Irdya After the Fall

Irdya After the Fall

The Beginnings of the Chaos Empire

Some time long after the Fall of the Third Sun, a new leader arises among the coastal human settlements in Kalari, and teaches a previously unknown form of magic to a handful of adepts who help him take control of the locals, aided by a mysterious power emanating from Zocthanol Isle in the Vast Sea. Together, they begin preparing the stage for the eventual takeover of Irdya by Uria, Guardian of Life and Supreme Empress of Inferno/Urvatha.

From this point onwards, the timeline is structured around the point at which the largest gateway to Inferno was opened in the Valley of Weldyn, and divided in two periods: Before the Empire (BE) and During the Empire (DE).

238-212 BE: Purification of Zochtanol

238 BE

• Mal-Zagarn (Argan), leader of the Chaos cult and the Voice of Uria, leads an expedition to investigate millenarian ruins in the depths of the Heart Mountains, searching for weapons according to Uria's instructions.

236 BE

• Argan returns to Kalari and spreads the word about Uria and the changes she promises for the ravaged world of Irdya amongst other human settlements north and south of Kalari.
• Mal Hekuba joins the Iron Triad.

233 BE

• Elyssa is born in the Pass of the Temple of Fire.
• The Iron Triad commences the construction of a new fortress in the valley of Weldyn, salvaging documents and artifacts from the ruins of the ancient Empire's capital in the process.

231 BE

• The Pass of the Temple of Fire is assaulted by Argan and a host of demons aided by the first few biomechanical (Shaxthal) beasts created after the Fall, in response to an earlier refusal to join Uria's cause. Only two Fire Priests and Elyssa are spared.
• The surviving priests are cursed by Argan to linger around as liches.
• The deserted ruins of the Temple of Fire are raided by a tribe of desert nomads; Elyssa is taken away and raised by them.

228 BE

• Dwarvish experts begin to experiment with the development of mechanical automatons and other advanced contraptions.

213 BE

• A meteor shower lays waste to the Quenoth elves' settlement in the Great Southern Desert. The survivors, led by the late lord's nephew Kalehssar, go on a journey to find a new home in the North, guided by Kaleh's visions of Eloh in his dreams. Under The Burning Suns begins.
• Kaleh's band meets Elyssa, a young fire mage who is investigating the ruins of the Empire of Wesnoth searching for the Sceptre of Fire.
• The desert elves descend into the depths of a mountain range. They meet King Thurongar of the dwarves after repelling an invasion of northern trolls. Elyssa separates from the group.
• The elves encounter human scouts sent by the Iron Triad. A vision of Eloh attempts to command Kaleh to surrender to them, but he declines.
• Merfolk messengers locate the desert elves and warn them of the menace hiding in Zocthanol Isle and holding control of the minds of many surface creatures on Irdya. During the elves' escape from the port of Ygriz, Eloh appears and turns a number of desert elves against Kaleh until she is finally banished.
• Kaleh's group arrives to Zocthanol Isle and confronts the impostor posing as Eloh in the citadel. She reveals herself as Yechnagoth, the Eater of Souls, formerly known as Merthiaal, the Guardian of Darkness. The elves manage to destroy her artificial body and put an end to her control over the surface dwellers. Under the Burning Suns ends.
• Argan secretly returns to Zocthanol Isle (now Quenoth Isle) and absconds with Merthiaal's energy heart organ.

211-1 BE: Prelude

211 BE

• A dwarvish guard returned from Zocthanol spreads word of the Quenoth elves' deeds.

210 BE

• Elyssa is captured by Chaos scouts while traveling towards the valley of Weldyn. Following a fruitless attempt to escape, she is imprisoned in the Heart fortress.
• Argan finds out about Elyssa and discovers her in poor state after being tortured and humiliated by soldiers for weeks, and takes her to the main Chaos stronghold in Kalari Peninsula.
• Argan reaches an agreement with Uria to install the salvaged heart of the Guardian of Darkness in Elyssa's body in combination with technology from a world called 'Norsula', in order to allow the girl to live as another servant of Uria. In the process, he forfeits his free will, thus sealing his eventual fate.
• Elyssa rises again as the first artificial Guardian to exist, a fact which remains a secret between Argan, Uria, and her for the most part. In time, she begins to lead the Chaos military as the Warlord operating within Uria's and Argan's designs, also known as the Fire of Uria.

203 BE

• The dwarven kingdom beneath the Heart Mountains begins trading with the Aragwaithi of the Far North.

