is sacked by an Ent'Aran strike force. The king of Emberlynne is killed during the attack. "The Second Pilgrimage" begins.

2985 B.R.- King William Wright IV of Shanericha is hung for treason against his own kingdom by Ent'Ara after assisting him with the sacking of Nadalia.

2981 B.R.- The Second Pilgrimage ends as the remaining (less than a thousand) exiles reach the northern center of the continent.

2979 B.R.- After eleven years of spotty negotiation the Dwarves reach an agreement with Atalanxia to remain sovereign, yet allied militarily with Atalanxia although at this time no societal enemies exist. Ent'Ara is frustrated but eager to end the fruitless negotiation with the stubborn demi-humans. By the age of forty, Attin Ent'Ara has, within 21 years, done what could not be accomplished in the preceding 8000 years of civilization: Unite the four major races. Historians who look favorably upon this period will call this the beginning of "A dynasty which embodied the future of modern government."

2974 B.R.- Against his advisors wishes Attin Ent’Ara takes his betrothed Kemmermere elfmaid, Sylis'Tar, as his Empress. Privately he longs for personal intimacy through common human interaction but to his advisors he claims a need for longevity in his line. His advisors fear that a half-elven heir would be seen as corruptible to elven sympathy. This is precisely what the elves secretly wish for. The marriage celebration lasts seven days. Ent'Ara disappears from the public eye for a year as he courts his new wife.

2974-2965 B.R.- Atalanxian influence spreads beyond her borders throughout northern Futara. The wilds of central Futara and with the exception of the Northwestern icelands (today called the Northmen Kingdom of Eldridge) and the Northeastern wastelands (known as Manchrist today) the continent is explored and inhabited. By the end of 2965 the Emperor has a detailed map of the "habitable" Futaran lands. The emperor is 54 at the end of this year, yet he appears as young and agile as a man in his early thirties. The Emperor's union with the elfmaid has yet to bear fruit. This, even at late middle age, does not seem to worry him publicly.

2965-2950 B.R.- During this period Ent'Ara's effort to eradicate all races deemed by him to be "Evil" by their very nature is accelerated. He separates his army into strike teams devoted to the destruction of specific races. They research, infiltrate and exterminate the races they are assigned to with ruthless efficiency, taking no consideration for the aggression or lack thereof from the tribes they destroy. In these fifteen years hundreds of thousands of kobolds, ogres, orcs and gnolls are hunted down and killed. This makes the citizens of Atalanxia feel safe. With no competing sovereignties Atalanxia is virtually the entire known continent.

2958 B.R.- The King of Ivilisse, last surviving king of the First Pilgrimage, dies. His death marks the beginning of the second generation of ruler ship. The Kingdom of Ulygnguard is officially formed after being planned by the heirs of the Three Kings for nearly a decade. The Swords of Sovereignty is the name given to the official knighthood. The three heirs form a triumvirate that splits power equally and heads separate government entities to form a system of checks and balances. One heir takes control of the military, another oversees commerce and the third is the lord of the common folk.

2950 B.R.- The Dragon Council begins: At the age of 69 Ent'Ara is confronted by a council of dragons that represent the three major alignments; Bahamut, Arko and Tiamat put their own differences aside and agree to helm the Council as equals. The purpose of the summit is to find the motive of the Atalanxian Empire's pursuit of "The Peace" and to express the importance of balance in all things. They impart to the Emperor the consequences of failure to adhere to the laws of the gods. The talks do not go well as the Emperor interprets their lectures as veiled threats. The talks go on and off for nearly ten years. At the end of which Ent'Ara makes the suggestion that any gods who would punish him and his people for creating a world filled with goodness by eradicating those things which are evil by their very nature, are perhaps not worth worshipping after all.

2949-2940 B.R.- During the time of The Dragon Council, disorganized groups of displaced kobolds, orcs and ogres begin to assault the outlying dwarven tribes of Dweo'Morak. The capital undercity of Temberdor does not understand the nature of the escalation but do not see the increase in violence as the legitimate threat it is until the latter part of the decade.

2941 B.R.- Abruptly, The Dragon Council ends. Later that year the three Highdragons declare war on Atalanxia. Emperor Ent'Ara anticipated aggression from the outset and had prepared by increasing mandatory enlistment in his militia. Production of war machines engineered by his most intelligent of generals specifically for battling dragons had secretly begun. Powerful heroes align with the Emperor to join in his cause for peace. The elves, wary of Ent'Ara's growing power and influence agree to assist indirectly. They send powerful wizards, capable of bringing down enough firepower to destroy entire battalions of men instead of elven infantry and cavalry regiments. The Elven Regulus believes this will appease Ent'Ara while minimally angering the Highdragons and by proxy, the gods. The elven fence-riding does not impress Attin Ent'Ara, but he accepts their wizards as they are among the most powerful in the world. The dwarves, fending off orc and ogre skirmishers are unable to receive Ent'Aran diplomats requesting assistance for the coming war. Ent'Ara sees this as a refusal to assist and so cuts off the military alliance and all further contact with them. This act seals what is now known as the "Dwarven Doom".

2940-2939 B.R.- Temberdor, capital city of Dweo'Morak, is sacked by ogres and orcs after an organized, two-year siege. It marks a swift beginning to the end of dwarven rule in the Broken Lands. Those who do not flee are killed or enslaved. Those who do flee are cut off to the southern passage and so are forced northward. A tomb is left in the bottom of the city, encased within is the "Curse of Temberdor".