Timeline of Wesnoth

Historian's notes

Portions of entries surrounded by parentheses and containing a question mark are assumed or unconfirmed information: for instance, "BLAH BLABITY BLAH ( the king of the BLAH ?)". The history is sorted by era, and within the era by date, using the Foundation of Wesnoth as a base. BW=Before Wesnoth, YW=Years Wesnoth. They function the same way as BC and AD do in our timekeeping system. Each of the eras is summarized before the timeline for that era begins.

Prehistory - Rise - Golden Age - Descent - Fall - Restoration - New Blood - #Apocolypse

Prehistory - 20 YW: The Founding of Wesnoth

During the age of the Founding of Wesnoth, there were two important geographic locations, these being the Green Isle and the Great Continent. Haldric is the main historical figure at this time. This age ends with the founding of Wesnoth as a country in the Great Continent, and with Orcs attacking both elves and men from the sea.

Prehistory

• Birth of the world.
• Elves and Dwarves inhabit the Great Continent.
• Humans inhabit the distant West.
• Haldric's people colonise the Green Isle from a continent further to the west.

200 BW

• The Lich-Lords arrive on the Green Isle after losing a war in the distant West.
• After a long war Haldric's people come to dominate the Green Isle.
• The 'Wesfolk' and their Lich-Lords are pushed onto marginal lands.

12 BW

• The Great Continent is discovered by the Crown Prince of Southbay.

11-7 BW

• The Crown Prince makes several voyages between the Green Isle and the Great Continent.

6 BW

• After these voyages the Great Continent, the elder Crown Prince falls ill and dies
• His younger brother is implicated in a plot to kill him.
• As a distraction the younger Prince starts a war with the Wesfolk and their Lich-Lords.
• The Lich-Lords sense they will be destroyed and open gates to the homeland of the Orcs in the West.

6-2 BW

• The Green Isle is overrun with Orcs.
• The Wesfolk desert their Lich-Lords as they fear becoming prey for the Orcs.
• Prince Haldric leads the evacuation of the survivors to the Great Continent.

1 BW

• Human settlers, led by Prince Haldric, arrive at the Great Continent in large numbers.
• Humans arrive in the middle of a simmering dispute between the Elves and Dwarves.
• The Elves and Dwarves are distrustful of humans, and there is a small skirmish.
• Messengers from Wesmere Forest come and ask Haldric to come before the Ka'lian.
• Prince Haldric asks the Four Elvish Lords (Dionli, Logalmier, Aryad, and El'Isomithir) for help and land.
• They set before him four quests to prove his worth, which he completes.

0 YW

• Haldric is granted the plains north and south of the Great River.
• Haldric agrees to a Pact of Mutual Defence with the Elves.
• Haldric founds the country of Wesnoth in these lands.
• Reign of Haldric I begins.

1 YW

• Orcs, following the ships fleeing from the Green Isle, begin to arrive on the Great Continent.
• These Orcs are defeated by Haldric's forces.
• Some of the Orcish survivors flee back to the Green Isle, others move to attack the Elves.
• King Haldric helps the Elves fight the surviving Orcs.

7 YW

• A second wave of Orcs arrive from the Green Isle; these Orcs start claiming large portions of the Great Continent for themselves.
• Haldric I dishonors the Pact he spoke with the Elves and refuses to give aid.

8-10 YW

• Many Elves are killed in battle by the Orcs.
• Elvish emissaries are turned away from Wesnoth.

11 YW

• Orcs fail to take the Wesmere Forest and instead march against the farmlands of Wesnoth.
• Elves refuse to aid the Humans in confronting the Orcs.
• Orcs attack the lands north of the great river from the mountains, then owned by Wesnoth.
• Humans are forced back to the great river and are able to hold it against Orcish attacks.

20 YW

• Haldric I dies.
• Haldric II ascends to the throne.
• King Haldric II allows emissaries of the Elves to return to Wesnoth.

23 YW

• Haldric sends General Aldar west with a portion of the Wesnoth army, to aid the Elves.
• The Orcs in the eastern lands are defeated.

20-130 YW: The Taming of the Wild

This era is that in which the kingdom of Wesnoth expanded and defined its borders, and settled the area which it had claimed for its own. The Taming of the Wild refers to the settling of the unsettled lands, as well as the population of the Northlands. The end of this era is marked by friction between the city-state of Elensefar and the country of Wesnoth, which will continue for the next several hundred years.

Alternate History Regarding the Sceptre of Fire

• 25 YW
  • Haldric II commissions a dwarven tribe to build the Sceptre and recieve the ruby from Haldric II.
  • Elves attack the dwarves as Haldric II is giving them the ruby.
• 25-34 YW:
  • The dwarves gather materials to make the sceptre.
• 35 YW:
  • The dwarves, searching for supplies, attack another dwarvish clan, the Shorbears.
  • Elves siege the citadel of the Dwarves.
• 36-40 YW:
  • The dwarves craft the sceptre inside of the citadel while under seige, but cannot complete the incantation.
• 40 YW:
  • The dwarves break the siege and head underground, into the depths of the volcano where Khrakrahs the Dragon lives.
  • The dwarves fortify their position inside the caves and finish the sceptre.
  • The volcano erupts, killing the dwarves and the elves who followed them.
  • A human messenger escapes to report to Haldric II that the Sceptre was created.