199 BE

• Demon Lord Nar-Hamoth joins the Iron Triad as the Shadow of Uria.

188 BE

• The forces of Chaos force the dwarves inhabitating the main area of the Great Continent to retreat to the Heart Mountains. Some dwarven engineers and their technology are captured by the Iron Triad and mass-production of automatons and other advanced machinery finally takes off.

121 BE

• The shaxthal hive in the Heart is built.

109 BE

• The shaxthal hive in the devastated plains of Wesmere is built.

101 BE

• Three shaxthal hives are built in the Great Southern Desert.

90 BE

• Argan sends Mal-Dorzat with a battalion to conquer barbarian lands in the Far South of the Great Continent.
• An expedition led by Mal-Himir is sent to the East in search for the Old Continent.

80-10 BE

• The human kingdoms in the Far North are unified by Adavyan of the Aragwaithi as she puts an end to her War of Consolidation.
• The dwarves stop sending scouts and merchants to the surface.
• Most orcish tribes in the main area of the Great Continent are obliterated by Chaos forces.

0 BE

• Members of the Iron Triad create a breach connecting Irdya and Inferno/Urvatha within the depths of the Heart fortress, allowing demons to enter Irdya in absolutely unprecedented numbers.

0-146 DE: The Chaos Empire's Apogee

The Chaos Empire begins after most of the Great Continent and the southern isles have been overrun by the combined forces of shaxthal creatures, demons and Chaos soldiers. Argan is designated as the eternal Emperor and rules Irdya along with the Iron Triad following Uria's designs.

The Far North at this point has become a relatively stable and thriving ensemble of human and orcish kingdoms. The humans have united under a single banner following Adavyan's lengthy War of Consolidation, governed by the pluralist Grand Council of the Northern Peoples based in the city of Raelthyn.

The dwarvish population is concentrated on the depths of the Heart Mountains, and more clans join the recently founded Kingdom of Herthgar.

The desert elves in Zocthanol Isle remain largely unaware of the events taking place in the Great Continent.

144 DE

• Uria commands Argan to find and capture Elynia-Thanadria.
• Mal Kendria joins the Iron Triad.

145 DE

• The Valley of Elynia, the last elvish community left in the Great Continent, is overrun by the forces of Chaos. The majority of the elves escape underground after the initial skirmishes, led by Galas and Anlindë. Invasion from the Unknown begins.

146 DE

• Elyssa's expedition to the Heart Mountains stumbles upon the elvish forces, now supported by undead creatures under the control of an ancient lich named Mal Keshar.
• Galas' band allies with the dwarves of Herthgar to repel Elyssa's forces. Elyssa retreats and summons reinforcements.
• With the help of a dwarven runemaster by the name of Althurin, the elves find and awake Elynia just in time to hold Elyssa's second battalion back.
• Elves and dwarves are overwhelmed by the enemy forces and abandon the Heart Mountains as they capture Herthgar.
• Anlindë stays behind to fight Elyssa in a one-to-one duel. Although she loses the fight, she manages to incapacitate Elyssa and her troops by causing a section of the cave system to collapse before dying.

147 DE - 151 DE: The Chaos Empire's Decay

147 DE

• The elves of the Valley of Elynia join the northern peoples in alliance under the leadership of Lord Inodien and Lady Unarye, while Galas resigns from his position to join Elynia and Mal Keshar in their effort.
• The Grand Council of the Northern Peoples officially declare war against the Chaos Empire.
• Elynia, Galas, Mal Keshar, and a group of dwarves launch a suicidal attack on the Heart of the Empire. Elyssa faces Galas and his band directly this time, but as she is about to defeat them, Elynia summons the Union of the Powers of Light and Darkness.
• Elynia manages to defeat Elyssa. However, instead of killing her she decides to spare her life and allow her too flee from the Heart in exchange for information about Argan's present location.
• The group confronts Argan in his lair in the frozen wastelands of Inferno, and destroy him after some struggle. The power of the Union is broken, and the Orbs of Light and Darkness leave Elynia's and Argan's respective bodies. The energy released causes the connection between the Heart and Inferno to collapse, taking the entire stronghold down with it. Invasion from the Unknown ends.
• Uria gets hold of the Orbs of Light and Darkness.

148 DE

• After the Storm I begins as Galas' band heads back to the Far North.
• Lord Inodien of the forest elves is found dead under mysterious circumstances. The ensuing conflict between the military leaders of the elves results in a civil war and the banishment of the elves from the Aragwaith country.
• Elynia, Galas, and Mal Keshar arrive to Quenoth Isle searching for more information about their enemies and Uria's plans.
• The group learns more about the origins of the alien creature that served as Yechnagoth's body in Zocthanol, as well as Uria's plans to take over Irdya using Yechnagoth to destroy the descendants of the Guardian of Earth, Xia'el (known as Eloh in older elvish literature), which include all elves and faerie lifeforms on Irdya and other worlds.
• After some deliberation, Elynia allows Mal Keshar to read the journal they recovered from Argan in the Heart, as she can't bring herself to do it on her own. Unbeknownst to them, some pages were previously removed or enchanted by Elyssa to obfuscate the whereabouts of Yechnagoth's heart and misdirect Elynia.
• The group departs from the island heading for the Great Continent, with the purpose of informing the Grand Council about the Shaxthal hive in Wesmere and the heart of Yechnagoth kept in it.
• The fortress of Aran-Balgur in the Far North's southernmost reaches is taken over by Chaos forces. The Alliance's forces are forced to retreat to Glamdrol, Astar, and Nyldil.

149 DE

• A storm forces Elynia and her group to land in Kalari Peninsula with a significantly damaged ship.
• Elynia and Galas are ambushed and captured by Chaos forces along with the staff of Elynia-Niryone, and taken to the Iron Triad two days later while Mal Keshar hatches his own infiltration and ambush plan to rescue the two elves.
• Mal Keshar's infiltration initially succeeds in releasing Elynia and Galas, but reinforcements assisted by Elyssa's magic turn their escape into a disastrous suicide mission. They are eventually cornered by Elyssa, who proceeds to kill Galas. Elynia uses a teleportation spell she found under Zocthanol to escape from the Iron Triad's headquarters, badly damaging Mal Keshar's body in the process.
• Kyara, a desert elf from Quenoth, and Horo, an orcish warrior, are sent by Elynia to the Far North as messengers for the Grand Council. Mal Keshar hands Argan's journal to Kyara in order to ensure its survival should Elynia's own suicide mission fail.
• Elynia and Mal Keshar assault the Shaxthal hive in Wesmere and destroy the largest biomechanical creature found within it, powered by what they assume is Yechnagoth's original heart. The uncontrolled amount of energy released causes Mal Keshar's soul to be pulled out of his body, and subsequently destroyed. The Wesmere wastelands disappear entirely, leaving just a massive crater behind. Elynia uses the teleportation spell once again just as her soul is being pulled by the destruction, and disappears from Irdya entirely. After the Storm I ends.
• Ivyel, an artificial creature powered by a replica of Yechnagoth's heart and modeled after Elynia's appearance, is used to obtain control of one of the elvish factions in the east for the Iron Triad and, more specifically, Mal Hekuba.
• Nyldil is overrun by Chaos forces, and the Bay of Glamdrol becomes infested with Shaxthal creatures.
• Uria finds the last of Zhangor's remains hidden in Inferno after his original defeat by Elynia and Argan.