122 YW

• City of Elensefar is sacked by orcs.
• Meneldur, a sailor of Elensefar, sets out on a quest to regain the city.

123 YW

• Elensefar is retaken by Meneldur along with Undead from the Green Isle.
• Elensefar becomes an independent city-state for the first time.

200-350 YW: The Golden Age of Wesnoth

The Golden Age of wesnoth was the time of the great kings, and of peace and prosperity within the kingdom. The Orcs had suffered a grave defeat at the hands of Wesnoth and Elensefar seventy-five years earlier, so they did not pose much of a threat, and whenever they did attack they were quickly defeated. This allowed the army to lessen in size, and the kings of this age to undertake the great public works they are renowned for. The era ends when the king of Wesnoth dies without an heir, and a new dynasty begins.

230 YW

• The wizards of Wesnoth construct the massive fortress Halstead to protect the west.
• Elensefar is united with the Kingdom of Wesnoth.

250 YW

• Urug-Telfar attacks the lake atop mount Eregonor and pillages the surounding areas.
• The Elvish Heroes Kalenz and Glatrid are sent to defeat Urug-Telfar.
• Kalenz and Glatrid are successful in destroying the encamped Orcish forces.

350 YW

• Fractioning of kingdom caused by death of Haldric IV.
• Elensefar remains a province of Wesnoth but exerts increasing independence due to isolation.
• Treaty between lord of Elensefar and king of Wesnoth signed.

350-440 YW: The First Dark Age of Wesnoth

The first Dark Age was a time of strife and attacks from the outside. When Haldric IV died, it left Wesnoth without a king, and the next 90 years were marked by short-lived dynasties, attacks by ever more aggressive orcs, and the further separation of Wesnoth and Elensefar. The Dark Age ended when Garard I took the throne, and began a new dynasty that would last for several hundred years.

440-530 YW: The Turmoil of Asheviere

King Garard's dynasty was long-lived, but its first eighty years of existence made observers at the time believe that would not be so. The first king suffered a very destructive undead attack, and the second was murdered by his own wife and son. It was only until 519 that Konrad I was able to wrest the throne from the Queen Mother Asheviere. After Konrad I took the throne, though, the turmoil ended, and Wesnoth entered its next era.

440 YW

• Garard I becomes king of Wesnoth.

442 YW

• Dark hordes of undead are reported in the plains of the East, terrorising the inhabitants.
• Garard sends a battle group to defeat the undead.
• Soldiers return from the battle reporting a crushing defeat.
• Garard asks the council of mages for help and is advised to send more troops.
• The young mage Delfador asks the King for permission to lead a force of mages instead.
• Garard agrees to let Delfador confront the undead.
• Delfador is successful and becomes a trusted advisor to King Garard.

442-445 YW

• Three outposts are built on eastern border to repel local orcs.

447 YW

• Crown Prince Garard II is born.
• Dwarves agree to craft the Sceptre of Fire for King Garard.

450 YW

• Prince Arand is born.

473 YW

• The Sceptre of Fire is completed.
• Orcs besiege Knalga, and the Sceptre is lost.
• Garard I dies.

474 YW

• Garard II rises to throne of Wesnoth.

478 YW

• Garard marries Asheviere.
• Garard II issues the Sceptre Edict of Royal Succession

480 YW

• Crown Prince Eldred is born.

498 YW

• Princess Li'sar is born.

500 YW

• Prince Konrad is born, the youngest of several sons of Prince Arand.
• Wesnoth and the Orcs of the north go to war.
• Garard leads his army to orc encampment at Galcadar by the Ford of Abez.
• Garard's forces split into two groups, one led by himself and the other by his son Eldred.
• Eldred betrays his father and attacks him with the troops under his control.
• King Garard is slain in battle along with his brother Prince Arand and his other sons.
• Delfador escapes the battle and heads to Weldyn.
• Eldred bribes the Orcish king into peace.
• Delfador gathers a force of Loyalists to avenge Garard's Death.
• Eldred's forces confront Delfador's Loyalists at Weldyn.
• The Loyalists are defeated, but Eldred is slain by Delfador in the fight.
• Delfador escapes the battle.

501 YW

• Asheviere orders the execution of Garard's nephews and declares herself Queen of Wesnoth.
• Hearing of the news Delfador infiltrates the palace.
• Delfador finds the youngest prince Konrad as he is slain.
• Delfador flees, taking Konrad's body for burial to the land of the Elves.
• While traveling through Wesnoth Elf Lady Parandra finds an orphaned human child.
• Parandra and Delfador agree to give the orphan the identity of Prince Konrad.
• Delfador and Konrad flee to live in refuge with the Southwestern Elves.
• Elensefar refuses to submit to Asheviere and declares itself an independent city-state.
• Western Wesnoth border recedes, is fixed, and remains heavily defended.
• As a result the Elves flourish to the Southwest of Wesnoth.
• A band of humans inhabits the Isle of the Damned.