150 DE

• A large explosion erases Glamdrol and Nyldil from existence, forcing the northern peoples' army to withdraw to Fort Astar.
• Elynia reappears in the Heart Forest in the Far North, injured from the explosion in Wesmere. After helping the locals against a necromancer she secures their assistance to return to the Grand Council. Durvan, a hunter of the dark forest joins her. After the Storm II begins.
• On the way to Raelthyn, Elynia's band comes across a girl by the name of Allyna needing protection to deliver a message to the Grand Council.
• A portion of the Grand Council of the Northern Peoples meet with Elynia and the seer Valen to explain the situation and decide upon their next course of action. Elynia is dispatched along with one of Mal Keshar's disciples to the eastern borders of the northern country to investigate the situation with the false Lady of Light and assist Lady Unarye and the friendly elvish faction against their same-blooded enemies.
• Elynia's group is led by Allyna to Elorran, a former Demon Lord working against Uria's designs. Allyna reveals herself as Anya, a dark faerie born of an unknown demon and faerie. Although Elorran's intention is to destroy the Ruby of Fire powering staff of Elynia-Niryone so it doesn't fall into the enemy's hands, Elynia convinces him to postpone the task while she uses it a last time against Uria's army. Elorran informs her of the Guardian of Life's intention to use Irdya as a testing ground for an invasion to the alien world of Ethea.
• Demon Lord Zhangor returns to Irdya, now serving as the Fist of Uria and jeopardizing Elyssa's control of the Iron Council and the forces of Chaos.
• After repelling a host of enemy elves from the frontier, Elynia meets with Unarye and decides to bring the fight to the false Lady of Light's headquarters in the Valley of Elynia.
• Elynia leads her forces across the desert following Unarye's instructions.
• A portal allowing Chaos forces to quickly move between Aran-Balgur and Kalari is completed.
• Kyara and Horo find shelter in Fort Astar in exchange for joining General Bardyl's host.
• Chaos forces overrun the northern country.
• The false Lady of Light is unmasked by Elynia in Telchior's Hold, the largest stronghold in the forest elves' home valley. After pursuing her underground, Elynia and her band are confronted by a projection of Mal Hekuba, now working in opening another portal to Inferno and intent on taking on Elyssa, now revealed to be the bearer of Yechnagoth's original heart.
• The siege of Raelthyn begins. Most members of the Grand Council are lost during the city's defense.
• Elynia takes advantage of Ivyel to destroy Mal Hekuba and the various heart replicas powering the incomplete portal. She once again uses the teleportation to escape from the explosion, this time without any other consequences. However, she is seriously wounded after the fight with Mal Hekuba, and Elyssa takes the opportunity to obtain the staff and the Ruby of Fire without any opposition. After the Storm II ends.
• Zhangor sends the experimental Shaxthal Deathbringers along with a host of Chaos to obliterate Elorran and his rebel faction.
• In order to prevent Nar-Hamoth from continuing to spy on her through Mal Kendria, Elyssa removes the latter's soul from her body. Mal Ba'arth joins the Iron Triad. After the Storm: Final begins.
• Zhangor secures the support of the Chaos forces behind Elyssa's back and issues a ban on all Yechnagoth worship and imagery.
• Elynia, Anya, and Durvan teleport back to the northern country near the place where Elorran was slain. They promptly return to a devastated Raelthyn under siege from multiple fronts by the enemy, and defended by Torancyn, now Supreme Lord of the Aragwaith. After nearly one day and the first darkness of the second day they manage to repel the hostile troops with the elves' assistance.
• Valen resigns from her position in the now extinct Grand Council and provides Elynia with instructions given to her by Demon Lord Ergea.
• Elynia meets with Kyara and Horo in Fort Astar, and recovers Argan's journal. Following Ergea's instructions, she convinces General Bardyl of laying siege to Aran-Balgur with the support of the undead and additional militiamen recruited by Durvan along the way. Nar-Hamoth's elite troops near Astar are defeated.
• The siege of Aran-Balgur lasts two days. Elynia, Anya, and a disciple of Mal Keshar named Irylean use the portal to abandon the Far North along with a few men, undead minions, and forest faeries.
• Demon Lord Nar-Hamoth remains stranded in the Far North.
• Elynia meets Ergea in Kalari and receives instructions from her to retrieve a power hidden beneath Kalari to put an end to the war on Irdya. She leaves to confront on her own any opposition she might find in the Iron Council's headquarters. Anya is not informed of this.
• The calendar year ends.

151 DE

• The Endless Night on Irdya begins at the turn of the year.
• At the behest of Ergea, Anya leads Elynia's and Ergea's troops in battle to create a distraction.
• Durvan and a host of Alliance troops provided by General Bardyl join the battle on the surface.
• Mal Kendria's body is destroyed by Elynia.
• Elynia confronts Elyssa in the stronghold's underground levels.
• Ergea's forces instigate a revolution in Kalari, releasing humans and demons oppressed by the Iron Triad's and the Empire's rule.
• The Gatekeeper on Ethea is slain by Elyssa through the breach in Kalari now connecting both worlds.
• Ergea's forces lay siege to a key fortress near Kalari Central as Zhangor sets up an ambush with Demon Lord Hemérilyel's and the experimental Shaxthal Deathbringers' help as he prepares to confront Elyssa.
• Anya slays Demon Lord Hemérilyel.
• Elyssa takes Elynia to the deepest levels of the stronghold, in search of Zhangor.
• Anya destroys the Deathbringers.
• The Storm Sisters working for Zhangor are captured by Ergea's forces during the siege to the Iron Council's headquarters.
• The last remaining member of the Iron Triad in Kalari, Mal Ba'arth, is destroyed by Anya.
• Zhangor is slain once again.
• Elynia, Elyssa, and Anya leave Irdya.
• The Endless Night ends on Irdya. After the Storm: Final ends.
• Demon Lord Ergea of the Storms assumes control of Kalari Peninsula.