502-517 YW

• Delfador raises Konrad under the protection of the Elves.

517 YW

• Asheviere hires Orcish forces to hunt down her nephew-in-law Konrad.
• Orcish forces converge on Delfador's refuge.
• Konrad flees his home with the elves and embark upon a quest to regain the throne of Wesnoth.

518 YW

• Konrad crosses the Great River into the Northlands on a search for the Sceptre of Fire.
• They enter the Caves of Knalga, ally with Princess Li'sar, and find it.

519 YW

• They return to Wesnoth and claim the throne.

522 YW

• Birth of Princess Ana'sar.

530-630 YW: The Age of Fear

The Age of Fear takes its names from the events of the end of the era. On the surface, the first 90 years were every uneventful. However, in the last 10 years of the age Wesnoth bore the brunt of the most powerful Undead attack ever, and was nearly destroyed. By the end of the era, most of Wesnoth had been made barren, most of the great buildings inside and outside of Weldyn were razed, and the population of Wesnoth was half what it had been.

533 YW

• Delfador sucumbs to old age and dies, his body is entombed alongside his staff in Eregonor.
• The next great sage of Wesnoth, Dacyn, is born.

589 YW

• Konrad dies after an extraordinarily long reign.
• Haldric VII becomes king of Wesnoth.
• Dacyn the White Mage and Ravanal, an eastern wizard, compete to be the king's advisor.
• The king chooses Dacyn, Ravanal flees Wesnoth and becomes a lich.

592 YW

• Konrad II is born.

612 YW

• Konrad II becomes King of Wesnoth.
• Dacyn continues his duties as advisor with Konrad II.

625 YW

• Mysterious disappearances of livestock and peasants along the eastern border of Wesnoth.
• Konrad II sends the Dacyn and three officers (Owaec, Sudoc and Gweddry) to man the old eastern outposts.

626 YW

• Mal-Ravanal attacks the middle outpost where Gweddry and Dacyn are stationed.
• Dacyn and Gweddry travel to the northern outpost, and, with Owaec, retreat into the northlands.

627 YW

• Wesnoth's last defences are broken and the undead march on Wesnoth
• In the northlands, the orcs drive Gweddry's army back across the river.
• Weldyn is besieged.
• Gweddry breaks through undead lines to reach Weldyn.
• A council is held.
• Gweddry's army kills Mal-Ravanal through sheer luck.
• Wesnoth is saved, but has been turned by the undead into a barren wasteland.

630-???: The Restoration of Wesnoth

The Restoration of Wesnoth is the time when Wesnoth recovered from the damage that Mal-Ravanal's undead attack had dealt. By the end of the era, Wesnoth was no longer a wasteland, but it would never regain the majesty it had at the height of its power.

During this period not much happens, except for the periodic return of a powerful Lich Lord on the 400 year cycle, roughly in YW 750. The king of Wesnoth at the time orchestrated a large-scale war between the elvish and dwarvish communities in an attempt to gain access to the deep chasm from which the new Lich Lord was spewing a newer, deadlier breed of undead monsters. This conflict, later known as the Elf War, was the sole low point in a relatively quiet piece of Wesnoth's history.

New Blood: The Invasions

Humans from the western continent arrived in Wesnoth more than a millenium after the Wesfolk abandoned it to the forces of evil. The Alkadians and Aragwaithi appeared in Wesnoth as conquerers, and although the human kingdom had withstood centuries of orcish and undead invasions, it quickly fell to these new races of humans. The Wesfolk left the western continent firmly in the hands of worshipers of darkness, and the very fight for survival made the humans there exceedingly tough, ruthless, and spiritual. Centuries of struggle with evil made them firm disciples of the holy sword; they brought this philosophy across the seas and were quick to exploit weakness of the Wesnothian unbelievers. After years of subjugation, it became clear that these were people cut from the same cloth. A courageous young monarch of the Hathargen clan completed the restoration of Wesnoth as the dominant race on the continent.

Apocolypse

At some unknown point in the future, an unspeakable cataclysm scorched the surface of the lands. Every race of creature was destroyed or driven permanently underground. After many years, an uncountable number, life did once again stir above the ground. Heroic bands of elves, nomadic refugee humans, and cultist night-worshipers forged new lives under shelter from the merciless dual suns of Quenoth.

History Credits

• Timelined by Kamahawk and Turin.
• History derived from:
  • The Challenges
  • The Rise of Wesnoth
  • Heir to the Throne
  • Eastern Invasion
  • Liberty
• Alternate history derived from:
  • The Sceptre of Fire campaign, by Turin
  • The Legend of Wesmere campaign, by Santi

See Also

• WesnothGeography
• WesnothPoetry
• RaceDescriptions